“A former lieutenant of Steve Jobs’s once told me something surprising about his ex-boss. ‘Steve is a monopolist at heart,’ he said. ‘He’s just like Bill Gates. He just hasn’t been as successful.’ Well, Jobs is getting there. This summer, Apple’s market capitalization surged past Google’s, making it the financial king of Silicon Valley,” Daniel “R.A.” Lyons scribbles for NewsWeek in an article titled, “One Bad Apple,” subtitled, “Apple is looking like what Microsoft was 10 years ago—a Bigfoot that squeezes smaller competitors.”
MacDailyNews Take: Microsoft is a convicted monopoly abuser. Apple is not. By the way, monopolies aren’t illegal, abusing them is what’s illegal. And market caps have absolutely nothing to do with monopolies, much less illegal monopoly abuse. But, really, what do you expect from a guy whose claim to fame is pretending to be a successful businessman? “I’m not a billionaire CEO, but I play one online.” There’s obviously a reason for that, Danny Boy.
R.A. continues, “Not long ago Apple was just a niche PC maker selling to diehard fans who were quick to forgive (or even celebrate) Apple’s quirks and foibles. But Apple is no longer an underdog. In fact, Apple has started looking like what Microsoft was 10 years ago—a company that so controls certain market segments that smaller competitors can survive only by living on its scraps or staying out of its way.”
MacDailyNews Take: We can’t wait for Lyons’ proof that “Apple is looking like what Microsoft was 10 years ago.”
R.A. continues, “A year ago a small company called Vudu was winning rave reviews for its dynamite little box that attaches to the TV and downloads movies from the Internet.”
MacDailyNews Take: Dynamite? Whom does R.A. think he is today, J.J. Evans?
R.A. continues, “Vudu had advantages over Apple TV: it had a larger catalog of movies, you could rent movies instead of buying them and you didn’t need to download the films to a PC first before watching them. In January Apple struck back, introducing a vastly expanded catalog of movie titles, which it started renting, as well as selling. And it came out with a new, cheaper version of the Apple TV box that matched most of Vudu’s features. Now Apple is selling or renting more than 50,000 movies a day, and Vudu is laying off staff.”
MacDailyNews Take: We’ll type slow for Danny Boy: It’s. Called. Competition. And it has absolutely nothing to do with – nor does it look anything like – Microsoft, the convicted monopoly abuser. Nothing. At. All.
R.A. continues, “A spokeswoman for Vudu says the company is doing fine. I will point out only that this is what Microsoft’s victims used to say, too.”
MacDailyNews Take: Sob. That’s what happens when you can’t compete. To be like Microsoft, Apple would have had to call up Vudu and threaten to “knife the baby.” Didn’t happen, did it, R.A.? Lyons’ specious argument is so ill-conceived and poorly-constructed, it should sport a Microsoft logo.
The whole laughable, illogical, ham-handed mess – Think Before You Click™ – here.
If Apple had strongarmed someone who licensed technology to Vudu to stop doing so in favor of Apple THEN it would have been Microsoftian of them. They didn’t. They upgraded their own competing player much like everyone in the tech business does.
I love it how this guy uses this one weak example of how Apple is becoming like Microsoft. It isn’t even a real reason actually.
Typical. Never let facts get in the way of good hyperbole.
The difference between Apple and Microsoft is that Apple, for the most part, has the consumer’s best interests in mind, and not their shareholders.
MDN, you guys are like Steve’s little brother. You think he can do no wrong. The story makes a lot of sense to me and I’ve been a fan since owning an Apple ][. Face it, Stevie’s a bully. Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah.
Dan Lyons has been an Apple hater for a very long time. This is nothing new. Idiot.
On MDN’s Take—Excellent.
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Dan Lyons’ “Fake Steve Jobs” blog was brilliant. His satire of Apple over the years provided more genuine insight into it than most serious journalism.
J.J Evans…lmao
@ Chris
Actually, Dan Lyons is an Apple fanboy, not a hater. His satire was satire, but always based on a genuine appreciation for what Apple has accomplished.
@Garuvy
“The story makes a lot of sense to me”
You probably think owning a windows PC makes sense also. You’re nothing more than a windows troll.
@qwerty:
Actually, no, sorry. You fell for it. Read the articles on roughlydrafted.com for his history. He does not like or respect Apple very much at all.
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2007/09/25/forbes-fake-steve-jobs-is-also-fake-on-apple/#more-212
Just part of the story on Lyons.
Me thinks that Dan is Vudu owner afraid his “dynamite box” is going to become a firecracker of a doorstop. What he doesn’t mention is that Vudu originally required a hardwire network connection, which most people don’t have next to their television. They now have a separate wireless set (at an additional $100) to accomplish what TV does out of the box. He also fails to mention that TV delivers music, photos, and home movies seamlessly from the home computer. Vudu does have a better library of movies than Apple currently offers, and it is a nice alternative to TV, but the fact is that Apple brought out a more rounded solution, even if it isn’t better at movie rentals. Apple also marketed it better. Lastly, Vudu’s problems in gaining market share are a result of many more players, all trying to make into consumers’ entertainment stack, not solely Apple and its TV.
laff riot – the guy is fishing sooooooo hard for something with teeth.
funny about these anti-Apple stories: one says Apple is bad because it’s becoming like MSFT; another says Apple is bad, MSFT good. Why doesn’t Lyon blame Netflix and Amazon that he thinks can beat AppleTV for killing the competition? Wish they make up their mind.
Didn’t the first AppleTV come out before Vudu? so wasn’t Vudu trying to steal into Apple’s turf? That’s the opposite of his argument.
The Vudu box had been secretly in development since 2004, but on April 29, 2007, The New York Times revealed that Vudu had signed deals with many movie studios and independent distributors to deliver access to the nearly 5,000 films currently in the company’s collection.
Apple TV can function as either a home theater-connected iPod device or a digital media receiver, depending on the needs of the user. It was first announced at a special press event in San Francisco, California on September 12, 2006, by Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
You’re right Gizmo Dan, tv was first according to Wikipedia sources.
10 years ago Microsoft would have “partnered” with this Vudu company, offered to “help” develop software with them and then, let the deal languish for long enough to send them into bankruptcy, leaving M$ a free road to copy the product and sell it themselves. That is how they got into the mobile phone market around that time.
I don’t see that happening with Apple any time soon.
Let’s see now:
Was well thought of for his satire when anonymous;
Decided to write a book that flopped;
Is no longer working at a good magazine;
No try to turn back time to the way it was when people listened to him;
Does this like Dvor[ack] by baiting Apple lovers into listening to him;
Guess that makes him a “hit-whore”
Response: Don’t feed the trolls
The comparison between what is happening to Vudu with what happened to any of MS’s victims falls flat. There is no comparison. AppleTV is not monopolizing the digital video delivery market in any way, whatsoever. Nor is it abusing its non-monopoly. Dan Lyons must lack the ability to think.
It’s his first article for his new boss. Of course he needs to write something sensational to get those eyeballs. You always wanna impress the boss on your first day right?
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Is Apple like Microsoft 10 years ago?
Yes for massive growth leading to an all prevailing position within 5 years.
However, we trumpet new additions to the iTunes graveyard. The difference being that MS held smoking guns as competitors died. Apple simply creates great products.
Dan Lyons is ether stupid, mendacious or on the payroll of the MS-Mafia.
I guess with Apple it’s either the company is beleguered or monopolistic. Personally, after years of the former the latter seems refreshing.
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MacDailyNews Take: We don’t get satire or sarcasm……..Ipod Iphone Imac I-dot-macMobile-Me…ugghghg…
Apple does some things great, OS, Itunes, Imac, Ipod, etc…BUT leaves the die hard apple fans to eat dirt….us appletv buying….well, u get the picture…..I see a new blog in the future……www.macipoddailyiphoneandmobilemenews.com…..
Apple do like to lock people in their walled garden products, like iPods/iTunes, iPhone/iTunes, iPhone/Apps, Mac hardware/Mac OS X etc etc.
mdn is a fan site. not fair reporting. accept mdn for what it is.
at any rate, there are only 3 major differences between apple and microsoft:
1. market share
2. taste
3. controlling the entire platform: box + os.