Things You Don’t Want To Know About Apple

Posted on August 15, 2008
Filed Under Uncategorized

What’s wrong with Apple? I mean there is probably nothing wrong with it – profits are growing, markets are widening, loyalty is deepening and business is just fine. Apple is undoubtedly the company, all kinds of rumors (unfounded or not) around which go all the time in just immense amounts.

Remember Newton for example, which never showed up? And every preview of Apple’s new laptop or computer model is inevitably accompanied with a huge wave of buzz and rumors, which are immediately denied and new ones come up. Yep sure, it’s very interesting to chat about that, but today we’ll talk about other things.

Today I’ll try to sum up all the most interesting and stumbling pieces of information scattered all over the web recently and to analyze it, objectively and straight. I have to admit, it’s not very pleasant.

The year 2004. Apple sues AppleInsider, O’Grady’s PowerPage and Think Secret for publishing information about its upcoming products, info leaked out to some third parties. Apple demanded to reveal their sources, and even more - constantly put pressure on ISPs of those sites. Sure, nobody would be glad. But why so aggressive?

2006 iTunes update is claimed to spy on your listenings and send it back to Apple servers. Not many iTunes users appreciated this shoulder-surfing. In an instant, lots of sites and blogs studded with headings like “Apple is the new big brother”. Although the information was later discarded by Apple, the question remains open. It is a fact that Ministore collected some statistics about e-mails and personal data of users, so why did Apple do it? Was it watching us? Or was it all just to survey the preferences of iTunes users, so that it could sell more songs more effectively? But what do we need personal data here for?

The most recent events concerning iPhone are even more stumbling. The lovely phone turned out to be even more smart, independent and self governing as he seemed to be. As an independent programmer found out, the iPhone’s firmware contain an interesting piece of code that has a function of examination downloaded software in order to reveal some “undesired” apps. The best part about it is that unwanted software might be disabled remotely or even removed from the iPhone. The apps were Weather.app and Stock. That is pretty convenient. The region you requested for weather – that is your current location, the stocks you are interested in – the companies that are popular and perspective from your point of view. Simple.

Does it make you feel a little uncomfortable and vulnerable? Well Apple seems to be fine with that. It wants her iPhones to work only with apps created by Apple itself or sold through the App Store, where Apple gets as much as 30% from the price of an app by outside developer. A good way of making money from air, nobody wants to loose that kind of income. So that is why the opportunity of disabling “undesirable” software is a good tool to protect business.

Some experts claim that it is a way to protect users from all sorts of malware and viruses. A worthy aspiration indeed. But Apple – that has become one of the most shut and no-go for the mass media companies nowadays – gave no official comments on this matter. How strange.

It should be noted that App Store has already been through a scandal recently, a scandal also concerning Apple refusing to explain users its actions. Three apps, including the notorious “I’m rich”, were removed from the App Store suddenly and tracklessly without any explanation, neither to the users nor to the developers of those apps.

Well, some might think its paranoia. But why there are so many cases where Apple seems so frightening. Where to expect further surprises? Or maybe there is no problem at all – if you chose iPhone, you have play the Apple’s game. Remember that famous ad “1984” when Apple was literally in holy war versus IBM. Apple was so much of anarchic, giving freedom. No need to say that now Apple just as corporate and imperious as other giants. Even more: it seems to become kind of totalitarian, Orwellian, autocratic.

Comments

4 Responses to “Things You Don’t Want To Know About Apple”

Redmag3 on August 15th, 2008 8:59 am

I was considering switching to mac awhile ago, but after their cheaper desktop screens, the iphone fiasco, and several other shady deals … yeah apple is just as corporate as everyone else.
RC on August 15th, 2008 8:59 am

Newton never showed up? Tell that to all the people who owned one.

Besides that, the iPhone is basically the new Newton
Connor on August 16th, 2008 4:55 am

This is outrageous. Have a look at Microsoft before criticising Apple. Apple are the best computer company for not being a “big brother” figure.
eydryan on August 16th, 2008 5:05 am

Well, this is from a company who tells people to “think different”. Someone missed 8th grade grammar…

apple is a corporation bent on the mindset of making people do what they want them to do and locking them in that position.