Apple... is it going rotten..?

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Discussion

Podie

Original Poster:

46,630 posts

275 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Firstly the "Apple death grip" incident with the new iP4, and now seemingly iTunes has been hacked and people have lost money. The bit that amused me was this...

article said:
Apple, which told users to ask their banks for refunds. ‘You should also change your iTunes password,’ said a spokesman.
[url]Source|http://www.metro.co.uk/news/834270-computer-hacker-bites-apple-with-another-attack-on-itunes[url]

Is the Apple going rotten..?

rsv gone!

11,288 posts

241 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Despite their (considerable) hype, they are no different to Microsoft.

In fact, their hardware is more restrictive. You can't play the formats you want (You need to tediously convert movie files). itunes is a clunky piece of software but I have to tolerate it because I like my ipod and at the time of buying my car stereo (2005) it was the only player supported by the likes of Alpine. And it's lack of bluetooth is annoying - do iphones have bluetooth now?

I don't know! They seem to have a fair contempt for their end users.

And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?



Edited by rsv gone! on Wednesday 7th July 09:14

lestag

4,614 posts

276 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Apart from the hacking issue the basic fault here is is the user storing their credit card details on the website...numpties..(hmmm... better check my paypal account....)

plasticpig

12,932 posts

225 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
There have been concerns raised recently over the AppStore. Firstly in the delays encountered by App developers in getting their Apps approved by Apple: http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/12/mogs-music-stream...

The DOJ is currently in the initial stage of investigating Apple for unfair trade practices over Itunes and the appstore.

If Microsoft attempted to control the applications that could be used on it's platforms there would be general outrage. Apple appear to have gotten away with it so far. It really does smack of control freakery on Apples part.





LordGrover

33,545 posts

212 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
rsv gone! said:
And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?
Not in all quarters. Well definitely not here anyway. wink

Podie

Original Poster:

46,630 posts

275 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
rsv gone! said:
And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?
I don't know. General anti-MS banter?

Given Apple nearly went under, it's a little strange.

plasticpig

12,932 posts

225 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
rsv gone! said:
Despite their (considerable) hype, they are no different to Microsoft.

In fact, their hardware is more restrictive. You can't play the formats you want (You need to tediously convert movie files). itunes is a clunky piece of software but I have to tolerate it because I like my ipod and at the time of buying my car stereo (2005) it was the only player supported by the likes of Alpine. And it's lack of bluetooth is annoying - do iphones have bluetooth now?

I don't know! They seem to have a fair contempt for their end users.

And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?



Edited by rsv gone! on Wednesday 7th July 09:14
They are worse than Microsoft. Microsoft do not force developers to use their development tools. Apple do this for the Iphone and Ipad. Microsoft do not attempt to control the distribution of applications for their platforms. Apple do for the Iphone and Ipad.


Original Poster

5,429 posts

176 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
plasticpig said:
rsv gone! said:
Despite their (considerable) hype, they are no different to Microsoft.

In fact, their hardware is more restrictive. You can't play the formats you want (You need to tediously convert movie files). itunes is a clunky piece of software but I have to tolerate it because I like my ipod and at the time of buying my car stereo (2005) it was the only player supported by the likes of Alpine. And it's lack of bluetooth is annoying - do iphones have bluetooth now?

I don't know! They seem to have a fair contempt for their end users.

And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?



Edited by rsv gone! on Wednesday 7th July 09:14
They are worse than Microsoft. Microsoft do not force developers to use their development tools. Apple do this for the Iphone and Ipad. Microsoft do not attempt to control the distribution of applications for their platforms. Apple do for the Iphone and Ipad.
And why is that necessarily a bad thing?

Podie

Original Poster:

46,630 posts

275 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Original Poster said:
And why is that necessarily a bad thing?
Jailbreaking has shown that the devices are clearly capable of more than Apple will allow you to do... and given the cost of them, that seems a bit... crap.

It does however help to keep out the sheer levels of absolute dross that you find on Android market...

Apple also protect certain features... e.g. Bluetooth, Location settings etc... it'd be really handy to launch an app and it automatically turn it on/off, rather than having to go through settings. Android had a great app called "useful switchers" where you could turn items like these (and 3G) on or off very quickly... with the iPhone, you have to go through the Settings menu...

Edited by Podie on Wednesday 7th July 09:54

off_again

12,316 posts

234 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Mmmm, problems with Apple? The media have been saying this for years and yet they seems to shrug it all off. I dont deny that its just a company and they do make mistakes, but there does need to be a correction in their valuation / stock price.

That said, iPhone 4 is a good phone and contrary to most of the online comments, its NOT all bad. Its very easy for users on the internet to whip up a frenzy of negativity. And for iTunes getting hacked? Errr, this is news? Come on, its NOT news. iTunes has been a commonly used mechanism to launder money for years - its well known. Big money flows through that system so its to be expected that this will happen. Of course, its been identified and sorted.

Typical lazy media reporting and lack of detail as usual. Now, lets understand more about the practices of Apple with tying up media suppliers to iTunes? Exclusive contracts? Unfair contracts? Feud with Adobe? The list goes on.... but what do we see? iTunes get hacked (again) and the iPhone 4 loses bars for the signal when you pick it up. Great, missing the real story here!

beckerman

500 posts

284 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Podie said:
rsv gone! said:
And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?
I don't know. General anti-MS banter?

Given Apple nearly went under, it's a little strange.
IIRC Apple nearly went under in the period after Jobs was ousted by the board. He turned the company around when asked back as interim CEO in the late 1990s and masterminded the introduction of the original iMac, which kick-started the turnaround. Like him or loathe him, he seems to be able to drive the business pretty well.

plasticpig

12,932 posts

225 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Original Poster said:
plasticpig said:
rsv gone! said:
Despite their (considerable) hype, they are no different to Microsoft.

In fact, their hardware is more restrictive. You can't play the formats you want (You need to tediously convert movie files). itunes is a clunky piece of software but I have to tolerate it because I like my ipod and at the time of buying my car stereo (2005) it was the only player supported by the likes of Alpine. And it's lack of bluetooth is annoying - do iphones have bluetooth now?

I don't know! They seem to have a fair contempt for their end users.

And how did Steve Jobs attain his near angelical status?



Edited by rsv gone! on Wednesday 7th July 09:14
They are worse than Microsoft. Microsoft do not force developers to use their development tools. Apple do this for the Iphone and Ipad. Microsoft do not attempt to control the distribution of applications for their platforms. Apple do for the Iphone and Ipad.
And why is that necessarily a bad thing?
It's anti competitive for a start. I can't develop a custom application for one of my clients on the Ipad because I would have to release it through the appstore and have it approved by Apple. Even though it will only ever be used on 20-30 devices and is specific to the client. I do not have this problem if I use a tablet PC running Windows or Linux.

This is not an theoretical situation by the way; it is a current project. The client really wanted to use Ipads. They will probably be using windows tablets instead.












Edited by plasticpig on Wednesday 7th July 10:12

tinman0

18,231 posts

240 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Podie said:
article said:
Apple, which told users to ask their banks for refunds. ‘You should also change your iTunes password,’ said a spokesman.
There is a very good reason for this.

If Apple refunds the money through their merchant, the customer can still ask for a refund through their bank, and the two transactions will not meet. What results is that Apple have money frozen by their credit card merchant, despite the fact that they issued a refund.

Apple then have to show that they refunded the money, and then, after people screw around for a bit, Apple get their money unfrozen.

Hence Apple asking people to pull the money back from their bank in the first place.

We had this years ago with people paying for a website with a stolen card number. We would refund the money (these guys were always obvious), and two weeks later there would be a chargeback. People are able to see a payment made on their credit card statement, but unable to see where it gets refunded back.

I would be very surprised that there wasn't a small team at Apple working on this right now to identify the defrauded customers and contact them directly, as its what any responsible company would do.

tinman0

18,231 posts

240 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
plasticpig said:
They are worse than Microsoft. Microsoft do not force developers to use their development tools. Apple do this for the Iphone and Ipad. Microsoft do not attempt to control the distribution of applications for their platforms. Apple do for the Iphone and Ipad.
They are nothing like Microsoft. Microsoft have been prosecuted under Anti-Trust Laws because they were so bad. And Google are getting threatened with it at the moment, and Google are even finding itself on the end of several criminal charges with the wifi payload thing.

There may be an investigation of Apple, but it is nowhere near Anti Trust at the moment. The difference between the PC and Apple in general is that Apple is a closed system from the start. The PC was built from the cumulative effort of many companies, where as Apple is business is solely built by themselves. The iPad has a single manufacturer, Apple.

To say that Apple is closed is correct. To say it is anti-competitive is not strictly true.

jamieboy

5,911 posts

229 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
tinman0 said:
plasticpig said:
They are worse than Microsoft. Microsoft do not force developers to use their development tools. Apple do this for the Iphone and Ipad. Microsoft do not attempt to control the distribution of applications for their platforms. Apple do for the Iphone and Ipad.
They are nothing like Microsoft. Microsoft have been prosecuted under Anti-Trust Laws because they were so bad. And Google are getting threatened with it at the moment, and Google are even finding itself on the end of several criminal charges with the wifi payload thing.

There may be an investigation of Apple, but it is nowhere near Anti Trust at the moment. The difference between the PC and Apple in general is that Apple is a closed system from the start. The PC was built from the cumulative effort of many companies, where as Apple is business is solely built by themselves. The iPad has a single manufacturer, Apple.
Is there a confusion in your post between "PC" which is pretty much an open standard as you describe, and "Windows" which is an OS made by a single manufacturer, Microsoft?

threesixty

2,068 posts

203 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Podie said:
Firstly the "Apple death grip" incident with the new iP4, and now seemingly iTunes has been hacked and people have lost money. The bit that amused me was this...

article said:
Apple, which told users to ask their banks for refunds. ‘You should also change your iTunes password,’ said a spokesman.
[url]Source|http://www.metro.co.uk/news/834270-computer-hacker-bites-apple-with-another-attack-on-itunes[url]

Is the Apple going rotten..?
I think its mainly an Iphone problem, the original iphone was designed as a lower volume premium product. The new one whilst being technically superior is being sold in much higher volumes at lower prices,so more issues are inevitable. Itunes is now a much bigger beast than when I bought my first iphone.

Im sticking with my 3gs for now.


mel

10,168 posts

275 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
I was just about to post something slong the lines of "how long till we start seeing iPhone virus' and the need to start buying 3rd party virus software" I thought I'd better google iPhone virus just incase it had happened and I didn't know about it and.....Oh dear. A victim of it's own success.

TuxRacer

13,812 posts

191 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
plasticpig said:
They are worse than Microsoft. Microsoft do not force developers to use their development tools. Apple do this for the Iphone and Ipad. Microsoft do not attempt to control the distribution of applications for their platforms. Apple do for the Iphone and Ipad.
I strongly disagree, Java and Internet Explorer spring to mind as two prime examples.

They're both pretty terrible.

TuxRacer

13,812 posts

191 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
(Apple and Microsoft I mean, not Java and IE, well IE is... you get the idea).

Tonsko

6,299 posts

215 months

Wednesday 7th July 2010
quotequote all
Regarding the itunes accounts being hacked - I think hacked is a bit strong.

"Having crap passwords" is more accurate.