Apple, Never it was and never it will be

I am so glad I am not using any of the Apple products to encourage some of what they are doing. What pisses me off so much? Read it for yourself:

Apple steps up iPod 'tax' push
"...Apple has made the program a requirement for manufacturers who want their gadgets to plug into the "dock connector" at the bottom of the music player, Senior Vice President Phil Schiller confirmed to CNET News.com last week. "
"...According to a source familiar with the program, Apple is getting a royalty on the order of 10 percent of a device's wholesale price."

I can't imagine Dell/Hp or any other Computer/gadget manufacturer taxing other companies when they release products that electronically connect to the use the ports they provide. What a short sighted strategy!! Talk about Microsoft being a close source/proprietery yada yada. Technically, they could demand or do whatever they want to do. They don't understand that it is a win-win situation for everyone to not have iPod tax. It may benefit Apple short term but in the long run, it isn't helping them build an industry around Apple just like Microsoft built. Even if Microsoft/Intel doesn't do much now, the industry lets them flourish due to some what less restrictive policies.

Apple has been doing something similar with their Mac hardware by trying to kill the competiton. Which is why I think Apple will never be a major long term player. It will have spikes but not steady growth.