Apple: The new Microsoft?

I know many people have done this post before on several different websites, so I will only bore you with my ideas, and such. As a Microsoft fan boy, I find it odd that people always think of Microsoft as evil, and Apple as the superior underdog. Although, in the late 90’s, they were. They had little market share ANYWHERE, and not a lot of money. Steve Jobs took over, and I have a lot of respect for the man who took a failing company, and turned it into a company to rival the size and power of Microsoft. But, the shoe has changed feet, and I think more people need to point that out.
iTunes, is a program where you started out managing your music. A good idea, for I do not know of what there was before on mac os 7/8/9. But, it came pre-installed, which is fine, people like things to be preinstalled. Then, you HAD to use it with an iPod. Fine, the iPod is a new thing, and if Apple wants to control it like that, fine. It also made sense, as the iPod held your music, and iTunes managed your music, it made perfect sense to have the two programs work together! I would complain if it did not.
Then, the iPhone REQUIRES you to use iTunes to turn it on, and sync, and such. I understand that the iPhone can hold music, and it is fine that iTunes can do that. Again, makes perfect sense. But, to sync my contacts (which I think it does, I don’t have one) and what else it does (apps) seems like stretching the iTunes concept. Why not make iConnect, and allow for app purchase through there, and have iTunes work with the iPhone separately? What if I have an iPhone, and I don’t want to use iTunes to sync my music? Well, then you are screwed.
Apple people complain about how evil Microsoft is/was. I think its about time that we start complaining how evil Apple is. To use nearly ANY Apple product, you have to use iTunes. Apple TV? iTunes. iPod? iTunes! And such. Some could say that Microsoft abused its power in Windows to include IE, which I think they may have, maybe. But, to be fair, iTunes also comes with Mac OS, and you are required to use it with the most popular MP3 player on the market.
“But” you may say, “Apple saw, and perfected a concept! Why should they pay for being so successful?” Because Microsoft almost had to pay because they made a superior operating system than Apple, and included some software that many deemed vital to the use of said operating system, especially as the internet became more and more popular.
But, there is a difference between IE and iTunes; with IE, there were choices, yes they cost money, but Netscape started being sucky (from what I understand) during that era, and thus shot themselves in the foot, as IE was just a better product. iTunes, there is no other choice, you have to use it with the iPod, iPhone, and I think Apple TV. I think you can switch the iPod over to hard drive mode, and use it that way with other stuff, but I bet you lose some stuff that way. I’m not sure.
Microsoft has built up a world where people use their products because they were better products than the ones there at the time. Windows 95 was better than System 7 (I suspect, I never used System 7). Microsoft did better during a period where Apple had little power, and are now living off of that. Apple built a better MP3 Player, and are forcing people to use iTunes to use it. Nobody forced people to use Office when Lotus Notes was there, or whatever else there was. Office just worked better, and continues to work better, because today there are FREE alternatives, and Office still has the power, because they are the standard because Microsoft put in a lot of effort to make it that way with a better product.