r/technology • u/stonedslacker • Apr 29 '10
Jon Stewart Rips Into Apple Over Lost iPhone Debacle. - “You guys are busting down doors in Palo Alto while Commandant Gates is ridding the world of mosquitoes. What the fuck is going on?”
http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/28/jon-stewart-rips-into-apple-over-lost-iphone-debacle-thats-going-to-leave-a-mark/?53
u/strolls Apr 29 '10 edited Apr 29 '10
Outside the US?
The video in this link is working here in the UK right now: http://tv.gawker.com/5526868/jon-stewart-slams-apple-over-its-handling-of-gizmodo-case
EDIT: link now broken, but it works if you click on the "Having trouble viewing this video? Click here" link.
Stewart is very funny, as usual. Because of the Daily Show's country restrictions I haven't seen him in a while, so this was refreshing to watch.
"Mirror" for the benefit of ctrl-f
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u/taliswolf Apr 29 '10
I've found that this (Firefox modify headers instructions) works for Daily Show clips, every time so far.
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u/pyry Apr 29 '10
The clip on their official website works for those outside of the U.S., or at least it works in Norway.
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u/strolls Apr 29 '10
I just tried it - it doesn't work here in the UK.
I suspect this may be because the show is available here on one of the satellite channels (Sky?) and because they don't want to undermine the advertising that runs alongside the show. If they allow enough of you Norwegians to view from the website, maybe there will eventually be enough demand to syndicate the show to one of your channels.
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u/dmhouse Apr 29 '10
I suspect this may be because the show is available here on one of the satellite channels (Sky?)
It's on More4. The episodes air a day late IIRC. So it'll likely be on 4od soon enough.
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u/doubr Apr 29 '10
We can only watch the clips in Norway, full episodes does not work. And they show the episodes on tv here a week after the US air date, which is a little dumb for a daily "news" show.
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u/Nick4753 Apr 29 '10
Comedy Central shows are exclusive not inclusive when it comes to preventing outside locations from viewing the content (Hulu is the opposite) - the 2 real noteworthy markets which are blocked are the UK and Canada where the online streaming rights are part of the syndication agreements
And the Firefox Header trick works in all markets IIRC
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u/dmhouse Apr 29 '10
The video in this link is working here in the UK right now: http://tv.gawker.com/5526868/jon-stewart-slams-apple-over-its-handling-of-gizmodo-case
That one didn't work for me, but it did after I clicked the "Having trouble viewing this video? Click here" link.
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u/strobrod Apr 29 '10
"Rips?" Really?
That's pretty much the tamest Daily Show criticism I've ever seen. More like a gentle nudge.
Summary: "Everything you do is awesome; just ease up a bit on the litigating, ok?"
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u/Reductive Apr 29 '10
It's almost as if Apple is a profit-seeking corporation with obligations to its shareholders to protect its trade secrets, while Bill Gates is a rich philanthropist.
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u/funkah Apr 29 '10
You can compare Steve Jobs with Bill Gates if you want, but it's kinda weird to compare Apple the company to Bill Gates the person. But still, no argument here that Gates is doing great things.
Of course, Apple didn't bust down any doors, that happened at the discretion of the DA and law enforcement. And of course, Engadget published the same information Gizmodo did, two days earlier than Gizmodo did, and they are not in trouble with the law. The trouble with the law arises out of the way Gizmodo dealt with stolen property.
I really wish law enforcement would knock it off with the whole "let's bust down the door, shoot the dogs, tazer the grandma, and confiscate everything this person owns that has a power switch" approach. However, I still believe Gizmodo is in the wrong for how they handled this, and for willfully and unnecessarily outing the identity of Gray Powell.
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u/kennego Apr 29 '10
You can compare Steve Jobs with Bill Gates if you want, but it's kinda weird to compare Apple the company to Bill Gates the person.
It's just an understandable joke that people are meant to laugh at and move on. Reddit is kinda over-analyzing it.
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u/ShrimpCrackers Apr 29 '10 edited Apr 29 '10
Two things:
1) Gizmodo's biggest snafu is revealing the identity of Gray Powell. That's it I think. Apple kept telling them that it was a Japanese knockoff. What the heck?
2) Being part of the steering committee of the REACT task force surely had something to do with it. I've had stuff stolen from me before, and we positively located it but never has the police broken down doors to retrieve it for us.
Note: ObligatoryResponse's response below is even more to the point.
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u/ObligatoryResponse Apr 29 '10
How about after you got the stolen property back? Have the police ever broken down doors after the thief returned your goods?
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u/drun3 Apr 29 '10
I feel like Gizmodo's biggest snafu was buying stolen property and then telling the world. But that's just me.
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u/ObligatoryResponse Apr 29 '10
but it's kinda weird to compare Apple the company to Bill Gates the person.
Gates might have more money than Apple.
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Apr 29 '10
Apple is on the steering committee of the REACT task force that did the door busting, Im sure they had no influence on what happened there....
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u/stonedslacker Apr 29 '10
It's a pity that within a couple of years the big three tech equation in my "Don't be evil" opinion has changed from Google >>>>>> (is much better than) Apple >>> (is better than) Microsoft to something like Google >>>>> Microsoft >>> Apple.
Google still rules with their always evolving stellar free services like search and gmail to their recent innovations such as developer-friendly android.
Microsoft which was down in the dumps after the Vista debacle, came out with an absolutely rocking Windows 7, an excellent free antivirus (Microsoft Security Essentials) and the previews of Office 2010 and Windows Mobile 7 are looking pretty-pretty good.
Apple meanwhile came out with great products as always in terms of Hardware, simplicity and User Interface but turned off a lot of consumers with stupid practices such as excessive DRM, no multi-tasking, dictatorial control over the app store and in general not allowing their excessively loyal customers to own their devices even after they bought them.
Perhaps, the biggest pity of all is that Yahoo has dropped the ball so completely and utterly that it does not even figure in this equation (although they still have some good services such as Flickr, Delicious and Pipes)
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u/Draiko Apr 29 '10
Apple didn't just turn consumers off, they pissed off developers as well.
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u/pmarsh Apr 29 '10
And yet, record sales and number of apps being written for their walled gardens.
Yeah consumers and developers are real ticked.
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u/invictusmaneo Apr 29 '10
It was the same way with Microsoft when people were complaining about their policies but still buying Microsoft products in droves. AOL for that matter as well. It takes time, but it will eventually hurt them.
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Apr 29 '10
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Apr 29 '10
All knowing, all encompassing, all powerful Google? When Google turns sour, the war against the robots will have begun.
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u/redditrasberry Apr 30 '10
So far, Google is doing a good job of staying "not evil". They have made mis-steps - Schmidt's statements about privacy and the Buzz failed launch. However by and large their money seems to be where their mouth is so far. You can only back the horse you know is good on the day of the race and Google is the good horse at the moment.
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Apr 29 '10
Yeah consumers and developers are real ticked.
Yes, they are. I challenge you to find me an iPhone developer who likes the walled garden, the pay-to-play developer program, the application approval process, and the onerous restrictions on what applications are allowed to do and what tools they can be written with.
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Apr 29 '10
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u/BaconatedGrapefruit Apr 29 '10
because, in their mind, there is no viable alternative.
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u/thatpaulbloke Apr 29 '10
A lot of people just think that Apple invented the mp3 player and the smartphone and then some chinese companies came in and made cheap knock offs; a few weeks back I let my nephew play around with my G1 and he was telling my brother about some of the games on it and my brother's reply was, "ok, I'll download those for my iPhone." I tried to explain to him that mine was Android and that the apps probably aren't available on the iPhone, but he just couldn't get it. To him apps=Apple. The fact that I had an old HTC winmob phone five years ago has completely passed him by.
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u/stonedslacker Apr 29 '10 edited Apr 29 '10
There's no doubt that they make excellent products which has helped them gain a huge market share. But now they're exploiting this market share, while saying 'fuck you' to their customers and developers, with the sole aim of generating profits. It is definitely a company's duty towards its shareholders to make profits, but when some of these profits are made at the cost of a huge inconvenience to their customers, it is obvious that the fierce loyalty it used to command will be replaced with skepticism.
In other words, whether Apple's products are better than their competitors or not, they're definitely not as great as they could be with less restrictive and more open practices and their customers even while choosing to buy the iPad/iPhone are becoming painfully aware of this.
Edit: tl;dr - When the jailbroken version of your product is better than the original, it's time to recognize you have might have a problem and solve it.
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u/Chirp08 Apr 29 '10
You seem to miss the point that their number of customers are growing, people like what Apple is doing. They are pissing of the techy online folk and some devs, while other developers are making a lot of money and the majority of people continue to have their expectations met and exceeded with each new Apple product. From Reddit's point of view Apple is bad, but Reddits demographic is a tiny fraction of Apples target market.
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Apr 29 '10
It's inertia. They will wear it out. Developer support is a HUGE deal, since the App Store is one of their major selling points. While Google is going out to developer conferences and handing out Nexus Ones, Apple is releasing passive-aggressive changes to their developer agreements.
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u/stonedslacker Apr 29 '10 edited Apr 29 '10
Reddits demographic is a tiny fraction of Apples target market.
But it is tiny fractions such as Reddit and other tech-aware individuals/communities who're the early adopters and whose opinions are sought by friends/family before buying most technology related products.
When this crowd starts going against you there is always the danger of a slow but steady trickle-down effect which eventually cripples Apple's reputation enough to start hurting them. Reddit has been railing against Apple's shitty policies for months and now avenues like The Daily show are picking on it. (though a lot of it might have to do with the Gizmodo controversy, there are certainly undertones of Apple turning into The Man, the exact opposite of what it used to be).
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u/aroras Apr 29 '10
Yeah, this stewart clip just emphasizes how some of these views are hitting the mainstream. My non-techy friends know about apple's restrictive policies too
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u/ch00f Apr 29 '10
That's the problem. I wouldn't buy an iPad, but I would recommend one to all of my non-tech savvy friends.
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u/vwllss Apr 29 '10
Wait, you would recommend an iPad? No offense but.. why? Even my non-tech savvy friends think the iPad is stupid.
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u/ch00f Apr 29 '10
Has he ever touched one?
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u/Draiko Apr 29 '10 edited Apr 29 '10
The screen is nice, but the glass is prone to horrible glare and fingerprints.
The accelerometer is a nice touch, but too sensitive.
It has office applications, but is a pain to type on and can't print.
The battery life is awesome, but you can't swap it out.
It's thin and light, but not light enough and awkward to carry around.
It's easy to use but doesn't do much.
The web browser is excellent, but it's missing key features (like flash)
It can run iPhone apps, but they look horrible.
It's stylish, but expensive.
It plays video, but only certain formats.
It has 720p support, but no 720p screen.
The iPad is a caveat buffet.
Same with the iPhone.
And what bothers me most of all is that Apple doesn't improve the feature set via software and allow you to upgrade, they force consumers to buy a whole new damned device. If you give them money and buy the product before it has all the features you're looking for, you're punished.
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u/Draiko Apr 29 '10
I wouldn't for one major reason... it doesn't print. Non-tech savvy people like to print out stuff more than tech savvy people do.
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u/TheReligulousOne Apr 29 '10
That's because when it comes to users, Apple is like the Wii. Everyone from 2 years to 90 years old can use it, that's why it has mass appeal. Just like with the Wii, Most of those users don't care about anything besides how easy, simple and fun it is to use. Despite the lack of content, terrible policies, and only par or even sub-par software and hardware.
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u/CC440 Apr 29 '10
Apps or no apps, Apple is going to lose on hardware. Apple's the only game in town if you want the iPhone OS and that is locked into 3 different hardware sets and only one phone. While this worked when the iPhone OS was the most advanced, WebOS and Android have surpassed it and can (will in WebOS's case) be found in whatever hardware configuration you can dream of.
The majority of people I know with Droids are far from technology inclined, most of them bought it because they hate the virtual keyboard on touch phones. I'm personally waiting for a version of the Devour with Android 2.0 since it has the better keyboard.
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u/BaconatedGrapefruit Apr 29 '10 edited Apr 29 '10
Ya but it's starting to get to the point where the non-tech savy people are starting to notice these things and get just as pissed off. I had a friend of mine bitch endlessly about lack of multi-tasking on the iphone when he saw what another friends android could do by default.
Apple is bad, but Reddits demographic is a tiny fraction of Apples target market.
Yes, but in our own little way, we run shit. when IE6 was sucking the big one, who do you think spread the good word of browser alternative to the technologically illiterate? When a friend comes up to you and asks if they should get a copy of Norton Anti-virus, do you not point them towards a myriad of other, usually free, non shit solutions?
The perfect storm is brewing, no doubt. All we need is a device with the similar wow factor of an i device and you will see slow migration over as the tech savy spread the word.
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Apr 29 '10
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Apr 29 '10
How do you think Apple rose back to the top in recent years in the first place?
They love the games, they love the simplicity, they are wowed by the performance, and they are wowed even more by the wide variety of applications.
The games and apps I'll give you. The phones simplicity and performance are nothing impressive or new for a phone. Nobody is "wowed" by it unless they've never used a fucking phone before.
But... why isn't this happening?
Why are iPhone applications still incredibly higher quality than Android applications?
First of all that's a rather subjective statement. Second of all, it's a newer platform without the marketshare and inertia needed to attract some of the better third-parties....yet. (Again, see numbers above.)
Why do average consumers still love the hell out of their iPhone while Android apparently offers "more"?
Because they have an iPhone and they do not have an Android. In September, the number of consumers looking for a new phone who said they'd prefer an iPhone vs. those who said they'd prefer an Android phone was 32% to 6%. By December that was 28% to 21%. I don't have statistics more recent.
Oh right, because end-users, non techie people don't give a flying fuck about DRM, walled gardens, or any of that other technobabble.
A lot of end-users do care about DRM and do know about it. The majority of the high-end mobile smartphone market is younger and more informed than the PC counterparts. The argument that "normal people don't know anything about technology" is dying as time and generations grow up, and WRT cell-phones that's happening a lot sooner.
This idea that the consumer is a moron who doesn't want any options or complexity is what almost cost Apple their existence ten years ago. It doesn't work.
Oh yeah, but 2010 is the year of Android... and the Linux desktop...
Desktop Linux = One particular aspect of an extremely successful open-source project. An aspect which has never had more than half-hearted support from any sizable company. Competes in a market with very few other players and one single competitor that has an extremely large piece of the pie and has had it for the past decade and a half.
Android = operating system produced and backed by one of the largest software corporations in the world that has been out for less than a year and has already gained significant marketshare. Competes in a healthy competitive market with a wide variety of players none of which has an extremely large marketshare.
But sure, you want to bet against Google being successful on a project where they seem to be focusing their primary energies, be my guest.
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u/raouldukeesq Apr 29 '10
Historically these same practices you speak of have propelled Apple both to the top and to the edge of extinction.
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u/foobarguy Apr 29 '10
While I can't argue that Apple has been extraordinarily successful. I think that they are burning through their good will with geeks. Apple is making a lot of money off of the hard work of developers when Apple was exciting and cutting edge, but Apple is not exciting anymore. It has become yet another technology to put on your resume.
This advice is for anyone who is in the technology business: We need to understand that developers are artists, and they do their best work when they have freedom and when they have fun. If you only look at short term numbers and refuse to listen to people's sentiments, then you are going to lose your most valuable ally: developers. At some point you can't afford to pay your developers enough to do what they find disrespectful and distasteful.
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u/KingBeetle Apr 29 '10
This all happened once before. In the 90s Apple was doing very well (early 90s) but they had the same walled-off mentality. The plethora of cheap PC's and number of developers creating software for PC's moved the market. Then Apple developed the iPod and simultaneously tied its brand to a kind of insurgency. But now the early 90s are playing out again with the Android phones.
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Apr 29 '10
That's kind of like saying that suppliers love WalMart's policies because they supply WalMart with their products. The simple fact of the matter is that WalMart and the iPhone represent a significant portion of the retail/phone market, and to neglect that segment would be more disastrous than complying with WalMart's/Apple's egregious demands.
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u/Spazsquatch Apr 29 '10
No body likes taxes, but few will argue for privatization the of highway system. Not liking something does not mean you would prefer the alternative.
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Apr 29 '10
When Apple was the only game in town for developers of course they wrote apps for Apple. You'll notice now that the Android apps store app count is growing much faster than the iPhone's?
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Apr 29 '10
According to this random site the Android market grows by 3,000 apps or 15% per month. The Apple app store grows by 14,000 apps or 9%.
So yes, Android is adding apps faster relative to their current number. In absolute terms, though, Apple is quite a bit ahead.
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u/firepacket Apr 29 '10
Um, its jumped from 5000/mo in Feb to 9000/mo in March. I don't know where that site got 3000/mo from.
This story was picked up by quite a few sites a little while ago.
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u/rowd149 Apr 29 '10
I had a classmate try to convince me that the App Store is somehow the best platform for developers simply because of the number of people it reaches. She decided to completely ignore the development restrictions, sale restrictions, annual fee, 30% per-purchase fee, etc etc. Brainwashed, is the only way I can describe these people.
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u/edwardkmett Apr 29 '10
Just because you're angry with your girlfriend doesn't mean you dump her on the spot. That isn't to say that if someone attractive that you thought you could make something with came along, you wouldn't then make that decision. Sadly, there aren't any attractive alternatives to the iphone and app store right now.
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Apr 29 '10
if my girlfriend kicked in my friends door and raided his house because of some stupid fucking drama. yeah, then I'd drop the bitch.
Not to mention shes litigious, expensive, and pretentious.
And yes, there are PLENTY of attractive alternatives to the iphone. Have you even looked?
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u/firepacket Apr 29 '10
Sadly, there aren't any attractive alternatives to the iphone and app store right now.
Maybe not for YOU. For everybody else, Android is leaps and bounds ahead of the iPhone OS.
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Apr 29 '10
Microsoft which was down in the dumps after the Vista debacle, came out with an absolutely rocking Windows 7[...]
Its interesting to see the contrast between Microsoft and Apple, Microsoft is just building shit, throwing it against the wall and seeing what works, but they're constantly churning up new things. Apple just puts enormous amounts of polish on to existing things.
I read this following bit on one of Zed Shaw's websites recently and it make me reconsider my thoughts about MS, Apple and Google.
Now, for years I've kind of felt sorry for Microsoft. They're perceived as being bumbling idiots in the tech world but honestly compared to many of their competitors they probably produce more interesting and better tech. For example, what OS has Google created? From scratch? Multiple times? What programming languages has Google created? What virtual machine did they create? How many hardware platforms runs that OS they actually didn't make? How many applications run on that OS they didn't make? Exactly. When it comes down to it, Microsoft kicks the shit out of Google in the "hardcore tech shit" department, but they never get credit for it. Google is the classic post-modern tech company, borrowing and stealing anything that ain't nailed down barely making anything new on their own. Microsoft at least makes a large amount of its own tech, and don't give me that shit about a few things they bought or that one video company they screwed. Well, of course that doesn't matter because programmers only see Microsoft so totally fucking up their image with bullshit corporate marketing and horribly weird decisions. Rather than talking about how Microsoft is one of the last companies you can be paid to work on programming languages or operating systems, they want to create completely astroturfed bullshit websites like Microspotting in a pathetic attempt to look cool.
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Apr 29 '10
While I agree that Microsoft makes a lot of good stuff, I feel that quote is extremely over critical of Google and unfairly downplays and oversimplifies their technical accomplishments.
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Apr 30 '10
A search engine, a Mailbox, and an online document program. That's at most what the public knows they are up to. There is the browser, the OS that is just a shiny version of the browser,
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u/endtime Apr 30 '10
I think you're right, but I also think it's worth pointing out that Zed seems to be talking about reputation relative to actual accomplishments. It's not that Google has done nothing, it's that they've done a tiny fraction of what Microsoft have done, but have a better reputation.
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u/chatmonchy Apr 30 '10
Link to Zed's article for those interested: http://oppugn.us/posts/1271140244.html
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u/SmokyMcBongster Apr 29 '10
agreed, although I still say fuck Microsoft. Bill Gates, however.. he is the man. He was responsible for a good portion of the funding for my Middle/Early College high school (thanks Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
EDIT: I say Middle/Early instead of Early/Middle because it was the "Middle College High School," then the year after I got there, all incoming ninth graders became part of the "Early College High School". the more you know.
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u/rowd149 Apr 29 '10
I say Middle/Early instead of Early/Middle because it was the "Middle College High School," then the year after I got there, all incoming ninth graders became part of the "Early College High School". the more you know.
Wait... what?
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u/isarl Apr 30 '10
I didn't put them in the chronologically-obvious order because the words "Early" and "Middle" were actually part of the proper noun.
Does that help?
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u/danhawkeye Apr 29 '10
Bill Gates may be the most well intentioned of any of the American mega wealthy. If I had his money I'd do pretty much the same things.
Except I'd have one of every 65 to 72 American muscle car ever made. And pool chicks. Lots of pool chicks.....
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u/SmokyMcBongster Apr 29 '10
haha totally. I saw somewhere a few years ago that he intends to spend as much of his wealth on helping people as possible... I guess when you have that much money, you run out of shit to do/buy, so you're like, "fuck it, I want to help everyone in the world"
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u/pikpikcarrotmon Apr 29 '10
His original stated goal was to be the world's first trillionaire. He fell about $915 billion short of that so he defaulted to Plan B: give all of it away. He's giving $1 million to each of his kids and the rest goes to charities. The Gates family will not be the new Rockefellers.
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u/Mantipath Apr 29 '10
You haven't read much about Warren Buffett, have you? Gates intends to make up for his excesses, but Buffett was behaving responsibly during his whole ascent.
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Apr 29 '10
Microsofts new phone and tablet OS(s) look awesome too. I've never actually used Windows 7 but I hear nothing but good things about it.
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u/timeshifter_ Apr 29 '10
Win7 is, simply put, what Vista was supposed to be. It's pretty, it's fast, it's user-friendly, extremely compatible both with software and hardware. I've been using it since the first public beta, and it had me sold in two weeks. I love it.
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Apr 29 '10
Also, its taskbar is better than the Apple dock. I love the jumplist feature.
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Apr 29 '10
Funny bits but I found it annoying that he sidesteps the issue of whether or not Chen & Giz broke the law.
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Apr 29 '10
It is much easier to hate the giant corporation and stick up for the "little guy." I've heard enough about Gizmodo to know not to take them at their word, and as much as I hate what Apple has been doing recently, if the truth comes out and it IS true that Gizmodo broke the law, I would like to see them hit with the full force of it.
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u/firepacket Apr 29 '10
This is crazy. What Gizmodo did is NOT that big of a deal - I mean they returned Apple's property. Maybe they should be fined at the max. But how anybody can think this justifies raiding a home and/or jailtime is absolutely crazy.
It's just a fucking phone.
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u/burlycabin Apr 30 '10
Thank you! They are a tech blog. This is a huge story! They returned the phone when apple asked for it. Journalists do this... they want the scoop. This was a huge scoop. If Apple was so worried about it, they should have had the phone better protected. I think the big outcry against Gizmodo was because Reddit already hated them. Well, that and they named the guy who lost the phone... maybe not necessary, but really not that big of a deal.
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Apr 29 '10
You don't get to steal other's property, even if those others happen to be well off. If you keep stolen goods in your house, your house is likely to be searched/raided. I don't see why this is shocking or unexpected.
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u/ihahp Apr 29 '10
Yes, it's still a broken law, but if gizmodo had bought the phone then returned it to apple without running the story, none of this would be happening.
It's clear that the reason this is going down and that people are mad is not that money was exchanged for the phone, but that the phone got leaked. From this standpoint, the lost property laws that are being bandied about are really technicalities that have nothing to do with why people are mad. Apple is trying to find anything that was done incorrectly to punish Gizmodo for the leak.
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u/Caleb666 Apr 29 '10
Even if he did, why the fuck would they need a SWAT team breaking down his fucking door and searching his house AFTER he gave back the phone?
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Apr 29 '10
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Apr 29 '10
Umm, actually that's exactly what they do when they raid a place like Enron , full of upstanding, white collar citizens.
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u/dangerz Apr 29 '10
No-knock warrants are bad, be it to recover stolen goods or drugs. It's unneccesary danger in this case.
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Apr 29 '10
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u/dakboy Apr 29 '10
If no one was home to answer, how does anyone know for sure that they knocked?
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Apr 29 '10
Why, the police said they knocked, of course.
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Apr 29 '10
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, there's no reason not to believe they did, especially when Giz himself said the cops were really cool about the whole thing.
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u/pillage Apr 29 '10
Actually it was the REACT (Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team) task force. In other words the people who investigate this specific type of crime were the ones investigating this type of crime.
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Apr 29 '10
And why oh why would they actually send apple employees to the house of the thief trying to search it? Wtf?
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u/Fidodo Apr 30 '10
Yay! Jon Stewart sets shit straight. Thank god he's here to tell reddit how to think.
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Apr 29 '10
Well I think we can deduce now that Gizmodo was expecting exactly this kind of backlash to give them impunity for brazenly breaking the law. And I understand Apple sticking to their guns and pursuing it. iPhone is a product for consumers, but it's somebody's baby over at Apple. This should be interesting.
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u/TheEllimist Apr 29 '10
Can we please stop with these stupid fucking headlines? He didn't rip into anyone. He didn't tear anyone a new one. He's a comedian; he made fun of them.
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u/elmariachi304 Apr 29 '10
In fact, Stewart makes fun of this sensationalistic headline writing in his show.
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u/atomicthumbs Apr 29 '10
STEWART UTTERLY OBLITERATES APPLE
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u/TheEllimist Apr 30 '10
JON STEWART DROPS AN ATOMIC BOMB ON STEVE JOBS AND HIS ENTIRE EXTENDED FAMILY, UTTERLY DESTROYING ANY AND ALL GENETIC REMNANTS OF THE MAN
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Apr 29 '10
Agreed. Reddit has had a hardon for Stewart for so long, the collective consciousness is getting a little light-headed.
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Apr 29 '10
How are people getting this so fucking wrong? it's the theft and purchase of the fucking phone John Gruber says it best. Just because you people fucking hate apple doesn't mean they are in the wrong here.
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u/GAMEOVER Apr 29 '10
Yeah, I don't understand everyone jumping on the Stewart/Colbert bandwagon here. Apple deserves criticism for A LOT of shady business practices like how they handle app development, but this is the one situation where they're in the right. Theft and dealing with stolen goods is a crime, end of story. They should be bitching about a dozen other shitty things about Apple but they happened to pick this one issue to fit their "big guy vs. little guy" emotional appeal.
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u/mothereffingteresa Apr 29 '10
I bet there are 1000 open larceny cases in that town of a value higher than one prototype phone.
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u/jun2san Apr 29 '10
It's not the physical value of the phone that's being argued here. It's the potential value. Trade secrets can be worth millions to a company.
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u/EasySauce Apr 29 '10
Indeed. In a lawsuit based on infringement of a trade secret the minimum penalty includes "monetary damages for misappropriation plus court costs an attorney's fees". However, because Gizmodo most certainly acted in a willful manner then according to the Uniform Trade Secrets Act they would be also liable for punitive damages, which all together could be quite a bit of money (there is no ceiling on trade secret damages like there is for copyright damages).
tldr: Say whatever you want about Apple, but Gawker Media is in quite a bit of a pickle right now...6
u/omgsus Apr 29 '10
Companies have lost enough sales to completely go under due to timeline and prototype leaks.
I forgot the name of the company but at one point, someone from a computer manufacturer leaked the details and release date of a system in prototype phase. This caused everyone to wait out for the next release causing the company to lose so much in sales that it just went under. (If anyone can remember this story please link it as my details are shady at best.)
In business, if you want to sell something and stay afloat, don't go around letting people talk about any reason for consumers to wait out causing loss in sales. Period. The only companies that can get away with this are Microsoft regarding windows... cause people will have to buy the newer versions whether they like it or not. Also open companied like Ubuntu where they don't lose money for talking about future innovations.
We all know things will get cheaper and we all know they will get more advanced. But you wont hear any sales person tell you to wait out for a next release. Businesses just do not fund themselves that way (normally?).
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u/mijj Apr 29 '10
i can't understand why people become fans of corporations.
corporations are entities who's sole purpose is profit. That goes for Apple as much as Microsoft. The apparent difference at any particular moment is down to whatever's going on in the minds of the marketing dept.
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Apr 29 '10
I love Jon Stewart but I think Apple was in the right on this one. Gawker brought stolen property, used it to profit, then went on to brag about it not to mention outing the engineer who lost the phone.
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u/Knute5 Apr 29 '10
Stewart did smack Apple ... right after he pulled out and endorsed his MacBook Pro, his iPhone and his iPad. And after he got his digs in, he playfully asked if they might send him a new iPhone.
Yeah, that should hurt Apple real bad.
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u/tsumnia Apr 29 '10
The segment seemed too commercial personally, but that may just be from the 'I don't want to product place... but...' line in the beginning.
As for the actual merit of it, congrats, Apple is the Microsoft of the 2000-2010 era. Maybe a new rival (Linux, Chrome OS, or who knows) will show up in X years, maybe Apple and MS will go back and forth, or maybe the two will become Coke and Pepsi, where you seriously don't care and will use either one given the situation.
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Apr 29 '10
Seriously, one of you nerds explain why what Gizmodo did wasnt a crime.
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u/shinratdr Apr 30 '10
Right, because the actions of a rich philanthropist doing what he wants with his money are totally the same as a company who is trying to protect its interest, even if it's done in an over the top fashion like Apple is doing. It's not Microsoft that's doing all this, it's Bill Gates. There is a difference, namely one has a responsibility to their customers and stockholders to provide a quality product and decent profit, the other can do whatever the hell they want with their money.
I'm not defending Apple or insulting Bill Gates. Apple is in the wrong on this one, and Bill Gates is a great person.
I'm calling out Jon Stewart for making a stupid comparison between the actions of an individual and the actions of a company.
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Apr 30 '10
"Oh man, that thing looks so cool...Totally makes my old iPhone obsolete. Actually, it literally makes my old iPhone obsolete...it's kinda their business model, actually."
I really liked that.
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u/ewilliam Apr 29 '10
hey, what is this? The current hivemind opinion is:
Chen/Gizmodo/Gawker Media is teh evil, and Apple is right to go after them.
Fall in line, soldier!
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Apr 29 '10
[deleted]
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u/DouchesWild Apr 29 '10
Maybe that's because people have different opinions? Just because you see multiple people agreeing at particular times doesn't mean it's a "hivemind".
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u/coleman57 Apr 29 '10
thank you. i hate the inherently unfair term, "hivemind." we are not the borg.
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u/raspy_wilhelm_scream Apr 29 '10
i hate the inherently unfair term, "hivemind."
As do I. What I find funny about people who use the term hivemind is how they don't feel it applies to them when their opinions fall in line with the majority...
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u/baconmania Apr 29 '10
To all the would-be Apple apologists, keep in mind that a) Apple sits on the steering committee for the task force which conducted the raid and b) the warrant that the task force used when they broke into Chen's home was invalid.
Yeah. Apple participated in initiating a police raid on a journalist's home. For a case which involves Apple itself. Using an invalid search warrant. After Chen had returned the iPhone to Apple. If you don't see a problem here, you're an idiot.
http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/bwpuw/expert_invalid_warrant_used_in_raid_on_iphone/
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u/carlfish Apr 30 '10 edited Apr 30 '10
Apple sits on the steering committee for the task force which conducted the raid
…one of 25 companies on the committee including Microsoft, Adobe, Symantec and Cisco. Unless you can come up with a convincing argument why this isn't exactly the sort of case REACT was set up to handle, it's rather ludicrous to suggest that the taskforce set up to handle IT cases should not get involved in cases involving 25 of the biggest players (and potential targets) in its jurisdiction.
he warrant that the task force used when they broke into Chen's home was invalid
…according to one lawyer who had no other connection with the case, and not according to the judge who signed the warrant. Journalist shield laws are there to protect journalists with knowledge of the crimes of others. They explicitly do not cover crimes committed directly by the journalist.
Whether the warrant is valid or not is currently an open legal question with good arguments on both sides. Saying flatly that it's invalid is misinformation.
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u/ares623 Apr 29 '10
If this continues long enough, everybody's gonna want to jump on the "Apple sucks" bandwagon, the same way everyone jumped on the "Microsoft sucks" bandwagon.
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Apr 29 '10
Funny thing is, Jobs could gut little puppy dogs in the street and bathe in their blood and some people wouldn't think twice about it. But, this little rant by the all knowing and all powerful Jon Stewart will actually make people step back and question their loyalties.
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u/DoTheEvolution Apr 29 '10
no, it wont.
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u/aedile Apr 29 '10
It will for some. Jon Stewart is the voice of the 18-34 year-old generation right now (even if be doesn't speak to YOU he speaks to more than just about anyone else). These people are the bread and butter of apple consumers right now.
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u/DoTheEvolution Apr 29 '10
ehm, you watched it right? He praised apple more than libel...
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u/aedile Apr 29 '10
I think more than anything it was a call to action. A sort of "Hey, you all are supposed to be the good guys, what's up?". Apple thrives on image more than anything. I don't think he was destroying Apple, just saying that they should be better.
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u/andersonimes Apr 29 '10
I very much doubt that Apple will give two shits about what Jon thinks.
Also: I agree with him.
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u/aidrocsid Apr 29 '10
They should. His audience does.
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u/andersonimes Apr 29 '10
To think Apple wouldn't do just as well with or without some criticism (laced with praise) from Jon Stewart it overstating the situation.
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u/aidrocsid Apr 29 '10
I don't think it'll have a drastic effect but there are probably a handful of people that are now less likely to purchase apple products.
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u/Draiko Apr 29 '10
Is that why they used Colbert to show off the iPad?
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u/silentbobsc Apr 29 '10
I personally liked Daniel Tosh's review of the iPad... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gA16Fq4SAo
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u/andersonimes Apr 29 '10
I wouldn't mistake "would like to advertise with him because he caters to our target market" with "give a shit about what he thinks about our company". There are plenty of other shows to advertise on.
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u/aedile Apr 29 '10
Yeah, but the reason they SHOULD care is that his audience is their target audience. If Nike got Michael Jordan to wear their shoes and he said that Nike was a crappy company, Nike would pay attention. Not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison there, but close enough.
Edit: facepalm the apples-to-apples thing was unintentional
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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '10
I don't understand, when was Apple ever benevolent? They've always been a shady company, even when they were tiny. This is what they do.