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I love my Apple products, but they have a HUGE monopoly of their products, and do everything possible to stifle competition. I have waited a long time for IBM to start flexing muscle. I am amazed IBM has allowed Google/Apple/MSFT to go so long in the Internet world without tossing mega bucks into a viable competition. Big Blue is a great American company, and I can see why the DOJ may want to go after them.

I love my Apple products, but they have a HUGE monopoly of their products, and do everything possible to stifle competition.

The courts have ruled in the Psystar case (the first one in Federal court in California) that it is impossible for Apple to have an abusive monopoly of their own products. A limited monopoly on thier own Trade marks, inventions, designs, and created products, is what Trade marks, copyright and patents are all about. Part of it is specifically provided for in the Constitution.

Competition is the name of the game and Apple competes against all other makers of desktop and notebook computers as well as MP3 players, networking devices, and application software by other makers.

"I have waited a long time for IBM to start flexing muscle. I am amazed IBM has allowed Google/Apple/MSFT to go so long in the Internet world without tossing mega bucks into a viable competition."

Are you freakin' kidding me? Ever hear of the IBM-PC? IBM's antics with the PS|2 (such as locking out access to the BIOS to all but anointed developers paying five-figure club dues) were far worse than anything Apple has done to maintain a semblance of order in its marketplace. Apple gives away developer tools and documentation, after all. As in, free.

I've developed for both platforms. I was there with IBM attempted to lock down the PC market with the PS|2. And I've been there throughout the Mac era and into the iPhone era. And I'm here to tell you there's no comparison. IBM was evil-- so evil that Microsoft was the windmill-tilting hero of that day. By comparison, Apple is merely controlling, motivated by their pursuit of user-interface consistency, partner protection and support-cost containment.

Meanwhile, IBM freakin' owned the PC market, and squandered it away, eventually selling its PC business to Lenovo, a company largely owned by the Chinese government.

As to the Internet, IBM never had much vision for anything but hardware. In that, they deserved their current nowhere fate.

Big Blue is a great American company, and I can see why the DOJ may want to go after them.

Tell that to a couple of my friends who are now ex-IBMers because their jobs went overseas. Not saying IBM isn't a great company - they offered to move two of them to India if they wanted to keep those jobs. I would be surprised if IBM had more American employees than non-American employees.