| > And IOS's position in the EU or even the US looks nothing like "Microsoft" and IE. Does it not? Apple's stance on marketing Safari as a "feature" instead of a product arguably goes further than Microsoft ever did. Combined with their unique stance on limiting alternate app stores it doesn't look any better in Apple's favor. Whether they did it deliberately or not, Apple has put themselves in a monopoly position that they use to specifically deny certain competitors from providing alternatives to Apple services. > This is about the EU not being competitive in the mobile space, or software in general Nobody is competitive in the mobile space. There are two software vendors; Apple and the catchall, Google. Both of them are American-owned and controlled. The only other "competitors" exist in places like China and Russia that are forcibly denied access to the duopoly. You can't scaremonger with a straight-face like this when everyone is in the pocket of American manufacturers. And that's the problem. The EU can bring the axe down because Apple doesn't deserve to set their own fee. They can kick and scream and piss and moan, but it only makes their situation look uglier and prolongs the inevitable. Apple has tested the limits for years, and now that we've documented their trespass it's time to teach them their lesson. The EU started it, but Japan is headed in the same direction and the current US administration has started their own investigation into Apple. > What you're seeing is some of the first shots in attempts to unwind globalization. Right now I'm only seeing a bunch of whiny apologists that want their segregated market back. You can have your App Store as long as the App Store customers aren't ideologically banned from getting software anywhere else. That's what a free market looks like, and Apple doesn't get a free pass for drafting their App Store rules with crayons and colored pencils. |
In what way is any of this intended to bring competition into the mobile space? By letting some entrants provide alternative app distribution?
The only plausible outcome of this is that Apple reduces their involvement in Europe (it’s already happening with features in the latest iOS that aren’t coming to European users) at which point Google will become the only software vendor. Congrats?
> You can't scaremonger with a straight-face like this when everyone is in the pocket of American manufacturers.
You had me at mobile OSes, but the majority of phones sold in Europe are produced and sold by companies in China and Korea.