jeudi 11 juillet 2013


Find Software

Platform
Advanced search
Popular Links
Software Deals
Most Popular
New Releases
Editor's Picks
User Favorites
Top Freeware
Get Free Software
Update Your Software
Check Your Bandwidth
Categories
Security Software
Browsers
Business Software
Communications
Desktop Enhancements
Developer Tools
Digital Photo Software
Drivers
Educational Software
Entertainment Software
Games
Graphic Design Software
Home Software
Internet Software
iTunes & iPod Software
MP3 & Audio Software
Networking Software
Productivity Software
Screensavers & Wallpaper
Travel Software
Utilities & Operating Systems
Video Software
From the editors
Best apps for Windows
Best Windows Utilities apps
Best Windows Security apps
Best apps for Android
Best apps for Mac
Best apps for iPhone
Best apps for iPad

Featured


WifiInfoView 1.25

WifiInfoView 1.25

Scan and analyze the wireless networks in your area with this powerful freeware utility. The latest update adds BSS Type Summary Mode. Read more
Axara Audio Converter for half off.
The Swiss Army knife of audio converters, Axara can convert a variety of audio files into any popular format.
TeamViewer
The free remote-control app improves its chat and UI.
Fairytale Annihilation
Blast your way through rainbows, lollipops, and bloodthirsty little girls.

The Daily Download

See more

Chrome gets high-resolution screen support on Windows, too

Chrome gets high-resolution screen support on Windows, too
It's not enabled by default yet, but Windows users with HiDPI screens eager to try out high-resolution support in Google's browser now can. Read more

Samsung surpasses Apple in smartphone Web usage

Samsung surpasses Apple in smartphone Web usage
A study from StatCounter determines that Samsung devices outpaced Apple iPhones and iPod Touches in worldwide browsing in June. Read more

Star Apps: Jordan Casey

Star Apps: Jordan Casey
Thirteen-year-old Irish app developer Jordan Casey has already made a name for himself with kids' games Alien Ball vs. Humans and Greenboy Touch. Now the Casey Games founder chats with Download.com about his rise to stardom and his upcoming releases. Read more

Power2Go Essentials hits Version 9

Power2Go Essentials hits Version 9
Cyberlink's free disc burning utility adds FLAC/APE support and the ability to back up multimedia from social networks. Read more

Opera 15 curates the Web

Opera 15 curates the Web
Now powered by Chromium, Opera 15 has a bit of something for everyone with improved Speed Dial, Stash, and a new Discovery curator. Read more

Star Apps: Jim Rash and Nat Faxon

Star Apps: Jim Rash and Nat Faxon
"The Way, Way Back" writer/director/actors chat about the absence of apps in their new coming-of-age film, the ones they used behind the scenes, and the apps that would have made puberty much, much easier. Read more

Top apps when you're working from home (WFH)

Top apps when you're working from home (WFH)
BART strike leave you stranded? Here are some essential apps to get the most out of WFH (unless you're at Yahoo). Read more

Read more: Windows PC software downloads and reviews from CNET Download.com http://download.cnet.com/windows/#ixzz2YjJpT6zF



Do you know who is the president of Xrbia?
Remember? Xrbia (www.xrbia.com)! An independent republic. Mostly, only on the web. At least, when it was launched. 4 months ago. In August 2012.
The promoters of Xrbia don't consider Xrbia as a real estate project. They claim that Xrbia is all together a different world.
Same with me. I completely agree with the promoters of Xrbia. I also don't consider Xrbia is a real estate project. You know that.
For me, Xrbia is an investment 'idea'. An idea for the stupid people to bait their disposable income.
An investment idea marketed on the web. On the social media. On Facebook + Twitter + You Tube. Passionately promoted on Indian Real Estate Forum.
Xrbai. An idea "distributed" by the third party agents. For the attractive commission. Somewhat like "Multilevel Marketing (MLM)". Like they distributed Japan Life Sleeping System. The magic mattress which promised to bring about wonderful cures while one slept, no matter what ailment the person suffered from. Including cancer.
In the real world, for me, Xrbia means Mr. Vishwanath Phalke. Vice President - Revenue Operations, XRBIA.
Who got in touch with me after I published my first blog "XRBIA Hinjewadi - The Sucker's Deal for the Stupid People with Some Disposable Income". To arrange my meeting with Mr. Rahul Nahar, Chief Executive Officer of XRBIA Developers Ltd.
In that meeting, I made my point. Though I don't like Xrbia and stupid real estate investors, I want to write about the 'progress of Xrbia".
Because, I write Ravi Karandeekar's Pune Real Estate Market News Blog to share information about what's happening in Pune real estate market. I may criticize a project but I will share information. Start discussion. Invite Pune property buyers to share their views.
So, Mr. Nahar & Mr. Phalke, please, keep me posted about Xrbia. I requested. And Mr. Phalke agreed to give me official progress regularly.
However, after that meeting in August 2012, I couldn't talk to Mr. Phalke. I didn't receive reply to my eamil and SMS.
However, a few days ago, Ms. Smita called me. From Mr. Phalke's mobile. Told me that now a days Mr. Phalke is mostly in Mumbai. So, I better talk to her.
I was more than happy to talk to Ms. Smita. I had heard a lot about her. About her dynamic personality. She is not only chief executive but the queen of Xrbia. Someone had told me.
And you know what? Yesterday I met the queen of Xrbia. Ms. Smita Monterio Lobo, AVP (Revenue Operations), Xrbia. At Showroom no 7, survey no 403-A, ICC trade tower, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune, MH 411016, India.

Smita & Sonia:


At the end of conversation, I asked Smita, "Can I take your photo?"
"Are you going to publish it on your blog?," Smita asked.
"Yes, of course! I am impressed with you. You are lot more charismatic than I was told. Those who told me about you, might have found it difficult to describe you in words. I don't want to do the same mistake. I want to publish your photograph on my blog!," I said.
"Sorry. My family is conservative. They don't like it. They are against publishing photos on the web," Smita said.
"OK. I respect your privacy. But let me confess. I haven't seen anyone so cool & confident. I will always remember this conversation. They way you told me all those things - particularly - your statement - We are going to construct 1 lakh homes - great!," I said.
"When you have faith in something you are confident about it!," Smita said.
"Yes, and the result is - all believe in you. Even someone like me! So, let me sum up our conversation. You told me 3 things. 1) New marketing strategy 2) Payment terms - ADF or As per the progress of construction 3) Possession of 13 buildings in 3 years. Right?," I asked.
"Yes!," Smita said.
"Thank you!," I said and took her leave. But one question didn't stop bothering me. I can tell you what Smita told me. But how can I tell it to you the way she told me. How about an example? Will it describe the way Smita presented herself? For example, Smita sounded like Sonia talking about how Congress is against corruption & mehangai. Got me? - See more at: http://ravikarandeekarsblog.blogspot.in/2013/01/Xrbia-Hinjewadi-Pune-India-Updates-1.html#sthash.7xoeosEy.dpuf


 Porn/Adult
Publié par à Aucun commentaire:

Bootstrap

Bootstrap

Yahoo completes blockbuster $1.1 billion Tumblr acquisition

Yahoo completes blockbuster $1.1 billion Tumblr acquisition
Exactly one month after announcing plans to acquire microblogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion, Yahoo has closed the deal.
The Internet giant announced Thursday that it officially owns Tumblr. The company announced the acquisition last month, saying that the $1.1 billion purchase price would be "substantially all...in cash." The company also promised at that time "not to screw [Tumblr] up."
Tumblr is highly popular site with over 300 million monthly unique visitors. The company was founded in 2007. Under the terms of the deal, Tumblr will remain its own entity under the Yahoo … Read more

TripAdvisor gobbles up GateGuru for better flight, airport info

TripAdvisor gobbles up GateGuru for better flight, airport info
TripAdivsor has acquired a small mobile startup in the travel industry.
The travel company announced on Wednesday that it has acquired GateGuru, a mobile platform that provides a wide range of information for travelers, including details on itineraries, airports, and rental cars.
In a statement, TripAdvisor said that GateGuru will complement its other popular application, SeatGuru, which tells people the best spots to sit on a plane. TripAdvisor didn't announce the terms of its deal with GateGuru, but did say that the app maker will continue to operate its business out of its headquarters in New York City.

Yahoo's buying spree continues with Rondee acquisition

Yahoo's buying spree continues with Rondee acquisition
Yahoo has been on an acquisition spree lately, and it's not done yet.
The latest catch: Rondee, a free conference-call service provider. The service announced the deal Wednesday on its Web site, saying simply that it's been acquired by Yahoo and will join the online giant's Small Business team. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With the Yahoo acquisition complete, Rondee is no longer accepting new users. Current users can continue to create their free conference calls until July 12. Data from past calls will be available until August 12. After that, Rondee is going … Read more

WhatsApp sets new record with 27 billion messages in a day

WhatsApp sets new record with 27 billion messages in a day
WhatsApp, the mobile service that has established itself as a free alternative to texting, has reached new heights.
The company announced on its Twitter page on Wednesday that in the previous 24-hour period, it had set a new one-day record of handling 27 billion messages. According to the company, its users sent over 10 billion messages during the period, and received 17 billion messages.
WhatsApp has been growing by leaps and bounds. On December 31, the company hit a new record for itself of handling 18 billion messages in a day.

Bloomberg launches $75M venture capital fund

Bloomberg launches $75M venture capital fund
Media outlet Bloomberg will launch a $75 million venture capital fund to invest in early-stage companies.
The fund, called Bloomberg Beta, is expected to launch Wednesday, according to various media reports, but has already invested in nine companies, including Newsle, Nodejitsu, Codecademy, Errplane, and ProsperWorks, according to VentureBeat.
The independent venture will focus on startups that are "producing insights from data" and "making the experience of work better," according to a news release cited by VentureBeat.
Bloomberg has invested in tech companies before through Bloomberg Ventures, an incubator that helped companies that could be combined with … Read more

Yahoo confirms $1.1B Tumblr buy, promises 'not to screw it up'

Yahoo confirms $1.1B Tumblr buy, promises 'not to screw it up'
Microblogging service Tumblr is being acquired by Yahoo.
Yahoo announced the deal early Monday, along with a "promise not to screw it up." The Internet pioneer is paying $1.1 billion for Tumblr, "substantially all of which is payable in cash," Yahoo said.
The news had been expected. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the Yahoo board had approved the deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Yahoo will allow Tumblr, which has over 300 million monthly unique visitors, to operate as a completely separate entity that retains "the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and … Read more

Andreessen Horowitz raises funding for drone software

Andreessen Horowitz raises funding for drone software
Andreessen Horowitz, one of the most prominent Silicon Valley investors, is leading an investment round in a company that's developing software for the commercial use of drones.
Called Airware, the Newport Beach, Calif., company provides several different platforms and tools for companies that want to invest in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones. Andreessen Horowitz led the funding round in the drone company, which raised $10.7 million. Google Ventures also participated in the round, according to All Things Digital, which was first to report on the news.
The key difference between Airware and the drones we … Read more

Peter Thiel leads $6M funding round for TransferWise

Peter Thiel leads $6M funding round for TransferWise
TransferWise, a London-based peer-to-peer currency exchange, announced Monday that it has closed a $6 million Series A funding round led by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures.
The investment in the company, which seeks to use the Internet to make it easier to transfer funds among currencies, marks Valar Ventures' first foray into Europe. Thiel, who was Facebook's first outside investor, was joined in the round by SV Angel and previous investors IA Ventures, Index, Seedcamp, and early stage investment firm TAG.
Coupled with a previous seed round, the recent investment brings TransferWise's funds raised to $7.… Read more

Google drops cash into Lending Club for minority interest

Google drops cash into Lending Club for minority interest
Google has dropped a significant investment into loan-pairing company Lending Club, the companies announced today.
Lending Club announced today that Google has invested in its operation to take a minority stake in the company. Lending Club didn't say exactly how much Google invested, but did say that it was part of a $125 million round of financing. Google and another investor, Foundation Capital, acquired shares from existing investors.
Since its founding in 2007, Lending Club has been growing significantly. The company facilitates loan transactions between those who need cash and those who are willing to dole it out. Lending … Read more

Nokia to invest in array camera start-up Pelican Imaging

Nokia to invest in array camera start-up Pelican Imaging
Nokia's VC arm, Nokia Growth Partners, is set to invest in an imaging start-up.
According to Bloomberg, Nokia Growth Partners plans to put funds into array camera company Pelican Imaging. Based in Mountain View, Calif., Pelican Imaging created its first array camera for smartphones in 2011. Rather than using a single lens, array cameras are made up of a series of lenses and build up a picture from the images taken by each. As well as being thinner than a traditional smartphone camera, arrays open up the possibility of post-capture focusing -- similar to what Lytro does with traditional … Read more
Adult/Porn
Publié par à Aucun commentaire:

Shouldn't Apple just call it a day and admit defeat?

(Credit: Getty Images)
Let's stipulate from the outset that Apple is not going to suffer any damage after losing big to the government in the e-book price-fixing case. Yes, a few codgers may decide on principle not to buy iPads as a personal statement of protest, but those are the same cranks who picket at the slightest smell of bacon from a bacon restaurant. But just because Apple may get off without paying a steep price in the public's eyes, the evidence submitted at trial paints a picture of a scheming company clearly on the wrong side of the law. The court has not yet scheduled a hearing to address proposed remedies.
The decision handed down Wednesday by Federal Judge Denise L. Cote found Apple guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy to cut out e-book competition and raise prices. (Here's a link to the full text of Cote's decision if you want to read along. It's worth spending the time.) Her reading of the evidence showed Apple demanding, as a precondition of its entry into the market, that it would not have to compete with Amazon on price.
"Thus, from the consumer's perspective -- a not unimportant perspective in the field of antitrust -- the arrival of the iBookstore brought less price competition and higher prices," Cote wrote.
Apple, which said it plans to file an appeal, did not budge from its repeated assertions of innocence since the Justice Department filed a lawsuit last spring over e-book pricing.
"Apple did not conspire to fix e-book pricing and we will continue to fight against these false accusations," said Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr. "When we introduced the iBookstore in 2010, we gave customers more choice, injecting much needed innovation and competition into the market, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry. We've done nothing wrong and we will appeal the judge's decision."
Good luck with that. Given the detail Cote produced chronicling how Apple colluded with five big publishers on e-book pricing, even Clarence Darrow would be at a disadvantage getting this verdict overturned. The publishers, who examined the same evidence, settled with the government before the case went to trial. Not Apple, which maintained all along that it was just trying to do the right thing by customers.
If this case does wind up getting reheard, Apple will make that same pitch. But any appeals court still will have to accept the facts submitted into evidence. And they paint an unflattering picture. According to Cote:
Some consumers had to pay more for e-books; others bought a cheaper e-book rather than the one they preferred to purchase; and it can be assumed that still others deferred a purchase altogether rather than pay the higher price. Now that the [publishers] were in control of pricing, they were also less willing to authorize retailers to give consumers the benefit of promotions.
Also, consider how e-book prices rose after the opening of the iBookstore. Apple tried to argue that prices actually dropped over the following couple of years. That argument failed to persuade. Again, from Cote's decision:
Apple's experts did not present any analysis that attempted to control for the many changes that the e-book market was experiencing during these early years of its growth, including the phenomenon of disintermediation and the extent to which other publishers decided to remain on the wholesale model. The analysis presented by the Plaintiffs' experts as well as common sense lead invariably to a finding that the actions taken by Apple and the Publisher Defendants led to an increase in the price of e-books.
Steve Jobs wasn't around to defend himself but the document trail he left behind helped clinch Apple's guilt in Cote's eyes. She noted that Jobs told News Corp.'s James Murdoch that he understood the publishers' concerns that "Amazon's $9.99 price for new releases is eroding the value perception of their products . . . and they do not want this practice to continue," and that Apple was thus "willing to try at the [$12.99 and $14.99] prices we've proposed." That was yet another sign of Apple's determination to collude with the publishers as they schemed on how to jack up e-book prices, according to Cote.
Jobs's purchase of an e-book for $14.99 at the Launch, and his explanation to a reporter that day that Amazon's $9.99 price for the same book would be irrelevant because soon all prices will "be the same" is further evidence that Apple understood and intended that Amazon's ability to set retail prices would soon be eliminated.
Also, Jobs subsequently told biographer Walter Isaacson how the publishers "went to Amazon and said, 'You're going to sign an agency contract or we're not going to give you the books.'" Jobs was referring to Macmillan CEO John Sargent's trip to Seattle to deliver "an ultimatum to Amazon," she wrote.
In the end, Apple's lawyers couldn't talk away the statements by its former leader. Today's storyline points to Apple as the ringleader, both facilitating and encouraging what was a collective and illegal restraint of trade. Hardly the sort of description that we've come to associate with Silicon Valley's most iconic company.
(Credit: U.S. Dept. of Justice)
 

Member Comments

118 comments
129 people following
Commenting FAQs / Guidelines
Newest/Oldest/Top Comments
jfoulk1981
It's also a matter of principle. As a libertarian, I see the Feds and the states scheming on Apple's fortune. Socialists are takers by force, using shady law to justify their theft. Apple stole nothing. They never even suggested a single dollar amount for a book. Collusion? What about government monopolies like the post office colluding against private carriers???? I wouldn't blame Apple for refusing to acknowledge the authority of the court, packing up, and moving to a more capitalist country.
jghangin
the whole point is, they did something illegal and got their butts handed to them for it.  how much trust would you have in an individual that was accused of, and found guilty of, theft?  but you'll keep trusting an obviously untrustworthy company?  now, i'm not saying every company isn't guilty of some kind of wrong doing, but this one was found guilty in a court of law.

as an aside, jobs' term "value perception" says it all.  the perception of value where there is little.  this can be used to describe anything apple makes, and says a lot of what jobs thought of apple customers.
CitizenX
@jghangin Oh please lets take your take on "value perception" all the way to it's logical conclusion.  Information wants to be free.  Once an e-book is in an ebook format, there is virtually no value in it.  Why are we charging more than a very, very, very minuscule amount to distribute it?
A much more logical way to look at this is that Amazon was dumping ebooks to block competition.  There was a time when selling below cost to block competition was seen as illegal.  Why has that changed?
whatsinaname2000
Judge Cote commenting on all the witnesses that supported Apple's point of view. She didn't let even one of them get away without being labeled untrustworthy. How much better to support a faulty decision than simply stating that you didn't believe a word the defendant was saying. Can you blame the judge for ruling against Apple when all testimony supporting Apple lacks credibility ?
Shameful, absolutely cowardly and shameful ! Especially when she starts quoting from Mr. Turvey !
This Opinion has already described several instances in which testimony given by Cue and Sargent was unreliable. Other witnesses who were noteworthy for their lack of credibility included Moerer, Saul, and Reidy. Their demeanor changed dramatically depending on whether Apple or the Plaintiffs were questioning them; they were adamant in denials until confronted with documents or their prior deposition testimony; instead of answering questions in a straightforward manner, they would pick apart the question and answer it narrowly or avoid answering it altogether. Thus, the findings in this Opinion are informed by the documentary record, the circumstantial evidence, including an understanding of the competitive landscape in which these events were unfolding, and that portion of each witness’ testimony that appeared reliable and credible.
McPlot
The facts say, not an opinion, that Apple was in the wrong. While I respect your point of view on this, I have been following it since the beginning. All Apple had was saying "No we didn't". No real proof. The prosecution had EVERY OTHER COMPANY admitting to it.
So lets say you about 4 friends rob a bank. When caught, your 4 friends rat everyone else out. No matter how much you say you had nothing to do with it, you are going to jail because 4 other people say you were part of it.
whatsinaname2000
The judge's bias is nauseating. She specifically mentions that she doesn't trust the testimony of any of the Apple's witnesses, then quotes directly from Mr Topsey-Turvy.
lil_pengy
@whatsinaname2000 Based on your own comment history as a highly pro-Apple supporter, can you honestly say your own comments are similarly, if not even more biased?  
McPlot
Rather she found his comments trustworthy or not is beyond the point. The other companies have already admitted to it and pointed the finger at Apple. Even if the judge was an Apple Zealot, the Judge would have to had looked at the facts and made a decision.
Mydrrin
If you read it. She says that although Apple didn't force the publishers to do it, the deals made it so it happened, that there really was no other alternative. That's pretty creative to prove collusion. Because Apple made the same deal with all of them, that they were forced by MFN to honor the lowest price, that because of this Apple colluded to force them to force Amazon to the agency model. And Apple knew this so therefore is illegal. Yeah creative interpretation.
Belinus
They should just call it a day but their hubris won't let them.

Amazon hit the sweet spot with $9.99 for eBooks. While that is more expensive than the now $7.99 mass-cut paperbacks (and I'm old enough to remember when they were $4.99), people agreed to pay it because unlike those mass-cuts you could read it infinitely (technology & digital restriction management management issues aside). I have paperbacks I have purchased at least 3-4 times over because they have worn out. Once I buy an eBook I can read it over and over and over without damaging it over time.

Additionally, the overhead for eBooks becomes non-existent over time with sales as you only have to create one it's done so over time  the overhead per unit goes down and eventually becomes infinitesimal compared to the profit. An eBook would probably take no more than 5 hours to lay out (even less if you have standard templates in InDesign or similar and know how to use style loops). So even at like $125/hr it is a static $600 overhead on a book versus infinite profit as there are no print runs that need to be done, no shipping to a distribution center, etc. So if the publisher makes takes in $15/book after 40 copies are sold they've broken even. Sell 1,000 and they just took in $14,400 with an overhead of less than $1/book.
Third, the Agency Model hurts authors as they went from a cut of the full wholesale price (which we now know was MORE than the $9.99 price) and instead gave them a percentage of 70% of the sale price. Say a book wholesaled at $15 and they got 33%. They would get $5 in royalties. If that book sold for $15 under the Agency model, they would get only $3.50 because the returns to the publisher would only take in $10.50 after the store cut.
superdeadfish
@Belinus 
Except that your concept of overhead doesn't take into account things like editing, design, art and just assumes that the sole costs of the book are footed by the author. Publishers have always historically spent a large amount simple making a book publishable and marketable, so it's well within reason to expect them to attempt to recoup costs. Yeah, an ebook cuts out the printing and shipping costs. It doesn't circumvent editors, artists, designers, or any of the other things that publishers provide, which tend to eat up just as much (if not more for some cases) then the shipping and printing by the end of things.
Secondly, you're making the assumption that the 9.99 ebook price is competing against mass markets (which are actually about 9.99, not 7.99), which is incorrect. The 9.99 ebook price is competing against hardcover and trade paperback prices (about $26 and $15 respectively), and the initial runs there are generally where the publishers try to make enough money both to support their overhead as well as build new talent. By the time the title is in the publisher's backlist or mass market format (generally a year or more from the initial publication) the initial spike for ebooks has long since passed.
Basically, your idea about costs only works in the case of a wholely self-published ubermensch that has no need for editing, beta writers, art costs, and can do all of their own layout and design work without looking like a high schooler's powerpoint presentation.
Belinus
@superdeadfish That is with publishing new works. And even then publishers do not publish eBooks exclusively but rather concurrently with a print edition. At least if they are smart it's concurrent.
In fact, that same $600 cost to laying it out in InDesign would cover both because, if the file is done right which I assume it is, the document simply reflows to the new size and the styles take care of the rest. Then all you have to do is export however many editions you need (i.e. Kindle, Kindle Fire, ePub, etc.)
And the initial spike isn't over because there are a lot of works by authors well established whose back catalogs are not available as eBooks (at least in the US, but they are in the UK). I am sure I am not the only one who wants eBooks of physical books I own.
superdeadfish
@Belinus @superdeadfish
The spike I was referring to was initial sales of the ebook versus when the title's physical copy actually enters mass-market format. Again, you're missing that the publisher's costs are just whatever it takes to lay out the file format, but also the editors, proofreaders and art and design teams involved in marketing a product. A book released by a major publishing house is often the result of the efforts nearly a dozen or so people working, each of which draws a salary, occupies an office, etc. This results in the amount each book costs per unit being more than just the ink and paper that it gets printed on.
KaschKDame
Not sure why this is a newsflash. Apple has been as greedy and arrogant a company as any other - perhaps more so since their market spend the better part of the era between the 70's and 90's as a niche compared to the IBM/Microsoft ecosystems. They have been such since the Apple III, Apple Lisa, and others eclipsed far better competing machines in price by many thousands of dollars, and Jobs wore those absurd price differences like a medal of honor.
You can't even say Apple "became" what it despised in Microsoft because the only reason Apple wasn't that way all along is because their own arrogance and inflexibility on price and hardware/software licensing disallowed them the influence over resellers and other vendors to match Microsoft's market coverage.
Soon as they solved that problem by dumping Motorola and adopting x86 architecture, they were on their way. And now that they've established a monopoly on a product with adoption wide enough to actually notice, the first thing they've done is use it to exploit, intimidate, and manipulate.
I knew they had it in them. They rarely disappoint.
Zc456
Apple has been caught red handed a lot lately.
Mingu7
@Zc456 
I've always been nervous with Apple's "Walled Garden" philosophy.
I know that there was a lot of angst from App developers in the early days.  Many of the felt that they had to walk on egg-shells for fear that Apple could pull their app for any odd reason.  There was even examples of app pulls that bordered on anti-competitive.
I think as of late, Apple has been forced to ease up on the App Store Nazi shenanigans.  And maybe this eBook price-fixing flub is a part of that.  Microsoft learned their lesson years ago with the huge Anti-Trust case with the US government and the EU.  Sometimes it takes a good slap on the wrist (and a hefty financial penalty) to teach big companies to not be total d**kwads.
Competition breeds faster innovation.  Just look at today's mobile market.  You see fierce competition between Apple, Google, and smaller players like Microsoft, BlackBerry, even Firefox, clawing for marketshare.  And this has created some amazing innovation.
Price-fixing is the antithesis of open competition.
NewiPhoneUser01
Apple will spend more money on appeals, which will result in the verdict being upheld.  The law finally prevailed against the Evil Apple Empire!  Customers always knew Apple was taking them to the cleaners but now a judge has stood up to Apple and let the evidence speak for themselves. 
tbrand7
@NewiPhoneUser01  Evil Apple Empire? Do you hear yourself? So, you'd have to shell out a couple more bucks for ebooks. Who the hell cares? Move on! Apple makes products that are elegant and well worth the money. Get a life and stop trolling.
DHeadOH
No they should fight it all the way to the bitter end, with all the appeals they can muster. There is nothing wrong with the agency model and having it blocked in anyway is really the Justice Department conspiring with Amazon to eliminate a perfectly legal business practice from being used that really only helps Amazon.
First off no company in the history of business ever has signed a deal with another company for any product without actually talking to them. The graph showing they called back and forth is about the dumbest piece of evidence ever presented as "proof" of doing something wrong. I can guarantee that Amazon never made a single deal without talking to the other party at least once if not many times before an agreement was reached either. Hell you just have to look at the months and months of negotiations that Google, Apple, Netflix and Amazon go through with media companies for movie and TV deals.  
Secondly why it is wrong for the publishers and authors of books to have the same kind of store as music and apps are enjoying where they get to set their own prices on items they place up for sale? Anyone should be able to open such a store at any time for any product even if it means higher prices in some cases. It is not the public's "right" to have continuously falling prices. Saying that you can't have the price go up on something without crying foul is just plain stupid.
Third and most importantly is the fact that purchasers of books are paying for the creative process, the work of literary art, the imagination of the author and so forth just as a person buying a painting by a known artist, or a sculpture, or a movie etc. In no other category but e-books do people say that the work of art is worth no more that the cost of distributing the item. Which by the way is not free or even close to free as so many people falsely claim. There is no great reduction in price from Amazon for digital films, TV seasons and so on, so why are e-books treated differently? The publishers are giving you a value added benefit of your choice of delivery mechanisms. The digital method does not need to be a fraction of the cost of all the other methods. That is ludicrous.  
kotikalat
@DHeadOH Acceptance is the first step, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. Apple is a convict now. Move on with your life. LOL
superdeadfish
@kotikalat 
Your reply is essentially meaningless, as his post is about the agency model that was at the core of this. It's entirely possible not to be an Apple fanboy but still see this as an incredibly foolish decision that probably won't survive an appeal -- the agency model has been perfectly fine for other retail in the past, and the Justice department -- and by extension Cote's-- primary reasoning rests on a flimsy understanding of the technology and a very slanted reading of a handful of emails. 
kotikalat
@superdeadfish You guys are missing the point in all these. Apple knows they have done something wrong. All the publishers settled because they know they have been caught. Heck, It's been tried and they have been found guilty. The only reason they keep fighting on is to save their agency model. All the long comments I'm sorry to admit is really funny to me. Because you are either paid to comment  or are really clueless to what is going on. And that is why my comments are not serious b
Super2online
@DHeadOH - Seriously? I know your image of the perfect American company has been tainted by this verdict, but you are behaving like its a personal assault on you, its not. You should keep one important factor in mind. There is not a business on the face of the planet that has not broken some law or at least stretched it way beyond what a jury or judge would find permissible. 
But that's ok because you can still buy what you want from your favorite company and feel good about yourself and what your doing. Its just that they can no longer attempt to sell themselves as the shining example for the industry to follow anymore without the giggles and laughter following. So go forth and do as you may, the sun will still come up every single morning for the foreseeable future.
DHeadOH
I am not really understanding any of your comments to my post. I am not defending Apple here. I am saying that Amazon and the Department of Justice are actually colluding to take away a basic business practices that have existed for years prior to this Apple scandal for the sole benefit of Amazon. 
You people that are jumping on the Apple fan-boy wagon with your replies are simply proving that you lack reading comprehension and that you are Anti-Apple beyond the point of reason.  

amcripps
@DHeadOH The judge didn't rule that the agency model was illegal. That is not the issue here. What was illegal was the collusion between apple and the publishers to force everyone on to the agency model
cbscowards
@DHeadOH There is nothing wrong with Apple adopting the agency model in their deal with publishers. The problem is that they convinced the publishers to force it on Amazon too.
Amazon was paying the publishers the wholesale price that the publishers stated. So stop trying to say that the publishers and authors weren't being paid for their work. The paper book market worked the same way: Retailers pay a wholesale price and then decide what to set the retail price to. Did anyone cry foul when B&N and Borders started to deeply discount the NYT bestsellers? 
Mydrrin
@cbscowards @DHeadOH
If you read it. She says that although Apple didn't force the publishers to do it, the deals made it so it happened, that there really was no other alternative. That's pretty creative to prove collusion. Because Apple made the same deal with all of them, that they were forced by MFN to honor the lowest price, that because of this Apple colluded to force them to force Amazon to the agency model. And Apple knew this so therefore is illegal. Yeah creative interpretation.
Publié par à Aucun commentaire:
Inscription à : Articles (Atom)