Apple bundles iTunes for New Monopoly

For years Microsoft haters slammed the company for being a greedy bully that forced their software on users. The core argument against Microsoft was that its market share gave it monopoly power. More exactly, the “bundling” of the Internet Explorer Web browser, which they claimed was forced on users because Microsoft offered it as part of Windows.

Now lets talk about iTunes and how Apple is using it to shove Microsoft aside as the industry’s biggest bully. How? Well everybody loves iPods. iPods come bundled with iTunes. Want to buy music from Apple? Guess what? You must install iTunes. Want an Apple cell phone from AT&T? Yep! ITunes is required even if you want only to make phone calls. Want to buy ringtones for your Apple phone? iTunes.

Apple not only “bundles” iTunes with products like Quick Time, it forces you to use it. At least with Internet Explorer, you could always download a competitor (like Fire Fox) and ignore IE.
With Windows, you could reformat your PC install any number of other PC-compatible operating systems.

Can you uninstall iTunes but keep using the iTunes store and your iPods? Apple says no, claiming that the iPod, the iPod software and iTunes are three components of the same product. Isn’t that what Microsoft said about Windows and IE.
Steve Jobs recently bragged that “bundling” works, Apple has distributed 600 million copies of iTunes to date (Mac World 9/2007).

But wait … What about all that content you bought and paid for, maybe 100’s of songs and dozens of movies? Well it only works with iPods and iTunes. You can’t change brands of mp3 players. Apple has an iPod customer for life. Microsoft never had this kind of monopoly power.
Microsoft used to be the bully, but now has to learn how to share.

Author Chris Kaminski is head web designer at Lone Bird Studio, an Asheville web design and SEO company located in North Carolina.