Just another reason I dont like Apple

Suit says Apple, publishers fixed e-book prices

By YLAN Q. MUI AND HAYLEY TSUKAYAMA

The Washington Post

The Justice Department on Wednesday accused five of the nation's largest publishing houses and Apple of fixing prices on e-books and forcing consumers to pay tens of millions of dollars more for their favorite titles.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in New York, the government painted a portrait of an industry desperately trying to turn a profit amid rapid changes in technology and aggressive competition from online retailers. In phone conversations, emails and dinners at exclusive New York restaurants, the companies' top executives colluded to wrest control of the market from Amazon.com and raise prices on e-books, according to the complaint.

It was this coordinated effort that raised flags for federal investigators.

"We allege that these executives knew full well what they were doing," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis Pozen.

None of the firms has admitted wrongdoing, but three publishers -- Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster -- have agreed to settle the case. Apple is contesting the charges, embarking on its most prominent fight with Washington. Macmillan and Penguin Group have declined to settle as well.

"It is also hard to settle a lawsuit when you know you have done no wrong," Macmillan chief executive John Sargent said in a prepared statement.

The scope of the Justice Department's investigation, and the fact that several firms are not backing down, are testaments to the intensity of the battle for dominance in a billion-dollar market that is expected to triple by 2015. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found that one-fifth of all American adults have read an electronic version of a book in the past year.

The problem for publishers, however, is that consumers expect e-books to be priced substantially lower than printed ones because they are cheaper to produce and distribute. But publishers were outraged when Amazon pushed prices even lower, selling e-books for $9.99 as a way to encourage consumers to buy its Kindle e-reader.

According to the Justice Department complaint, publishers worried that this would lead to lower wholesale prices for e-books and reduce the amount that consumers would pay for any books. Ultimately, they feared that Amazon's dominance in distribution would allow it to bypass publishers altogether and sell content directly from authors.

Even as it announced its settlement with the government Wednesday, Hachette pointed to Amazon as the real industry predator.

"Amazon effectively had a monopoly on the sale of e-books and e-readers, and was selling products below cost in an effort to exclude competitors," the company said in a prepared statement. "We believe the DOJ and the state (attorneys general) have a responsibility to consumers to ensure that the market for e-books remains diverse and competitive."

But Justice said the publishers' response to Amazon's threat crossed the line. Starting around fall 2008, the suit said, they began meeting to discuss what was called "the $9.99 problem" and decided to act together to try to force Amazon to raise its prices. The opportunity presented itself in 2009 as Apple prepared to launch its iPad, according to the complaint. It wanted to create an e-book marketplace similar to iTunes but was concerned that margins were too thin.

The suit alleges that Apple decided to work with publishers to establish a new model of doing business: Instead of buying books from them at one price and selling them to readers at another, Apple would allow publishers to set the prices at up to $16.99. In exchange, Apple received 30 percent of the proceeds. The suit said the company called this the "aikido move" that would cripple Amazon.

"Yes, the customer pays a little more, but that's what you want anyway," the late Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said, according to the complaint.

All five publishers agreed to Apple's plan within two days in January 2010, Justice said. By April 2010, they had all increased the price of e-books.

"We are sending a clear message that competitors, even in rapidly evolving technology industries, cannot conspire to raise prices," said Pozen, the acting assistant attorney general.

Sargent, Macmillan's chief executive, disputed the government's characterization of the move. In a statement, he said that he made the decision to accept Apple's terms while riding an exercise bike in his basement by himself. He said his company is making less money on e-books since it switched to Apple's model.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr declined to comment.

Justice's proposed settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster would end their agreements with Apple and allow retailers to set their own prices for e-books. Amazon welcomed the proposed deal as "a big win for Kindle owners." Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America, said consumers should look for savings soon.

"The price went up immediately when they did their deal, so there's no reason not to expect the price will come down," he said. "The cartel will unravel."

But litigation for Apple, Macmillan and Penguin could take years.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/suit-says-apple-publishers-fixed-e-book-prices_1969-12-31.html

I just read this this morning. Really? Like they really NEED more money?

So unfortunately I can't have Linux on my laptop. My laptop's too old and the driver's on it won't recognize my wireless router. The way it was explained to me was that I needed to be hard wired into it. I could still do it with my desktop but for now I'm going to pass. I've never used it and don't wanna mess up my desktop since it's so new. Plus, I was going to use Linux to download stuff and I'd rather use the laptop for that, not the desktop.

that sucks man

Wasn't quite sure where to ask this but figured this might be a good place. It's technical advice but not really computer related.

Does anyone know where I can bring VHS videos in to transfer to DVD? I'm talking old home movies. Nobody I know has a VCR anymore, let alone both. Any suggestions? I did find some on-line in which you send in the video for them to transfer, but I am not comfortable doing that since these are family movies. Thanks in advance


TIS

I get mine converted at CVS.

The pharmacy? Really? I have a couple in my area.


TIS

I haven't jumped into the whole tablet revolution yet. However, if I decide to, which should I go with: the Kindle Fire or an iPad? I would use the tablet primarily for reading and some light browsing just to give you an idea of what I'd be using it for. Thoughts on either anyone?

i have the cancelled/popular HP Touchpad which I use for those exact same things, plus watch the occasional movie on it.

Honestly, both the Kindle Fire and iPad are execellent choices. The Kindle Fire is less expensive so theres that option. Ive read in the WSJ that Amazon will be releasing a few new Kindle Fire's later this year so if I was you I would wait till the holidays or so and check out all the new models/deals by then. Also Google (I love Google ) has announced plans to drop an inexpensive tablet as well

Thanks DD. I was leaning towards the Fire but everything has to be purchased through Amazon. I already have an iPhone and have some stuff (apps mostly) through iTunes so now I've been thinking more about getting an iPad. Plus, from all of the reviews I've read, most people say go with the iPad and the ones that say go with the Fire only say that due to its price.

So I found this little nugget to be particularly interesting. I had been contemplating on whether or not to invest money into an Apple iPad and it looks as if my decision may have already been made for me. According to this article, Apple's going to release what they call a mini iPad to crush their competitors. It's rumored the new mini iPad will have between a 7" or 8" screen (although some people feel it'll be closer to 7.5") with 8GB of memory, which is currently what the Kindle Fire has. Not only that, but Apple plans to sell them at a loss!

Apple Plans To Sell Mini iPad At A Loss to Destroy Cheap Tablet Competitors

That sounds great, but I sure hope it has more than 8GB memory! (I didn't see it mentioned in the article). My iPhone 4 has "16GB" (actually just 13.7GB after the firmware) and I've filled it up and had to delete photos and videos and unused apps. I don't often use the iPod part, but I do have 880 songs on there which isn't a super lot. I also have 100 apps installed (they add up!), so if you plan on using it for all those things, you better hope it has at least 16GB memory.

$250 sounds great, though. But then you'd have to add another data plan? Or maybe it'll be wi-fi only, which isn't as bad as it used to be, but would still be pretty annoying on car trips if you can't use it. I'll have to see the official specs when they formally announce it -- but thanks for the heads-up!

Yes, the article doesn't mention it. It may have been a different article on the same website or a different website altogether. But, again, as of now these are only rumors and that's what I've heard thus far.

I currently have an iPhone 3GS 16GB and I still have 11GB free so the 8GB may be fine with me. We'll have to see. I don't use the iPod part either. I'm unfortunately going to have to break down and buy one when my Zune finally craps.

I wonder how much a mini iPad 16GB would cost? Possibly $300?

Lately my PC has been suffering from "unexpected shutdown". It seems to happen about every two weeks. And it usually happens when I'm not working on it. The PC is about 4+ years old; a Dell Inspiron. I've added memory and there is plenty of space on the hard drive. I have Norton Security. I've never been bothered by a virus. Old age? Any thoughts.

Have you run a complete diagnostic of your antivirus? Checked for malware?

I have the same unit, same age. No problems. Maybe reinstall Windows, or download diagnostic software free at CNET.

Try this link: http://download.cnet.com/Don-t-Sleep/3000-2094_4-75179809.html?tag=mncol;8

I've had the experience the last 2-3 weeks of going off DirecTV and watching TV with an antenna like God intended. I'm amazed at the digital picture -- every bit as good as DirecTV provided, though it tends to get all pixillated occasionally. I have Netflix and the major league baseball package streaming from the internet via a Blu-ray player, and can access whatever TV episodes are on youtube. I'm not sure how it will work out when football season rolls around (DirecTV has an exclusive on the NFL package), but for the summer it's fine and DirecTV has already offered about 35% off for the first year if I re-up.

For those of you who use laptops, you might want to read this. In case you don't read it, make sure that when you use your laptop, you're dressed and not doing anything you wouldn't want others to see:

http://gov.aol.com/2012/06/05/are-hacker...test=latestnews

I hacked and installed Cyanogenmod 9 with Android on my HP Touchpad (tablet) so now I am able to dual-boot into either WebOS (native OS for Touchpad) or Android's Ice Cream Sandwich at the touch of a button. It is pretty awesome now I have acess (free) to everything available on Android and thus I have installed a few games like Sonic, GTA 3, among others plus a ton of apps like Netflix and other Android stuff. It was pretty easy to do (like 30 mins) and def worth it.

check out the video below of a guy reviewing both OS's on the Touchpad along with video of GTA 3 on it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXpK8LGQugU&feature=related

In case anybody is interested, this is the antivirus that i use I havent had a virus on my pc since I purchased it three yrs ago) and think it is the best on the market. This is an amazing deal.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus 5.0 Free after $30 Rebate + Free shipping

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/75248/newegg-eset-nod32-antivirus-5.0-3user

I'm gonna wait until the iPad mini comes out. Rumor is it'll be in September. For anyone who has an iPad, have they or do you know anyone who's hacked it? I currently have an iPhone 3GS and am going to get the new one when it comes out this year as well (once again, the rumor is September/October). When I do get it, I was thinking of jailbreaking my 3GS.

^^idk anybody who has hacked it but I am sure you can find out how on youtube/somewhere online

Besides an ipod and itunes, i dont use/have any other apple products and am not very fond of apple to boot.

I've never tried it and have viewed some vidoes online. I'm just afraid of bricking my iPhone by doing it. Jailbreaking an item voids the warranty and I don't want to try anything until I have a new one.

My system won't let me create a new restore point whether I try to do that myself through Windows or newly installed software tries to create one. I've tried some solutions offered by the Web, but unsuccessfully. Have any of you had this problem and can you suggest a solution?

In case anybody else is interested from our prior discussions, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware with a Lifetime License is $10 for a limited time at NewEgg

$19.99 web price
$10 off w/ promo code MAL615
Final price: 9.99

Free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...N82E16832562001

Sounds like it could be a virus. Try downloading Microsoft Security Essentials or AVG. I currently use MSE. Run a scan and see if you come up with anything.

If not and just to double check, trying downloading MalwareBytes or Spybot Search and Destroy and same thing, see if it finds anything.

Thanks for the info, but it's not a virus. I already have Avast and Mal.

do u have one of those system restore cd's or no? maybe using that will work...

Is there any reason I shouldn't update from IE8 to IE 9? Does it change anything?






TIS

TIS, I thought I posted this yesterday, but it didn't take.

I recently reinstalled Windows and it automatically replaced my IE8 with 9. I haven't noticed any difference except some changes in the IE screen format.