Is Apple More Evil Than Microsoft?
We're not exactly huge Microsoft boosters around here. Most of us in the Switched offices are devoted Mac users, and there's at least one professed Linux nerd in house. We regularly joke that it takes just as long in 2009 to open Microsoft Word as it did back in 1992. Operating system preferences aside, we can't help but feel as though Microsoft is getting a raw deal. The Redmond-based company is regularly painted as the enemy of... well, just about everything. Yet, while the European Union is forcing Microsoft to unbundle Internet Explorer from Windows, no one seems to be keeping an eye on 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA. Here are a few ways we think Apple is evil, and getting away with it.Apple is less open than Microsoft
Microsoft is derided for its closed, proprietary software (often rightly so), but people seem quite alright with the idea that you have to buy a Mac (which outside of the pretty box is no different than a Dell) in order to use the OS X operating system. Its tightly integrated apps, like Safari, Mail, iTunes, QuickTime, iCal, and Time Machine, don't seem to ruffle nearly as many feathers as their Microsoft counterparts. For instance, Microsoft being forced to dump Internet Explorer (IE) isn't the first time the European Union (EU) has clipped the company's wings -- in 2003 the conglomerate of governments forced Microsoft to release a version of XP without Windows Media Player.
If that isn't evidence enough, consider that it wasn't until this April that Apple finally started offering DRM-free music through iTunes that could be played on non-iPod devices (something Microsoft had already offered for over a year through its Zune Marketplace). It's not just software, either -- Apple's MacBook Pros and MacBook Air have batteries that can't be replaced by the user. So forget carrying a spare battery as backup.
When it comes to openness, the iPhone is even worse. Apple lords over the mobile environment with an iron fist and seems to be making up the rules as it goes along. Take, for example, last week's rejection of Google Voice. After giving the thumbs down to Google's application, the company rifled through the App Store and unceremoniously booted several previously approved third-party Google Voice options. Of course, many point the finger at AT&T for this crime against consumer choice, but Apple -- the company that was previously able to bend the RIAA to its will -- caved like a flan in the cupboard to the maligned carrier's demands. It isn't even opening up to the developers (largely responsible for the popularity of the iPhone) by offering an explanation as to why the programs they've spent time and effort on are being denied the chance to be sold in the App Store.
Apple copies other companies, just like Microsoft
Everyone likes to complain that Microsoft doesn't innovate; it just copies the successes of others. But Apple is just as guilty of stealing what works from competitors. Take a look at Dashboard, which puts widgets on your Mac desktop. Dashboard copied not just the functionality, but much of the look of Konfabulator, a widget program that debuted for the Mac in 2003, two years before Dashboard debuted. Or take Spaces, which brings virtual desktops to OS X: it's a feature that has been available on most Linux distributions since the early '90s and was included on Amiga systems way back in 1985.
Apple doesn't stop at copying features, however. Mac OS X is Unix, a freely available operating system first released back in 1969, wrapped in a pretty package, and Safari is heavily based on Konqueror, a Web browser for Linux. There is nothing wrong with incorporating open source elements like these in your products, but developers on these projects have been very vocal in complaining about Apple's failure to contribute its fair share to the open source community.
Apple is a bunch of jerks
What about the jailbreak crowd? According to a recent complaint filed with the U.S. Copyright Office, jailbeaking is a danger to national security. Apple claims that jailbroken phones could shield terrorists and crash cell phone towers, spurious claims at best and at worst reckless fear mongering.
Then there is the cult-like air of secrecy, and a Scientology-like penchant for destroying all those who might penetrate. Apple sued Nicholas Ciarelli, publisher of popular Mac blog ThinkSecret, and successfully shut down the Apple rumor site, known for breaking stories such as the release of Leopard, iWork, and the MacMini.
Oh, and let's not forget about Apple's attempt to force everyone who installed iTunes to download Safari. Apple tried to sneak the browser onto your system the same way other shady apps try to slip in Yahoo! Toolbar and the like.
Apple only cares about the money
These childish complaints, however, affect only those of us who can afford to drop $299 on a 32-gigabyte iPhone or $1,799 on a MacBook Pro. Though not for entirely noble reasons, Microsoft at least attempts to engage the third world and developing nations by offering Windows at steep discounts and participating in programs like One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and Intel's Classmate PC project. The projects may be flawed but Apple offers no similar discounts and is involved in no comparable programs for getting computers into the hands of the world's poorest. Apple is perfectly happy to have its products manufactured by migrant laborers in Shangai, but targets all sales in China at its small upper and middle classes.
Is Apple more evil than Microsoft?
It's hard to say if Apple is definitively more evil than Microsoft, but what we can tell you is that it's just as guilty of many of the same bad business practices. Despite sizable gains in market share in the PC world and a group of utterly dominating portable media players, Apple has managed to maintain its perception as an underdog, allowing it to get away with things that Microsoft wouldn't.
Then there is the "cool" factor. Windows and Office have become synonymous with stuffy corporate environments and cubicles, while Apple has forged an identity as the favorite of creative types and hipsters -- often the very types of people who staff the editorial departments of the publications that turn a blind eye to Apple's crimes.
We've previously discussed how the media gives Apple a free pass -- but the more important question is, what is it up to while everyone is distracted by railing against Microsoft?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John Nemesh said 3:31PM on 8-03-2009
I have realized that Apple is worse than Microsoft in all of these areas and more for a few years now. The level of control that Steve Jobs insists on having over our digital lives borders on arrogance, and most definitely is an "evil" company: Evil in their disregard for customer choice. Evil in their "exclusivity" agreements with AT&T (raise your hand if you DON'T think AT&T is evil....thats what I thought!). Evil in how they obscure the approval process for their app store. Evil for how hard they fought to keep DRM in our music (to keep iTunes tied directly to their devices). Evil in how they make developers refund the full purchase amount of titles THEY yank from the app store, even though they kept 30% of the original transaction. Again and again it becomes clear that Apple is out to serve Apple, NOT the consumer.
You could not PAY me to own an Apple product! I will NEVER run OSX, or buy an iPod, or use any other Apple device...until they are truly an OPEN company with OPEN products and pro-consumer policies...like I said...NEVER! :)
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shanedieselblack said 11:08PM on 8-07-2009
so what do you use, Linux? Or Microsuck Windoze? What's in your garage? A Honda Civic/Dodge Neon/Chevy Cavalier?
redditor said 7:52AM on 8-22-2009
Dear internet: This guy is a clueless hack
Sincerely, someone with a modicum of intellect.
Thatmediaguy said 8:36PM on 8-03-2009
Apple is beyond evil. You are right about all of their activities.
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marinopascal said 4:26PM on 8-03-2009
I'm a devoted Mac user and advocate but I don't buy the whole iLifestyle.
I use Apple laptops, the MaOS and an iPod and I stop right there.
No iPhone, no .mac account, no iLife, no iPhoto.
It gives me the creeps.
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Jordan said 6:30PM on 8-03-2009
That's exactly how I feel. I do have a mac, but only for video editing in final cut - otherwise I do prefer Windows. I do have an iPod, but then I've had an iPod for years and it was the first Apple product I owned. I also do have an iPhone because I liked it, not because I thought it was cool or I would look cool, but because I liked it - however I now find it insanely expensive and might not get another one. There is no need to fall for everything Apple says and does. If the iPhone and iPod did not work on Windows, I would have neither. I don't need all the gimmicky things Apple comes up with - such as face detection in iPhoto, who cares? Give me a real photo editing application like Photoshop.
darth_nazgul said 4:34PM on 8-03-2009
I can't believe this "article" was even allowed to be published! This is an entirely one-sided, Apple-bashing, whining fit! I'll be the first one to say that I am an Apple "fanboy", but this article suggesting that Apple is more "evil" than Microsoft is just ridiculous! How about this: no companies are evil! They simply exist to make products for consumers to use. You buy; they sell. Your use of the word "jerk" to describe a company *reeks* of unprofessionalism! All companies have their secrets and all companies have the right to keep the truth from consumers until they feel it's the right time to publish it to the world. You say Apple doesn't innovate because they're software is based on a 40 year old OS??? Yes, Mac OS X is Unix. So what? At least they can make a GUI that's easy to use *and* looks nice. You say Apple only cares about money? What other company doesn't? Even so, my Macbook, which I've had since May, 2006, has been taken to the Apple Store's Genius Bar for the following reasons: Broken battery. Melted power cord. Failed OS (probably my own fault). Guess how much all of those repairs and replacements cost me over the course of three years? $0.00. In fact, they gave me Leopard when Tiger failed because they "didn't know what OS I was running"! Have you tried taking your PC to a place like Fry's for repair? They charge you for their time and more often than not the problem shows up again a week later. So yes, Apple's hardware is "expensive" to begin with, and maybe they only care about money on a corporate level, but on a consumer level, they have been nothing but helpful and I am proud to support a company like that.
Okay so did I miss anything?
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geek45 said 6:05PM on 8-03-2009
"I'll be the first one to say that I am an Apple "fanboy""
Here is where I stopped reading this comment.
Jordan said 7:00PM on 8-03-2009
"all companies have the right to keep the truth from consumers until they feel it's the right time to publish it to the world"
NO
And they didn't know which OS you were running? Seriously how retarded are the employees in Apple stores? An Apple genius couldn't figure out which OS you had...wow. Gives me a lot of faith in that company...
Davidicus Lyndium said 1:16PM on 8-04-2009
I think you missed Everything...
steve said 12:11AM on 8-14-2009
HAhahahaHAHAahahahah....you are so neurotic. You probably read the link and got mad. You were so mad that you missed the part about the writers being Mac lovers and that they don't necessarily say Apple is more evil, just wondering why they get away with the same stuff Microsoft gets in trouble for. I bet you are so bad that you run 3 WoW accounts on your Mac. Get laid man. It will do you good.
Scuba Steve said 4:39PM on 8-03-2009
Apple ain't more evil, they're just alot more organized.
Apple are the Mafia.
Look at the facts, they managed to bug every iPod & Mac some ex model brought even 1 off eBay as well as any car he drove or place he regularly visited (now that takes some "pull").
Then there was the Foxconn employee who "committed suicide" after a prototype went missing.
and if Terrence O'Brien "goes missing", Just remember I told you so. haha
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Heimbachae said 9:50AM on 8-05-2009
your argument is sound. i will keep my eyes out for your predictions
Jonathan said 6:11PM on 8-03-2009
Aple satisfies the vast majority of its customers and provides healthy competition in a market that would otherwise be even more dominated by Microsoft...who would be forcing even more people to use lousier software they don't like.
Apple is a boutique sort of company. They are tiny compared to Microsoft. Saying they don't give enough to charity or make cheapo mini-PCs for the less fortunate is silly; Microsoft is expected to do those things because their resources are dozens of times what Apple's are.
Criticizing them for a closed software/hardware system is also silly when it's this design choice that alleviates many of the sorts of problems users experience with Windows PCs in the first place.
No one is forced to use a Mac. The "tightly integrated apps" are what people PAY for!
This article compares the two companies as if they are the same other than the listed differing activities. It's not quite meaningless, but it's close.
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James D said 8:22PM on 8-04-2009
Apple has, over the past few years and possibly earlier than that, acted in "evil" ways. Your main argument seems to be that they've not been grossly anti-competitive, which is another metric altogether.
To say their "small" size should protect them is no longer a valid claim. iTunes and the iPod are hugely dominant, with iTunes now the largest music retailer, period. Bigger than Walmart, bigger than Amazon, period. They have enormous clout and power in that market, and their practices have been hugely anti-competitive while their iPod line has been largely iterative, not innovative, for years because of their dominance. The world doesn't benefit when the world's largest maker of portable music players *still* doesn't even include a radio in any of their players, among other features/innovations that other manufacturers included long ago. Apple's treatment of the iPhone has been even more brutal, and its market share increases every day.
Regarding the claim that Apple is somehow too "small" to do more for the developing world, consider that as of February 2009, Apple was widely reported to be sitting on $15 billion in cash. $15 billion is a huge number to just sit on, yet that's what they've done while suing publications out of business, keeping prices (and profit margins) high, standing by while one of their employees kills himself after an alleged security leak, and claiming the iPhone could be used by terrorists.
At what point does their anti-competitive behavior become big enough to matter? When 90% of the population is shuffling between our iPod, iPhone, and MacBook while hunting for a power outlet to charge them all since they don't give consumers the option of using spare batteries?
dave-uk said 12:56PM on 8-04-2009
"Apple is a boutique sort of company. They are tiny compared to Microsoft. Saying they don't give enough to charity or make cheapo mini-PCs for the less fortunate is silly; Microsoft is expected to do those things because their resources are dozens of times what Apple's are"
Apple Market Cap 147B , Microsoft Market Cap 210B . Apple is not a tiny company at all. Microsoft in recent years have been picked on. Bill G has given billions of his own money away so it is hard to fault him on that front. Steve Jobs could learn a few things from him although I don't think his personal wealth ever got near BGs
Apple may of been the underdog but not anymore, they have an insanely large warchest of cash.
Does this mean I want to see things change at apple? No not really, I think they have every right to do business anyway they see fit, we can all decide to not buy their products if it bothers us that much. I personally like the surprise announcements of new tech, with all the spoilers out there with other things its a rare thing to be surprised these days.
What I would like is for Microsoft to be left to do there thing too. Tightly integrate their browser, media player and anything they like into their OS. As long as you can always install an alternative I do not see the problem with anything they do.
The playing field is a lot more level these days and we need to stop bashing one company or another, all the tribal fanboy nonsense i see on the internet is laughable. Both companies make great products, both make some less great products. Buy what suits your needs and enjoy.
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Devin said 1:57PM on 8-04-2009
Just keep making things that we like Apple. You may just be a building full of evil people, but I love you anyway.
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Peter said 1:58PM on 8-04-2009
laughing at the poster who thought Apple was tiny compared to Microsoft. Have you been living under a rock the past decade?
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alan said 6:52PM on 8-04-2009
I've never owned an Apple product, mainly because of price, but lately, it's becoming just as much of an issue with their attitude and behavior. Now I **definitely** won't be buying any Apple products, unless they change their ways. Apple is definitely way more evil than Microsoft at this point, in my opinion.
And btw, I've been hearing this trend from multiple sources for quite awhile now, getting worse with the passage of time. Heck, even at least two Lifehacker.com editors, previous iPhone fan-people have dropped their support of the products due to Apple's behavior.
Hopefully they right the ship before they ruin a good thing and all their customer good-will.
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Olivier said 4:17PM on 8-05-2009
Talking about evil companies... there's also Adobe.
Some time ago, I installed Adobe Flash CS3 on my Windows computer, and it installed a spyware. And what spyware was it ? Apple Bonjour...
Why installing an Adobe product should install also a piece of spyware which had opened ports in my computer so everybody could have connected to it if I didn't have a firewall ?
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