

Should we Boycott Apple For the Sake of Innovation? - RaduTyrsina
http://techpp.com/2012/07/02/boycott-apple/

======
archgrove
It's worthwhile looking at a couple of infographics in this case:

[http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/whos-suing-
whom-i...](http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/whos-suing-whom-in-the-
telecoms-trade/)

[http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/mobile-patent-
suits...](http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/index.php/mobile-patent-suits-
graphic-of-the-day/)

Basically, you can't purchase a smartphone without choosing to back someone
who's suing someone over patent issues. Do I agree with Apple's patent wars?
No. Do I agree with Googles (nee Motarola)? No. But if you want to boycott
people over them, you're basically back to a Nokia dumb phone. Oh, wait -
they're suing people too. Tin can and a bit of string, anyone?

The entire patent system is broken, both for the speed at which things happen
in technology, and for the level of experience needed to see when something is
"obvious". However, I can't feel _too_ bad for Samsung in this case, viz:
[http://www.idownloadblog.com/2011/09/29/apple-samsung-
copyca...](http://www.idownloadblog.com/2011/09/29/apple-samsung-copycat-2/)
(just a few examples of their completely independent "inspiration"). The world
does need some mechanism to prevent people from wholesale ripping off other
people's work. It's just not the current patent situation.

~~~
bryanlarsen
Those infographics are a little too simple because you cannot determine who is
the "bad guy" in each case simply based on the fact of who is suing whom.

For example, in the Apple vs Nokia case, I consider Apple the bad guys even
though Nokia is the aggressor. As far as I'm aware, that case boils down to
Apple refusing to accept patent cross-licensing as "fair, reasonable and non-
discriminatory", whereas I consider cross-licensing to be the epitome of
FRAND.

Many of the other suits are direct or indirect cross-suits. The best defense
is a good offense, etc.

Some aggressors are willing to accept money, others are blocking the
importation of devices. I consider the latter more unacceptable.

Others are the flailings of dying companies. Still evil, yes, but better than
the patents falling into the hands of NPE's.

At the moment, I believe that the worst aggressor by quite a large margin is
Apple. Microsoft, Motorola and the purchasors of the Nortel patents (Apple,
RIM, Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson and EMC) are being "evil", but the typical
strategy for boycotts is to target the biggest/worst aggressor. (That's why
McDonalds always gets targeted even though its behaviour is no different from
its competitors).

There are notable exceptions: Samsung, HTC, Google and a few other makers of
non-desirable phones. HTC doesn't have enough patents of its own to be an
aggressor, and I have no doubt that Samsung would behave badly if that was in
its own best interest, though.

However, supporting the companies that are "doing the right thing" still sends
a marketplace signal, regardless of why they are doing the right thing.

I used to trust Google, though. If it doesn't put a stop to the Motorola
shenanigans soon, they'll have lost all remaining credibility in my books.
Don't give me this "arms-length" bullshit. Your motto says "don't be evil",
which means that you're committed to behaving better than your peers, so do
it.

------
lispm
Copying Apple is not really 'innovation'. Too many go the short route and copy
Apple down to the pixel level. Sometimes the hardware looks completely the
same.

Kind of refreshing to see that Microsoft can come up with some slightly
different UI. Google does a lot of stuff differently than Apple does.

It's simply not that Apple currently makes the best user interfaces and the
best software integration. There is a lot of room to innovate.

~~~
nodata
Rubbish. Some of Apple's latest updates seem to be copied from Android itself.

Apple isn't leading the pack any more. Used an Android screen keyboard? Way
better than the Mac. Notifications? Way better than the Mac.

~~~
cageface
Going back to an iPhone after entering text with Swype on an Android device is
like a bad joke.

Anybody that thinks Android hasn't brought anything new to the table hasn't
really used an Android phone.

~~~
Uchikoma
"Anybody that thinks Android hasn't brought anything new to the table hasn't
really used an Android phone."

Not sure who said that anywhere in the discussion, or in the linked article,
or anywhere else.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man>

~~~
kleiba
Not sure that your "Straw man" link is appropriate - the very first comment in
this thread starts with:

 _Copying Apple is not really 'innovation'_

This implies (to me anyway) the notion that Android does not innovate (aka
bringing something new to the table) but merely copies Apple. (I assume that
Android is meant here because the original article discusses the mobile
sector.)

~~~
Uchikoma
"Copying Apple is not really 'innovation'"

Let's break this down:

a.) Well is it? Is copying Apple 'innovation'? I'd say no

b.) Did it say that Android is only copying Apple without adding something
else? I'd say no

c.) Do you say that Android does in no way copy Apple?

I assume the answer to c.) is also no, so how is this not a straw man
argument?

~~~
kleiba
Because as I said, I differ in point "b" - I would say it's a "yes".

------
pooriaazimi
I feed really sad for the guy who wrote the following reasons to boycott Apple
(copied verbatim from the article):

> _1\. Control-freakery – it all started with Steve Jobs and his internal
> culture of fear. It continues, to a lesser extent, today._

> _2\. Dubious production methods – from virtual slave labor conditions to a
> totally unempathic approach to doing business abroad. Apple’s changing the
> world in terms of style but not substance._

> _3\. Overpriced. – it is no accident that the company is so profitable.
> Their profit-margin is the sort which any business would die for._

> _4\. Anti-competitive – they lock consumers into their ecosystem and
> developers out of it. They make it hard for you to port your data. Once the
> Apple shackles go on, boy they ain’t coming off._

> _5\. Data hogs – they take your data, lock it into their verticals and never
> allow you to even see what they do with it._

> _6\. Haters – their approach to banning products until patent issues have
> been resolved has never endeared them to me. Particularly since Steve Jobs
> himself said that Apple was one of the greatest thieves of ideas._

> _7\. Anti-social – they truly fail to ‘get’ social both as an enterprise and
> as a community. They think generating a wave of bad will against them is OK
> as long as they still make money._

> _8\. No conscience – at a time when most companies work hard to integrate
> themselves in their communities and develop a social conscience, Apple
> remains conscience-free._

> _9\. Environmentally unfriendly – Apple has repeatedly come under fire for
> its environmentally unfriendly production methods. I admit that here I do
> not know how they stack up against the competition but Google at least has
> become a trailblazer in its Green Data Canters._

~~~
RaduTyrsina
Why?

~~~
pooriaazimi
Because he's being very simple-minded IMO. I thought we all heard about
Foxconn and the fact that the conditions are actually better than other
companies. If you call that _virtual slave labor conditions_ , then how can
you in good conscience purchase from the competitors who abuse workers even
more? It hasn't been mentioned in his post, but if you really believe in what
you say, you should avoid every company who abuses its workers, not just
Apple's (It doesn't mean the pressure shouldn't be hardest on Apple, I'm just
saying that you should acknowledge that everyone is abusing poor workers, and
blame all of them accordingly).

And in general, his tone is _incredibly_ immature, like a 13 year old who's
shouting in schoolyard. He twists facts (points 2 and 4), exaggerates (points
1, 3 and 6), and seems to care about things that actually don't matter at all
(points 7 and 8). And I don't get his #5 issue at all.

So, I feel sad for him both because I think he's very immature, and that he
can't articulate what he wants to say very well. He won't be a successful
blogger if he continues this way, and would actually hurt his _cause_ , with
which I agree a little (just like that asshole Mike Daisy did).

~~~
RaduTyrsina
It's a quote, not my words, thanks God :)

