Recently there was an article on Geek.com about some automobile manufacturers adding iPod connectivity to their vehicles. Once you got past the usual Apple/iPod teh suxor idiots, a comment was made that Apple has a monopoly in the digital music player market. This is how I replied and then replied again to comments made about my post.
By some current definitions, a monopoly can exist even when competition is present. Windows is considered a monopoly by many even though other commercial solutions exist like the Mac OS and Linux etc. Sound familiar?
With Windows having a +90% market-share, they can drive the market in such a way (and have) that stifles innovation and prevents competition. It’s amazing to me that so many Mac fans forget all the arguments they made about Windows market-share when it comes to the iPod.
Having one maker of anything dominate so completely is not good for the health of the overall market.
At this point, a reply to my post came in comparing the VHS/Beta wars and Boeing vs Airbus. Also some question about my age (smile) and that Apple couldn’t be a monopoly since other formats like radio, CDs, Satellite, ect. exist
Yes, unfortunately I AM old enough to remember the VHS vs Beta challenge. Not because of any great insight into that battle beyond the obvious, but because I dislike being older (45).
Beta was the superior format to VHS. That was proven then and is still true today by how many professional videographers (such as news outlets and others) used and are still using Betacams over VHS/VHS-C etc. Being the better format didn’t mean market dominance as the holder of that technology (Sony) refused to license it until the war was over and it no longer mattered.
Apple made the same mistake (as far as market dominance goes) by not licensing the Mac OS when it was clearly superior to DOS and Windows 1-3. They certainly made more money for a time, but it regulated them to second run status with their solution being so much more expensive at the onset of a purchase. We can argue about Mac TCO being less the a Windows solution over a period of time until the cows come home, but that is meaningless to Joe and Sally StationWagon when they want to buy a computer. Assuming they even HAVE a Windows PC and a Macintosh in front of them for comparison, most times they will look at what is going to be charged on their credit card as the final vote.
The Boeing vs Airbus story is different in that Boeing is a privately held company (Private in that the govt doesn’t control it, I realize that you can buy stock for it) vs a European created consortium for the express purpose of having European based, designed, and built aircraft. They no longer wanted to be tied to the whims of an American company who’s govt could (and in some cases had) blocked sales of technology for reasons of their own.
Before anyone gets on their high horses about that statement, the Dems are just as guilty as the Reps in the past for these kinds of measures. Both sides suck and are out for themselves. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that just because you don’t like Bush or the Reps that the Dems are any better.
Back on topic. Why hasn’t Linux or Apple been able to successfully challenge MS’s dominance or in your words, their hearts and minds? Once a product reaches a certain level of success, that success has a tendency to take on a life of it’s own. Windows is so prevalent in the workforce, that when a lot of people buy a computer, that’s what they believe they MUST use. Not what might work better for them, but what they are most comfortable with.
OS X and Linux are two fine operating systems that don’t carry the baggage that Windows has dragged behind them for years. Doesn’t make them necessarily any better or worse. I use the Mac OS because I prefer how most of the programs operate in comparison to similar Windows solutions. That’s all it is, a preference.
Linux is IMO doomed until someone takes control of the wheel and starts steering the ship. Too many distros, too much setup beyond what the average computer user (non-geeks) want to deal with.
The Mac OS is starting to gain a little momentum. No market is won or lost in a day/week/month/quarter/year. Real geeks should be rooting for the Mac to gain some significant market-share as that’s what will drive MS to be creative and not stagnant as they have been with their UI since Win 95. They certainly have made some big improvements under the hood, but the UI is basically the same for the last 10 years.
Sorry, gotten a little off topic (ya think?)
Apple is IMO headed for trouble with the iPod. This story alone tells the tale. Car Manf creating and installing docking cables and ports for ONE player. The iPod. Already grumbling (beyond the confirmed Apple Haters at Geek and elsewhere) is happening about their dominance. From there it’s a short journey to legal challenges. Apple doesn’t need it. The iPod would still sell in great numbers even with some of it’s tech in other players because, like it or not, it IS a good player and does what it’s supposed to do very well.
Last bit and then I’ll be quiet.
MS’s monopoly troubles were of their own making. Apple hasn’t yet hit the wall with the iPod, but all the signs are there. Companies making support devices that only work with an iPod is a perfect example of what can be used as ammunition against them.
By the way, we’re not talking about CDs (will disappear like cassettes and records eventually), or radio broadcasts (no real control over content), or cell phones which so far have little penetration as digital music devices since the content for most of them is very expensive with added surcharges for connectivity. Not to mention the few (admittedly) that I’ve seen have a terrible interface. I use my cell phone for making calls and nothing else. The one I have is pretty good at that. I didn’t want a crappy camera, or music player that distracted from what the device is supposed to do. Make phone calls.
As far as my argument about Apple’s iPod being threatened with monopolistic court dealings, I’m not saying that by the definition of the word that it is, I’m saying that all there has to be is public perception that it is for Apple to be in trouble.
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