Apple defector rant patent bullying

I chose to boycott being so angry by Apple's aggressive patent bullying that thwarts competition and takes away consumer choice. Today, I celebrate America's independence anniversary by gaining freedom from Apple.

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Microsoft has the better way, by the way. The company prefers to cross-license patents rather than sue. Microsoft uses patents to spread and share innovation -- to empower it by removing the threat of litigation for all parties. Apple is the clubber on the ice pack, beating down product conceptions like baby seals. Neither reaches maturity.

http://betanews.com/2012/07/04/i-declare-independence-from-apple/

So let us all divvy up. 

I have to say that I have had a couple of iPhones, and was guilty of buying one in Redmond on the day of release (shoot me). 

I also owned a MacBook Pro for a while (sold on eBay a while ago now running an old Sony Vaio). 

I still have an old white MacBook running Windows knocking about the house that the kids like to use.

And (ahem) sadly I had to sell my BUILD tablet as I needed the money to fund my App creation habit (I know) and just to compound matters I replaced it with an iPad 2 running Windows 8 Developer (Splashtop).

I don't know if I will never buy an Apple product again, I'm just taking it one day at a time ....

The only Apple product I wouldn't mind owning is the new iPad because it has so many more music creation/MIDI control apps than any other platform. Nothing else they make interests me but since it's not something I NEED it's easy to resist not buying one.
I also have not installed any software from Apple. Quicktime/iTunes with Bonjour and all the other horrible background services are almost to the point of being malware so basically...
I'm doing fine not using ANYTHING from Apple.

@Ian2: So let us all divvy up.

Zero Apple products.  

~ Well, my kids have 2 ipods, 1 itouch, 1 iphone. My daughter likes her new Win7phone more than the iphone fwiw. The kids hate itunes. I bought the itouch for my daughter one xmas at her request, none of the rest of that inventory.

@JohnAskew:I had a tough time persuading my daughter that she wanted a Windows Phone over an iPhone - Peer pressure is very strong.  In the end I said she could have a Windows Phone & an iPod Touch.  (But then I rather sneakily managed to persuade her that she didn't need the iPod touch because the Windows phone does it all better anyway). 

She got some clothes instead (A&F - but that's a whole separate battle)

8 minutes ago, Ian2 wrote

@JohnAskew:I had a tough time persuading my daughter that she wanted a Windows Phone over an iPhone - Peer pressure is very strong.  In the end I said she could have a Windows Phone & an iPod Touch.  (But then I rather sneakily managed to persuade her that she didn't need the iPod touch because the Windows phone does it all better anyway). 

She got some clothes instead (A&F - but that's a whole separate battle)

Ah, my daughter buys polka-dot dresses from ModCloth in the UK. Loves them...

Oh.

Joe Wilcox again ...

@JohnAskew:I think it must be something to do with the perceived allure of foreign and exotic.  Last time I was in Seattle I (had to) came back with an army bag of stuff from A&F - daughter couldn't believe there were three stores in Seattle.  (Still, it gave me a good excuse to visit the Microsoft store in Belle Vue a few times as I went back for requests - and then I came back a hero).