Slash LaneThe New York Post cited "several" unnamed sources who claim the DoJ is reaching out to "a handful of the country's biggest media and technology companies" to get their opinions on Apple, which is rapidly becoming the dominant force in several areas of new media.
"The [Justice Dept.] is doing outreach," one Hollywood industry source told the paper. "You can't dictate terms to the industry. The Adobe thing is just inviting the wrath of everybody."
"If Apple thinks it's going to increase its monopoly with the iPad, it should look at the history of other walled gardens," added another.
The expanded probe will reportedly see the DoJ ask questions about the terms Apple sets forth to developers who want to write applications for the iPad and the company's other iPhone OS devices.
The inquiry began earlier this month after investigators became interested in allegations that Apple used its market power in an effort to prevent music labels from participating in exclusive music distribution deals with rival Amazon.
Apple is also among the tech companies being investigated by the DoJ over hiring practices that allegedly conspired to prevent competitors from hiring each other's employees. That investigation also involves Google, IBM and Intel.
Christine McKee
Stephen Silver
Charles Martin
Amber Neely
247 Comments
I feel safer already...
Knowing the Feds are on the job is such a comfort. Only good can come from this...
The music industry, the movie industry are nothing but walled gardens with attack dog lawyers on long leashes ready to go after anyone that dare make a copy of their products. These cartels like calling the kettle black and will do what ever it takes to leverage the law to do their bidding. Monopolies are legal abusive monopolies are not.
'Outreach'? This is overreach.
Next, Verzion -- Exhibit A from that other bastion of consumer-friendliness -- will be in line outside the offices of DoJ wailing about Apple's 'walled garden'.
What a joke. Sometimes you have to wonder why US companies even bother becoming successful.
"If Apple thinks it's going to increase its monopoly with the iPad, it should look at the history of other walled gardens," added another."
Then what's the problem? Wait till the other tablets hit the market and abandon the iPad. Enough people are already predicting the demise of the iPad because of the "walled garden". Why "help" Apple by forcing them to allow Flash on their devices. And as for having an iPad monopoly, where are the iPad "killers" anyway? You mean to say that because nobody else has yet chosen to produce a competing product a monopoly exists? So what's the solution then? Force Apple to stop production and distribution of the iPad until somebody puts something on the shelf at Best Buy, wait for them to sell a few, and then tell Apple it's okay to start selling the iPad again? I'm not so sure that's not how our screwed up government thinks about stuff like this.
I still think absolutely nothing is going to come of these so far rumored investigations. Remember we only have unnamed sources claiming there is an investigation. Those unnamed sources could be Adobe flacks for all we know. It doesn't even make any common sense. But then common sense is a rather rare commodity in the halls of the federal government.