spheric

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spheric
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  • Apple faces 500M euro fine following EU music probe

    spheric said:

    The EU is desperate to collect a penalty fee. In the U.S. legal system, Spotify wouldn't have had the standing to complain since they had already moved 99% of their iOS subscribers to web payments WITHOUT needing any kind of in-app communication. Nothing about their financial reality supported the complaint. Not the revenue part of it or the communication part of it. 
    Yes, with a nominal GDP of almost US$20 trillion projected for 2024, I'm sure they're desperate to collect 500 million Euro from a company violating existing antitrust laws. 
    Apple hasn’t broken any laws. The only laws that Apple appears to have broken are recent laws designed to punish Apple for being successful. Those laws didn’t exist at the time the EU went after Apple.

    Incidentally, remember when they created a law forcing a standard power supply being USB-C? They claim Apple was filling their rubbish dumps with their leads. Only, Apple has only ever had 3 leads for their iPhones. 30-pin Dock connector, Lightning, and now USB-C. How many different charger leads existed on the EU’s beloved Nokia? Oh that’s right, there was a different power plug for every single model of Nokia phone until they settled on that crappy USB-Micro connector.
    Wait, so you just described how and why the EU created legislation to save themselves from a complete mess of power adapters — and you’re pissed because it also applies to Apple? And THAT is somehow "hypocritical"? 

    Do you realise how confused you sound?

    (Not to mention that you somehow bizarrely seem to believe that Russia — the Russia whose enemy Ukraine the EU is supplying with arms, ammunition, and money — is somehow a leader in the EU??? WTF.)
    ctt_zhavon b7williamlondon
  • Apple faces 500M euro fine following EU music probe


    Xed said:
    spheric said:
    Xed said:
    nubus said:
    dewme said:
    Are EU consumers taking advantage of the bludgeoning of the "evil gatekeepers" and suddenly basking in the glory of being able to purchase EU made products and services at more affordable prices? That is the goal, improving choice and driving lower prices, isn't it? 
    Mac-users as a group have gained most from regulation (though from US). At one point 95% of all users were on the Microsoft IE browser with sites demanding ActiveX that only worked on Windows. It forced consumers to Windows as Mac browsers including IE for Mac didn't work with their banks or other basic systems. I had to switch bank to stay on Mac, but most didn't. 

    US regulation forced the unbundling of IE from Windows and it opened the web + made Mac a platform that could be used on the level as Windows for most people. And the fear of regulation forced Microsoft to make a deal with Apple to producing MS Office for "at least 5 years" + made a huge investment (+3% of Apple). At that time Apple was 90 days from going bankrupt. Microsoft needed Apple to stay alive to keep US authorities at bay. Thanks to US regulation we still have Apple and competition.
    This is the first I've heard that most Mac users were forced to switch to WinPCs to use financial websites. I certainly never had this problem. Would you please post some links showing how widespread this was as I am unable to find any sources myself?
    Oh, it happened quite a bit back in the day (twenty years ago). 

    And of course, there was this: 

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/due-to-security-law-south-korea-is-stuck-with-internet-explorer-for-online-shopping/2013/11/03/ffd2528a-3eff-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html
    That link is about purchases, not banking, and it refers to South Korea, not the US. 

    I'm not saying this didn't happen to you, but I do doubt that your anecdotal experience translated to a mass exodus of Mac users to switch to WinPCs. If something this widespread had occurred I'm surprised that I wasn't aware of it and that there aren't countless articles easily had. Your comment also indicates that you were able to move to a bank whose online system didn't require ActiveX which means that it was possible to use a bank that supported more open web standards.
    Please check to see whom you are replying to. 

    There were plenty of cases where websites did not work without ActiveX. Most of use just moved on and ignored those sites, but plenty of people did not have that option. Having worked in support for many years around and after the turn of the century, I personally dealt with people who had to install virtual machines running Windows specifically for particular websites. 
    watto_cobrawilliamlondon
  • Apple faces 500M euro fine following EU music probe

    Xed said:
    spheric said:
    Xed said:
    spheric said:
    The EU is desperate to collect a penalty fee. In the U.S. legal system, Spotify wouldn't have had the standing to complain since they had already moved 99% of their iOS subscribers to web payments WITHOUT needing any kind of in-app communication. Nothing about their financial reality supported the complaint. Not the revenue part of it or the communication part of it. 
    Yes, with a nominal GDP of almost US$20 trillion projected for 2024, I'm sure they're desperate to collect 500 million Euro from a company violating existing antitrust laws. 
    GDP isn't the same profit, so 500,000,000 € with very little comparative legal and administrative overhead does sound like a huge boon to me.
    What does that even mean? 

    Since when are governments for-profit organisations?
    Replace profit with revenue if you find the statement confusing. Either way, more money is beneficial to a governing body. So my question to you is why would you assume that the EU has little interest in 500,000,000 € simply because their GDP is significantly larger, which is something that was never in question?
    So probably somewhere around USD 8 trillion, if tax revenue percentage within the EU remains at roughly the same percentage of GDP as it's been for the past decade? 

    I assume you're one of the guys who believes that fines exist to fill the coffers of administration, and not to discourage illegal behaviour? 
    grandact73williamlondon
  • Apple faces 500M euro fine following EU music probe

    Xed said:
    nubus said:
    dewme said:
    Are EU consumers taking advantage of the bludgeoning of the "evil gatekeepers" and suddenly basking in the glory of being able to purchase EU made products and services at more affordable prices? That is the goal, improving choice and driving lower prices, isn't it? 
    Mac-users as a group have gained most from regulation (though from US). At one point 95% of all users were on the Microsoft IE browser with sites demanding ActiveX that only worked on Windows. It forced consumers to Windows as Mac browsers including IE for Mac didn't work with their banks or other basic systems. I had to switch bank to stay on Mac, but most didn't. 

    US regulation forced the unbundling of IE from Windows and it opened the web + made Mac a platform that could be used on the level as Windows for most people. And the fear of regulation forced Microsoft to make a deal with Apple to producing MS Office for "at least 5 years" + made a huge investment (+3% of Apple). At that time Apple was 90 days from going bankrupt. Microsoft needed Apple to stay alive to keep US authorities at bay. Thanks to US regulation we still have Apple and competition.
    This is the first I've heard that most Mac users were forced to switch to WinPCs to use financial websites. I certainly never had this problem. Would you please post some links showing how widespread this was as I am unable to find any sources myself?
    Oh, it happened quite a bit back in the day (twenty years ago). 

    And of course, there was this: 

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/due-to-security-law-south-korea-is-stuck-with-internet-explorer-for-online-shopping/2013/11/03/ffd2528a-3eff-11e3-b028-de922d7a3f47_story.html


    williamlondonwatto_cobrabloggerblog
  • Apple faces 500M euro fine following EU music probe

    Xed said:
    spheric said:

    The EU is desperate to collect a penalty fee. In the U.S. legal system, Spotify wouldn't have had the standing to complain since they had already moved 99% of their iOS subscribers to web payments WITHOUT needing any kind of in-app communication. Nothing about their financial reality supported the complaint. Not the revenue part of it or the communication part of it. 
    Yes, with a nominal GDP of almost US$20 trillion projected for 2024, I'm sure they're desperate to collect 500 million Euro from a company violating existing antitrust laws. 
    GDP isn't the same profit, so 500,000,000 € with very little comparative legal and administrative overhead does sound like a huge boon to me.
    What does that even mean? 

    Since when are governments for-profit organisations?
    williamlondonmuthuk_vanalingamblastdoornubusgrandact73michelb76