Summary: Apple's snubbing of users and developers alike poses a threat to computing and people should therefore reconsider relationships with Apple

YESTERDAY we wrote about Apple's threat to the GPL, which was mentioned the day beforehand in relation to LLVM. Apple's hostility towards the GPL goes a while back [1, 2], so it's surprising to learn that VLC Player is having a go at hypeOS. After all, Apple is a big MPEG-LA proponent, which isn't working too well for VLC.

Lawsuits against Linux withstanding, Apple gives many reasons to be disliked by developers. It continues to be accused of harming GCC, for example, even forking it.

We now have evidence that Apple Corporation is working against the free software foundation. In another move by Apple, their Chief Architect of their compiler group is now blocking contributions back to Upstream GCC from Apple projects (including LLVM). This one way taking of source code is not surprising from Apple but what is surprising is that the lead developer of LLVM also works at Apple.

The allegation that Apple is forking GCC comes from IRC.

All the above seems to speak only to development types, but general members of the public too should distrust, question, resent or avoid Apple for reasons which are summarised in this nice picture and older posts of ours. Apple is just a PC with a brand name that makes it far more expensive. In reality, it is far more restrictive, which sets dangerous precedence. Apple's CEO is close to groups that fund the MPAA and RIAA and crave for a technological dark age. ⬆