Microsoft and *GASP* APPLE WORKING TOGETHER!

[IOWA]

Apple is in talks with rival Microsoft about switching the iPhone's default search engine to Bing from Google, a move that reflects the increasing competition between Apple and Google.




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Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple currently uses Google as its main search engine, requiring iPhone owners to actively change their settings to use Bing.

The partnership would mean users automatically get Bing search results, helping Microsoft increase its market share from Google in the blossoming new area of mobile search.

Its tie-in to mobile advertising carries additional financial benefits from ad revenue alongside the search results, which Microsoft may be willing to share with Apple to close the deal.

Before Apple released the iPhone in 2007, the company agreed with little hesitation to use Google as its default search engine, because it saw the Internet giant's popular software as a driving factor to its new device.

They even collaborated on a special version of Google Maps and YouTube, customized to run faster on the handset.

But the two companies have recently begun competing in overlapping markets, such as mobile devices. Earlier this month, Google announced plans to sell the Nexus One, its own smartphone, directly challenging the iPhone.

Last year, Apple blocked Google Voice, an application that bypassed carriers to allow voice calls over the Internet, from its App Store.

 

[DarthSkirata]

This is pure craziness. If you had asked me if this would ever happen even 3 months ago I would have said no way, but now it seems like there's a
1100100%

chance of this happening.

 

[Stolz25]

I hate bing so much.

 

[spartan141]

apple just anounced ipad

Apple announces the iPad

 

[bottlecap]

Truly strange bedfellows. If I told someone 3 years ago "Yeah Microsoft is going to be the default search engine for the iPhone I'd get mocked.

 

[Carl C]

competition is hotting up

 

[momoceio]

Apple is turning into a bunch of cry babies lately...grow the eff up, Steve.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

Apple is acting pretty dumb lately.

 

[GSMiller]

Apple is being so petty. Did anyone read about Steve's comments at the Apple Townhall Meeting?

...We did not enter the search business, Jobs said. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won't let them...

Plus there were remarks that "Apple will deliver aggressive updates to iPhone that Android/Google won't be able to keep up with."

Mac users do not want to "Bing."

 

[IOWA]

Apple is gonna create a new set of rounded square icons! Bet android can't keep up with that!

/sarcasm

 

[Eugene]

There are a lot of iphone users that happily use google's services and are now going to get pushed away from them to second rate services, I know I wouldn't be happy about it.
I don't use products from either Microsoft or Apple anyway.

 

[GSMiller]

Apple is gonna create a new set of rounded square icons! Bet android can't keep up with that!

/sarcasm

Dare they call it the 3G-2?

 

[alostpacket]

Apple is gonna create a new set of rounded square icons! Bet android can't keep up with that!

/sarcasm

I lol'd. It's funny I love their hardware design/industrial design style but the software look & feel makes me wanna puke, uh, rounded squares.


Still, I don't get why no one ever mentions Yahoo anymore. It's like they don't exist.

Interestingly enough too, MS invested in apple years ago I think because apple was making them lots of money by selling MS Office.

So yeah, I don't get it.

 

[Pitamakan]

I think it means this: the battle for the future of personal computing is going to be fought between Google and Apple ... and therefore, Apple feels it might not want to help Google by supporting its search engine.

As for Microsoft, it's just becoming more and more irrelevant.

 

[Frisco]

Apple is acting pretty dumb lately.

Steve Jobs sure is.

I hope he's ok. He's showing signs of not being ok.

 

[IOWA]

I think it means this: the battle for the future of personal computing is going to be fought between Google and Apple ... and therefore, Apple feels it might not want to help Google by supporting its search engine.

As for Microsoft, it's just becoming more and more irrelevant.

So having 95% market domination of pc os, and your hand in every tech market worldwide, not to mention an etremely popular gaming platform, is irrelevant? What world do you live in? It seems to me all these microsoft haters are no better than the apple fanbois. Its the in thing to hate microsoft, sprint, etc. Lame.b

 

[Frisco]

yea i agree, microsoft works.... it's worldwide, everything runs on it, and it's OPEN.

Well, I'm generally in agreement with that, but not completely. Microsoft products have security problems needing almost daily updates to plug up vulnerabilities, etc.

Yes, it is world wide, but there are questions as to the business practices which brought that about (some of those questions are being addressed in courts).

"Open?" Well, as compared to Apple a case could be made for Microsoft being more open then Apple is. But if you want truly "open" you'll be exploring linux distributions, as well as BSD.

 

[IOWA]

yea i agree, microsoft works.... it's worldwide, everything runs on it, and it's OPEN. all apples look the same and do the same thing. apple is communist, i just don't like that, i wan't to build my pc from scratch, put what i want in it and be happy, i want to run every program i desire, not ones that apple says is okay. stop hating microsoft, they are not the most talked about because they have clearly secured their place in the pc world, apple is ITTTTY BITTTTY, flashy tiny toy stuff, they LOOK nice and i admit are revolutionary when it comes to hardware, that is what people talk about.

Apple is not revolutionary when it comes to hardware.... if they were, why'd they dump their own chips in favor of intel chips?

Also, frisco, your security argument is moot.. there is no computer system in existence that doesn't have security flaws. There never will be. The only reason windows gets targeted is marketshare. Why write a virus for mac when you can affect 10000x more machines on windows? In fact, in a recent hacking contest, mac was first to fall and get hacked.

 

[Frisco]

I'm a linux advocate, not an Apple advocate (disgusted with Windows, not with Apple, though.. yet).

I'm running Mint on this laptop, have Arch on my PC now after fooling with Fedora for a while.

 

[Pitamakan]

So having 95% market domination of pc os, and your hand in every tech market worldwide, not to mention an etremely popular gaming platform, is irrelevant? What world do you live in? It seems to me all these microsoft haters are no better than the apple fanbois. Its the in thing to hate microsoft, sprint, etc. Lame.b

You kind of remind me of those people back in the 1980s who were positive that IBM, Wordstar, and Lotus 1-2-3 would dominate the personal computing world for all eternity.

 

[Frisco]

You kind of remind me of those people back in the 1980s who were positive that IBM, Wordstar, and Lotus 1-2-3 would dominate the personal computing world for all eternity.

Oh boy, memories.

But, about security, if the vulnerabilities in Windows were only because of "market share," heck I'd never have looked at linux, I suppose.. at least not as my primary OS.

 

[Pitamakan]

I still remember some of those old Wordstar "dot commands." Good times ...

 

[IOWA]

I'm a linux advocate, not an Apple advocate (disgusted with Windows, not with Apple, though.. yet).

I'm running Mint on this laptop, have Arch on my PC now after fooling with Fedora for a while.

Same thing applies to linux though....and the many distros make it even less appealling to write up a bug for linux. And more on security.... most of us realize we need a decent antivirus and a GREAT firewall... and the more educated people often don't get infected very often, or at all.

 

[Crude]

My enemies enemy is my friend. Apple and Microsoft are becoming more like each other every year they are around. The xbox was designed so you have to buy more proprietary crap if you want to change something. Charging $50 for a $6 cable or $150 for a $40 HD? Any inocent bystander can see that there's a new player. Formerly it was apple or MS. Americans love to defend their OS, political party, sports team, car company. But now linux is becoming usable to the average joe people have that choice too. MS first fore most is alienating the youth. Going to bed with the RIAA and MPIA they are introducing copyright protections that people love to hate. Their xbox platform is 4 years in now and the failure rate hasn't gone down much. Last I knew MS still isn't making money on it? And their promise for a new OS for mobile devices 2 years ago has caused many loyalist to become jaded.....

Apple caused one thing. Competition. They released technology with hardware-software that forced everyone else to play or fold. Those that are still in the game are selling hardware that is almost too expensive to turn a profit on. Now apple has to up the entee to stay " revolutionary" but it's no longer possible without writing red.

Google has one ace up it's sleeve with it's advertising. I mean everything with google has advertisements. It's gotten to the point where I wonder if google has a real plan with their android OS other then advertising.

I personally think MS is on a slippery slope. I know most buisness machines run on MS but more and more personal PC's are going to linux. You know one of the arguments of buying mac or PC was cost? It used to be that you could build a PC for about half the price of a mac. If you wanted to change something you changed it. Society has moved to laptops where when it's dated you replace it. MS's OS's are so expensive now that you might as well buy a new laptop every time they release an OS. And then if you want the most up-to-date Office you're so close to the price of a mac that it's no longer an argument.

Right now, it's anyones ball game. With some changes anyone of these three could easily be top dog again. But right now the only one that we know will survive for sure making it into the next round is google.

 

[Pitamakan]

Apple is not revolutionary when it comes to hardware.... if they were, why'd they dump their own chips in favor of intel chips?

Before Apple moved to Intel, they didn't make their own chipsets ... they came from Motorola and IBM. Basically, the switch was precipitated by the fact that IBM wasn't advancing its chip design at the rate Apple felt was necessary.