3 ms·

I don't see why people should not be allowed to figure out what standard is better for them without violence-backed regulations. If micro-usb is better, then p

I don't see why people should not be allowed to figure out what standard is better for them without violence-backed regulations. If micro-usb is better, then people will buy other products and Apple would have to adjust to that. Either by earning less or by adopting micro usb. What's the problem?

soperj 13y ago
Lightning isn't a standard. One company uses it.
Kudos 13y ago
The US introduced similar regulations for the on-board diagnostics in cars. Every car since 1996 has the same connector. Do you think the market would have moved car manufacturers in that direction on its own? Of course not. Things that benefit companies do not always benefit consumers. That's why we apply regulations to them.
jnky 13y ago
The problem is that the free market and freedom of choice aren't appropriate solutions to all problems, one of them is standardization. For the EU, the whole Micro USB thing isn't just about defining a connector that is somehow superior to all existing solutions. It is about standardization and about reducing waste from old phone chargers. And I think Apple, with their shift to the Lightning Connector proofed this point for the EU better than anyone else could have. Just think about the enormous amount of chargers and other products with a dock connector that will hit the landfills sooner rather than later for no good reason at all, except Apples vanity and some marginal improvements.
- oleganza 13y ago
  Apple did not force anyone with their Firewire or Thunderbolt cables, yet people were doing hardware supporting it. By the way, what do you do when 5 of your friends just cannot decide where to go tonight? Do you take out your gun and force them to choose one single solution? Or you leave them alone until they find a place suitable to everyone?
  - pjmlp 13y ago
    Join 5 people and you will get 6 different answers.

soperj 13y ago

Lightning isn't a standard. One company uses it.

Kudos 13y ago

The US introduced similar regulations for the on-board diagnostics in cars. Every car since 1996 has the same connector. Do you think the market would have moved car manufacturers in that direction on its own? Of course not. Things that benefit companies do not always benefit consumers. That's why we apply regulations to them.

jnky 13y ago

The problem is that the free market and freedom of choice aren't appropriate solutions to all problems, one of them is standardization. For the EU, the whole Micro USB thing isn't just about defining a connector that is somehow superior to all existing solutions. It is about standardization and about reducing waste from old phone chargers. And I think Apple, with their shift to the Lightning Connector proofed this point for the EU better than anyone else could have. Just think about the enormous amount of chargers and other products with a dock connector that will hit the landfills sooner rather than later for no good reason at all, except Apples vanity and some marginal improvements.

oleganza 13y ago
Apple did not force anyone with their Firewire or Thunderbolt cables, yet people were doing hardware supporting it. By the way, what do you do when 5 of your friends just cannot decide where to go tonight? Do you take out your gun and force them to choose one single solution? Or you leave them alone until they find a place suitable to everyone?
- pjmlp 13y ago
  Join 5 people and you will get 6 different answers.