Apple reportedly squeezing supplier to stop building MacBook Air clones from Asus

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  • Reply 61 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aaarrrgggh View Post


    Technology is changing. Television will eventually go resolution-independent, vector-based for distribution, which will allow for meaningful use of very large screens without compromising on small screens. Why not get the OSs resolution independent first?



    The shift is just where the processing takes place.



    What would vector-based capture look like, I wonder... Can you mention even one vector-based image capture device on the market? (any market, home, business, etc.).
  • Reply 62 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Alonso Perez View Post


    China's logistical advantages have been widely discussed. I am all for a US plant, but I understand that that's just not going to happen, as Jobs himself said not long ago.



    Thailand has not proven to be such a good bet (and unless they reforest, it will flood again and again). So, where do you have in mind?



    My guess is that in Bangladesh, wages are lower than China. So Apple could pay more than than people make by dump picking, and still make massive profits.
  • Reply 63 of 165
    Hmm. At first blush, it does seem like Apple could get themselves in hot water over this. Generally speaking, under the antitrust laws that I am familiar with, it is illegal to abuse your dominant market position; for instance, in the 90s, Microsoft could have gotten in trouble if they told a small component maker that they couldn't sell their components to Apple, lest Microsoft remove support from said component in the next version of Windows.



    However, since Apple employs some of the savviest lawyers around, I suspect there is more to this than meets the eye. For one thing, with Apple's global market share (traditional PC only, not tablets), Apple does not enjoy a monopolistic position (if I recall, usually 70% share). Second, Asus is not a small company being pushed around.



    Thirdly, and this is what I suspect lest Apple be imitating MotoMo, is that Pegatron is using the same assembly line that Apple had them build (including the very at-the-time unique uni-body aluminum assembly line), and that Apple possibly invested in this line and has some legal recourse about demanding exclusivity. We don't know the details of Apple's contract with Pegatron. But Apple throws a lot of money at suppliers, and likely has specific terms; this may fall under contract-law.



    If there are no such terms, and as long as Apple does not meet the criteria of having a monopolistic position, I believe Apple is free to be cut-throat about this. Business is cut-throat. It's only when a company gets too much power and competition is stifled that the Feds will step in.
  • Reply 64 of 165
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ibgarrett View Post


    When I took it out of the box some of the adhesive stickiness of the wrapper was left behind on the metal and I couldn't find anything to clean the smudges off of the case. I don't know if it came from the plastic cellophane that was used during shipping or if it was on there prior to shipping - but the adhesive was sticky, smudgy and extremely hard to remove.



    Citrus based solvents work well for that. Cheap,non-toxic,don't hurt finish, etc.
  • Reply 65 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Just a quick reminder for the "Apple should quite focusing on lawsuits and put more energy into their products" crowd: Apple has this thing called legal counsel? And law firms which they employ?



    And surprisingly, those attorneys are not working on the next MacBook Pro or iTV or iPad. Apple doesn't have to pull personnel out of R&D to put on figuring out what to sue someone for. Jony Ive isn't getting distracted, Scott Forstall doesn't have to drop what he's doing to deliver a deposition and Tim Cook can take time out of his busy schedule to talk to the lawyers about whether or not to proceed with a given piece of litigation without forgetting to make products.



    I get the feeling people imagine that Apple HQ has turned into some kind of war room with big maps on the wall and the top brass spending their days screaming at subordinates ala Hitler's bunker. Lawyers. They do work.



    Thank you.



    *applause*
  • Reply 66 of 165
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    I know that and I don't disagree with you. But you should perhaps tell that to the person who first brought up the subject in this thread. That person was not me.



    Sorry but YOU are the one that started with the political rhetoric about Israel. I only mentioned it in passing as an observation that the middle east is a risky place at the moment, be it Israel or any other country in the region. Apple building an R&D plant there seemed unusual.



    Don't point your finger at someone else. You are the one that decided to introduce some political agenda.
  • Reply 67 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by I am a Zither Zather Zuzz View Post


    My guess is that in Bangladesh, wages are lower than China. So Apple could pay more than than people make by dump picking, and still make massive profits.



    I am going to go ahead and boldly guess that Bangladesh lacks anywhere near the kind of infrastructure, qualified engineering personnel, and supplier network Apple would need. That, plus it's an even bigger flood risk than Thailand.



    If it was just about wages, everybody would manufacture in Haiti.
  • Reply 68 of 165
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addicted44 View Post


    Except, Apple isnt curtailing who benefits from the assembly line. They are simply saying that if a competitors is using that same assembly line, they will choose to go to another assembly line.



    Which is the only leverage Apple has if there's no contractual obligation for Pegatron to comply.
  • Reply 69 of 165
    tjwaltjwal Posts: 404member
    Didn't Apple buy a bunch of CNC machines for Pegatron? If they did then they likely have some say in what those machines are used for.
  • Reply 70 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addicted44 View Post


    Would this cause anti-trust scrutiny? Apple is unlikely to have said "Hey, you cannot build stuff for them". They would have said "Hey, if you continue building stuff for them, we will take our business elsewhere". I dont see why that raises anti-trust concerns. Apple has all the rights in the world to do business with whoever they want (except, they cannot discriminate on grounds of sex/race/etc?.I doubt competitors are protected by this).



    I agree, but Apple is treading a fine line here. With the amount of information available to us, it appears Apple hasn't done anything wrong, yet. However, remember this is the same type of behavior that landed Microsoft in Anti-trust hot water.



    The biggest difference is that it was determined M$ has a monopoly on the PC market - Apple definitely does not. But, strong-arming suppliers and vendors does not engender good relationships or public perceptions, which could come back to bite them arse in the long run.



    Another thing to keep in mind here is that laws/regulations in China are far different from the US, so one can't apply US logic to whatever situations exist over there.
  • Reply 71 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    You can't be accepting Apple's money with your left hand, while your right hand is giving Apple the finger. I'm certain that even Chinese people and commies surely understand that simple concept.



    This.
  • Reply 72 of 165
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Sorry but YOU are the one that started with the political rhetoric about Israel. I only mentioned it in passing as an observation that the middle east is a risky place at the moment, be it Israel or any other country in the region. Apple building an R&D plant there seemed unusual.



    Don't point your finger at someone else. You are the one that decided to introduce some political agenda.



    Nope, you were wondering why Israel so I answered the question. It seems to be a hot bed of tech at the moment and that's why Apple is investing there, to gain access to new technologies such as that SSD controller company which they recently bought. And Apple is also opening research centers there.
  • Reply 73 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Pendergast View Post


    Thank you.



    *applause*



    Lawyers execute. But there is only so much management focus to go around. Tim Cook's day lasts 24 hours, even if he uses less of them to sleep than most mortals. There are only so many meetings he can be at, so may mails he can read and comprehend, so many instructions he can give.



    In the technology world, legal efforts are essentially defensive, regardless of the legal action itself. Offense is played not by lawyers, but by disrupting the market with new products, services, solutions, and so on.
  • Reply 74 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    And what does that have to do with the article?



    The Zenbook looks identical to the MacBook Pro. That's lawsuit-worthy if Apple has the appropriate patents on the Air design.



    Apple can't constrain production of other companies. That's also probably lawsuit worthy if it's done in an illegal manner.



    Apple, like any other customer, has the right to take their business wherever they want, for whatever reason they want. Apple cannot force Pegatron to refuse to build for Asus, but they can sure as hell advise Pegatron that they will lose Apple business if they do.
  • Reply 75 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Nope, you were wondering why Israel so I answered the question. It seems to be a hot bed of tech at the moment and that's why Apple is investing there, to gain access to new technologies such as that SSD controller company which they recently bought. And Apple is also opening research centers there.



    But Israel has no more chance to become a manufacturing center for Apple than does the US, so it has no relevance to the topic.
  • Reply 76 of 165
    geekdadgeekdad Posts: 1,131member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Conwaycf View Post


    Apple is doing the entire industry a service by forcing competitors to come up with their own ideas. What if every car on the road looked like a Mercedes? Competition is supposed to give us choice, not copies.



    you mean have 4 wheels and 2 to 4 doors and use a combustion based engine? Maybe have a windsheild with wipers...... your right...all cars are different...
  • Reply 77 of 165
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by myapplelove View Post


    Sorry my friend tallest skill, apple are great these days at being bullies, no so great when it comes to actually making an os that is not a dog or has a few useful productivity features instead of being a buggy bric a brac with ios.



    how about we finally get resolution independence at some point? Panther, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, slow leopard...oops vista...oopss again lion...so where is it?



    I dont think this is true for Snow Leopard but Lion is a total joke. Every time I've tried Lion I always revert back to Snow Leopard.
  • Reply 78 of 165
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by geekdad View Post


    you mean have 4 wheels and 2 to 4 doors and use a combustion based engine? Maybe have a windsheild with wipers...... your right...all cars are different...



    Your sarcastic analogy would be equivalent to "you mean have a display and a keyboard with a hinged lid with ports on the side?" Surely you can see the difference.
  • Reply 79 of 165
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fredaroony View Post


    I dont think this is true for Snow Leopard but Lion is a total joke. Every time I've tried Lion I always revert back to Snow Leopard.



    I found the performance improvements over Snow Leopard justify using Lion alone and thats without getting into how much better it works on Notebooks.
  • Reply 80 of 165
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fredaroony View Post


    I dont think this is true for Snow Leopard but Lion is a total joke. Every time I've tried Lion I always revert back to Snow Leopard.



    Perhaps you and myapplelove can explain how Lion doesn't even have a few useful features.
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