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KevinH · 02-13-2011, 01:50 PM

Hi,

It is funny how we used to pick on M$ for its "embrace and extend" approach to taking over standards. When you look at recent history about Apple and ebooks you really do have to question if they are out to destroy the marketplace:

1. using "yet another DRM format" so that their ebooks could not be read anyplace else

2. leading the charge with "Agency Pricing" to try and break Amazon's "too low" pricing

3. again ignoring the epub ebook standard to create an Apple only fixed layout epub (px based) to replace the role of pdf which is now a fully open standard.

4. changing policies to steal profits from, or drive away many competing ereaders/ebooks

I am a longtime Apple user (remember Mac SE's anyone) and even a shareholder, but I am very upset about their actions. I bought an iPad because of what you could do with it (read almost any type of ebook, surf the web, etc) and paid top dollar for it.

Now it seems Apple, in its greed, is trying to make my iPad less useful to me by trying to get a piece of all content and/or drive away my favourite apps. I don't mind a walled garden, I do mind a walled garden where the walls grow selectively to prevent good apps from being used when those same apps were used to help "sell" the original devices.

Sad really. We have gone from a world of M$/Borg to Apple/Borg in just a few short years. I personally hope Amazon, Sony, Kobos, B&N, etc fight this tooth and nail and simply leave the iPad/iPhone platform if Apple does not wake up.

With Android 3 (Honeycomb) and new tablets like Motorola's Xoom and Samsumg's Galaxy Tab II, I don't think I would have to give up much (and might even gain) by moving to a different tablet. I don't really want to but I will if Apple keeps going this way.

I really hope Apple wakes up and stops this nonsense. Apple seems to have forgotten their "customers" in all of this. That is always a fatal mistake.

02-13-2011, 01:50 PM	#4
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 7,644 Karma: 5433388 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Hi, It is funny how we used to pick on M$ for its "embrace and extend" approach to taking over standards. When you look at recent history about Apple and ebooks you really do have to question if they are out to destroy the marketplace: 1. using "yet another DRM format" so that their ebooks could not be read anyplace else 2. leading the charge with "Agency Pricing" to try and break Amazon's "too low" pricing 3. again ignoring the epub ebook standard to create an Apple only fixed layout epub (px based) to replace the role of pdf which is now a fully open standard. 4. changing policies to steal profits from, or drive away many competing ereaders/ebooks I am a longtime Apple user (remember Mac SE's anyone) and even a shareholder, but I am very upset about their actions. I bought an iPad because of what you could do with it (read almost any type of ebook, surf the web, etc) and paid top dollar for it. Now it seems Apple, in its greed, is trying to make my iPad less useful to me by trying to get a piece of all content and/or drive away my favourite apps. I don't mind a walled garden, I do mind a walled garden where the walls grow selectively to prevent good apps from being used when those same apps were used to help "sell" the original devices. Sad really. We have gone from a world of M$/Borg to Apple/Borg in just a few short years. I personally hope Amazon, Sony, Kobos, B&N, etc fight this tooth and nail and simply leave the iPad/iPhone platform if Apple does not wake up. With Android 3 (Honeycomb) and new tablets like Motorola's Xoom and Samsumg's Galaxy Tab II, I don't think I would have to give up much (and might even gain) by moving to a different tablet. I don't really want to but I will if Apple keeps going this way. I really hope Apple wakes up and stops this nonsense. Apple seems to have forgotten their "customers" in all of this. That is always a fatal mistake.