Bonum Certa Men Certa

Apple Feels the Pinch of Linux and Starts Buying Its Own Stock

Summary: Apple follows Microsoft's footsteps by trying to artificially elevate its value following huge pressure from Linux-based counterparts

OVER THE years we have covered Microsoft's financial misconduct, including purchasing of its own stock to create an illusion. The creator of illusions still runs Microsoft and as ITWire put it, it's not really Nadella in charge. He is just a public face, a marketing strategy of sorts. To quote Sam Varghese: "There are two reasons why Nadella (seen above with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer) will find it difficult to guide the ship. One is bald, ebullient and named Steve Ballmer. The other still has hair, a whiny voice, and is named Bill Gates."



"It is likely to hurt every large company that's accustomed to total domination over users."Another new article from ITWire says that "Tech giant Apple has shocked the stock market, repurchasing US$14 billion worth of its own stock in the last two weeks after disappointing first-quarter results, according to the Wall Street Journal."

Apple -- like Microsoft -- has been suffering from Linux and Android for quite some time. We recently covered the mysterious deletion of Pear OS from the Web, which still makes some people wonder [1]. Given the hostile coverage of Red Star Linux in many pro-Apple sites (it's not over yet [2]), Apple sure worries about the loss of its identity to GNU and Linux. According to [3], Apple is falling behind Android when it comes to hardware and not only Apple is concerned [4]. Google shares some of Apple's concerns [5] (large companies take Android in another direction) and as Android becomes hugely important in the world's largest/most populated nations [6] it seems likely that smears will be needed [7]. The matter of fact is, not only Apple is in jeopardy because of Android players [8]; a lot of the industry seems to be at 'threat' because of this thing called "Free software", which spreads fast and clings onto everything.

As Nokia demonstrates, not every company which claims to be embracing Android is automatically Android's friend. There are several silly articles urging Microsoft to dump Windows and fork Android -- suggestions that are being slammed even by Microsoft boosters right now (no links needed). Then there's Facebook, which is partly owned by Microsoft. The company that auto-uploads photos and gives all data to marketers and the NSA claims to bring "security" to Android phones.

Decentralisation of development is generally a good thing that prevents abuse of power. It is likely to hurt every large company that's accustomed to total domination over users. Examples include Microsoft, Apple, and Google (the Nexus series is a disservice to user, unless it's purchased only for the hardware and then reflashed).

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. The Case of the Missing OS, or Did Apple Eat Pear?


    Case in point: Pear OS. One day it's freely available for download, offering a remarkably Mac-like experience that's nevertheless based on Linux. The next day -- specifically, last Monday -- it's gone.


  2. Supreme leaders prefer Apple: North Korea’s home-grown Red Star Linux switches to OS X


  3. Apple needs to catch Samsung, Amazon in displays, researcher says
    In a research note outlining the leading display technologies in 2014, DisplayMate Technologies Raymond Soneira claims Apple has some catching up to do.


  4. Google Is Clamping Down On The Android Open Source Project -- Here's Why
    The proliferation of these forked AOSP Android devices on the mainstream market is harmful to Google’s proprietary mobile services.

    Right now, any developer or company can use AOSP to create an alternative Android operating system that cuts Google off from significant OS revenue. Amazon’s Kindle Fire ecosystem is a prominent example. The foundation OS is Android but Amazon developed its own app store, content store, Web browser, and email services, essentially cutting Google out of several of its key services and potential revenue streams.


  5. Steve Jobs, Google CEO plotted ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ to keep wages down – report
    Two of the most powerful people in the technology world secretly and perhaps illegally coordinated business strategies in which they agreed not to poach each other’s employees, thereby keeping salaries low, according to emails unveiled in federal court.

    Apple founder Steve Jobs and Google CEO Eric Schmidt apparently kept a secret pact to institute a “no-hire” policy in which each executive promised not to recruit each other’s workers. Yet the tech superstars are just two of the business leaders to be implicated in the wink-wink agreement, which reportedly included Google, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Intuit, and Pixar.


  6. Android/Linux Is The Most Popular OS In India
    The world should hear that the number one OS for page-views in India is now Android/Linux. Thanks Google, Samsung and all the others that helped this happen. India is being freed from monopoly by Free/Libre Open Source Software and ARMed personal computers.


  7. Tim Cook: 'Android is Like Europe', Many Different Things Under One Name
    Apple CEO Tim Cook compared Android to Europe in his wide-ranging interview with The Wall Street Journal yesterday, saying that the PC and mobile platform wars couldn't be compared. Cook said that Android is made up of many different things under one banner, as opposed to Windows which was one uniform platform.


  8. Will Amazon destroy the Apple TV with an Android console?
    Today in Open Source: Amazon preps Android gaming and TV console launch for later this year.


Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

With 9 Mentions of Azure In Its Latest Blog Post, Canonical is Again Promoting Microsoft and Intel Vendor Lock-in, Surveillance, Back Doors, Considerable Power Waste, and Defects That Cannot be Fixed
Microsoft did not even have to buy Canonical (for Canonical to act like it happened)
Links 28/03/2024: GAFAM Replacing Full-Time Workers With Interns Now
Links for the day
Consent & Debian's illegitimate constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Time Our Server Host Died in a Car Accident
If Debian has internal problems, then they need to be illuminated and then tackled, at the very least in order to ensure we do not end up with "Deadian"
China's New 'IT' Rules Are a Massive Headache for Microsoft
On the issue of China we're neutral except when it comes to human rights issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WeMakeFedora.org: harassment decision, victory for volunteers and Fedora Foundations
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 27/03/2024: Terrorism Grows in Africa, Unemployment in Finland Rose Sharply in a Year, Chinese Aggression Escalates
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: Ericsson and Tencent Layoffs
Links for the day
Amid Online Reports of XBox Sales Collapsing, Mass Layoffs in More Teams, and Windows Making Things Worse (Admission of Losses, Rumours About XBox Canceled as a Hardware Unit)...
Windows has loads of issues, also as a gaming platform
Links 27/03/2024: BBC Resorts to CG Cruft, Akamai Blocking Blunders in Piracy Shield
Links for the day
Android Approaches 90% of the Operating Systems Market in Chad (Windows Down From 99.5% 15 Years Ago to Just 2.5% Right Now)
Windows is down to about 2% on the Web-connected client side as measured by statCounter
Sainsbury's: Let Them Eat Yoghurts (and Microsoft Downtimes When They Need Proper Food)
a social control media 'scandal' this week
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Windows/Client at Microsoft Falling Sharply (Well Over 10% Decline Every Quarter), So For His Next Trick the Ponzi in Chief Merges Units, Spices Everything Up With "AI"
Hiding the steep decline of Windows/Client at Microsoft?
Free technology in housing and construction
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
We Need Open Standards With Free Software Implementations, Not "Interoperability" Alone
Sadly we're confronting misguided managers and a bunch of clowns trying to herd us all - sometimes without consent - into "clown computing"
Microsoft's Collapse in the Web Server Space Continued This Month
Microsoft is the "2%", just like Windows in some countries
Links 26/03/2024: Inflation Problems, Strikes in Finland
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Losing Children, Carbon Tax Discussed
Links for the day
Mark Shuttleworth resigns from Debian: volunteer suicide and Albania questions unanswered, mass resignations continue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/03/2024: 6,000 Layoffs at Dell, Microsoft “XBox is in Real Trouble as a Hardware Manufacturer”
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Microsofters Still Trying to 'Extend' Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Look What IBM's Red Hat is Turning CentOS Into
For 17 years our site ran on CentOS. Thankfully we're done with that...
The Julian Paul Assange Verdict: The High Court Has Granted Assange Leave to Appeal Extradition to the United States, Decision Adjourned to May 20th Pending Assurances
The decision is out
The Microsoft and Apple Antitrust Issues Have Some But Not Many Commonalities
gist of the comparison to Microsoft
ZDNet, Sponsored by Microsoft for Paid-for Propaganda (in 'Article' Clothing), Has Added Pop-Up or Overlay to All Pages, Saying "813 Partners Will Store and Access Information on Your Device"
Avoiding ZDNet may become imperative given what it has turned into
Julian Assange Verdict 3 Hours Away
Their decision is due to be published at 1030 GMT
People Who Cover Suicide Aren't Suicidal
Assange didn't just "deteriorate". This deterioration was involuntary and very much imposed upon him.
Overworking Kills
The body usually (but not always) knows best
Former Red Hat Chief (CEO), Who Decided to Leave the Company Earlier This Month, Talks About "Cloud Company Red Hat" to CNBC
shows a lack of foresight and dependence on buzzwords
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Discord Does Not Make Money, It's Spying on People and Selling Data/Control (38% is Allegedly Controlled by the Communist Party of China)
a considerable share exists
In At Least Two Nations Windows is Now Measured at 2% "Market Share" (Microsoft Really Does Not Want People to Notice That)
Ignore the mindless "AI"-washing
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Still Has Hundreds of Thousands of Simultaneously-Online Unique Users
The scale of IRC