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06.15.10

Apple Redefines Freedom, Lies About Its Products, Blocks Competitors, and Helps Microsoft

Posted in Antitrust, Apple, Free/Libre Software, Microsoft at 6:59 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Apple’s misbehaviour not only attracts an antitrust probe but it also shows whose interests Apple is serving (other than its own)

Steve Jobs is against freedom. He just is. He redefines freedom by calling the banning of everything he does not endorse the “freedom” from this thing (be it competition, GPL-licensed software, or pornography). Skip to around 22 minutes from the start of this new video from Professor Larry Lessig. Lessig is a longtime Mac user, but he really gives it to Jobs in that talk. He also recognises that GNU/Linux (yes, he calls it “GNU Linux”) is the better way to go.

Here is the latest example of controversial censorship by Apple. [via]

Not since Amazon removed digital copies of “1984″ from people’s Kindles while they slept has there been such a hilarious episode in the ongoing slapstick farce “Let’s See What Happens When Corporations Become Publishers.”

Apple has censored a “Ulysses” comic book app — just in time for “Bloomsday” — because of a picture of Buck Mulligan’s stately, plump cartoon penis.

There are many examples just like that. Apple is still controlling people’s phones, as a gatekeeper at least.

According to this article, Apple may be faking its sales figures (statistics being gamed).

During his WWDC 2010 keynote address, Apple CEO Steve Jobs boasted that the iPhone was currently number two behind RIM in smartphone sales. He quoted a Nielsen survey but there was a noticeable absentee in Apple’s stats – Symbian. So what’s the truth?

Apple’s fake or artificial hype is a subject that we covered here many times before. “Lies, damned lies, and technology hype” is the headline of this new article about Apple’s numbers.

Now we come to Apple’s latest anti-competitive practices. “Apple Wants to Kill Its Mobile Advertising Competitors,” says this article:

Apple (AAPL) seemed to relent on letting other advertising networks have access to iPhones and iPads. But that’s an illusion. The company’s actions, in context, show that Steve Jobs wants to completely lock down advertising and control all forms of revenue when it comes to iOS. The result is now an escalating level of federal scrutiny that should make any CEO nervous.

More coverage in:

Google has already responded:

TechCrunch has published “The Conundrum Of Being An Independent Mobile Ad Network Under Apple’s Rules” and Tobin drew our attention to the lack of control over corporate power. Will the government step in to counter Apple? Well, before Apple’s hypeAd service is even launched, an antitrust concern [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] goes through and the “FTC Will Investigate Apple,” says AndroidGuys (biased source, but there are others like Wired).

“Apple not only dishonours freedom but it also supports other companies that dishonour freedom.”Given that Google’s CEO used to serve in Apple, one would think that Apple should support Google but it is helping Microsoft in new ways [1, 2, 3] although only to an extent. According to more boosting from Todd Bishop, it’s not just Safari but hypePhone too where Apple links to Microsoft. This is not the first time that Apple helps Microsoft. They have a lot in common.

In conclusion, Apple cannot be trusted by Free software proponents. Apple not only dishonours freedom but it also supports other companies that dishonour freedom. Why pretend that this is not the case? █

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6 Comments

  1. Needs Sunlight said,

    June 15, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Gravatar

    Techrights might help out open source web browsers and the general state of Internet security by modding the site’s software to not require use of javascript to make replies to comments.

    Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:
    June 15th, 2010 at 10:38 am

    The plug-in we’ve used for two years requires it.

  2. Needs Sunlight said,

    June 15, 2010 at 10:38 am

    Gravatar

    As far as Apple helping M$ goes, the search bar in new version of Safari steers the user to two of M$ pseudo search engines. It doesn’t look re-configurable.

  3. Needs Sunlight said,

    June 15, 2010 at 10:39 am

    Gravatar

    “The plug-in we’ve used for two years requires it.”

    Then it is time to fix or replace the plugin. ;)

    Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:
    June 15th, 2010 at 11:41 am

    I wanted to this this over a year ago, but the database depends on it.

    Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:
    June 15th, 2010 at 11:42 am

    s/this/do/

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