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Apple blocks rival software

by on15 September 2008

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Playing monopoly


Fruit themed
gadget maker Apple has been killing off competition from its iTunes site lately.

This week it told Podcaster that since it wrote code that competed with its own software it would not be allowed to sell its wares. It claims that Podcaster assists in the distribution of podcasts, which duplicates the functionality of the podcast section of iTunes. Many would think that it is fair enough that Apple says who can buy and sell things on its site. After all, it does not make sense that it allows rivals to put their software up.

However, the problem is that Apple is effectively creating and enforcing a monopoly on a platform that is set to grow.   For iTunes to be successful it will have to convince people that it is vender non-specific. There is another problem,  Apple needs developers to write applications for its iPhone, but it has not given anyone any guidelines over what is acceptable and which functionality is naughty in the sight of Steve Jobs.

Developers could be wasting their time writing iPhone applications if Apple runs a product that it wants to prop up or might want to flog in the future. This will kill off the third-party application market for the iPhone.
Last modified on 15 September 2008
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