All Articles Tagged monopoly

Could Apple eventually gain monopoly status in one or more businesses, and become as “evil” (or worse) as Microsoft was when regulators went after them in the 1990s? Windows pundit Paul Thurrott thinks so, and thinks it’s time to act now before it’s too late.

Now, Thurrott is an interesting dichotomy, well-balanced on his Windows Weekly podcast yet Dvorak‘ian in link-baiting on his blog. He’s pro Microsoft all the way, but has still been unable to find anything as compelling as the iPhone or iPod in their respective spaces. So, assuming we’re dealing with the more even handed podcasting and iPhone-using Thurrott, and we’re not just biting his baited link, his argument here is this:

until very recently, Apple was the underdog, and they’ve been the underdog for almost their entire existence. This creates a certain mindset, and under Steve Jobs especially, it’s created a very aggressive competitive spirit. This aggressiveness is fine when you are literally the underdog, just as was the case with Microsoft early in its career and it was trying to wrest the PC industry from IBM, Lotus, WordPerfect, and other tech dinosaurs. But once you have a dominant market position, that aggressive behavior–so important for an up-and-comer–isn’t just bad, it’s illegal. It’s just hard to turn it off when it’s been part of the corporate psyche for so long.

His answer?

With this obvious comparison of two very similarly belligerent companies–Microsoft of the mid-1990s and Apple of today–in mind, I think the time has come to rein Apple in. To examine Apple’s exclusive relationships with wireless carriers. To force it to open up iTunes to competing players, and its iPhone and iPod devices to competing software and services. If we don’t do this now, it will only be more difficult in the future. All you have to do is look at Microsoft’s never-ending antitrust saga–which has now stretched on for 15 years, involved regulatory bodies on three continents, and gone on far longer than its actual bad behavior–to see why it’s time.

The problem?

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What are the top 5, must-have board games currently available on the iPhone? Many of you have taken a liking to our Top 5 Must-Have Jailbreak Apps features, so TiPb figured why not expand the series and cover some of the better apps directly from Apple’s own iTunes App Store as well? So that is exactly what we did. Today we have compiled what we feel are the current top 5 must-have board game apps available. For the full run down, follow us after the break! Read the rest of this entry »

Monopoly – Here and Now Edition Forum Review by cjvitek For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum!

Monopoly is a classic game, and it was just a matter of time until it appeared on the iPhone. I remember playing this in the summers with my sister when we were out of school. We would get games that lasted months as we would finally run out of money in the bank!

So finally Monopoly comes to the iPhone! The game is visually appealing, and is based on the Monopoly: Here and Now version with updated locations, dollars amount, and random cards. There is a lot of animation in the game, including rolling the dice, moving the pieces, and various cut scenes while running the app. That graphics are nicely done, and there was only a little stutter now and then with the animation sequences.

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Today TiPb presents to you a special gaming edition of Apps for Less. The following games could go well with the custom TiPb Element Liquid Cases that we are giving away!

This first game is for all of the first person shooter fans out there, Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes has just dropped a few bucks to $5.99. [iTunes Link] If you missed msbaylor’s forum review, be sure to take a minute and see what this game is all about.

This next one sparked a little bit of comment controversy over its price not to long ago in its preview, UNO. [iTunes Link] Well for all of those who said the price of $7.99 was a bit to steep, how is $4.99? Is that enough to make to take the plunge?

These last two games we want to bring to your attention are brought to us by Electronic Arts. YAHTZEE Adventures and MONOPOLY Here and Now: The World Edition have both gone on sale for a limited time. YAHTZEE Adventures being priced at $2.99 and MONOPOLY priced at $4.99.

Have we missed a good deal that you know about and want to share with everyone? Feel free to send us a email and let us know!

It’s morning; the dull Canadian sun seeps in through the blinds and the alarm sounds on my iPhone. I flip over, swipe to silence, grab the phone from off the side table, and quickly check my email for anything urgent. The weather widget shows clear skies, Twitter is abuzz with the latest SDK updates, and PhoneDifferent.com tells me Apple made a bit of money this year. Closing the browser, I flip on a podcast for some easy-learning and try to decide whether the day needs facing.

Sounds pretty normal, right? Actually, it’s still pretty revolutionary, really. One device to rule them all, as the meme goes. The iPhone. Apple’s gift to the mobile world. And something that, as a Canadian, I can’t legitimately own or use.

Biggest NAFTA- and Free Trade-powered partner, friendliest borders in the world, and seemingly endless source of hot singers and gifted comedians, and while we Canadians can buy every other bit of gear Apple produces, we get absolutely no iPhone love.

Why is that exactly? Read on.

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