[jevgeni]

1. Apple was not a monopoly at that time. 2. How do you rigorously tell, which company is big and which is small? 3. This is a competitive market and ethics is not something that should be regulated. If people have a problem with a company's ethics, they should just stop using their products.

[rimantas]

Was Apple ever a monopoly? And just being a monopoly is not illegal.

[jevgeni]

No, I don't think they ever were. I just wanted to be precise in my previous comment and reference the time the article is set in.

Yes, there are legal monopolies, of course. But not if it's a retail product.

[corin_]

Of course you can have a monopoly on a retail product, how else could anyone ever introduce a new type of product to the market?

[jevgeni]

No. Monopoly is a form of market organization. Having a uniquely specific product doesn't make it a monopoly. If I introduce a new five-wheeled bicycle to the market, that doesn't mean I have a monopoly on the bicycle market.

[corin_]

No, monopoly is about being the only one doing something, not about "marketing organization".

If you invent the first bicycle and nobody else makes them then you do indeed have a monopoly on the bicycle market. The difference is just that we define "bicycle" as the market, not "5-wheeled bicycle".

[jevgeni]

Monopoly, monopsony, oligopoly, etc., are all forms of market organization. This is textbook.

[Update] Here we go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_organization#Market...

[marrs]

or a pentacycle :)

https://horshamphotography.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/img_5...

[zlnimda]

Ethics and moral is regulated in some countries, because it's part of the law. USA are so retarded on that point, that's all.

And people who buys Apple products doesn't care what could do that company just because they are inspired by all the ads and hype around their products.

[rimantas]

I'd argue that Apple has done more positive and socially responsible thing than many other big (and small) companies. And generally people buy Apple products because they are great products. You can only fool once with advertising, however people keep using Apple.

[jevgeni]

You mean like, who is allowed to marry, who has the right to vote, and so on? Yeah, those countries are the pinnacle of human progress.

[jevgeni]

And furthermore, how people who are too retarded to see through the ads and hype are competent enough to enact moral-based laws?