Apple's culture of lies finally dawns on a surprisingly unsuspecting world

@Paul - You might want to proof read that post...lots of extra letters that makes it read like something that was hastily put together at the last second. --tayme

Unbelievable. Let's break the article he quotes down. "Apple's iTunes has an estimated 87% market share in music downloads, a beachhead it is using to expand its influence in much the same way you used Windows to expand yours. What has Apple done with its dominance? It has refused to let other media players sync with iTunes." Apple created iTunes as a loss leader to sell their hardware. It makes no sense for them to allow other hardware makers to use it for free. Does the Zune allow other hardware makes users to use it's zune marketplace? "It has tried to strong-arm Hollywood into selling content on terms mostly favorable to Cupertino." Well, I guess that's true if by that you mean that Apple forced the record labels to drop their prices to 99 cents and ultimately forced them to remove DRM. "It has tightly controlled the iPhone ecosystem, insisting that its own iTunes app store serve as the only way to broadly distribute software." ...on the iPhone platform they created. Which is what Google and Windows and Rim are tripping all over themselves to copy? I come here to read about Windows. But Paul insists on ranting about Apple. He's not biased against Apple. He hates them. Fine. It's his forum. But it makes me sad to see how much emotion and how little logic he brings to the table when it comes to anything Apple.

No, Paul, like many people, is tired of Apple getting a pass all the time. He's tired of how the from the top culture of the Mac has distorted the truth. That distortion has gone beyond the OS bashing characterizing Apple's ads and appears to have crossed legal lines. It's so bad that one cannot have a meaningful discussion without being shouted down and Paul is calling for an end to the lies. Apple would do well to listen now, before the matter becomes very serious for them. Paul further suggests that the company can't, because their behaviors are part the very culture he dislikes. A lot of people agree with him in this regard.

And yet Paul loved the 'microsoft of old' that bullied i4i over the flagrant swiping of their XML patent to include in Word. So to recap from thurrott Apple is a bully and their users are jerks. But somehow Microsoft isn't a bully [even when he praises them when they are and wishes they'd do more often?] and Microsoft's users [specifically himself] are not jerks? Please, every winner in every marketplace is a bully and every user of those products can be a jerk about what they paid for with their own money. Anyone holier than thou that casts aspersions is frankly guilty of intellectual inconsistency. That's thurrott, in a nutshell... and he's getting a little more unhinged.

I think it's just clear here that Apple's desire to control every aspect of their products and services stands as the number one hurdle to growth and market share. I think...in essense, the bigger apple gets, the less special/unique they become. I firmly believe that Apple thinks they can have half of the market share and STILL be loved. It's simply impossible. These recent events prove that.

Oh, yes, the "tude" comes from the mothership. As conspiracy theories go, that's a good one. The "tude" comes from the non-critical BS on this blog. This "dedicated to the future of Windows" site is often used for this kind of swill. It's done simply because Paul makes a living from Microsoft's success and sees Apple as an increasing impediment to that success. Lately, he's generalized this hatred to Google, the EU, and anyone who likewise threatens the "software giant". He's all for antitrust actions against Apple, but regularly pillories the EU for similar, and much better justified actions against Microsoft. Google and Apple are in "collusion", but Microsoft and Yahoo are just doing a routine business deal. Apple and ATT? Clearly monopolistic and un-American. Microsoft and Nokia? A clever synergy of complementary assets. iPod? Closed, proprietary and evil. Zune? State of the art(!) and a clever device....now to have it's own closed app store. But, that's okay, since it is run by the "software giant". "Allow me to help. I know exactly what to call Apple. A bully." Yah, a bully with a 3% marketshare, as he loves to point out incessantly. Last time I looked, it was pretty hard to be a bully when your main competitor holds 90+% of the key market you compete in. In the end, this faux outrage is not about culture, but money. Two key points: 1. Apple's financial success has taken it's market cap from 10% of Microsoft's to about 70% of that of the "software giant". Apple is a threat to Microsoft in some areas, and that's a direct challenge to Paul's livelihood. 2. Paul makes no bones about his vested interest, "It's time for Microsoft to respond to the challenges it faces with leadership and authority. And if you care about the systems you support now, your jobs, and your very livelihood, you might do demand the same from the company. All of us have backed the same horse." 3. Paul can't be rational about Apple, because "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

@iKetchum Paul wanted Microsoft to voluntarily break up along product lines as a means to better succeed! That doesn't mean he's condemning Microsoft's bully behavior, he's just strategizing how Microsoft could better grow by being a smaller/nimble company(s). That's a pass, sir. Go back and listen to week before last's TWIT Windows and you'll hear Paul glowingly delight in Microsoft running roughshod over a patent holder.

Troll.

@waethorn not that I'm getting into a IP/copyright debate but I think Paul's glee was around the fact of those incriminating internal emails that surfaced where Microsoft acknowledged the patent and basically said 'meh, we're going to do what we want'. That's bully behavior [exactly what Paul is pinning on Apple now as such a crime yet pined for when Microsoft did it last week... without a blog post, I might add]. Let's not assign the blame to Microsoft's defense team as justification. It's all Microsoft. They're bullies, Apple is a bully, you and I are jerks and Paul's a jerk. But at least that's consistency. Paul simply cannot bring himself to be consistent when he talks about apple and their fans as evil when his house is just as glazed as everyone else's.

" "You've all seen the smug emails, blog posts, and comments here on this very blog." Yes, usually written by Paul himself. " And if true, why shouldn't he? Like clockwork, you guys keep coming back over and over again anyway. I've never seen people like you...people who hate Windows and hate people like Paul so much, yet they keep coming to support Paul's Windows blog. It's incredible.

"I think Paul's glee was around the fact of those incriminating internal emails that surfaced where Microsoft acknowledged the patent and basically said 'meh, we're going to do what we want'." When they were awarded the patent, they were allowed to persue their interests. If i4i had stepped up and monitored their patent registrations, they would've been able to stop Microsoft at the gate. If i4i had stopped Microsoft from registering their patent, Microsoft would be in trouble now. Instead, they were allowed to register it, and now they're fighting the system. Their resolve really has nothing to do with i4i directly, except that the patent office screwed up in i4i's favour, but payback has to come out of Microsoft's pocket. If Microsoft weren't allowed to register their patents, we wouldn't be having this conversation. This is the problem with the patent system. It's just like when domain squatters sit on known, registered trademarks.

That's not courtesy of Fortune -- that's a blogger blogging for Fortune. And it's hosted by CNN. Wake me up when it actually appears in the magazine. 98% of it's readership doesn't even know about this blog post. Awaiting a retraction.

@gfryesc1 "really, you've never seen the behavior on this forum anywhere else?? must be your first day on the internet..." Nope, not to the extent that I see it from Mac users. Even though there are roughly 30x more PC users in the world, I see probably 30x more Mac users doing this kind of stuff. "and they probably don't talk religion or politics wherever it is you're from." The thing is...that's religion and politics! NOT computers. Yet reading the replies by some people here would lead you to believe the old stereotype that Mac users treat Apple as though it were a religion. I can't even begin to imagine the incredibly sad lives some people on here must lead.

@sandmanx82 I'd say mac users and microsoft users run about neck and neck in vitriol out on Paul's site... I'm sure his vitriol pushes it over the edge. Let's not be incredulous about who's a saint and who's a sinner. computers can be even more dire than religion and politics when it's your livelihood... like Microsoft has been Paul's for 12 yrs. He's as protective over windows as if he coded it himself. He's every bit as religious as any mac user is over apple. They're cut from the same cloth.

...and Micro$haft does not lie? They have been fined by courts here in the US and abroad for what? M$ has paid out in fines --relative to its years in existence-- more than ExxonMobil, GE, GM, Ford {Pinto} and Chrysler combined! A cursory look to any legal encyclopedia will reveal this blatant fact. Only the tobacco companies have paid out more. This is but one of many reasons MSFT share price consistently underperforms their industry.

Any business that has the opportunity to make more money from actions that are morally deprived will, that's how business work. Will I stop shopping at Walmart because they pay their employees low wages. No. Will I not use MS products because they violated patents. No. Will I shy away from Apple products because Apple is a "childish bully" (as one commentor here puts it)? No. Will you? Most likely not. Another question: is it wrong of me to use Apple or MS products because those companies broke laws? I don't think so.

@gfryesc1 I wasn't talking about this site specifically. I just mean that when I visit Apple-specific sites, there aren't nearly as many Windows fanboys as there are when I visit Windows-specific sites and see the Apple fanboys. "computers can be even more dire than religion and politics when it's your livelihood..." Please, let's take it back a little. Paul isn't the CEO of Microsoft. He writes a book on Windows. How many billions of people in the world use Windows? And how many of those visit this site? Don't act like his career is going to go down in shambles unless he alters his tone to sell his book. Call him a fanboy all you want. What does he care? The same tools keep coming and giving him page visits day after day to spread "the truth" to all those out there that use Windows...

@Sandman Paul makes his living specifically from access to internal Microsoft employees in many different divisions. That means early access to code, plans, developers, support, etc. When you get into bed with the 800 lb gorilla, you can't upset him, lest he rolls over. That means thurrott's a kept and compromised source. what is it LBJ used to say "they've got his pecker in their pocket"? I didn't call him a fanboy, it's a purely financial arrangement. Personally I like apple and microsoft alike. i like both their cultures because both are winners. I use both products and I have no financial incentive to either keep or give criticism of either one. Paul cannot say that, and it shows.

"Paul makes his living specifically from access to internal Microsoft employees in many different divisions. That means early access to code, plans, developers, support, etc. When you get into bed with the 800 lb gorilla, you can't upset him, lest he rolls over. That means thurrott's a kept and compromised source. " Exactly. Like Rob Enderle, he'll now say anything for money. He's better at it than Rob is, because he's a lot smarter, but his objectivity ends where his wallet starts. How do you guys think those vacations in France are financed? The funny thing is that this is exactly what he accuses Pogue, Mossberg and others of doing for Apple, while Paul does it routinely for Microsoft. I think he's just p!ssed to have a much smaller audience.

Wow, Paul. Still an angry, bitter guy I see. Still willing to use unsubstantiated slanders, gross generalization and ad hominem attacks in place of actual critical thinking or useful discourse. Please, simply link to the smoking gun that proves a "lie" and that'll make your smear legitimate. The fact that you very VERY rarely if ever use that word for Microsoft yet spew it thoughtlessly for Apple speaks volumes. "These guys are just jerks" Indeed, sir. And with this post, you remind the world that Microsoft fanatics can be just as bitter and mean. You're too old for this. You have kids, don't act like one.

Oops. I take that back. Perhaps it is lies. hmmm....

I think I've got two problems here: Firstly, the article quoted is only one opinion on what Apple are doing with iTunes and a great many facts could be interpreted in a very different way. You may notice, for example, that there ARE ways for software and hardware makers to work with iTunes. Yes, the iPhone / iPod Touch platform insists on going through Apple's own store which limits choice. But at the same time it's suddenly made Smartphone platforms accessible to the general public and everyone is rushing to copy them. Is it an ideal situation? Nope, choice would be good, but at the same time there IS a valid, end-user reason for Apple going the way they did.Actually, there's several not least of which is massively reducing the risk of this suddenly very popular mobile platform which, let's not forget, is still very new to the market being targeted by malicious software. The google voice thing, well, I'd personaly want to wait for all the facts to be established before making my mind up (it doesn't look great mind) but I can see why those with a vested interest don't want to do that. Secondly, just because I use a Mac I'm apparently a Jerk? Leaving aside the fact that the many Windows fans on the web are just as bad (the internet, destroying rational argument for over a decade!) I'm like many many other mac users in that I am, first and foremost, a geek. I tried OS X because I was fed up of Windows and had no need for it in my personal life and, if I didn't like OS X, I'd still end up with the best laptop in the world for my needs at the time that could happily boot XP if necessary. I work with Windows, Linux and OS X on a regular basis. I support Symbian, Windows Mobile and Andriod phones as well as iPhone devices. In short, I don't give a damn what the OS is or who provides the hardware so long as a) it works, b) it lets me do what I want in a way that doesn't require headbutting the wall and c) ideally it does this in a way that makes it an enjoyable experience. OS X does that for me in my personal life which is why I use it. This hardly qualifies me for jerkhood in my opinion but I guess Paul may think differently.

Wow. You Mac elites are so simple minded its hilarious. Apple has you guys by the balls! Keep taking bullets for them! Yet the question still remains (which will never be answered): Why on earth do you Apple switchers make such a huge deal about switching and never looking back, only to go home and log onto a site about Windows!? LOL I'm just going to assume you can't actually do anything else on the mac, which is probably true. Pathetic, but funny.

"I've never seen people like you...people who hate Windows and hate people like Paul so much, yet they keep coming to support Paul's Windows blog." Give me a break. I don't "hate" Windows. If I "hated" Windows, I wouldn't own two PCs that use Windows, and I wouldn't have bought two additional netbooks for my kids. I don't PREFER Windows, but life's to short to hate something as mundane as an Operating System. And I certainly don't hate Paul Thurrott. I keep coming back to Paul's blog and this site because it's the most comprehensive source of information about Windows on the 'net. Period. Paul's taking a lot of heat for this post (and rightly so, IMHO), because he really is a smarmy little git. His skin is as about as thin as filo dough, and he has a mean streak that comes out in some really weird ways...he's incredibly quick to devolve to name-calling when it suits his purposes, and he has a Windows-centric view that often blinds him to a little thing I like to call "reality". I sometimes despise his attitude, I sometimes bristle at his often incorrect rash generalizations, and I absolutely dislike the way he often flip-flops like a freshly-caught trout on the deck of a boat, but I certainly don't "hate" the man. That's just ridiculous. Having said that, he's also entertaining as hell, knows more about Windows than most so-called tech analysts, and for the most part, is pretty fair. The one glaring exception is when it comes to Steve Jobs personally. In that arena, the comparisons to Enderle are absolutely correct. Thurrott and Enderle both seem to have a personal hatred for Steve Jobs that defies logic. So yeah, I keep coming back to this site, and to this blog. Paul's a smart guy, and a good read. Do I always agree with his viewpoint? Hell, no. But let's face it...he's built an amazing site, has a remarkable following, and is clearly doing pretty damn well for himself. He must be doing something right. That alone makes it worth visiting here, even if it means putting up with the "Waethorns" of the world, and the zealot evangelists like "MikeGalos". You know what I'd really like to see? I'd like to see Paul take his substantial knowledge of multiple platforms and pull a David Pogue...start writing books about Apple products. Expand this site to go beyond Windows. No, he'd never have the kind of insider access to Apple that he enjoys at Microsoft, but they're not going to kick him off the Redmond campus either. Maybe we'd see a kinder, gentler Thurrott that no one would dare compare to the likes of that greaseball Rob Enderle.

@Waethorn: "Again, this isn't complicated for us multi-button mouse-users." As you so often spew: WRONG!!!!!!! <---notice how, in homage to your Canadian education, I used multiple exclamation points. FIgured you'd like that. From Apple's website: "It wouldn’t be fair to call Mighty Mouse a two-button mouse with one button. Especially when it responds to pressure from your fingers in four different places. Besides the left- and right-click functions, the Scroll Ball clicks down to act as a third mouse button. And force-sensing buttons on either side of Mighty Mouse respond when you press in with your finger and thumb. Perfect for Mac OS X users, the side buttons are pre-programmed to activate Exposé, so you can view all your windows with a squeeze. Of course, you can also customize Mighty Mouse to open whatever you choose — Spotlight, Dashboard or any application when you have Mac OS X v10.4.6 or later." Additionally, "WaeWrong", there are any number of multi-button third-party mouse products that work quite well on the Mac. In fact, one of my favorites is made by Microsoft. So aside from the one on the top of your head, what was your point again?