Apple
Palm reports Apple to the USB Implementers Forum
By Jim DalrympleJuly 24, 2009, 10:47 am PT
Palm didn’t wait for Apple to take the next step in its ongoing battle to have the Pre sync with iTunes.
Palm confirmed to AllThingsD on Friday that it has reported Apple to the USB Implementers Forum. This a members group that oversees the implementation of USB in the industry.
“Palm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content they own without interference across devices and services, so on behalf of consumers, we have notified the USB Implementers Forum of what we believe is improper use of the Vendor ID number by another member,” said Palm spokeswoman Lynn Fox.
When Palm released the Pre it enabled the device to be seen as an iPod by Apple’s iTunes. This allowed Palm to sync with the software. But Apple wasn’t too pleased with the move and in a support note said it could disable the functionality.
Last week, with an iTunes update, it did just that. However, last night Palm released an update that re-enabled iTunes sync for Pre users.
Please take a minute to Tweet, Like, or Share this post with your friends.
TweetShare
Email This Post
⋅ 
Print This Post
⋅ Post a comment
Discussion
20 comments so far
20 Responses to “Palm reports Apple to the USB Implementers Forum”
Leave a Reply
Palm reports Apple to the USB Implementers Forum
By Jim DalrympleJuly 24, 2009, 10:47 am PT
Palm didn’t wait for Apple to take the next step in its ongoing battle to have the Pre sync with iTunes.
Palm confirmed to AllThingsD on Friday that it has reported Apple to the USB Implementers Forum. This a members group that oversees the implementation of USB in the industry.
“Palm believes that openness and interoperability offer better experiences for users by allowing them the freedom to use the content they own without interference across devices and services, so on behalf of consumers, we have notified the USB Implementers Forum of what we believe is improper use of the Vendor ID number by another member,” said Palm spokeswoman Lynn Fox.
When Palm released the Pre it enabled the device to be seen as an iPod by Apple’s iTunes. This allowed Palm to sync with the software. But Apple wasn’t too pleased with the move and in a support note said it could disable the functionality.
Last week, with an iTunes update, it did just that. However, last night Palm released an update that re-enabled iTunes sync for Pre users.
Please take a minute to Tweet, Like, or Share this post with your friends.
TweetShare
Email This Post
⋅ Print This Post
⋅ Post a comment
Discussion 20 comments so far
20 Responses to “Palm reports Apple to the USB Implementers Forum”
Leave a Reply
So, did Jobs kick Rubinstein in the junk on the way out the door, or does Palm honestly not get that this behavior not only makes them look like idiots, it will ultimately hurt their customers?
Rubenstein was guilty of technical douchebaggery at Apple, too. Remember the time he tried to sell us all on “the megahertz myth?”
I love how according to Palm, apple is “required” to allow the Pre to sync to iTunes. Even MS isn’t that bitchy
I don’t follow, am I missing something? How is using USB supposed to trump proprietary hardware/software integration?
Wow, Jim. Angry Mac Bastards hat trick! Guess we’ll be linking to this article on next week’s show.
This place has gone to shit.
So let me get this straight. Palm makes the Pre look like an iPod to iTunes, apparently by spoofing some part of the USB device or vendor ID. Apple then does something to iTunes to make this hack not work anymore. And Apple is the bad guy here? To me, what the Pre is doing makes it a misbehaving device that isn’t following the rules.
Bwah bwah bwah ! This is Palm crying to mommy. It’s pathetic.
Why shouldn’t Apple defend their competitive advantage using THEIR software that THEY developed that manages and synchronises THEIR devices that THEY designed and developed ?
Seriously Palm, if you want desktop sync then – um – go write your own sync software. Or read the iTunes database directly, like other devices do (it’s XML – you know, an open and easy to decipher standard ?). Don’t cry to mommy when the original software developer seeks to cut you out from doing things that probably totally violate your EULA anyway.
Sheesh.
@Peter Cohen:
When Rubenstein said “Megahertz ≠ Performance”, that was a true statement. Although certainly Apple embellished a bit, as they usually do, of course there is truth in the myth: just look at the last five years of processor clock-speed trends.
Do Palm really think the USB IF is going to chastise Apple for not allowing another vendor to masquerade as them? Ridiculous!
HowManoid: Honestly, yes, Palm probably does think that. They’ve been completely out of touch with reality for some time now.
When you’re on a sinking ship you grab at anything to stay afloat. Palm’s on its last gasp for survival. Let them scream.
Hey, Rubenstein, while you’re at it, why don’t you call the F.A.A. and report Steve Jobs for not letting you use his GulfStream V either? Maybe you also want to use his house, or his car, or how about his new liver?
Re: MHz Myth
Yeah, Apple had to exaggerate more and more esp. towards the end. But my 2 GHz MBP is way faster than a 3.x GHz Pentium IV.
Bot
I’m as much of a Mac fan as the next guy but if Apple is doing something which breaks the rules of the USB standard then that should be looked into.
As far as the Pre being able to use iTunes…IT’S ABOUT TIME.
If this were MS doing this the sobs and tears would be heard and seen from Saturn.
I thought about this a little more and I began to wonder. Isn’t this a lot like when MS designed Word 6 to run WORSE on a Mac? It’s not a direct parallel but crippling software as they did with Word 6 seems less aggressive than crippling interoperability.
I recall that we, as a community, screamed bloody murder against MS when they did that. Why are we now not screaming blood murder against Apple for doing something that is considerably worse?
The first thought that I had when the “Palm USB Masquerade” made the news was “How long would it be before someone complained to the USB folks about Palm violating design rules?” I have to say I didn’t think it was going to be Palm. I would think Palm has caused a lead projectile to penetrate their hoof.
Dan,
The situations are not parallel. If Microsoft made a piece of hardware and wrote an application specifically for that hardware, no one would have the right to usurp that application for their own gain. If Apple decided they wanted to make games for Xbox, would they have the right to do that without Microsoft’s permission? Of course not.
This is not about openess or interoperability or “crippling” software. This is about intellectual property and the rights of the property owner.
I stated that the situations are not parallel so we are in agreement on that point.
Unless I am mistaken the issue is that Apple is doing things with USB to block a piece of hardware from communicating through the hardware and OS to use iTunes. USB is an open standard designed to make it more difficult for vendors to LIMIT interoperability. USB, by design, is intended to eliminate closed standards.
If this is what Apple is doing then I see no difference from what MS has done in the past.
If Apple wants to keep others out of iTunes then it needs to make the iPod a dongle as others have done like Quark, etc. Of course, it can’t and won’t because then it won’t be pervasive.
My point is that it looks like Apple fans always see Apple as innocent and sometimes we need to look at our beloved company as being capable of being just as greedy and capitalistic as the next one. (Again, I’m an Apple loyal user for many years. That said, I’m more than willing to judge Apple fairly in what it does for and against other companies and it’s customers.)
Dan
[...] today and according to BusinessWeek’s Arik Hesseldahl, the group sided with Apple. Palm reported Apple to the USB Implementers Forum, a member group that oversees the implementation of USB in the industry, in late July. Palm said it [...]