Forget Google – it's Apple that is turning into the evil empire. Once upon a time, when Apple was mainly a computer manufacturer, people used to liken it to BMW.
That was because it made expensive, nicely designed products for a niche market made up of affluent, design-conscious customers who also served as enthusiastic – nay fanatical – evangelists for the brand. It was seen as innovative and quirky but not part of the industry's mainstream, which was dominated by Microsoft and the companies making the PCs that ran Windows software. This view of Apple was summed up by Jack Tramiel, the boss of Commodore, when Steve Jobs first showed him the Macintosh computer. "Very nice, Steve," growled Tramiel.
"I guess you'll sell it in boutiques. " That was a long time ago. Every year, Fortune magazine polls a sample of US CEOs asking for their opinions of their competitors. The reasons are obvious. This may well be true, though it seems unlikely that such a comprehensive corporate recovery could be the work of a single individual, no matter how charismatic.
Is Apple More Evil Than Microsoft? We're not exactly huge Microsoftboosters 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. 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). When it comes to openness, the iPhone is even worse. Apple doesn't stop at copying features, however. Apple is now evil, and here's why!
Apple is now evil, and here’s why!
Today was one of those days where Steve Jobs gets on a stage and unleashes new Apple products. Being the gadget freak that I am, I usually follow the new announcements through tech blogs or Twitter. Years ago, I used to marvel at some of the stuff they’d put out. But the last couple of years, nights like this leave me with a very uneasy feeling. The hair in the back of my neck are on end.
Let’s take a look at some of today’s new things. The pattern I’m detecting is that Apple will, instead of embracing new innovations, copy them, and make them native to their platform. Apple fans will often say “It’s all about the user, Apple cares about user experience”. Is Apple evil? I don't like giving my money to companies that do evil.
I try not to do business with companies that employ sweatshop labor, pollute massively, or otherwise engage in egregiously reprehensible business practices. Lately, despite my love for its products, I'm wondering if Apple falls into the category of evil companies. An epidemic of suicides at Foxconn, intimidation of journalists, and corporate censorship has my conscience bothering me about supporting Apple products. Foxconn suicides Start with the Foxconn suicides: The Chinese manufacturing company makes iPads, iPhones, and other devices for Apple, as well as Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Sony. Some Western journalists defend Foxconn, noting that the plant's suicide rate is actually lower than the Chinese average. But journalist Dan Lyons, writing satirically as "Fake Steve Jobs," sets the record straight: Sure, people kill themselves all the time.
Intimidating journalists Every company has a right to protect its trade secrets. Also: