[Simon Tupper]

Just remember when Apple was going under and Microsoft bought a huge part of Apple's shares which got them out of trouble, and later ended in Apple taking major ground in the mobile market while Microsoft was accused of monopoly, therefore couldn't really fight back. All of this lead to all of you hating on Microsoft, citing the 10 years old arguments from Apple's anti-Microsoft ads campaign and other arguments related to Windows XP which is freaking old. So who is evil?


Of course Microsoft and Apple are not evil... Big companies can sometimes exaggerate and it can have a huge impact on our society, but you must be able to understand that they only try to get you to hate on their competitors to get more "control" over you. Apple Macs are not better than the equivalent Windows PC, they simply have a more consumer centric approach then pre-windows 8 versions. Microsoft has to please IT and consumers, which is not an easy task and Windows 8 (when you get used to it) is doing good in both scenarios.

...

You probably guessed that it's not EXACTLY like this every single time, but the general idea is here.

Most of the hate comes from too many ignorant people meeting and reinforcing their ignorance. And this is valuable for anything in life if you think about it... Checking facts matters or else you look silly when you try to explain why Microsoft's deal with Dell is just another evil plan from Microsoft to take over Dell and bring it to it's grave.

[crystal_planet]

No one I know who uses Apple products think that. Most of them have at least one Microsoft product - usually their pc/laptop.

And besides, anyone who would bring up arguments about the IE thing from 1997 or the blue screen of death is clutching at straws anyways and is incapable of reasonable discourse.

[stmav]

Microsoft and Apple seem to be playing nice these days. A friendly barb here and there in ads, but nothing mailicious. If Gates and Jobs could mend fences, it's time they moved on as well. They need a united front to pimp slap google anyway

[socialcarpet]

I'm an Apple loving guy who also loves his Windows Phone and has no hate for Microsoft.

There are pros and cons to both. I use a Mac OS X machine and a Windows 7 computer and I've found things to like about both of them. I prefer Mac OS X, but I love Windows 7 as well. I don't care for iOS at all and I am pleased Microsoft offers such an appealing alternative.

I see a lot more Microsoft hate coming from Google/Android fans these days than I do from Mac users.

[cgk]

When some of my Apple loving friends tell me how evil Microsoft is I always take some time to say...

that no mega-corporation actually cares about you and to favour one mega-corporation over another is a fairly empty headed thing? And that as a consumer we should hound corporations and be willing to switch at the drop of the head as loyalty doesn't not promote innovation or outcomes that favour the consumer?

or is that just me?

[tekhna]

that no mega-corporation actually cares about you and to favour one mega-corporation over another is a fairly empty headed thing? And that as a consumer we should hound corporations and be willing to switch at the drop of the head as loyalty doesn't not promote innovation or outcomes that favour the consumer?

or is that just me?

This, a million times.

[Laura Knotek]

It's actually a myth that Microsoft saved Apple. Stop the lies! The day that Microsoft 'saved' Apple | ZDNet

[TonyDedrick]

No one I know who uses Apple products think that. Most of them have at least one Microsoft product - usually their pc/laptop.

And besides, anyone who would bring up arguments about the IE thing from 1997 or the blue screen of death is clutching at straws anyways and is incapable of reasonable discourse.

I was just gonna say I don't anyone that hates MS. Most of the people I know who have iPhones use PC's. Maybe in my own little world in Boston, I had never heard of this idea that Microsoft was hated until joining this site.

[socialcarpet]

It's actually a myth that Microsoft saved Apple. Stop the lies! The day that Microsoft 'saved' Apple | ZDNet

Thank you for posting this.

I'm so tired of hearing how Microsoft saved a company that was worth more than $2 billion with a $150 million dollar purchase of non-voting stock.

Apple spent more than the amount Microsoft invested in them on the first 3 months of the ad campaign for the first iMac.

If anything, Microsoft's commitment to develop a new version of MS Office for the Mac did more to help Apple than the money.

The truth is they both got something from the agreement.

Apple got to sell $150 million of non-voting stock and a commitment to develop a new version of MS Office for the Mac.

In return, Apple agreed to drop their lawsuits against Microsoft and to make Internet Explorer the default browser on Mac OS 9.

That is the REAL story.

[JerseySal]

Apple's Child-Labor Problem Runs Deep - Technology - The Atlantic Wire

[ammarmalik2011]

Your knowledge on Microsoft saving Apple is sadly just way too one-sided. I suggest you research a bit on that before preaching it to other people.

[tomatoes11]

The only evil company here is the one that has 3 or 4 x profit margin on their phones and 100 billion in the bank. How can people support them knowing they overprice everything and brag about ripping you off at every live Apple event?

I guess only blind fans like Socialcarpet understand why they let Apple get away with huge mark ups.

[crystal_planet]

The only evil company here is the one that has 3 or 4 x profit margin on their phones and 100 billion in the bank. How can people support them knowing they overprice everything and brag about ripping you off at every live Apple event?

I guess only blind fans like Socialcarpet understand why they let Apple get away with huge mark ups.

Generally folks don't look into ethics before making purchases. They just purchase the products they want. Besides most folks know about the margins Apple enjoy. I'm not bothered by it personally.

[Laura Knotek]

Generally folks don't look into ethics before making purchases. They just purchase the products they want. Besides most folks know about the margins Apple enjoy. I'm not bothered by it personally.

If people stopped buying Apple products due to high prices, Apple would have to lower the prices.

[crystal_planet]

Your knowledge on Microsoft saving Apple is sadly just way too one-sided. I suggest you research a bit on that before preaching it to other people.

Well, whether MS did or didn't save Apple is irrelevant. The picture of Jobs approaching Gates for help is enough to put a smile on my face.

[JerseySal]

No company we buy products from holds a gun to our heads, nor do they hold a monopoly. That's the beauty of the free market. If you choose to buy overpriced caca, that's all on you.

[crystal_planet]

If people stopped buying Apple products due to high prices, Apple would have to lower the prices.

And we all know that's not likely to happen. Folks are willing to pay for a product they like, and as long as that happens, Apple prices won't drop.

[ammarmalik2011]

The only evil company here is the one that has 3 or 4 x profit margin on their phones and 100 billion in the bank. .

Surface RT costs Microsoft around $200 to make. A touch cover costs around $12. So kindly cut the crap.

[cgk]

The only evil company here is the one that has 3 or 4 x profit margin on their phones and 100 billion in the bank. How can people support them knowing they overprice everything and brag about ripping you off at every live Apple event?

I guess only blind fans like Socialcarpet understand why they let Apple get away with huge mark ups.

This is why the silliness comes in - do you really think that Microsoft or any other corp wouldn't have such huge mark-ups if they could get away with it? If you think the answer is 'no', then you are as blind as anyone who is loyal to any other corporation.

[crystal_planet]

Surface RT costs Microsoft around $200 to make. A touch cover costs around $12. So kindly cut the crap.

Your point may have validity but:

- do you have a link to back this up?
- what horrible event in your past has made you so bitter towards Microsoft products?

[martinmc78]

This is why the silliness comes in - do you really think that Microsoft or any other corp wouldn't have such huge mark-ups if they could get away with it? If you think the answer is 'no', then you are as blind as anyone who is loyal to any other corporation.

Personally I blame Henry Ford.

[squire777]

I love how some of these guys who claim to not be fanboys only seem to have a problem with MS and anyone that tries to defend MS. I wonder why they aren't going on Android and Apple forums to share their "levelheadedness" with those folks and teach them a thing or two about their biases.

[JerseySal]

I love how some of these guys who claim to not be fanboys only seem to have a problem with MS and anyone that tries to defend MS. I wonder why they aren't going on Android and Apple forums to share their "levelheadedness" with those folks and teach them a thing or two about their biases.

I'd like to call them what they are, but I was almost banned last time.

[ag1986]

I was just gonna say I don't anyone that hates MS. Most of the people I know who have iPhones use PC's. Maybe in my own little world in Boston, I had never heard of this idea that Microsoft was hated until joining this site.

You clearly don't work in the tech sector. Any sysadmin who's forced to manage a large Windows fleet (especially those of us who've been around since say 1998) would quite happily burn Redmond down. Not to mention any programmer who's been forced to work in that travesty of a programming language called Visual Basic (VB .NET is better though).

[tekhna]

Your point may have validity but:

- do you have a link to back this up?
- what horrible event in your past has made you so bitter towards Microsoft products?

It's not quite as bad as he made out, but the Surface RT has a higher profit margin than the iPad. Microsoft Surface RT teardown shows giant retail profit margin - SlashGear