[criddell]

I don't see the problem with option #1.

Apple is sounding like a cellular company pre-iPhone where the carriers demanded a cut of every transaction on the phone. They saw users as their asset and did everything they could to but themselves in the middle of every phone transaction. I'm talking about the time of $3 ringtones.

For Apple today, I can understand the argument for fees in the app store because there are real development and ongoing maintenance costs for that. But why should they get paid for a company to be a search engine option? How are they earning that money?

[lazide]

They’re complaining they would lose billions, while it helps no one.

Wouldn’t you complain too?

[arghwhat]

Sure, but it would be for deaf ears. Losing revenue is not an issue or argument - it's not like Apple would be unable to operate.

[lazide]

When we’re talking billions of dollars, things are never that simple.

[lazide]

A example - the current average lifetime earnings for an American (aka total money earned over their lifetime) is $1.8mln USD for men, and $1.1mln USD for women. That provides for everything for them - raising a family (on average), a retirement, expenses of living 60-80 years, supporting all the joy, pain, love and loss of a lifetime. And paying for the total economic work of that average American for at least 40 years - a lifetime of plumbing, welding, repair work, hairdressing, stocking shelves, managing people - you name it.

Apple is receiving (last I checked) $20 billion USD/yr from Google for this.

That is the money required to support an entire lifetime of living for between 11,000 to 18,000 average Americans. Every year.

Alternatively, at the median American salary of $59,634, that is also enough money to employ 333,000+ average Americans for that year.

How much fighting do you think would be appropriate for that? Probably a least a couple of lawyers and lobbyists working full time on it, eh?