Man if this isn't a case of "The pot calling the kettle black" then I don't know what is!

"You're right that Baidu probably beat Google by offering free searches for piracy sites. If you stop with the copyright maximalist viewpoint for a minute, that's exactly what you'd expect in a free-market situation."

This has nothing to do with a free-market. A free market says you have the choice to either make something or not make something, and also, the choice to purchase something or not purchase something. Doesn't say anything about the right to steal something, or in the case of Baidu, aid you in stealing something.

What if Baidu helped me find all your bank account numbers and I "downloaded" all your money? How would you feel about their service then?

My thoughts exactly!!! Let them come in and compete fairly with the rest of us.

This will also give them less of a reason to eventually leave the US, go home and set up competing companies back in their home countries, using all the knowledge they gained while working as an indentured servant in the US.

Depends on what you call a "smart phone."

Japanese phones have been way ahead of American phones in terms of advanced features for years. They regularly make purchases right from their phone using "smart wallet" functions, something even the iPhone lacks.

So I take this news with a HUGE grain of salt.

I'm not doubting that the iPhone is popular in Japan, but when you consider that almost all phones in Japan could reasonably be called "Smart Phones" then I don't think that the iPhone represents 40% of that market.

8.5% is a good start but I'd like to see those numbers up to 12+% within a few years.

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