FOSS: Breaking the Chains of Apple and Microsoft

I have often wondered why Apple fans are so adamant that Apple is "the greatest" and yet are so happy to be constantly fleeced by the company. This writer pretty much solves that problem for me with his suggestion that Apple's addicts are actually perfect examples of the Stockholm Syndrome.

Oh, there is no doubt that Apple's products are good, but their lock-in policy seems to be even more adamant than Microsoft's policies, while the firm's desire for monopoly is now seen through the lens of the court actions by Apple against Samsung, and bit by bit, Apple's vendetta is being shown to be based on invalid patents.

Personally, Apple's products do not cross my threshold......Apple views every user as a milch-cow from whom you extract the maximum of milk with the minimum of "moo". Buy Apple and you pays, pay some more and then virtually open your wallet and say: "Help yourself".

No argument here. Funny cartoon on the Apple phenom of which you speak:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

I've always thought of "Stockholm Syndrome" as a characteristic of Microsoft/Windows culture.

Apple and its products have tended to remind me more of the Wizard of Oz and the Emerald City.

I'll say it again:

Apple customers love MacStuff and iStuff.

Microsoft customers tolerate Windows.

@Notbob........That's rather a good cartoon. Too true unfortunately.

@BernardSwiss......I'd say the Syndrome applies to both firms. In Redmond's case, you have reason to "hate" for both cost and faulty product - but the users are in the "love-hate" nexus (or for Gus3, a "tolerate-hate" nexus) because they have been conditioned to believe that they "cannot live without Windows and there is nothing outside the Windows universe".

Apple has been much more skilful however and removes one of the "hates". It supplies software and hardware that I think most of us would agree are pretty good products, but charges gold plated amounts for their purchase and continued use. Like I said, you pay, pay, pay, pay.....And this is where I think Apple has been brilliant in its activities: people certainly WILL pay more if they know the product is really, really good; and as the cartoon shows beautifully, the Apple fanatic always has the chance to say: "Mine is better than yours"......as long as they pay, and pay, and pay. And because the Apple stuff really DOES work so well, yes, the Apple user is fanatically loyal to the firm despite the wallet damage.

@Gus3........No argument about either of your pronouncements.....Neither destroys the Syndrome concept as far as I am concerned - in fact, each of them reinforces the idea in my humble opinion.

@Ridcully....... I guess you're right.

While looking for something else (the Apple dtrace / iTunes-DRM incident), for another discussion, I stumbled over this:

Apple support to infected Mac users: "You cannot show the customer how to stop the process" http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/05/24/apple-support-to-...

Another arrow for your quiver.