Is Apple the new Big Brother?

We’ve got to keep a watchful eye!

Apple has always been quite closed and proprietary with everything they do, but this iPad control you mention is troubling.

I would answer you but I’m afraid a black helicopter would start hovering outside my place !

consider software and hardware
It’s really hard to say to the years ahead

If they are would that mean Granny Smith is our nemesis?

No.

Is Nintendo big brother? They also have extremely tight control over their software; in the 90’s they actively censored software in America.

If Apple (or Nintendo) had a monopoly on computer devices, media, or entertainment, then maybe you could argue that. Maybe. But they don’t.

And if you don’t like Apple’s surveillance of the devices they sell you, don’t buy them and wait for other open-source friendly companies to copy the devices.

That last line in bold sounds a bit disturbing, but I have to believe that the ability to remotely disable software would be restricted to programs that did not go through the authorization process. Anything else would be illegal. Apple has been rather successful in its restrictive policy. If they can survive going against the Microsoft monolith with its open software policy then more power to them.

I Brother!
is the new Big Brother?
Oh Brother!!!

Microsoft’s software is open?

If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.

If you prefer, run something with windows on it, and when your CC gets lifted from your “open” system, or you get a virus 6 months in and it won’t boot up, by all means, write the EFF and ask them to come rub your heiney and tell you it’s special and different than all the other heinies they’ve already rubbed.

@jerv You are thinking of the Kindle my friend. And they erased 1984 and Animal Farm. Oh, the irony.

@ShiningToast That is ironic!

@LostInParadise Apple has to approve all media and data as well? I mean, I can understand deleting apps, but that alone is reason enough to avoid Apple. However, if they can deleted anything I load into or create on an Apple device then that is just ridiculous.
At that point, why not just have Apple censor reality like they did in the PTV episode of Family Guy?

@jerv I find it hard to believe that Apple is deleting people’s data. Having the ability is not the same as exercising it. Wiping out personal programs or data has to be illegal.

@LostInParadise @jerv will claim that it has happened and they do it.

Surprise, you sign an agreement when you purchase the device, and part of that agreement is to not modify the software running on the device (in the case of a touch, iPhone or iPad). Jailbreaking, therefore, is illegal. And, as such, Apple has the right to put out updates that delete or break illegal breaks to the software. Furthermore, they have the right to refuse to service those devices, since they have been modified, and it cannot be properly determined what might cause an issue with that device.

And as regards apps from the App Store, again, a person purchasing the device has agreed to terms of usage, as have developers when they purchase the SDK and join the App Store. In any business there are terms and conditions, and the person setting them forth reserves the right to modify those at will. Banks, phone companies, cable companies, etc do it as well. If the terms change, and an app, for example, no longer meets the requirements, Apple has the right to review it and possibly remove it.

@eponymoushipster A bit over the top. And forgive me for legitimately being confused by a particular issue or having opinions. And forgive me for not looking at the world the same way you do, for having a mind that operates differently. There are things I understand and things I do not, and going for glitz over value or performance is both incomprehensible and highly distasteful to me. Most of all, forgive me for being an Aspie. I chose my genetics, so it’s my fault.

Also, behavior like yours does not help Apple’s case. In fact, it only asserts that I am correct in my decision, much as moderate Conservatives are questioning the Republican party after the hard-core like Palin and the Tea Baggers opened their mouths.
Now, can you offer a legitimate answer to this question? I want to like Apple like I used to, but people like you drive me away. I want to understand how it is that Apple seems to be lily-white and innocent when they are not. I want to understand what the appeal is. What makes people think that they are better when they really are not provably better. What justifies the price premium aside from build quality, which isn’t sufficient by itself to justify the price tag.

@LostInParadise True, there is a difference, but it’s not something that I am comfortable dealing with.
As for having to be illegal, I doubt it. Amazon gave refunds for what they did since people paid for the books. Provable damages plus provable compensation means no legal case, so deleting purchased apps is fair game. No provable damage is done for wiping out free stuff, and it would be too easy to claim that it was an unfortunate technical glitch as opposed to intentional action by Apple.
I seriously doubt that they would actually do that, but I liken it to someone pointing a gun at my head and promising not to pull the trigger.

[Mod says] Ok flame off folks, both of you are a little too biased to ever reach an agreement. How about you agree to disagree or keep it civil. Personal attacks have and will be removed.

Try to disagree without being disagreeable. Unhelpful, rude and personal attack comments are not allowed and will be removed after the bleep.

@markyy I try to keep to the facts regarding Apple and leave the personal stuff out of it.

@jerv sorry, it’s called “opinion”, regardless of how factual you pretend it is.

@eponymoushipster
Regarding the license, you are correct that they have that right if you buy the product. Too bad many people never bother to read the EULA, but that is a separate issue. My point is that it’s a fact that Apple has very restrictive licenses that grant more extensive powers/rights to them than most contracts not signed in blood. It’s a fact that Apple reserves the right to do damn near anything they please, and it’s all in black-and-white.

As to how fair Apple’s licenses are to the end user, or whether they smack of Orwellian or Draconian totalinarianism is a matter of opinion and also the basis for this question.

And your assertion that open-source systems are automatically vulnerable to viruses and/or that Macs are immune is provably false. It is a fact that OS X and Linux are similar enough to have the same resistance to malware.

You and I are never going to agree on the Mac/PC thing, and I am cool with that. I used to be on the Mac side of this particular Holy War and I got a little hot under the collar when I was cornered like a rat. So I can somewhat understand why you lash out the way you have at me.

However, I am not fine with ignorance, provable blatant falsehoods, or insults directed at me. Feel free to insult Windoze all you want though! If you can keep to arguing on merit and avoid ad hominems (like your last post, which implies that there is more truth to your comments about me living in my mother’s basement jacking off Linus Torvalds than to anything I’ve said) then I think you and I can get along just fine…. and the mods will be happier too.

So, do we have a truce?

@eponymoushipster I think I asked this before, but have you actually seen any of the Linux distros from the last 5 years? If not then that would be the same as me saying that Macs suck based on System 5.x
You don’t have to like it, but I think that that sort of misconception which seems intentional is why Apple fans have a bad reputation. It’s one thing to have an opinion, but you truly are making up your own facts and thus it’s hard to take you seriously.