Show use is at core of Apple complaints Michelle Quinn Los Angeles Times Why cant can't Apple Inc stop ticking off oft the people who love it Some of the loyalists who have made Apple so successful lately have turned on the tech star Even as Apple posts record financial results they complain that the revolutionary company they supported has changed showing signs of being wrong-headed wrong shortsighted even greedy One week theres there's hue and cry over Apples Apple's decision to slash the price only two months after it went on sale The next its it's sputtering anger over overa a software security update that wiped out programs owners installed so they could do such things as send instant messages or play games When they get really mad they lob an n M-bomb M they say Apple is starting to tp remind them of Microsoft Microsoft Corp which in their world is the prototypical soulless monopolistic machine There is a rise in complaints about Apples Apple's policies and strategic decisions this year and it seems to be accelerating said John Gruber writer of the popular technology blog Daring Fireball meA pp leo attribute the increased grousing to growing pains as Apple broadens its horizons The company known until January as Apple Computer is now a major player in consumer electronics digital music k and cell phones That expansion has helped the Cupertino Calif company move into the top tier of technology companies Its shares gained on Friday to a historic high of S for a market value of more than SI 40 billion It dominates in digital entertainment players with nearly 70 percent of the US U.S. market markel Its store has become the No 3 US U.S. music retailer Macintosh computer sales are booming And Apple has sold 1 million in less than three months But Apples Apple's continued push into the mainstream market has come at the cost of goodwill from some of its biggest fans The recent drumbeat of complaints has come from Apple supporters the people who stood in line for hours the day in June when the debuted and paid up to to be among the first to own one Apple elicits passion like no other company Enthusiasts acknowledge that it can make them so angry only because they love it so much When I think Apple has strayed I come down really hard said Wil ViI Shipley a software developer and who says he has bought 19 Its like someone you are married to You hold them to a higher standard of morality than thana a random stranger on the street The conflict between Apple and its fan base is mostly over control of ne new v products' products uses and features The Apples Apple's first entry in the mobile phone market has sparked the biggest complaints An Apple spokeswoman declined to address many of the issues that have been topics of discussion among and customers Many Apple fans who coveted jm an fumed when Apple chose ATT Inc as the service provider complaining that it dropped too many calls and offered a slow data network Others complained after Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs delayed the launch of the new Leopard operating system from last spring to this month saying engineers were needed to u s f fI I j E I w r J r is N Los Angeles n eles Times photo by Glenn Koenig Jeremy Horwitz Hornitz shown with kith a selection of and other Apple devices wrote a column titled Customers Ask Is Apple Goin Going Rotten at an online publication that covers Apples Apple's digital media offerings finish the Many waited in line for hours June 29 to buy an then lashed out when Jobs sliced off its price only two months later Apple defused the revolt by giving S I 00 store credit to many people who had paid full price But it didn't stop there The music store failed tailed to complete downloads for t some r buyers the ving follO week The faithful again cried foul when owners discovered they would have to repurchase their games to get them to work on Apples Apple's refreshed line of the device Another line was crossed some say with Apples Apple's new ring tone program In early September Apple started selling the right to use some songs from as ring tones for forthe forthe forthe the at 99 cents a pop In late September customers who had created ring tones from other sources found they no longer worked Nickel Nicke and diming people cried Then on Sept 27 the wailing became a howl Apples Apple's fan base is used to being able to load programs created by outside software developers onto Mac Mae computers When Apple billed the as a minicomputer minicomputer minicomputer mini mini- computer capable of surfing the Web and playing music and videos enthusiasts and developers figured the same approach would apply But Apple made the i hone more like an than a Mac It barred owners from downloading new programs onto the device saying doing so could damage it and void the warranty Unfortunately the unlocking and unauthorized software causes damage that is not reparable Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said Friday Apple strongly discourages unauthorized unlocking programs on their We Ve cant can't know all the unauthorized software out there Especially at risk Apple Appe said were those who used software hacking techniques to uncouple the from ATTs network In addition to protecting the Apple may have been trying to protect its profits Analysts believe the company gets a cut of ATT service fees Apple made good on its threat Sept 27 when it issued a security update that made some freeze up and wiped out some programs that customers had put on their devices such as games and voice voice- recording software Some customers said they didn't load any unauthorized software but their broke down anyway Apple Appe went out of their way to make useful applications like ours not work said Technology Inc Chief Executive Cyril Houri whose company's navigation software was downloaded by users People say Steve Jobs is always right He has been right many times that's true But I think he lie made a big mistake Enjoying a tremendous run of success after struggling mightily in the midI mid mid mid I Apple is fighting battles on several fronts Its It's haggling with music labels abels and TV networks over pricing its it's fending off new music competitors including Inc and its it's trying to stave off antitrust investigations by bythe bythe bythe the European Commission But the recent squabbles with its core supporters are more of a family affair We Ve were we're there when Apple Appe was hurting we stuck with it we nursed her herback herback herback back to health Shipley the Apple fan wrote on his Call Me blog Its our money she has now and she's turning on us now that she's rich Begin optional trim Such sentiments might puzzle new Apple customers who didn't think they were signing up for a cause when they bought an or And And of course not all Apple faithful feel fee the same way Whenever someone gripes about Apple others jump to the company's defense accusing detractors of being naive about technology or harboring a misguided sense of entitlement Apple has to be the guy in charge of the platform to protect it for millions of customers said Steve Chazin who writes the blog and worked in marketing at Apple for nearly 10 0 years until he left in 1999 You are watching the transformation in rea real time End optional trim Jeremy Horwitz Horvitz editor in chief of an online publication that covers Apples Apple's digital media products said the company's recent decisions had created a trust problem with its fans The title of one of his recent columns Customers Ask Is Apple Going Rotten He called the recent upgrade and resulting disabling of non- non Apple software a sign that the company was looking at people who tamper with their products as hackers not coders Apple Appe wants to toI I exert more control aver the e end d duser user and its products for better or worse he said B need to understand that the is new and urged them to give Apple time to work out technical issues Still he said he the expects expects' company to open th the more to The developers developers- Apple spokeswoman said the company wouldn't discuss future plans I Hove love Jove the You my soul Shipley company said with You get mad at someone for not doing what is best for them i I |