(Newser)
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Apple has replaced Microsoft as the tech industry’s “biggest bully,” according to PC World. The iPod dynamo has shed its rebel rep and assumed Microsoft’s former mantle as a monopolist, copycat, and bully. “Bundling,” a tactic Microsoft used to tie together Windows and Internet Explorer and thwart competition, is Apple’s game plan with the iPod and iTunes.
And because iTunes tracks don’t play on other digital devices, Apple creates customers for life—a kind of power Microsoft never enjoyed. Outrageous pricing and stolen innovation cement Steve Jobs’ tyranny over the market. “Jobs rules like Bill Gates never did,” Mike Elgan says, but concludes “Apple has earned its growing power and influence, just like Microsoft did.”
