Is it normal apple is trying to monopilize the world?

60% Normal

In some places having a monopoly is illegal. However I think this is what apple is aiming to do. If you notice all alternative products have very little money spent on extensions and toys. Apples is going beyond teens and are now aiming at Children. Everyone always want to be part of the mainstream but what does that mean? Many do not know that when you have apple products they reject all outside material. As in if you have itunes on your computer all other music on it is useless and rejected. You can not upload cds to the computer. The only option is the company's product on Itunes. This leads to you buying iproducts for everything else. They also made a large amount of hook ups, extensions and toys targeted to kids 8 and below. Anyone else notice this? Is being exclusive worth selling your life away?

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60% Normal

Based on 42 votes (25 yes)

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Comments ( 48 )

bananaface

11 years ago

Lol, I think describing it as selling your life away is a bit dramatic:P.

But yeah, this is the main problem I have with Apple, and also why I don't buy their products. If you get into it, you have to get completely into it. It's like a little Apple world, and I don't like that. If I'm buying something, like an app, I'd rather pay with real money than Apple money. I just don't like what you've described as being exclusive, it's not for me. Also, I'm just not very keen on the products.

I prefer Android.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  11 years ago
  
  That is what exclusive means. The apple community is very exclusive. It is kind of like a little club. Why when you get apple product you can only get other apple product. Which is also the point of apple. They are suppose to be the high end people with all the money. They only get stuff associate's with that special club. The rest of us are just poor losers. So we should as they say "Get with the program". This is also the mentality of a lot of apple users. This is the treatment I got my whole life for not having apple. So it is Exclusive.
  (4.Referring to a closed or private party)
  
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  - RomeoDeMontague
    
    10 years ago
    
    Apple? What about fucking google? Anyways some of us don't buy apple. In fact Android is coming up with some great devices and may be able to compete. As shitty as their phones might be my android cell was an amazing MP3 device. Whats worse is most apple users do not even take care of their shit.
    
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  - bananaface
    
    11 years ago
    
    I knew I'd worded that badly. I wasn't saying that I dislike you calling Apple exclusive. I agree, and what I was saying is that I dislike that. I dislike what you've referred to as being exclusive. Basically, I dislike the exclusivity.:P
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      11 years ago
      
      Well the fact is that apple is. That is the whole point. If you like it or not does not change anything. They also have exclusive clubs and places. The ever so popular Kamikon Is extremely exclusive as you had to get tickets two years before to even get in. So it does not matter how much money you have because if you do not know someone who has already went it is impossible to go. This also encourages people who went the year before to buy more tickets so that they do not get kicked out. So it is almost impossible to go to this convention.
      
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mysterymen3000

11 years ago

Everyone needs to overdose on chill pills right now. CALM THE HELL DOWN.

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PapzBSlim

11 years ago

They will not be able to monopolize their industry. I know of many people who do not like their products, such as myself. I have one friend who has an iPhone, which is "garbagio" and know no one that owns one of their computers. I know a few so called computer geeks who use hardware and software that are more reliable and powerful. I really believe them once I see the price tag and am not familiar with the manufacturer.

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- [Old Memory]
  
  11 years ago
  
  This is true, but for the average Joe, Apple products are extremely lucrative and therefore they're more dominant.
  
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  - PapzBSlim
    
    11 years ago
    
    I am the average person, along with most of my friends. I do not even see them talking about apple products. Funny this is, yesterday, my friend switched his phone from the iPhone to the Samsung Galaxy S3. My girlfriend has that same phone and I have an HTC. As far as computers and laptops, I rarely see Apple being used. Maybe the area you live in gets a lot of supporters. I live in sunny South Florida.
    
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    - [Old Memory]
      
      11 years ago
      
      Good point. Apple is pretty huge in metro Atlanta, at least among the affluent. At least the phones are. But neither of our contrasting experiences prove nor disprove that Apple products are generally more lucrative to average people, to the point where if their income is high enough they will buy them. I guess we would have to look at statistics to ultimately conclude this, which I don't feel like doing.
      
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      - PapzBSlim
        
        11 years ago
        
        Lol me neither. I also have to agree about the income of the individual. It seems as it is more of an image thing to me.
        
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[Old Memory]

11 years ago

I agree 100%. Google, Apple, Disney, Microsoft, Monsanto, etc- these are terrifyingly large corporations. I hope the world sees some grassroots innovation out of India and/or China before corporations conglomerate to the point of monopoly, the US economy is too sluggish for a realistic chance of bursting innovation. If only China had a more liberal governance...

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thanksforthefreecar

11 years ago

They won't suceed if people don't buy their products.

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howaminotmyself

11 years ago

So don't buy Apple products. In many cases it's a status symbol that we as consumers perpetuate by buying into the crap they are selling. Don't do that.

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- [Old Memory]
  
  11 years ago
  
  He's saying that a giant corporation is reducing consumer choice. Apple has some of the best products on the market, but in order to buy ONE of their products, you have to buy ALL of their products. If you don't want to buy all of their products, you can't buy even one. For example if I think that the hardware of the Macbook and the pre-programmed software is the best choice for my needs, I can't decide to buy it without accepting the fact that if I want to load any new programs onto my computer, they must be Apple programs. Mac OS and iOS are completely incompatible with any third party or open source software. And its not just the hardware, you can't even own the SOFTWARE you buy. If apple changes their user agreement on Itunes and you don't agree with the user agreement, you can't keep the old version of itunes. If you have internet, eventually they will stop letting you use itunes until you update your software and agree to the new user agreement. This has happened to me. So not only are you not allowed to load new programs onto your computer if they aren't apple, but you are FORCED to load new Apple programs onto your computer even if you prefer the old ones.
  
  Its as though Apple is letting you use their technology, but you don't own anything you buy, because you cannot use the technology for anything other than the purpose THEY intend.
  
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  - howaminotmyself
    
    11 years ago
    
    I don't actually own any Apple products but I do understand what you are saying. But I don't believe you need to purchase these things. I can listen to music just fine on my computer without iTunes. And I don't know enough about patent laws to fully argue how much legal right they have to this type of behavior. But I'm pretty sure they have some good lawyers. It's the ugly side of capitalism and they have proved to be quite successful at it.
    
    But they aren't the only ones who do this. How many cell phones have compatible chargers? And how often do you have to purchase a completely new device when one part breaks. How many appliances become trash because of a broken piece of plastic that costs .30 cents? Automobiles are pretty bad too, mechanics can't work on cars unless they have the specific software to do the diagnosis. And the parts are rarely interchangeable.
    
    I don't agree with their behavior, therefor, I do not support their company by giving them my money.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      11 years ago
      
      The point with apple is that they are non compatible. The fact that non apple products are compatible with each other is the plus side of not having an i product. Compatible charges means you can change devices whenever you want. Like a non apple product and computer are all compatible with each other. This is not possible with apple.
      
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  - Anonymous Post Author
    
    11 years ago
    
    Everything you have said. All of this.
    
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imadragon

10 years ago

Yes, Apple is evil.

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Terence_the_viking

11 years ago

Over 9000 people buy apple products.

I don't see the point.

Iphone 5 is an iphone 3 with a nicer case and a £600 price tag.

Yummy thanks for looking after us apple i like to take a bite out of you.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  11 years ago
  
  Damn you noopie! Get the hell out of here!
  
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  - Terence_the_viking
    
    11 years ago
    
    Oof moving on i know when i am not wanted.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      11 years ago
      
      I was kidding. I love your trolliness.
      
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disthing

11 years ago

I use an Apple Macbook and never use itunes. You don't need to use itunes to copy music CDs to your harddrive and the files don't have to be encoded in some Apple format. All my music is in mp3, wav or flac format.

I don't think Apple pose any greater risk of monopoly than Microsoft. Yes, Microsoft is open source, but also ubiquitous because of it. Apple benefits from being the alternative to the mainstream - if they wanted to become the mainstream (in anything other than the mp3 player market) they'd have to adapt and 'open up' in my opinion. Exclusivity is one of their selling points.

I'm no more disturbed by Apple selling products to kids as I am by any of the big toy companies targeting children. It's the parents who make the decision because it's usually the parents with the money - they have the final choice whether or not to buy a product for their kids, regardless of the marketing.

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  11 years ago
  
  Apple is the mainstream. You have it backwards. Apple is not the alternative. The alternative is having a regular mp3. Anything that is not Apple is what people who can not afford apple generally buy. Apple is status symbol. It makes a statement. It is the so called "In thing". It always will be. No way apple was ever the underdog. If it was not why would they make it so exclusive. So the people who buy it feel some how cooler.
  
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  - disthing
    
    11 years ago
    
    Apple is a mainstream company, but it is the alternative to the larger mainstream company (Microsoft) in the computing world. Apple does have somewhat of a dominant position in the mp3 player market, though, so if you're speaking specifically about mp3 players then yeah, the iPod is the mainstream, popular choice.
    
    Lots of people who can easily afford to buy Apple products opt for something else. It's fashionable to have an Apple product, but it's not necessarily the practical or desirable choice for many people, especially those over 30. Apple have cornered young consumers from middle-class backgrounds, but that makes up less than half of the overall electronics market consumer demographic worldwide.
    
    I agree they're not the underdog, but overall they're not the top-dog either. They're just a different dog.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      11 years ago
      
      They are also taking over the cell phones and it is now between them and driod. It use to have a large selection of cellphones which were popular till Apple decides "LETS MAKE A PHONE!" and killed most of that. So they are slowly taking over the market. A long with that they have a computer. They also have an ipad and now are hooking up toys for children 8 and under to play with that can only be controlled with itouch and ipad. So now own parts of the toy industry, MP3 industry, and the computer industry. Can you see the trend here? Also middle class is the biggest percentage of people or at least was for awhile. Them and upper class are the ones who can buy these products. How do you think lower class teens are able to afford these products? This stuff is not cheap you know.
      
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  - davesumba
    
    11 years ago
    
    no one buys apple because its the "in thing" and it certainly isn't a status symbol. the only area that they do significantly better than others is the mp3 player, and that's because their product is better than the cheaper ones. people don't buy an iPod because it's the thing to get, they buy it because they know from using there friend's that it's a quality, reliable, easy to use/understand, mp3 player, and it's the most marketed mp3 player, so if you wanted to look into a cheaper one, you'd have to do some serious research to pay a little less on something that isn't going to be as familiar to you.
    
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    - disthing
      
      11 years ago
      
      Have to disagree with you about people buying iPods because they are 'better than the cheaper ones'.
      
      iPods were successful because of a massive advertising campaign that no other mp3 player had seen the likes of. People bought it because it was cool and fashionable and they either couldn't be bothered to shop around or didn't know how to. You ask most people who own an iPod if they looked into other mp3 players before hand and they'll say no. They bought it because of the power of advertising, not because they thought it was superior to other mp3 players.
      
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      - [Old Memory]
        
        11 years ago
        
        But now due to the money raised by their market dominance, its arguable that currently they are the best mp3s, even if they weren't originally. The power of propaganda...
        
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        disthing
        
        11 years ago
        
        I don't think they are the best, even now. Personal opinion I suppose.
        
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      11 years ago
      
      I speak from experiences. I do not know how you are missing this when it is so obvious. When I was growing up that was the thing. Not to mention they had and have had tons of other mp3 players when the Ipod came out. So yes buying something like this is a symbol of your status. I felt the pressure in school to get these i products and was the only kid who did not have one. You are oblivious if you sees it as a cheap alternative. Since iproduct has always been extremely popular. Don’t make me laugh.
      
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      - davesumba
        
        11 years ago
        
        we must've just gone to different schools, yours being a lot more immature than mine, because i didn't see this at all.
        
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        Anonymous Post Author
        
        11 years ago
        
        Fact is that it is "THE" product. It is a symbol of status. It always was. It is also very expensive. Yet people would still pick this if given the chance. So pay attention to things and you will see this. It is very obvious. You probably do not pay attention to anything around you but this happens all the time. Same thing with twilight. Most people realize that twilight is the "IT THING". Just like Micheal and Modona hit big in the 80s. Well Micheal was still popular till he died just like I products will be.
        
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davesumba

11 years ago

how is apple any where close to being a monopoly or even trying to be?
do you know what that even is?
they offer quality products for a competitive fair price, and there are tons of alternatives and competitors that do perfectly fine.
Diamonds are a monopoly. One company owns most of them and only releases a certain amount every year to fix the high price. If it weren't for this monopoly, diamonds would be chump change, and not nearly as desirable.
So how is Apple like De Beers?

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Singingcutie4

11 years ago

I transfer CDs to iTunes all the time....

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- [Old Memory]
  
  11 years ago
  
  Maybe so but you can't transfer CDs to iPhones without using itunes and therefore agreeing to their software usage agreement, which makes your computer send your information to Apple who then owns your info.
  
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#Yoloswagg

11 years ago

Sune thaye arr goen two implahntt themm in yore aybalz

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- q25t
  
  11 years ago
  
  If I understood that was a Futurama reference?
  
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  - #Yoloswagg
    
    11 years ago
    
    Yes, you are most certainly correct.
    
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Legion

11 years ago

seems to me Disney seems more intent on making a monopoly than Apple. ABC, Pixar, Marvel Comics, Lucas Arts, and now they are possibly setting their sights on Hasbro.

I hope that Hasbro never falls to disney.

well, apple maybe is. I do notice they keep very tight control of their products. Granted, Microsoft kept a close eye on the companies it licensed software to, and even set the price on the computers in the 90s, until the courts intervened. its just another company trying to make as much money as possible from its customers, even by trying to get rid of third party developers.

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Retard73

11 years ago

apell are for fagots and the gays and

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thinkingaboutit

11 years ago

If they are dominating the market, they are doing something really right. They are not monopolizing the world.

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q25t

11 years ago

Uhhhh OP, I don't like Apple either but the music thing is wrong. You can simply drag and drop music into Itunes just like any other media player. And as for the ripping, if you know how, that can be done as well.

All of this was sent using an iPhone (free) by the way. Yay hypocrisy!

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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  11 years ago
  
  I am not wrong. I have Itunes and it did this to my computer. Which is not an apple/mac. Why I am not downloading it on the new computer. It would not let us download or use anything we already had. It also started stealing music. So I am not just talking out my ass.
  
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  - q25t
    
    11 years ago
    
    Well, ok but I've been able to do everything just fine.
    
    I still like windows media player better and would use it if apple wasn't apple but I've not encountered these particular problems.
    
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Darkoil

11 years ago

Both Macs and Iphones are overpriced garbage. The Ipads however are pretty good and not too bad for the money, the lack of flash would stop me from buying another in the future as it ruins web browsing. There is nothing exclusive about owning an ipad, hell you can pick one up for a couple of hundred quid.

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NotStrangeBird

11 years ago

I'm not hip enough to own apple products.

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Are You Normal?

Is it normal apple is trying to monopilize the world?