Apple Adds Samsung Galaxy SIII To Its Ban List

Do it yourself by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-01 08:17 · Score: 5, Insightful

Add all Apple devices to you own ban list today !

Re:Do it yourself by Nerdfest · 2012-09-01 08:54 · Score: 5, Insightful

I keep saying this; it does have an effect. It's not just those of us that keep up to date about all of the bad corporate behaviour of Apple, Sony, etc, it's all the other people that come to us for opinions. It matters. The world is a much smaller place than it used to be as well.
Re:Do it yourself by betterunixthanunix · 2012-09-01 09:43 · Score: 5, Insightful

Having all Slashdot tell everyone they know to avoid Apple products might have more of an impact than you expect. People often come to me (and I suspect most other Slashdot readers) asking for advice about computers. If I say, "Stay away from Apple," at least a large fraction of those people will do so.

The real question is, how many Slashdot readers actually will stay away from Apple? A pretty large number of IT, CS, and other technically-minded folks seem to like Apple's products (and they are generally apathetic when it comes to Apple's tactics, licenses, or how Apple is pushing for the destruction of PCs), and quite a few Slashdot readers are big supporters of Apple. If the world's technical communities were united on this issue, there would be no problem -- Apple would be facing mass resistance (see e.g. SOPA/PIPA). Unfortunately, we are not united; a lot of people in these communities like Apple's products and are going to deride people who boycott Apple.

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Palm trees and 8
Re:Do it yourself by andrewa · 2012-09-01 10:44 · Score: 5, Interesting

Wait, so you bought an consumer electronics device from them well over a decade ago, it had a feature on it that didn't work very well for your purposes, and you want to throw them in the same category as crApple? I thought that I had a grudge about Apple through their recent behaviour, ever increasingly closed O/S, and hardware that is becoming more and more difficult (read impossible) to upgrade - but your grudge is slightly alarming... and you got your money back from Best Buy!
As a former Apple employee and dedicated user of their products (I may have bordered on fanboy at one point), I've become so sick of Apple's despicable practices and direction that I've given my iPad to my wife and replaced it with a Google Nexus, replaced my iPhone (goodbye unlimited data!) with a Samsung S3, and my shiny late-2011 MBP has been relegated to a secondary laptop with a nice new Dell running Linux Mint 10... However, were Apple to change their business practices/policies I would again consider using their products as they are of exceptional quality.

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:(){ :|:& };:
Re:Do it yourself by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-09-01 11:42 · Score: 5, Insightful

I do avoid Apple products. However, if someone comes to me and asks for advice, I cannot in good conscience tell them to say away from Apple without also explaining why I feel that way; and, let's face it, these kinds of ethical issues are far from universally agreed upon. It's something that everyone must decide for themselves. Sure, you can provide them with context, but making the choice for them would be immoral.
Re:Do it yourself by hherb · 2012-09-01 11:58 · Score: 5, Informative

A pretty large number of IT, CS, and other technically-minded folks seem to like Apple's products (and they are generally apathetic when it comes to Apple's tactics, licenses, or how Apple is pushing for the destruction of PCs), and quite a few Slashdot readers are big supporters of Apple.
It is changing. In our clinic we were in the process of transitioning towards an "all Apple" environment (iphones, ipads, Macbooks, imacs and mac minis). However, witnessing with great concern Apple's customer hostile approach worsening rapidly over the last couple of years we decided to reverse the process. In phones it was easy - the Galaxy S3 is a vastly better device. In laptops it is not easy, we still find Macbooks unrivaled in build quality and features, and there is nothing on the market we could find that would come close to the desirable specs of a mac mini.
As a result, we are now transitioning to a mix of generic PC hardware and Mac hardware mostly running Linux (some desktops still running OSX), and Galaxy S3 phones and soon the new Galaxy note tablet too. While it is a slow transition, I can see many like minded people in my area making a similar transition - the walled garden walls have become far too high for many, the sun is not coming through any more.
Only two years ago I probably would have still praised the advantages of the OSX ecosystem. Nowadays, they have become as disgusting as Microsoft had 10 years ago - and that was the last time I used any Microsoft products. The writing is on the wall for Apple too - instead of keeping innovating they merely try to maximize their profit through litigating any competition and locking their existing customers completely in. When corporates become intolerably arrogant it is only a matter of time before people turn their back.
Re:Do it yourself by jedidiah · 2012-09-01 12:28 · Score: 5, Insightful

Yes. Blatant copying is OK with me.
Otherwise nothing will ever get done because EVERYTHING builds on something else. If you think otherwise then you are just a pathological narcisist.
Although I don't accept your premise.
BOTH devices are blatant copies of any number of other devices that came before them. This is how progress occurs.
Ownership is not supposed to be assigned to "what" but to HOW. That HOW needs to be non-trivial. It needs to be something that can't be replicated by some student.
Patents need to be real inventions, not college homework assignments.

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A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Re:Do it yourself by StripedCow · 2012-09-01 12:56 · Score: 5, Funny

Perhaps Slashdot can start by changing the Apple icon, just like we had the Borg icon for Microsoft.
For Apple, I'd say something with a snake will do.

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If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Re:Do it yourself by atlasdropperofworlds · 2012-09-01 14:16 · Score: 5, Interesting

Asking for money is one thing. Seeking to ban products is quite another. Most patent cases between active tech companies get settled out of court, usually in a cross-licensing deal. Google's lawsuit will probably be settled that way, and both companies will continue on - no products banned.
Apple, on the other hand, just doesn't believe in real competition. They obviously aren't secure enough in their own products and capabilities, so they seek to ban other, arguably better, products from the market.
Re:Do it yourself by Sancho · 2012-09-01 14:47 · Score: 5, Interesting

Most don't fully get it or see the importance, but that doesn't matter either because they will easily get the fact that Android devices deliver a lot more value for the dollar and have a lot more good quality free stuff.
That's a matter of opinion.
I went from Palm to Windows Mobile to Apple to PalmOS to Android. Apple absolutely delivers the best experience, followed by PalmOS, then Android.
I hated Android. Seriously, with a passion. I loved the idea--a modern, open-source phone where I could install anything I wanted. In practice, I never found anything worth installing that wasn't in the market, the free apps were all ad-laden (taking up valuable screen real estate and slowing things down), the source was incomplete (drivers) and the phone vendor tried to lock the phone (and claimed that overriding it would void the warranty.) I couldn't even find paid versions of some classes of app that I wanted in order to avoid the ads because free apps are a race-to-the-bottom (on both platforms.) Paid apps seemingly have a hard time competing when there's any free version out there that isn't just a demo. The scrolling was horrible--I felt like I was using gestures to perform unrelated actions rather than directly controlling the on-screen elements. This probably sounds like a minor gripe, but UX is a rather important part of any design. I understand most of the UX is fixed in ICS. Maybe I'll give it a shot when my contract is up. Probably not, though--I'm practically locked into the ecosystem such that I the cost/benefit skews more in Apple's favor.
Regardless, due to the customizations, philosophical differences between vendors, and varying degrees of carrier influence, it's really not fair to compare Apples to Androids. You really need to compare specific phones (and specific OS versions). You might say Android is better, but I could show you phones being sold in stores today which offer a vastly worse experience and are as locked down as the phones being sold by Apple today. At the top end (best Android phone in all categories compared to best iPhone), things get tighter, but the price also get closer, if not exactly the same (16GB GS3 and the 16GB iPhone 4s cost the same.)
Re:Do it yourself by fredprado · 2012-09-01 16:14 · Score: 5, Informative

Google gets nothing by banning XBoxes, simply because it does not sell video game consoles. Obviously they are not trying to ban anything, they want just a slice of the pie.

Microsoft patents troll Google for money. Google patents troll Microsoft for money. They make agreements and continue to be. That is basically a zero sum game. Obviously it helps no one but the lawyers but it does not harm the consumer.

Apple is trying to patents troll Samsung into oblivion so they don't need to compete anymore and can have a legal monopoly over smartphones and tablets, and US courts apparently are fine with monopolies and Crony Capitalism so they get away with this.
Re:Do it yourself by lsatenstein · 2012-09-02 04:47 · Score: 5, Insightful

Wait, so you bought an consumer electronics device from them well over a decade ago, it had a feature on it that didn't work very well for your purposes, and you want to throw them in the same category as crApple? I thought that I had a grudge about Apple through their recent behaviour, ever increasingly closed O/S, and hardware that is becoming more and more difficult (read impossible) to upgrade - but your grudge is slightly alarming... and you got your money back from Best Buy!
As a former Apple employee and dedicated user of their products (I may have bordered on fanboy at one point), I've become so sick of Apple's despicable practices and direction that I've given my iPad to my wife and replaced it with a Google Nexus, replaced my iPhone (goodbye unlimited data!) with a Samsung S3, and my shiny late-2011 MBP has been relegated to a secondary laptop with a nice new Dell running Linux Mint 10... However, were Apple to change their business practices/policies I would again consider using their products as they are of exceptional quality.
I have Samsung laptops, washing machine and dryers, vacuums, etc. All top top quality products. I had other samsung products (cell phones and TVs). All top quality. The one time some small electronics failed, I got an RMA after I quoted the date of purchase and the serial number on the device. They sent me a new one.
If it was for a TV or washer, they have certified repair organizations. Can't beat that.
Now for the major factor. Their products performs better than the average. Like all manufacturers, from car to home appliances, etc. they buy a few of the competing products, figure out how they can do it better and sell a better product. It also happens to them, as you can bet a thousand dollars that Apple did that same thing with Samsung and their other competitors.
Samsung Galaxy performs better than does Apples overly priced product. Price gouging, is price gouging, and using the courts in every possible way to harm competition (they learned from MS), is not what I consider acceptable.
Apple is temporarily on top. I think it will be a me too company within 5 years. And all the competitors with their patents will combine to make sure Apple dies a torturous death.

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Leslie Satenstein Montreal Quebec Canada

Thanks Apple by zerodl · 2012-09-01 08:23 · Score: 5, Interesting

For limiting my choices on (good or bad) products. I could rant endlessly about this but I'd be preaching to the choir. But wow, I don't like Apple at all now because of this.

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- -= Napalm means serious BBQ =-

Re:Thanks Apple by andrewa · 2012-09-01 11:10 · Score: 5, Insightful

Absolute bullshit. Can you imagine the state of the automobile industry today if there had been a patent on the 'look and feel' of the original automobile, and Ford had aggressively sued other automobile manufacturers? Apple are probably the richest company in the world and they are using their excessive funds to cripple any competition with frivolous patent trolling. It will become less important to Apple to innovate if there is no competition, is that what you really want?

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:(){ :|:& };:

A small thought by jareth-0205 · 2012-09-01 08:24 · Score: 5, Interesting

In the long term, would the best outcome here be for Apple to *succeed*? I mean, if they manage to get their main competitor banned in the States, they look like a unbridled predator competing not with quality, but lawyers. (I know generally /. thinks that already, but general public perception is more important) If the reaction for those wanting a Galaxy III is going to be something along the lines of "why can't I have the shiney thing?" and turn their ire on Apple / lawmakers.

Apple might want to be careful what they wish for... the rest of the world will steam ahead unrestricted, and the case for software patents being harmful will get stronger.

Re:A small thought by VortexCortex · 2012-09-01 09:48 · Score: 5, Interesting

That's the whole purpose of the "walled garden" that Apple - and yes, Google "Play Store" also - encourages. It's an attempt to lock people into a specific set of devices (ones that you profit from) by discouraging change. Who wants to lose music, games, etc just because there's a new device out that is a little better?
Uhm, no. There's nothing stopping Apple from installing Android on the iPhone 5. Hell, Apple could have a dual boot phone and offer some real choice. Google Play Store doesn't prevent you from buying or installing software from other sources. However, Apple will not let anyone install iOS on a Non Apple device, and actively works to prevent others from selling software to people who own iPhones.
I get what you're trying to say, but maybe you've never used Linux? I can add multiple "App Stores" (PPA's) to my OS, then get all the benefit of having trusted sources of software, and the choice of deciding who to trust for that software... There is a way to do "Walled Gardens" that allow you to unlock the gate, and visit other gardens, and even make your own garden. Android .APKs are cross platform bytecode, you can take the .APK from the repository, and install it on multiple devices... even a new one you just got. I do fault Google with not giving us easier file system access to the Android devices to make such software migration issues simple. One of the issues is that Davlik VM modifies the bytecode on installation to fix byte order, and static linking on a per machine basis, and you don't really want to keep an extra installation .APK on the system for every program you install. Side loaded apps don't have this problem, but it's not a failure of the "walled garden" / Software Repository System itself -- I frequently mirror my package cache to multiple machines on Linux so public facing bandwidth for updates is only consumed once.
DRM and 3rd party Streaming are what creates the planned obsolescence and vendor locking you're speaking of with songs and software no longer being available. However, My own DRM system is merely PKI that allows the User to accept or deny game mods made from others -- That type of DRM that puts the User in control is Good. I use a streaming system on my desktop machines that lets me stream all my media to any device -- That type of streaming where the user is in control is Good.
It's when the User is not in control of the systems they personally use and rely on that you have problems. I encourage you to read up about Free Software: RMS may be fucking weird but he's damn right.
TL;DR: You just need more control over your software -- Can you access the location where the files are and copy them to another device? If not then that's Treacherous Computing, not a "Walled Garden".

Dear Apple: by Anonymous Coward · 2012-09-01 08:32 · Score: 5, Insightful

Get fucked. Seriously. You got what you wanted thanks to an incompetent judge and a jury with conflicts of interest. You can't go about trying to use that as a cudgel to ban things that weren't even in the original case.

It's funny how Jobs once said Apple has always been "shameless in stealing great ideas." Yet when you think someone else has done the same thing to you (regardless of evidence or prior art), you clowns get your panties in a bunch and start stamping your feet, crying to the courts, and whining about "going thermonuclear" on Android. Well, guess what, idiots. You can't shamelessly copy ideas then cry foul when you believe you're the one being copied. It doesn't work that way.

To close, Jobs was a great businessman. But he was also a COLOSSAL douchebag with no sense of perspective or grip on reality. I thought when he died that rational heads would prevail in Cupertino. Apparently I was wrong. This fucker's cult of personality is so strong that even now people worship him like he was some sort of deity.

So yes, Apple. You can go fuck yourself with a rusty chainsaw, because you're pissing away whatever good-will you may have had left. One day, the drooling iZealots will wake up and get off of the trend-whore treadmill.

--Pretentious signature about what device I'm posting from. In this case, my Galaxy S3

Re:A more fitting punishment by mickwd · 2012-09-01 08:44 · Score: 5, Insightful

I'd rather Samsung be allowed to sell its products in the US.

No AND.

Irreparably harming Apple? by amRadioHed · 2012-09-01 08:57 · Score: 5, Insightful

It seems it would be a hard argument to make that anything was doing irreparable harm to Apple when they are currently the largest publicly traded company in the world.

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We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace

Re:Apple will not stop until they have 100% monopo by symbolset · 2012-09-01 09:02 · Score: 5, Funny

Samsung gives Windows Phone token support. In return they get better license cost on Windows. But instead of being mass produced in a Chinese sweatshop these token Windows Phones are lovingly handcrafted in Whittier California by a wizened old former TV repairman named Hank. Hank is semi-retired and only works 15 hours a week, but he has no trouble keeping up with the global demand.

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Help stamp out iliturcy.

Re:Misattributed quote. by Nerdfest · 2012-09-01 09:13 · Score: 5, Funny

Yes, he even stole that quote.

Re:Snore. I really don't get the Apple Hater Choir by Nerdfest · 2012-09-01 09:15 · Score: 5, Insightful

The LG Prada, the Palm Treo, and The BlackBerry are all lined up outside and would like a word with you about copying others.

Re:Apple will not stop until they have 100% monopo by ThePeices · 2012-09-01 09:39 · Score: 5, Funny

Apple already has a 100% monopoly in the iOS market.

Re:Universities and Apple Products by betterunixthanunix · 2012-09-01 14:16 · Score: 5, Insightful

What difference does that make? Free operating systems are not Unix-like because Unix is some great OS design (it is good, but there are better things out there), they are Unix-like because that was the most expedient choice in 1984. If the FSF had been founded today, GNU would be Windows-like and we would be saying things like, "Well at least its Windows!"

Not only that, but using Mac OS X is nothing like GNU/Linux or even the BSD on which Mac OS X is based. When last I checked, X11 was not even installed by default these days, and the terminal is not immediately available from the base install (yes, I am sure it is not terribly hard to find; it is also not hard to find in Windows, but when I install something like RHEL, the out-of-the-box DE has a terminal icon right there, ready for me to explore or to use). It is absurd to think that any but a small minority of Mac OS X users will discover a "better Unix," because only a small minority of Mac OS X users will ever see anything even remotely Unix-like when they use their computer.

Universities are no exception to what I said. It is not as though they are encouraging students to use Mac OS X, then teaching them how to write shell scripts as part of some "basic computer usage" class. When a student is having a problem, they just bring their computer to the help desk and have someone else fix it for them. If a student cannot find the program they are looking for, they just go to the computer center to find out what shrink-wrapped off-the-shelf software they should buy, assuming their teacher did not tell them already. We are not raising a generation of Unix hackers when we encourage our college students to use Macs.

Yes, your CS department is different; there, the students are learning to program, so they will find their way to a terminal one way or another, and there are hackers in every CS department who will show people how to install a free OS. Even within CS departments, you see an awful lot of Apple customers these days...

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Palm trees and 8

Re:US Patents lead to technological backwater by flyingfsck · 2012-09-01 17:21 · Score: 5, Informative

"The land of the free" has been a joke to everyone outside of the US for decades. -- Hundreds of years actually. The underground railroad has always run from the USA to Canada, and not the other way around.

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Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!

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