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But it’s early yet. I’m hoping these guys will get motivated and bone up. In this age, tech is too important to governing to leave it for some aid to figure out.

1 day ago on For New York's tech scene, Mayor Bloomberg is a tough act to follow 2 replies 1 recommend

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AI N

Thank you for this. This is exactly correct and I’ve meant to write a fact sheet since I began covering this story. I’d like to add a couple of points: A) just because Amazon dominated the market, doesn’t mean the publishers were free to violate the law. The DOJ has brought that up several times. B) In the publishers own internal emails, they knew that Amazon wasn’t losing money on every book or even new releases. Amazon was being very selective and selling books more efficiently than competitors. C) There is no law against dominating a sector as long as a company competes fairly. If someone finds an innovative way to sell goods, the law doesn’t prevent them from being successful. It is only when a monopoly is used to prevent competition does it become a problem. FYI—Apple and the publishers have admitted that they sought to stop Amazon from competing on price.

6 days ago on DOJ to Apple's Eddy Cue: 'Did your customers thank you for raising prices?' 1 reply 1 recommend

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I should make clear that when I said that I thought the same thing, I was referring to the question about how Apple knew to question Turvey’s statement.

13 days ago on Google helps DOJ make first big mistake in Apple ebook trial 2 replies

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UrinalMint,

I thought the same thing in the courtroom. The only thing i could think of was it had to be in the guy’s deposition. Apple must have smelled blood there.

13 days ago on Google helps DOJ make first big mistake in Apple ebook trial 1 reply 1 recommend

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stewsburntmonkey

Because Steve Jobs told his biographer that he was willing to foist higher prices on consumers and limit competition (illegal) to get a competitive advantage . Every competitor in every market that has been threatened by a new technology and disruption has said, “we need to stabilize our market for the good of the consumer.” That has too often meant “we need to protect ourselves from competition.” Lots of people have implied that Amazon was engaging in predatory pricing by selling books below its cost but the DOJ has confirmed that Amazon did not operate its ebooks business at a loss. Regardless, if the publishers believed Amazon was competing unfairly, they had the right and obligation to take their complaints to the government, instead of carving up the industry in a way that suited them.

15 days ago on Apple exec in ebooks antitrust case testifies fairness is why he 'loves' the company 1 reply 7 recommends

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EC8CH

Whether Apple is found to have broken the law, Steve Jobs and Eddy Cue, the iTunes chief, appear to have had shockingly little regard for the consumer of ebooks. This is at odds with the reputation Apple built in music. In that market, Apple became a hero for helping to lower the cost of acquiring music.

15 days ago on Apple exec in ebooks antitrust case testifies fairness is why he 'loves' the company 2 replies 2 recommends

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KennySF, that was my bad. I attached entire email to the bottom of the story now.

15 days ago on Apple exec in ebooks antitrust case testifies fairness is why he 'loves' the company 2 recommends

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A couple of things to clear up some of the misconceptions.In the government’s complaint filed, April 2012, the DOJ said:

—While Amazon sells some titles at a loss, the company runs its book business at a profit.
—Apple did not sell music under the agency model. Apple set the prices for songs, not the labels.
—Apple is accused of being deeply involved in selling the publishers on the idea of adopting the agency model and helping them share pricing information. The DOJ says it has records of numerous contacts between Eddy Cue and the publishers. We’ll have to wait to see if the DOJ can prove this to the judge but some of the publishers appear to have rolled over on Apple.

19 days ago on Did Apple conspire to fix ebook prices? The DOJ takes Cupertino to court on Monday 2 replies 6 recommends

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Seven2k7

The government says it has proof that the conspirators tried to cover their tracks, such as telling each other to “double delete” their emails.

20 days ago on Did Apple conspire to fix ebook prices? The DOJ takes Cupertino to court on Monday 2 replies 1 recommend

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When it came to music, Steve Jobs was a hero. The music industry’s model was built on creating scarcity. Consumers were forced to buy a $15 CD to get the one or two songs they wanted. Apple and iTunes broke out singles and priced them for $1. In this case, Apple attempted to prevent Amazon from discounting books to consumers and consequently pass on higher costs to buyers. Whether the company’s actions were illegal or not, they weren’t consumer friendly.

20 days ago on Did Apple conspire to fix ebook prices? The DOJ takes Cupertino to court on Monday 3 replies 7 recommends

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According to tape-recorded interviews author Walter Isaacson collected for his Steve Jobs biography, Jobs did make this statement. Isaacson cited the journalist’s shield law to get out of testifying.

20 days ago on Did Apple conspire to fix ebook prices? The DOJ takes Cupertino to court on Monday 1 reply 1 recommend

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Since most of us have to stare at backlit computer screens for hours, who wants to stare at them a second longer than you have to. E-ink is way better.

20 days ago on Did Apple conspire to fix ebook prices? The DOJ takes Cupertino to court on Monday 5 replies 15 recommends

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Hi Glengeorge,

Sales of individual song downloads, which was the backbone of digital sales for most of the decade, are slowing down dramatically industry wide. They grew 6 percent last year and that’s a far cry from what they used to generate. Everyone in the industry acknowledges this.

29 days ago on With downloads dwindling, music publishers throw a roadblock into Apple's iRadio plans 6 replies 3 recommends