
Evil
Both Apple and AT&T.
Google is pretty evil too, so am glad they got screwed here too.
So Apple is taking the fall and AT&T washes its hands of the whole affair, but would Apple still be examining Google Voice if approval wouldn't upset its biggest customer? The responses to the FCC investigation are in, and clearly state that there was no contractual agreement between AT&T and Apple to prevent VoIP, or Google …
".....we have yet to obtain any assurances from Google that this data will only be used in appropriate ways."
If I were you, I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for that one. Also you probably want to define "appropriate" use of your customers' data. Google's interpretation of words like "reasonable", "appropriate", "privacy" and "anonimised" has traditionally differed from that of absobloodylutely everyone else.
Break up any vertically integrated company. Hardware makers can't sell OS's. OS makers can't sell Office. Apple can't sell hardware and run iTunes. The guys who run the cable to your house can't sell you internet access.
Make that one simple rule, 90% of the problems you read about in the register go away immediately.
One can tell Steve Jobs is back in town can't one.
The Apple response is careful not to incriminate whilst making every effort to obscure the truth. Call me naive but I find Apples behaviour, to a federal organisation no less, to be no less than appalling.
The bit where Apple go on about contacts privacy and iPhone user interface is bare faced lies. I currently sync my contacts with google via google's activesync mobile sync function and this functionality is accepted by iTunes.
As for the interface rubbish - just look at textPlus please. This app completely replaces the native SMS app. TextPlus apparently pays AT-T for text messages. This is perhaps why textPlus lives on in the Appstore but then again, Google Voice uses AT&T minutes, so what's the big deal?
Article spot on.