Today’s continuing testimony in the iTunes antitrust lawsuit has revealed that the company added changes to iTunes that deleted music that had been purchased through competing stores like Real Player from iPods. Users would not be notified that any music would be deleted by updating their music players.
The deletions allegedly occurred between 2007 and 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. Whenever a user tried to sync an iPod with iTunes, it would check for music from other sources. If any was detected, iTunes would error out until users restored their iPods to factory settings. All music would be deleted during the process, and the iTunes application wouldn’t sync back music from outside libraries.
Apple claims that these measures were intended as a security measure to protect the user and device. Furthermore, Apple’s lawyers stress that while such security measures did exist, the plaintiffs have yet to produce a single case of music being lost. Security and user protection have been at the center of the company’s argument during this case, while the plaintiffs say that Apple acted in a monopolistic manner and violated antitrust laws.
Yesterday the jury saw a videotaped deposition of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and saw emails between Apple executives regarding the decision to block Real Networks’ media from its music players. Phil Schiller and Eddy Cue are still expected to testify.
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Apple had a malware attack last month. IPhone 6 copied some other phone. This happened. But The Verge would dare not to write about it. I hate The Verge so much lately.
The Verge and it’s moderators are a bunch of biased tools.
That’s why I lefted Apple. They just want your money. They make huge profit out of all there devices plus they lock you in so you only buy content from them. By targeting high end market, professionals and hollywood they insure that they stay profitable and popular.
What I don’t understand is why doesn’t Apple make iTunes available for other platforms besides Windows? Why not make it available for Android too? The way I see it, the more devices you have that can purchase your software, the more money you make. Unless Apple fears people will stop buying iphones because they can purchase itunes music from Android..
Well Apple has the Monopoly, If I want certain songs (legally) then I am forced to use Itunes or wait until exclusivity ends. If I want to run certain apps I need to purchase a Mac. For people to be “popular” you have to have an iphone or galaxy phone.
Good job Apple! You are on your way to being a trillion dollar company!
Instead of whining like a bitch with misinformed opinion, why don’t you buy Apple stock and be profitable when they’re profitable?
When Apple becomes a THREE trillion dollar company I’ll be cheering from the rooftops. Wooooo! GO Apple GO! Bring home those dollars!
Couldn’t agree more… I’m reading comments that Apple is ripping people off and ONLY want you to purchase from them. LMAO and so does Google with there play store and there Nexus devices and Amazon with there Kindle devices. It craziness from Americans.
Yes but with android devices you have choice between google play store, amazon app store, and whatever other third party you can find or apks online.
Same with music, I have alot more stores to buy from than one. Google play, amazon, 7 digital, etc.
I completely agree. Put your big boy pants on and look at the world around you. I can buy music, movies, and books on Amazon and sync them to my iPhone right now. I’m amazed at how incorrect all of your statements are.
Sync them! You cannot buy it without a computer? Sure, I can buy iTunes music on my pc or Mac and sync it to my phone but I can’t do it natively.
Whiner apparently liked to whine. You’re complaining about a problem that doesn’t exist.
And so does Google Play Store, Amazon Music, etc. etc. so your argument is irrelevant. I guess Google doesn’t make any money from nexus devices and from music, video, book sales right?
So defenseful of Apple already? If you had a brain, you’ll notice that he means that Google and Amazon does not act so anti-competitive like Apple is doing. Google doesn’t care if you use iTunes or Amazon Music, but Apple would, cause they don’t want competition. That is what he means by “they just want your money.” They don’t want you buying stuff from outside their regions. End of story.
Instead of coming onto a Website, seeing a “Apple May of Done Something Wrong” and commenting without reading the article, read the article instead and try focusing on what it’s about, not what others may or may not have done. The argument may not be relevant now, but it was THEN. To make it easier to understand look at it as if it is Apple who have been wronged.
Say you purchased a lot of music on iTunes which was compatible with your current MP3 player so it contained all of your iTunes tracks. The MP3 player decided to update the software but didn’t tell you that when you updated it would no longer let you play your music purchased from iTunes. In fact, in order to get it to update at all you had to basically restore the MP3 player to it’s factory defaults. Then, when it was updated the only option you discovered that your MP3 player no longer played iTunes music, and you had was to either go out and buy a new MP3 to play your iTunes music, or purchase all of your music again for the new MP3 player.
Do you think that is right? Probably not. Yet isn’t it incredible that when you replace MP3 player with “iPod”, and iTunes with “A.N.Other Music Store”, it magically becomes completely acceptable.
@Pooka-kun: Apple doesn’t care either; nothing stopping you from purchasing music from other sources such as Amazon, Play Store or one of the many independent audiophile stores out there – as long as the music is DRM free there is nothing stopping you from loading it. If Real wanted to sell music then they could have offered DRM free music for download – but they didn’t, they tried to implement FairPlay themselves rather than push for DRM free music like what Steve Jobs wanted (if they all teamed up they could have achieved it sooner) but the various outlets were more concerned about hating Apple than realising the common enemy of DRM and the music industry’s unwillingness to adapt.
Kawaii, obviously they did or this wouldn’t be going through the court system. You really can’t be serious?
@AuntyTroll your entire premise is constructed on a complete misrepresentation. Please stop trying to re-write history. These people, if wronged by anyone, were wronged by RealNetworks. This whole saga played out for months in those days, before Harmony was produced and after the exploit it used was closed.
Now, some of the 14-24 year-olds that frequent this website might not be fully informed of this ancient history, but some of us “grown folk” were around at the time and remember all of this vividly.
it doesn’t matter tho, confirmation bias will always find a way for the ABA crowd to vilify Apple. In this case tho, realNetworks were the ones that screwed their customers and then didn’t want to refund them, but instead blame-shifted to AAPL as if it were a social cause, as opposed to what it really was, a hail-mary to try to make their failed-from-the-start music biz a success.
People don’t remember…in those heady days *everyone* had a music store and some sort of player, or affiliated players (PlaysForSure, anyone? Sony Connect? No? No one remembers these things?) and in the end the iPod beat them all out. Most were doomed from the start.
But many people think “the world” began in 2010 with the G1 :) Some of us were around before then ;)
Albert: you are full of crap. The DRM was required BY RECORD COMPANIES, of *everyone* selling licensed music at the time…and none of it was interoperable. None. Of. It. Were you even…around then? And when they were no longer contractually obligated to sell DRM’d music…what happened, Albert? Can ya still buy DRM’d music from Apple that only works on Apple Devices? isn’t it…weird…that *no one* sells DRM-encumbered music anymore that is provided by the major labels…now that they are no longer required to? It must be a conspiracy or something…
@AuntyTroll additionally, on THE DAY RealNetworks made their Harmony announcement and it was confirmed, waaaayyyy back in 2004, Apple stated the following in a press release that was WIDELY covered, because it was news, at the time:
“We are stunned that RealNetworks has adopted the tactics and ethics of a hacker to break into the iPod(R), and we are investigating the implications of their actions under the DMCA and other laws. We strongly caution Real and their customers that when we update our iPod software from time to time it is highly likely that Real’s Harmony technology will cease to work with current and future iPods.”
So…instead of coming onto a website, seeing an “Apple May have Done Something Wrong” and commenting without actually knowing or bothering to learn the facts of the matter, learn the facts of the matter before trying to correct others or positing analogies that show a clear lack of understanding of the reality THEN when it actually happened.
-K
“They just want your money.” Um, you just described every single business in the free world.
Yeah, he thinks that because Google Maps and Gmail is free that he’s not paying for it in other ways. Google works for free, everyone there is an unpaid volunteer, LOL.
It’s a child’s vision of the world.
Google takes your info and sells it to other companies, they also use it for advertisement. That is how they get your money.
Mmm…but he has a point. The reason why Apple put iTunes in Windows is because, at the time, Apple’s platform wasn’t big enough at the time to reach a mass of people. Now it is, so they don’t care about puttin their stuff on other platforms.
But I think companies like Amazon are smart to put their services on every platform. Even Microsoft is doing it. This allows users to not be locked into a platform when using their services. That’s a good thing.
Please tell me you are smarter then this Pat?! Your ignorance is amazing and I if you are being serious I am not quite sure how you make it through life, at least successfully anyway! If you didn’t like it you didn’t have to buy an iPod, you could go by a Creative Zen or a dozen other devices. iIf you were to start a business would you target the low end of the market or the high end?? Don’t worry this isn’t a trick question, just smart business. Apple at this time was still rebuilding so YES they targeted the high end of the market b/c they could successfully which is a business model no other company has been successful with.
Tunes for Windows, again you have to be joking, I can’t believe you are really this dumb. There is no logical reason iTunes should be available on Android, if you said Linux then maybe you would of sounded at least partially intelligent. Do you also complain that I can’t play my Nintendo games on my Xbox or download Playstation store and media games on my Nintendo??? Good grief!
Ugh I really gotta proof read before I hit submit! The tunes for windows in the second paragraph is meant to read “iTunes for Android”
So why doesn’t iTunes on android make sense? Would apple not make money by expanding the devices that can buy there services?
Look at Google, they have almost all of there services for iOS and I think stats show they make more money off of iOS than there own platform.
Also Microsoft is developing apps for android and iOS too not just windows phone.
Apple is the only one who wants you to buy there products or else you can’t use there services. I wonder what would happen if they took iTunes away from windows… People wouldn’t be that happy…
Also why is there no iTunes for Linux (desktop)?
To me, the more people you have using your service, the more money you get. So why limit yourself? I think Steve wozniak even wanted apple to make iTunes for android and build an android phone.
Linux = <1% of market share. The cost to implement far outweighs the financial reward for doing so, in my opinion. As far as Apple not coding for other platforms, they do. They have iTunes for Windows. What you may not understand is that Apple is a HARDWARE company first and foremost. Microsoft has and will always be a SOFTWARE company. For survival, MS must build for multiple platforms.
And finally, the word you were looking for in your post above was 'THEIR'.
There is no reason for Itunes to be on Android? Other then over 1 billion users and 85 percent market-share? No, NO reason at all. And you call Pat unintelligent? May want to look in that mirror.
Patstar:
Its basic marketing. One of the big draws of iPhones over Android phones is iTunes. Even though the market gap between them is massive, some Android users will move over to an iPhone for that reason. If iTunes was released on Android then those people who would of made the switch wouldn’t end up moving.
Users will move to Apple for iTunes? LOL
But that’s because Apple makes money off products, that’s what they do. Google doesn’t have to lock you in because they don’t make money off selling you anything. Google turns YOU into the PRODUCT. Don’t you understand what Google does? To Apple, you are the customer. To Google, you are the product. Google makes at least 90% of their revenue through internet advertising, which is fueled by selling targeted advertising to other companies. Your information and click habits are the product, basically making you the product. So it’s easy for Google to pretend they are all noble by being so open, that’s because they don’t make money off of things, but instead off of your eyeballs.
Apple’s model is far less shady. But that being said, this activity from many years ago was bad and monopolisitic and they are now having to deal with that. What you don’t think Google acts like this? LOL. Just look at what’s going on in the EU with Google. Google consistently pushes services they favor to the top of the search list, blocking competition, and the EU is cracking down on that monopolistic behavior.
Please, don’t act like one massive corporation is better or more honorable than another. They are all the same, just in different ways, and all do what is best for their bottom line and shareholders.
Blah blah….
“Please, don’t act like one massive corporation is better or more honorable than another.” – Ironic as you defend Apple like a good little sheep.
Apple is one of the worst in the world for keeping all your cash and exploiting everyone along the line financially with excessive Tax Avoidance, up to$100BN offshore cash being kept to avoid paying fairly back “Guardian” newspaper has info on this for you. Just one example from Listeverse – signs-apple-is-being-run-by-supervillains : http://listverse.com/2013/05/23/9-signs-apple-is-being-run-by-supervillains/#.VHA9Vw0_pjQ.facebook
They halting so many from success, exploiting along the way in many ways not only with your music, and money.
I don’t see why everyone is so defensive for Apple for just having no regard for any customer or person on this planet or cause other than its own bank account. Its a company that is not defending you in any way ever its doing the opposite so why not just quietly use the products and be happy with your choice at the least, please don’t defend without knowledge of when someone with so much power and responsibly does slimey stuff with your own belongings/contents. I know no once cares about the environment or global poverty or being ripped off but there are just a few contributions that could be made and would ease some real universal problems; if they did pay full rate for all of the tax earned by the money made out of lawsuits like the RealPlayer and DRM discrepancies. Its not fair to only be able to use content available from one company; slowly only available on its own products; surely pushing out competition to create a monopoly of every technology protocol ever available on every platform (which is what they want). I use OSX, IOS, Android and Linux and love the choice, workarounds, fallback and the challenge of having them all work (together) = stability. It just wouldn’t work for me to only have one choice – but if there was only one choice it would “have to be” Apple for having the monopoly over most angles. This would be far from ideal for what technology I need and want. I defiantly wouldn’t feel privileged to give money for service and product with no choice!
Good gods. I had this happen to me, and I forced Apple to replace my iPod Classic SIX times! I thought I was going insane and I finally stopped using the iPod because it kept happening on different computers, different OSes. Augh.
That’s nothing compared to the root kit that Sony’s ATRACS OS installed on the computers of the users of their media players like the NetMD. It was built for them by a UK software company, and was discovered in the early 2000s by security professional Mark Russinovitch, an investigative masterpiece that earned him a job at Microsoft as Head of Security!
And yes, I was a victim of the (F-Secure) rootkit, which arbitrarily erased and reformatted any MiniDisc that was found to contain .mp3 files which back in those days was regarded as the mortal enemy of the Music and Media Content industries and a tool for pirates and hackers!
But yet…iPods never had a restriction on mp3 audio.
I really hate this revisionist crap. As I was…actually around then, let me remind people of what *actually* happened:
Apple was required to use DRM on the iTunes store by record companies…remember, at the time, the “enemy” was Napster.
Apple however *also* allowed people to “Rip. Mix. Burn” (heheh…burn…The Olden Days)…something their music industry buddies were *furious* about, because the “ripping” part made non-protected digital files.
Anyway, to try to…control…the situation, MS and RealNetworks were also granted licenses to sell. They too had *their own DRM schemes*…and NONE of them were interoperable…by design.
So, Real, who was having trouble selling players that worked with their DRM scheme, developed “Harmony” – software that exploited a security hole in the old version of FairPlay, that allowed them to (re)wrap their music files with Apple’s DRM with neither permission nor license.
Apple closed the hole. In doing so, files with *not-exactly-correct* Harmony-ized DRM were removed from the devices (the failed the new crypto checks that could not be forged). Files with proper FairPlay, even the old one that was rev-engineered, still worked.
RealNetworks then went nuts and started screaming in the press about unfairness. When it came to light *how* the pulled it off, their support kind of fell off, Apple then PR’d them into a dark place and this lawsuit has been brewing in the years since.
A former co-worker of mine was on the team that fixed FairPlay (so much so that he had an older iPhone he kept around for years because he knew how secure the replacement was, heheh) so you can blame him and his cohort for fixing a security hole. Because that, at the end of the day, is what actually happened and all of the courtroom drama is trying to mask this.
Me too, though only twice!! I was so mad I finally just asked for a refund and waited till next years came out. The faux (mini) Apple store in Comp USA where I bought it was very nice though, they gave me a refund and a $100 GC to buy a future iPod.
But at the same time you did realise that you were purchasing music off a third party using an implementation of FairPlay using a reversed engineered information so I would have thought that you knew that there were risks associated with purchasing said music.
What’s even more telling is *at the time*….waaaaaay back in *2004* (that’s how “ancient” this is) Apple literally WARNED USERS UPFRONT of this likely outcome…from Apple’s press release *at the announcement of Harmony’s shenanigans:*
“We are stunned that RealNetworks has adopted the tactics and ethics of a hacker to break into the iPod(R), and we are investigating the implications of their actions under the DMCA and other laws. We strongly caution Real and their customers that when we update our iPod software from time to time it is highly likely that Real’s Harmony technology will cease to work with current and future iPods.”
Soooo…yeah. There’s that. Add to the fact that this came about because Apple said “no thank you” to Real’s…offer…to get in thru the “front door”. This was all big news…forever ago and it is funny how, in a world where this is easily still able to be learned about people are acting like there was some great wrong done here by anyone but RealNetworks.
you don’t need to leave apple behind, they do extraordinary things, but there is ways to manage what they offer. i have iPod since 2002, is almost full with more than 25000 songs, and i never bought one, nor from Apple, nor from any other digital form, music for me means i have the source in the best quality that the market can offer, music for me means buying a CD or a Vinyl, then i rip them on my iPod, i live hapier since then
Every time I read a seriously bent misrepresentation on 9to5 Mike, your face is there. Not long ago, 9to5 was solid news, reviews and information, often with better detail than MacNN and others. Not with you, though, Mike. That you are allowed to continue to post by the editorial staff says enough about them too.
iPods loaded music via cable connected to computer running iTunes. That was the deal. When somebody uses a circumvention method to put unsupported files using an unapproved mechanism, they are not only violating the terms of use (and the store that encouraged it/created it is violating their agreement with the content provider in many cases), probably voiding their warranty, and being really stupid (they could have bought a RealPlayer device to play their RealPlayer files on, instead of buying a CD player and blaming everyone else that their LP doesn’t work in it), but they have no right to promote that illegal behavior to users or right to expect that the result will do what they want. The retardedness of the presumption here that Apple had a responsibility to provide support for or allow the playback of media or use of features they did not advertise the product as supporting or otherwise suggest in any way would be supported is too severe to not be a deliberate muckraking on your part. Which means you’re slime, Mike. Entirely out to BS the people who don’t pay attention, and give something for other uninformed cretins to point to as a published fact.
Taking 9to5 out of my daily bookmarks, and will visit every two weeks. If your editorial supervisor doesn’t drop you off a tall building in a few months resulting in a return to more useful and balanced coverage, then after I tell everyone else why you’re a waste of space, it will just be forgotten. Then, you can go back to writing reviews saying how this latest Android phone is truly, really, hardly any lag just as good (almost) as an iPhone, honest this time. Buttery smooth. Open. Like Goatse. Like you.
Cry some more, Apple doesn’t need you to defend them. And deleting purchased music from a device you have bought outright and OWN, that is slimey and you defending it, even more so.
No…*selling* music wrapped in faked credentials and sideloaded onto the device via/due to an exploit and not refunding your customers when the whole is plugged rendering those files unusable on the aforementioned device…THAT’S slimey, sir, and you sidestepping it, even more so.
Don’t get it twisted. The entity that screwed customers was RealNetworks via “Harmony” and no one else.
don’t expose bad things Apple does, these pansies will forgive Apple for anything
To play devil’s advocate, Apple never said you could use non-iTunes music on the iPod. Should I sue BMW if I put diesel in my non-diesel car and the engine goes to shit? Apple provides end-to-end solutions and products, and never did it claim you could or should use other sourced music on their device. If you wanted to do that, don’t buy an iPod.
It’s not forgiveness, it’s just being a rational intelligent person. It’s their product, why can’t they make it only work with their music source? Why? That can only really be a monopoly if there are no other MP3 music sources and no other MP3 music players.
Personally, I think where Apple is guilty is in not clearly disclosing these facts. I think Steve Jobs, while a great visionary and amazing businessman, was shady in many ways and Tim Cook is much less so. I think today’s Apple is far more open and transparent than the Apple of 10 years ago.
You are using an incorrect analogy here with diesel and non-diesel. A correct one would be this: Imagine if Shell sells you a car, but it specifies that you can only buy gas from only its gas stations and no other competitors? That is anti-competitive.
You cannot sell a device and call it an mp3 player (mp3 is a standard) and then restrict people from buying that standard from anyone they wish. These laws exist for a reason guys, its to benefit us as consumers. Choice always drives prices down and its better for the consumer.
Weird thing is though, if you bought an mp3 frmo anywhere else or even ripped it yourself, couldnt you just easily manually copy the mp3 to itunes? it wont be blocked this way, so i dont see how they are being anti-competitive.
The issue apple had however is if the real networks app actually used some sort of hack that compromised security to access the ipod and upload music. Then apple has a case that Real Networks compromised there security.
I know it was a bad example, it was a quick knee-jerk point, my only point was that there still is choice and people don’t have to buy the iPod or the Shell car which is only powered by Shell gas. You can buy a Ford and that’s how the market works, people vote with their dollar.
And I do agree it’s a shady practice, but Apple hasn’t done this in a long time. I can have non iTunes purchased MP3’s on my iDevice, no problem. In fact, most of my music is from other sources which I simply imported into iTunes. I don’t think forcing people to use iTunes is a problem, since that’s the interface software. But back when they did delete non iTunes songs, that is shady without clearly explaining that at purchase time. I still don’t see anything anti-competitive about a device made by one company only running content from that company as long as both competing devices and content are available, like in the Shell car example. People don’t have to buy the Shell car since there are plenty of other choices out there.
The court will decide in the end.
Chanuka, iPods did not remove mp3s. Your understanding is broken. They removed hack m4p files that failed the crypto checks put into place by FairPlay2 and beyond. This is all WELL DOCUMENTED in the annals of Internet History…and the whole saga is well-known.
Why people are trying to revise history like this has anything to do with today’s world or market in any way is a mystery to me. Well, it isn’t…the ABA crowd latches onto anything…even if they don’t understand it.
So that’s why my Generation 1 iPod used to have those issues from time to time?? Because I had two audio books from Real?
Aw man… that sucks..
More Apple dirty laundry.
I hope it gets taken to the cleaners.
I wonder how upset you are about Samsung’s dirty laundry, or Google’s? Nah, that’s not your style, being unbiased and all…
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/tax-evasion-bribery-and-pricefixing-how-samsung-became-the-giant-that-ate-korea-8510588.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4451fa80-c120-11e3-8578-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Kx3D6ejF
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/23/google-european-union-anti-trust-case
” unbiased and all…”
Oh the irony…
Reason # 465,468,878,745 I would never purchase an Apple product…
So why would someone like you be on this site?? I can’t figure the mental illness Apple-haters have. I rarely visit 9to5Google (I’ve owned several Android phones so still interested), but I’m not an irrational hater.
Google is in big trouble in the EU for anti-trust right now, yet that doesn’t make me go over there and rant about it. Samsung has a history of corruption yet I don’t go over there and rant about it. What’s the problem with you Apple-haters, why are you guys so obsessed with Apple that you feel the need to come here to post your $0.02?? Just looking for more ammunition to push your hate? That’s a sad life bro. If people who love Apple are so deluded and lost, are you just trying to save us? Is that why? You and herb are doing a terrible job of saving us, instead of mocking you should be advertising the benefits of switching. So it can’t be that either. I just can’t figure it out…
” That’s a sad life bro. ”
Says an Apple defending sheep.
Yet you still seem to be waiting for reason #1 to avoid commenting on Apple-related websites.
Haha, perfect..
I love how only when it’s Apple do these folks suddenly care so much about the morals and ethics of the company in question, yet the company they support never got any scrutiny. They’d be left without any electronics if they did this judgement unbiasedly. Google and Samsung and almost every single huge corporation has many questionable ethics in their histories and many lawsuits all the time, but some only focus on Apple to justify their strange hate of a company no one forces them to buy anything from.
Heh. if not still, you were likely a child when this all occured. And the actual people that should be on trial are *RealNetworks* for selling people shoddy goods. Think about it: they sold…SOLD…people music files that had fake wrappers around them so that they could be sideloaded onto iPods via an exploit. This was a supposedly *legitimate business* that sold, again, sold these files to their customers.
The “damages” occurred literally because Apple fixed the security hole in the original version of FairPlay that RealPlayer exploited…and when approached by customers whose music *would not work anymore* refused to refund them…instead, they attempted to steer them towards buying different hardware.
That’s what actually happened. I was there and this is all very well documented. There is no Evil Apple here. You could play all the mp3s ya wanted. Before and after the iTMS (as it was once known as). There is literally no defense of the other position rationally whatsoever unless one is being completely disingenuous.
Apple is one of the worst in the world for keeping all your cash and exploiting everyone along the line financially with excessive Tax Avoidance, up to $100BN offshore cash being kept to avoid paying fairly back “Guardian” newspaper has info on this for you. Just one example from Listeverse Signs Apple is Being Run by Supervillains. (http://listverse.com/2013/05/23/9-signs-apple-is-being-run-by-supervillains/#.VHA9Vw0_pjQ.facebook/)
They go on halting so many from success, exploiting along the way in many ways not only with your music, and money.
I don’t see why everyone is so defensive for Apple for just having no regard for any customer or person on this planet or cause other than its own bank account. Its a company that is not defending you in any way ever its doing the opposite so why not just quietly use the products and be happy with your choice at the least, please don’t defend without knowledge of when someone with so much power and responsibly does slimey stuff with your own belongings/contents.
I know no once cares about the environment or global poverty or being ripped off but there are just a few contributions that could be made and would ease some real universal problems; if they did pay full rate for all of the tax earned by the money made out of lawsuits like the RealPlayer and DRM discrepancies.
Its not fair to only be able to use content available from one company; slowly only available on its own products; surely pushing out competition to create a monopoly reducing every technology protocol ever available on every platform and then to charge you a locking in fee/subscription to make sure THEY OWN your life(style) – which is what they want.
I use do OSX, IOS, Android and Linux and love the choice, workarounds, fallback and the challenge of having them all work (together) = stability. It just wouldn’t work for me to only have one choice – but if there was only one choice it would “have to be” Apple for having the monopoly over most angles. This would be far from ideal for what technology I need and want. I defiantly wouldn’t feel privileged to give money for service and product with no choice!