Thoughts on the antitrust case?

My first reaction is that it's going to be extremely difficult to prove.

I've long been critical of Apple's walled garden and their massive markups on components like storage and RAM, but I understand their appeal and clearly so do millions of customers.

I could have bought an iPhone but I chose Android devices because that's what I prefer. Does Apple really make it that hard to move away?

@voltronic

Well, the fact is that if you have more than a single Apple device, there are synergistic effects. I can use a passkey on my phone to sign in to a web site on my Mac Mini or my iPad, just to give one example. I can remotely control my AppleTV box from any other device. If I subscribe to a streaming service, it gets added everywhere.

But that's not any different than "my iRobot mop and vacuum share a map", really.

The DoJ isn't going to win this, in my opinion.

Follow

@mcfate
I agree that just a convenience feature. I have multiple Roku devices and they all stay in sync when there's a change somewhere, because I'm signed into all of them. Like anyone would expect it to work.

@voltronic

What the DoJ seems to be claiming is that Amazon Fire sticks should be able to ""get inside" Roku devices and vice-versa, or someone's doing someone a monopoly.

It's crazy that this is essentially all about green and blue balloons in messaging and some people feeling grumpy about about the color they get.

@mcfate
The iMessage thing is quite annoying, but should have no bearing on this.

Really we should have all stopped using SMS years ago and only use open source and audited encrypted messaging apps.

@voltronic

One thing I can tell you about Apple is that they'll tell you that they're not in the "computer business", they make consumer electronics.

@mcfate
Now that sounds like something the legal staff told them to say. They've always been in the computer business. All they make are computers of various sizes and shapes.

@voltronic

We were saying it thirty-odd years ago, though. It's not a legal thing, it's a "how do you think about the products you make" thing.

@voltronic

Calling an iPhone a "computer" is something like calling a toaster an "energy converter". It's not wrong, but it's not right, either.

@mcfate
A modern smartphone is absolutely a computer, and I'm honestly confused by your resistance to that.

@mcfate
You could have made an argument in support of your point rather than condescending. We were having a nice conversation up until then.

@mcfate @voltronic

I'm assuming they've fixed this (maybe not tho), but moving from iPhone to droid used to wreak havoc on sms...

IRL fren switched from iPhone to droid, and everyone they knew who had an iPhone couldn't text them anymore, cuz iMessage was dev nulling all the messages to the "blue" which no longer existed

(think I'm recalling that correctly)

@opie @voltronic

iMessage ≠ SMS. Not doing this would open people to fake messages from people spoofing your number.

selfsolve.apple.com/deregister

@mcfate @voltronic

except it is for green text...

I know what iMessage is...

@opie @voltronic

Except people seem to think they're seamlessly interchangeable and they aren't.

As I said, there are security reasons for that behavior, just like there are security reasons for you needed to sign out of iCloud to transfer an iPhone to a new user.

You don't have to love them, but they're there for a reason.

@mcfate @voltronic

totes...not sayin folks aren't blissfully ignorant...but one could also argue Apple's "it just works" mantra kinda breeds that mindset in its users...

@opie @voltronic

Okay, but it DOES just work. Don't expect it to KEEP working if you change to an usupported device.

@opie @voltronic

The DoJ has made an unwise decision bringing this suit, in my estimation. We shall see.

@voltronic @mcfate

yeah...all my google stuffs do that too...that's just like...cloud service 101...

Sign in to participate in the conversation

CounterSocial is the first Social Network Platform to take a zero-tolerance stance to hostile nations, bot accounts and trolls who are weaponizing OUR social media platforms and freedoms to engage in influence operations against us. And we're here to counter it.