Bad news for Apple

[Crow]

You can't say that there are good moments to lose money but you can say this is the worst moment.

With Samsung and LG selling more phones, no new gadget in the near future and shareholders very disappointed  Apple could enter a down spiral

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ebooks-antitrust-lawsuit-Tim-Cook-Justice-Department,news-16845.html#xtor=RSS-998

[Rudge]

You know what Apple should do?

They should release a version of their OS that will run on good old regular IBM compatible PC's and offer it to vendors as an option to winders8.   

That would steal the show for them !!!        

[Crow]

You know what Apple should do?

They should release a version of their OS that will run on good old regular IBM compatible PC's and offer it to vendors as an option to winders8.   

That would steal the show for them !!!        

But...  what is a "regular IBM compatible PC?  Apple manages a very limited hardware pool, to enter that other market they would need lots of drivers, time for testing and people willing to change their old habits and addictions.

I don't see that OS making a big entrance in the computing life of the vast majority. That majority that is not happy but that in the end accepts the new Win versions.

[Rudge]

You know what Apple should do?

They should release a version of their OS that will run on good old regular IBM compatible PC's and offer it to vendors as an option to winders8.   

That would steal the show for them !!!        

But...  what is a "regular IBM compatible PC?  Apple manages a very limited hardware pool, to enter that other market they would need lots of drivers, time for testing and people willing to change their old habits and addictions.

I don't see that OS making a big entrance in the computing life of the vast majority. That majority that is not happy but that in the end accepts the new Win versions.

Yea,, I thought about all that... It was a "conceptual" idea.

Not one that I thought was actually "achievable".   

[µT6]

"That would steal the show for them !!!"

that is a interesting idea

actually they can do it now without any major change

after the switch to intel, their x86 implementation is just the same as any other pc

they would have to make lots of drivers for it but not impossible

now, the price, if i remember correctly they charge $30 for each os, that would have to change i think

the problem would be convince people to use that crap they call osx  

[kjpetrie]

Or, to put it another way, what would be the advantage over Linux or BSD, which are already free downloads?

[µT6]

i can't find any

i can rely on linux to save the day, on osx, not going to happen

[Just17]

Nonetheless if the MAC OS was available for installation on any of my PCs I would surely try it ......  even if it was missing some drivers etc.  Most of those should be available to Apple anyway through BSD.

[menotu]

a bit more bad news for Apple

By Foo Yun Chee -  Fri Mar 22, 2013 - reuters

The European Union is looking into potential antitrust violations involving the distribution of Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads, after receiving what sources said were informal complaints from telecoms operators.

The complaints involve handset subsidies and marketing that the world's most valuable technology corporation sign-off with operators that carry its smartphones and tablets, and also includes subsidies that carriers pay to Apple, one of the three sources told Reuters on Friday.

The source insisted on anonymity because contracts with carriers are business secrets.

"Apple insists on a certain level of subsidies and marketing for the iPhone," said the source, who declined to identify the companies that had approached the Commission.

U.S. and European operators pay hefty subsidies to smartphone makers including Apple, offering customers an attractive discount on devices in exchange for tying them into lucrative two-year wireless contracts.

Historically, Apple has been able to command higher fees for its devices because of its market dominance. It also tended to tightly regulate launch prices for its devices, while rival handset makers with less market share tended to defer to operators on pricing announcements.

Since 2012, however, Samsung Electronics unseated Apple as the world's most-used smartphone brand, which industry experts say will erode the U.S. corporations' ability to negotiate the best subsidies and marketing support.

U.S. regulators are unlikely to launch their own investigation into Apple's industry practices because of a different regulatory approach, and also recognition that the company's own market clout is diminishing.

"They're one failure to innovate away, or one innovation by somebody else away, from being in a very different spot," said a U.S. telecom industry lobbyist close to both carriers and device manufacturers, but who asked not to be named due to a lack of authorization to speak to the media

"Apple is an important, powerful and innovative company but I don't think they've got the kind of market power that maybe some in Europe are alleging where it would rise to the level of running afoul of the antitrust laws," the person said..

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/22/us-eu-apple-telecoms-idUSBRE92L0F620130322?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

[Crow]

Sounds bad