http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/05/30/Feelings-About-Companies#p-3 http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/05/30/Feelings-A... "What About Apple

http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/05/30/Feelings-About-Companies#p-3 http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/05/30/Feelings-A... "What About Apple? · Hating (or loving) them seems about as equally unreasonable. I’ve been vocal about my loathing for their app-store regime but they’re my favorite computer manufacturer ... Apple as a whole? I look into my soul and honestly can’t scare up much in the way of feelings, positive or negative." Kontra responds: "This, incredibly, is the same man who started his Google “evangelism” gig with the words “I hate it” referring to Apple" -- a deliberate misquotation. Here's the phrase in context: http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/03/15/Joining-Google http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/201x/2010/03/15/Joining-Go... "The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger. I hate it." Credibility dented. It appears that Google's twin hats, advertising (from which it profits) and software distribution (from which it doesn't, significantly) make it difficult for critics to 'play the ball' in arguments over software distribution. Sure, it's easy for Google to take the perceived moral high ground in a space that is not seen as crucial to its success. That's a legitimate argument (although it contributes nothing to the actual debate). Drawing analogies to its other businesses such as search, advertising and maps, and sneering about how those are not 'open' is not legitimate argument. It's distraction.