The Channel Wire

August 10, 2009

Until this week, it was cool to love Apple. Embracing its products, whether it was an iPhone, an iPod or a Macbook, made you stand out in the crowd (or at least think you did); a sign you were in the know. And, heck, putting one of those Apple stickers on your car signified your allegiance.

And up until recently, Jason Calacanis was with you. But not anymore. Jason Calacanis now thinks Apple is the devil. No, really. He does.

The Mahalo CEO and long-time Apple supporter recently blasted the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant and Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a five-point diatribe dubbed "The Case Against Apple," which was distributed to Calacanis' email list and then re-printed in its entirety on Silicon Valley Insider.

So what does Calacanis have against Apple? Everything. That's what.

"Over the last 12-18 months, my love affair with Apple has waned," Calacanis wrote. "Steve Jobs' peculiar, rigidly closed, and severe worldview have started to cramp my style. It's not entirely Steve's fault, as Apple's style and grace are a large part of what drew me to the platform initially."

Calacanis pointed out that he's spent roughly $20,000 on Apple products, noting that if Steve Jobs made it, he's purchased it.

"Steve's a great guy, and the love affair has been wonderful, but I'm starting to look past him and back to Microsoft for a more healthy relationship that is less -- wait for it -- anti-competitive in nature," he wrote.

Calacanis contends that Apple has morphed into an "anti-competitive monster," calling Jobs "the oppressive man on the jumbotron," an apparent reference to Apple's famous "1984" Macintosh TV advertisement.

"Steve Jobs is on the cusp of devolving from the visionary radical we all love to a sad, old hypocrite and control freak--a sellout of epic proportions," Calacanis wrote.

But Calacanis' beef isn't just with Jobs and his industry stranglehold. It goes deeper. Calacanis claims Apple is "destroying MP3 player innovation through anti-competitive practices" because iTunes won't sync with any type of MP3 player.

He also chides Apple's "monopolistic practices in telecommunications," highlighting that Apple's AT&T exclusivity with the iPhone limits consumer choice.

From there, Calacanis says Apple's App Store policies are "draconian," and are "frankly, insulting." He contends that Apple has become the "thought police" in deciding what applications users can consume on their high-priced devices and urges Apple to allow non-approved applications.

Calacanis punctuates his App Store argument by highlighting Apple's recent rejection of a Google Voice application for the iPhone.

"Apple wants to own almost every extension of the iPhone platform," he wrote. "How long before Apple decides to ban a Twitter client in favor of an Apple Twitter-like product? Seems crazy, I know, but by following Apple's logic you should not be able to use Firefox or Google Chrome on your desktop."

Calacanis also lambasted Apple for not allowing other browsers on the iPhone other than Safari, calling for Apple to include Opera as a mobile browser option or let iPhone users pick their browser. He went on to call Apple a hypocrite for banning the use of other browsers, citing how Microsoft bundles Internet Explorer with Windows and Apple calling Microsoft out on the practice.

"Simple solution and opportunity: Don't be a control freak and hypocrite. Allow people to pick their browser; the competition to make a better browser will increase the overall use of iPhones and mobile data services," he wrote.

And while Calacanis has strong words for Apple, he concluded that he'd like to see Jobs and Co. right their wrongs. He also encourages Apple to re-examine its anti-competitive nature to fuel a comeback.

"Making great products does not absolve you from technology's cardinal rule: Don't be evil," he wrote.