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baw · Jan 17, 2006, 10:08 PM

http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatc...es/005011.html

As true as that might be, Brookwood also believes that Apple may open itself for a lawsuit if a PC vendors requests an OEM agreement from Apple for its operating system.

If Dell wanted to offer one of their boxes running Mac software they could of course just buy the packaged OS. However, if they wanted to purchase OS X on an OEM basis and were turned down, Brookwood believes this could be grounds for the suit.

The suit could contend that Apple controls 100 percent of the Apple compatible hardware market and therefore it is anti-competitive.

Person Man · Jan 17, 2006, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by baw

http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatc...es/005011.html

um, this situation is no different than with the Power PC computers.

Kerrigan · Jan 17, 2006, 10:16 PM

^^^ exactly

shunt · Jan 17, 2006, 11:30 PM

Dell: Hello Apple, we'd like to buy OSX on an OEM basis.

Apple: Sure, buy as many as you want....same price.

problem solved

Salty · Jan 17, 2006, 11:33 PM

Better yet, sure buy as many as you like, half price, that said we won't tell you everything about the hardware that we do so that it can only run on our computers.

Chuckit · Jan 18, 2006, 01:54 AM

That's great. "Apple has a monopoly on Apple hardware!" Blow me away, chip geek.

JoshuaZ · Jan 18, 2006, 02:43 AM

Ummm... yeah. I'm sure that would be a great lawsuit to follow. Clearly someone has a monopoly on dumb lawyers.

Chuckit · Jan 18, 2006, 02:47 AM

It's not even a lawyer in the article. It's a "premier independent chip analyst," whatever that is.

It sounds like the guy went out for a few beers with a geek friend, after a couple of jager bombs the friend started ranting about Apple, and this guy wrote it down.

Cubeoid · Jan 18, 2006, 02:49 AM

uhhhh... I don't get it.

alphasubzero949 · Jan 18, 2006, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by Chuckit

It's not even a lawyer in the article. It's a "premier independent chip analyst," whatever that is.

It sounds like the guy went out for a few beers with a geek friend, after a couple of jager bombs the friend started ranting about Apple, and this guy wrote it down.

Rob Enderle?

Millennium · Jan 18, 2006, 05:26 AM

Apple considers itself to be a hardware company, first and foremost. They always have, and they probably always will. To them, their software is little more than a vehicle through which to sell their hardware: iTunes and the iTMS sell iPods, OSX sells Macs, and so on.

Unless I'm mistaken, this has usually been their defense in such lawsuits: their business model is based around the hardware, not the software. They believe themselves to be operating in the market of personal computers in general, and it would be extremely difficult to argue that Apple has a monopoly on personal computers. According to such argument, their practices aren't subject to restraint of trade, because the "Mac market" which these other companies would like to get into doesn't actually exist as a separate market: it's just a PC with a funny operating system.

Yes, this is convoluted and confusing and completely at odds with how most Mac users -myself included- view the Mac. I'm only trying to state their viewpoint. Alas, it has some legal traction, because it's the same defense Microsoft used to claim that they didn't have a monopoly.

demibob · Jan 18, 2006, 05:33 AM

Originally Posted by Millennium

Yes, this is convoluted and confusing and completely at odds with how most Mac users -myself included- view the Mac. I'm only trying to state their viewpoint. Alas, it has some legal traction, because it's the same defense Microsoft used to claim that they didn't have a monopoly.

how can microsoft claim that
they dont make the hardware

Millennium · Jan 18, 2006, 06:18 AM

Originally Posted by demibob

how can microsoft claim that
they dont make the hardware

No, but by claiming that the Apple just makes another kind of PC with a funny OS, they can claim from a legal standpoint that Windows isn't the only commercial PC operating system out there, and therefore there is no monopoly.

Yes, this is stupid. For it to be completely true, OSX would have to run on any kind of PC out there, which it clearly can't. However, laws can't think for themselves once they've been written, and so this was just true enough to squeak by.

demibob · Jan 18, 2006, 06:24 AM

(\_/)
(0.o)
(><)

turtle777 · Jan 18, 2006, 10:59 AM

(\_/)
( -.-)
(___)

Seconded.

olePigeon · Jan 18, 2006, 11:30 AM

\ | / (\_/)
(nn)( ><)

Bunny with head chopped off.