YESTERDAY we cited a rant about this post, which obviously broke Godwin's law. The Inquirer removed the Nazi analogy from that post and told the story of what Apple was doing:
PURVEYOR OF RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE GADGETS, Apple has hired a secret police force to keep its black shirted employees in line.
Gizmodo has confirmed the existence of a division that reports directly to Jobs and Oppenheimer.
Dubbed the "Worldwide Loyalty Team", its sole function is to purge Apple stores of people who are not rabid fanboys or toeing the company line on everything.
Apparently the division has moles who are ordered to report deviant activity amongst the staff and management of the stores. High on the list are people who might be talking to the media.
“Apple is now controlling the crowd and suppressing dissent, very much like Microsoft.”It is worth adding that Apple does not break the law here, but it is important to understand how the company works. It is reasonable to describe this as deceitful and even unethical.
As for criminal companies, Intel is a leading example. When the EU Commission found Intel guilty (so did Korea) Intel was quick to respond with the same talking point as Microsoft. They quickly call the regulators "anti-American" (there can never be anything wrong with Intel's and Microsoft's conduct, it must be those envious nationalist zealots!), but this poor defense is contradicted by the US FTC, which is on the move again. From the news:
i. FTC takes Intel to court
THE US FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) filed a lawsuit in federal court against Intel today, seeking to stop the world's largest chipmaker from threatening, anti-competitive actions.
Although word processing applications will soon start to auto-complete the sentence, "Intel has been accused of antitrust violations", we'll have to keep typing it, and explain once again that someone has accused the firm of throwing its weight around and dominating the chip market.
Today the FTC said that Intel had unfairly harmed its rivals in semiconductor markets by either offering sweeteners or dishing out threats to its customers. In a statement released today, Richard A. Feinstein, director of the FTC's bureau of competition, said, "Intel has engaged in a deliberate campaign to hamstring competitive threats to its monopoly. It's been running roughshod over the principles of fair play and the laws protecting competition on the merits. The Commission's action today seeks to remedy the damage that Intel has done to competition, innovation, and, ultimately, the American consumer."
Intel, the world's biggest maker of computer chips, is being sued by a US competition authority.
Intel is accused of locking AMD out of key vendors by using "threats and rewards... to coerce them not to buy rival computer CPU chips."
Comments
kreshwolf
2009-12-18 16:14:22
I refused to believe, but there is no other option now than to believe, that free and open source software has been hijacked by radicals. I hope the violent extremists are not close behind!
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-18 17:03:07
Are you talking about software or wars? Either way, you seem to be losing this debate.
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-18 14:47:37
No, I did not say this. You misinterpreted what I wrote.
Let me say it clearly; Stallman is motivated not by the bottom line of a corporation, so I favour his words.
Here is a video that might help in understanding the distinction between sociopaths/psychopathic institutions and democracy/solidarity. The FSF is now apathetic towards ethics.
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-19 08:46:49
kreshwolf
2009-12-18 14:22:04
You are the one who said that the ends justify the means when you said that it was an improper comparison because Mr. Stallman is not try to sell products.
The end (a community where everyone is towing the line) is justified by the means (Richard Stallman calling for the removal of blogs from developers not towing the line).
The end (Apple having all PAID employees show brand loyalty) is justified by the means (firing employees who are not loyal).
So Apple is bad. Mr. Stallman on the other hand is not trying to sell products so any means to that end is good.
your_friend
2009-12-19 05:52:58
The goal of Gnome is software freedom. RMS asked Planet Gnome people not to promote software that compromises user freedom. That's easy to do because everyone knows what the four freedoms are and what violates them. Because those freedoms are the purpose of the group, it makes sense to define membership based on it. Nothing bad happens to people who don't want to be a part of Gnome Plannet. This is a rule of principle. It needs no secret police.
Apple's goal is making money through brand loyalty. It's sort of a cult that worships Steve Jobs and a few nice looking logos, only slightly less fanatical than the cult of Gates. It is impossible to deduce what will come next from any of the people in charge at either company but all are expected to follow with blind enthusiasm. If you don't, your fired, something that causes lots of big problems and smears your record. That is tyranny and it often comes with vigilante type justice.
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-19 08:45:54
kreshwolf
2009-12-18 13:42:53
I mean be honest, how can you take shots at Apple for doing exactly what Richard Stallman wants to do at Planet Gnome?
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-18 13:52:03
kreshwolf
2009-12-18 13:58:48
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-18 14:06:40
Yuhong Bao
2009-12-17 21:08:49
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-17 21:12:52
http://www.macworld.com/article/52464/2006/08/wirelesshack.html
Yuhong Bao
2009-12-19 04:30:02
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-19 08:47:59
Yuhong Bao
2009-12-17 21:11:22
Roy Schestowitz
2009-12-17 21:14:32
http://www.cringely.com/2009/12/intel-will-buy-nvidia/