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It's not just you, Apple hates everyone

Apple's using the bully pulpit to stifle their competition again.
Written by Scott Raymond, Inactive

Oh great, here he goes again.

In my previous article, Apple doesn't love you, they just want your money, I pointed out that Apple instructed its support personnel to not assist with the removal of the MacDefender malware. Eventually Apple caved in to pressure from their customers and bad press, and released instructions on how to avoid and remove MacDefender.

Better late than never, but they should not have had to be shamed into providing support. The growing legions of Apple users were left scratching their heads as to why Apple didn't even acknowledge that there was a problem. And there certainly is an ongoing problem with Apple malware; there is already a new, more dangerous variant called MacGuard available.

Like the ongoing hacks of Sony, this is a new game for malware authors and Apple is the nerdy kid with the broken glasses getting hit with spitballs.

Apple is trying to cope, but this is an entirely new concept to them. Sure, prior to OSX there were plenty of viruses out there on the Mac platform, but anti-virus applications pretty much held those in check.

While all of this is going on, Apple is continuing their over-reaction campaign against competitors and leaks. Remember the SWAT team raid on Jason Chen's home? They used an invalid search warrant and confiscated all of his computers, violating his civil liberties and protections as a journalist.

It doesn't help that the organization that instigated the raid was the California Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team--which just so happens to have Apple as a steering member. Instead of seeking damages against the thief that took the phone from an Apple employee that fenced stolen goods to Gizmodo, they instead chose to punish the person that leaked information about their precious phone.

As you may recall, last month Apple and Samsung began a tit-for-tat lawsuit struggle over violated copyrights. Not satisfied with that fight, Apple is now demanding access to Samsung's unreleased smartphones and tablets. This is patently absurd. If anyone sued Apple for infringement and demanded access to THEIR unrelased hardware, Steve Jobs' head would spin 360 degrees and he would vomit pea green soup.

This kind of bullying needs to stop. Samsung is one of the largest suppliers of components for Apple devices. It would serve Apple right if Samsung simply cut off their supply completely until these copyright cases were resolved. And since that kind of thing would take years to get through the courts, it would send a big signal to Cupertino that no one likes a bully.

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