Honestly, I doubt the poor shlub about to be fired from marketing had ANY idea what he was doing. He saw the @-reply towards his account, didn't know what that meant, and decided to make a funny. Someone else at Sony saw the "you sunk my battleship" tweet, and after a mild heart attack and stroke, ran to the aforementioned shlub and told him to remove the tweet. What does this mean? It means that Sony's legal position is now much more tenuous, but I highly doubt if that will stop lawyers who are working on a per hour basis, and not a per won case basis.

I'm only replying because you have a low enough UID to know I am not just trolling. I have a TSI engine in my 06 Passat. Wonderful engine, but the premium gas requirement gets old quick.

If I only had karma...

Man, I never thought I'd feel like an old fart on /., but I just did.

I think there should be a sub-forum for those with UIDs of less than 10^6

My friend, I whole heartedly agree with you. I'm typing on a Mac, with an iPod touch charging near by, and a iPod nano somewhere in my bag. I agree that Apple products are superior to competitors for a number of reasons. I also agree that competition is needed.


All I wanted to say is that Steve Jobs' singular vision for vertical control of the market is what hurts Apple in the long run. I can't speak with any authority, but I believe that Jobs did NOT want apps to be sold for the iPhone. The way they are controlling the App Store is indicative of that. Whether that is right or wrong is not our business, its Apple's. Its their store, and they can do what ever they damn well please.


But with Android's recent improvements, and long term potential success, Apple is no longer operating within a vacuum.

Replying to anonymous: Apple Macintosh was introduced in 1984, at the tail end of the 1980s recession. Apple iPhone released in 2007, in the midst of the current recession. Take that as you will

Why not?

Apple and Steve Jobs historically hate being tied/dependent on anyone else.
iWork is a beautiful example of Jobs wanting to no longer have to deal with Microsoft. On paper, it makes sense, but in the cold hard truth of reality, Pages.app is no where near the sophistication of Word for Mac. But Jobs wants it to be pretty, and functional enough.
Either way, Apple hates being tied to vendors, and I see Google being divorced sooner than later.

This, if true, will only hasten the divide between the two tech darlings Google and Apple.

Apple has a vested interest in maintaining their defacto monopoly on online music sales though their vertical product pipeline. The Zune is no real threat, as Microsoft does not have the mindshare. Google, with Android, have significant clout, and potentially enough mass to unseat Apple from the head of the online music sales table.

Apple has done very well with the iPhone, but if history is our guide, they did very well with the original Macintosh. Fast-forward a few years to now, and the story is being repeated. Apple is dominant with their iPhone platform, but Steve Jobs is too obsessed with removing buttons from mice to loosen his grip on the brand. This has help Apple survive, but it ultimatly leads to Apple's cyclical demise.

Anyway, Google launching a music app will cause Apple to remove Google maps, and Youtube integration from their products. In the end, Google (openness) will win over the closed Apple system. Yes, the Apple devices will be pretty, but the Google stuff will work well enough, be less expensive, and have 95%+ of market share. (Its like we've seen that before somewhere....)

Funny you should say that, I'm going to continue to get my MD after my PhD.

The main thing I learned from getting a PhD? Cite the right people, and choose the right reviewers. "Peer reviewed" my ASS

I've been wondering the same thing myself. I bet in the first 100 days, only very pre-planned experiments and moves were made.

Now that we're what, 4 years in, I wonder if grad students are allowed minor joy rides in em. ("You published 2 Science papers, take Oppy for a spin").

You know, now that I'm nearing the end of getting my PhD, it amazes me how science is done. And not in a good way. If you have not read the PhD Comic, you should, its funny because its (sadly) true.