Has Apple become the new Microsoft?

No. Apple's done for - all their innovation was from Jobs, now all they can do is upgrade their existing devices, by putting in bigger screens, better cameras and faster processors. Their creative flair is gone.

"Sure, like the article says, everyone copies. Truth! The people who invented the first type of technology have had their idea replicated and tweaked for 100s of years, but the truth is when a company like Apple gets a hold of an idea developed by another company,they rush to make it look innovative, jack the price up, and then begin to start on a more expensive and hardly improved version to release one the craze has settled and people get bored with their crap"

Not to mention lawsuiting the crap out of anyone who comes up with something vaguely similar.

get linux.

I think the good ol' saying "The emperor has no clothes" is appropriate for this question.

Would you mind explaining why?

Long version or short version?

Whatever you feel like typing ^_^

Well in that case, get ready for a wall of text. ;)

Short version: Microsoft has always been an evil genius, but it has never been a fascist that Apple has always been. Apple exerts stringent centralized, authoritarian control over all aspects of their products. 'All' of them.

Long version: Unlike Microsoft, Apple doesn't create an ecosystem where many ISVs, IHVs, OEMs, ODMs, can participate. Apple completely controls the hardware and tightly controls the software ecosystem. The App Store is a fine example of this control. Look at Apple's problems with Google apps on the App store. Apple takes mostly off the shelf components, puts a very nice UI on top of it and then charges a 25-50% premium. As an example, just look at the iPod 4th gen pricing. A 32GB model costs $100 more than the 16GB model. Do you actually believe Apple paid even half that amount for the extra 16GB? No. That is pure profit. Look at any iSuppli teardowns of Apple products and you will see a very healthy margin. Apple can charge a premium for products not so much because they are better but because they are more exclusive. Their success is about 10% innovation and 90% superior marketing. I just hope one day consumers wake up to the fact that Apple is a hype machine.

As far as software controls go, would you rather have something like Apple, where stringent software controls are in place and you don't end up with all the security holes that come with Windows? Or am I getting the wrong end of the stick here?

I agree with the pricing though. It seems to play on the hipster image that seems to follow Apple around. People will pay anything to look cool.

Like I said before "The emperor has no clothes."

Macs have never been secure. Macs have always been hacked first in black hat events and the like, only the small 6% worldwide market-share have made it safer since no one bothered to compare to Windows that have 90% of the computer market. Windows still manages to keep it secure enough that most of corporate world have it as the OS of choice - that is a fact! We all know Apples low market share has been the gate keeping them safe. Why go for the crumbs, when going for the whole pie? That said, Apple has finally been able to bake a whole pie of their own. And now, the hackers want a slice, haha.

Reading material for you: http://news.cnet.com/8301-135...

Wow, I stand corrected. And I can hazard a guess as to why it's 10 years behind...

Yep. The boys and girls at Apple seriously need to get their act together.