Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to donate $1 million to Donald Trump's inauguration fund, reports Axios. The donation will be a personal donation...

“Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to donate $1 million to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, reports Axios. The donation will be a personal donation directly from Cook rather than a donation from Apple”

I’ll defend Apple as being the least shitty of the big tech giants but I can’t defend this.

  • JamesFire@lemmy.worldEnglish
    694·
    3 days ago

    I’ll defend Apple as being the least shitty of the big tech giants but I can’t defend this.

    Why would you do that though? The only thing I’m aware of that they do even remotely better than anyone else is privacy. But it’s not that much better, and it comes at the cost of gestures at everything else

    • ratel@mander.xyzEnglish
      513·
      3 days ago

      IDK why people say they have better privacy: They just settled a lawsuit over evesdroping using Siri. I think they probably have less interest than Google in selling data for advertising, mostly likely using it internally for their ecosystem so they probably come across more privacy focused but I assume they snoop just as much as any other big tech company.

      • dan@upvote.auEnglish
        20·
        3 days ago

        less interest than Google in selling data for advertising

        Google don’t sell data. The data is what makes them valuable, so it wouldn’t make sense. If they did sell data, the other big tech companies would just buy their data to remove their competitive advantage.

        What Google actually sells is your attention. Advertisers can target people based on demographic data, things you like, etc, but the advertiser never sees the data used for targeting.

        You can use Google and Facebook’s Ads Manager sites yourself and see exactly what advertisers see.

        On the other hand, Apple mostly keep their collected data for their own ad network. Yes, they have one - it’s mostly just used for ads for “recommended” apps in the app store, but last I heard, they have plans to expand it.

        • ratel@mander.xyzEnglish
          4·
          3 days ago

          Yeah apologies, that’s a good point - thanks for adding more context!

          • dan@upvote.auEnglish
            4·
            3 days ago

            No worries - it’s a pretty common misconception that tech companies sell data. I’ve worked on ads systems at big tech companies so I’ve seen some parts of how it works. The companies are very protective of their data as it’s essentially their highest-value asset. Employees can’t see any of your data either - it’s very tightly locked down, with strict ACLs and audit logging.

            Large advertisers generally don’t get any special access either - the tools/apps that large advertisers use are mostly the same as what small advertisers / individuals can see and use.

    • Corgana@startrek.websiteEnglish
      155·
      3 days ago

      The only thing I’m aware of that they do even remotely better than anyone else is privacy.

      Where did you hear this? Its my understanding that they are one of the worst when it comes to privacy.

      • Bakkoda@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        10·
        3 days ago

        Siri “unintentionally” (because it’s a sentient being right?) recording entire conversations def feels pretty terrible.

    • groet@infosec.pubEnglish
      85·
      3 days ago

      They do better about privacy because they make enough money from their inflated prices and blind brand loyalty where they dont have to become an ad company like google. Google is very good at protecting their users data from third parties, as long as they can still collect all of it.

      Apple (currently) doesn’t collect a lot of data which allows them to design products with security as a primary component instead of as an afterthought

    • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      27·
      3 days ago

      Like I said, they’re the least shitty. Can you think of a corp that’s better? Google? Fucking Meta? Microsoft?

      • lengau@midwest.socialEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        I have my own problems with them, but off the top of my head I think the following tech companies all do better than Apple: Red Hat, Canonical, Framework, Purism, System76, Fairphone.

      • homicidalrobot@lemm.eeEnglish
        152·
        3 days ago

        Microsoft didn’t spend multiple decades trying to force their own chargers and ports over universal standards. Not saying any of them are good, but apple is in no way better and has spent years creating contention between consumers. It’s just as likely they sell your tracking data as anyone else, they spend developer time every month making sure their ecosystem is considered better for cultural reasons while being ostensibly worse than competitors for most things. Their phones are generally a year or more behind competitors but they have made-up features that serve no purpose consumers rally around like imessage. They have a tiny sandbox to play in without completely voiding your warranty - Themes instead of real customization. “Blue bubbles”? Are you kidding me? How about allowing any form of tinkering beyond a garden path? How about supporting repair of devices at their actual branded stores? They’re easily up there as one of the worst for consumers at large.

        • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          211·
          3 days ago

          I’m really not interested in a long, drawn out debate about this, suffice to say that if you think all the things you listed, most of which are your opinion rather than indisputable fact, somehow make Apple worse than Google, Microsoft, or Meta … well let’s just agree to disagree.