Apple Computer Now Emerging As An Anti-Competitive, Narrow-Minded Company That Prefers To Limit Consumer Rights Rather Than Expand Them

Real Networks recently called on Apple to open up its Fairplay digital rights technology so that other competing music services could transfer music content onto Apple's iPod players. But Apple apparently isn't really interested in open music standards. In fact, today Apple is beginning to act a lot like the MPAA or the RIAA, both of which strongly promote closed, proprietary digital rights management schemes for limiting the copying and the transfer of music from one device to another. Apple is apparently playing the same game now by blocking competing music services from being able to easily transfer music content to iPod devices.

It is a monopolistic practice by Apple, no doubt, and it runs counter to the philosophy of the Apple community, which has traditionally been far more open and fair-minded. Perhaps this is an indication of a fundamental shift in the philosophy of Apple computer. From here forward, the company seems intent on monopolizing its relationship with consumers and limiting their options rather than expanding them.

For my part, I think the iPod has always been an overpriced, underperforming consumer electronics device and I neither own one nor recommend it. If you want to play music files, go get yourself an iRiver flash MP3 player, which holds far more music than other flash players on the market, and has outstanding battery life to boot. It will be interesting to keep an eye on this situation and watch what Apple does down the road to inconvenience customers in its attempt to monopolize its intellectual property sales channels.

• French online music store Virgin Mega has filed a complaint against Apple, claiming that the company's refusal to license the copy protection technology used in its iPod is harming competition.
• The action was filed with the French Competition Council in June and disclosed along with several other legal matters as part of Apple's quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
• A number of media companies, most prominently RealNetworks, have called on Apple to open up its FairPlay digital rights technology so that other digital music services can securely transfer files onto Apple's iPod player.
• Also in the SEC filing, the Mac maker noted that it has settled several actions, including a lawsuit with Tibco over the Rendezvous trademark and another suit over the technology used in the Apple PowerBook to make the keyboard light up.
• An Apple representative declined to say what the impact of the Tibco settlement was and whether Apple will continue to use the Rendezvous name.
• Separately, Apple has brought an end to a legal dispute over the iTunes Music Mtore, E-Data announced.
• The iPod maker has agreed to license patents from E-Data, which says its owns intellectual-property rights to the process of selling music online.
• It also anticipates recording about $5m in restructuring costs related to vacating certain European sales offices in the current quarter.
• The filing also stated that if Apple had included the cost of stock-based compensation as an expense, its earnings for the three months ended 30 June would have been nine cents per share instead of the 16 cents reported in third-quarter earnings.