Was it a colossal overreaction by Apple when a prototype of its next iPhone fell into the hands of gadget-obsessed US website Gizmodo?
Combine that with Apple boss Steve Jobs' uncompromising "Thoughts on [Adobe] Flash" statement a fortnight ago, and the question arises: is the darling of the high-tech world in danger of displacing Microsoft as the company people love to hate?
Yes and no; and yes and no again. Naturally enough, it depends on your point of view, but some points of view matter more than others.
Given that over 80 per cent of respondents in the report claim to use their Ipads for web browsing and almost 50 per cent for viewing video, areas in which Flash is particularly pervasive, it's not surprising that users find lack of support for the format annoying.
The latest leaked next-generation iPhone, which includes the same processor that powers the iPad, is probably a production or near-production unit, a hardware expert said today.
In late February, Apple purged 6,000 apps it deemed "too sexy." Late last month, Jobs posted a scathing 1,700-word essay on Apple's Web site about why he hates Adobe Flash.
Steve Jobs has gone rogue. Taking the bait on a late-night e-mail from Valleywag Editor Ryan Tate, Jobs defended Apple's App Store for offering "freedom from porn," among other things.
The first lawsuit, filed in the patent-friendly Eastern District of Texas, comes from Sharing Sound LLC, which holds the rights to a patent for "distribution of musical products by a web site vendor over the internet." The patent in question describes what is functionally any website you've ever visited to buy a music download, including song previews, a shopping cart, and even an accompanying app to play legally purchased music. The patent targeting Apple has a provision that downloaded songs have a unique identifier included in the file to link the files to a particular purchaser.
--Richard Stallman