Jason Abrahamson

PCWorld is reporting that Apple trying to get out of dodge with an Anti-Trust case. Their stock has taken a beating being down 3% today.

The bigger problem is how do you respond? Steve Jobs has come out in public support and explanation of their practices. As a company this puts Apple in somewhat of a bind. It’s estimated that Steve Jobs is worth about $25Bn or 1/8th of Apple’s total value. We’re not talking about stock or net-worth, we’re talking about assets. If Steve Job is considered an asset, his value to Apple is estimated at $25Bn dollars, or as I said, about 1/8th of Apple’s total market value.

So now what does Apple do? To change or alter their position would not be in alignment with the opinion of the most valuable asset to the company, but to not alter their position can and would likely result in a length legal battle — one which could leave Apple vulnerable.

A DOJ ruling could look similar to US vs MS in which entire divisions are no longer allowed to share any information. That would mean that iTunes or the Apple Store could not collaborate on integration into the iPhone. That could prove to be an incredibly fatal blow to the simplistic and seamless end user experience Apple so covets. That wouldn’t be all though, other platforms would have to be more widely accepted on their platform — thus making the stability of the device questionable – bringing problems faced by Microsoft, RIM, and Google — all leading competitors in the market space.

Since the beginning, Steve Jobs has always been a control freak. His insistence on not allowing Mac OS on any non-apple platform, his dictation of distribution, advertising, and fierce control of Apple’s reselling led to his demise in the 80′s. As my father always said, you can’t change a Zebra’s stripes, and there is no doubt that Jobs is the puppet master behind what are arguably more anti-competitive practices than Microsoft ever practiced. Could Jobs prove to be Apple’s most valuable asset but biggest hindrance at the same time?

Only time will tell, but for now, Apple is in one heck of a pickle.

UPDATE: WSJ is confirming

Previously I blogged about how Apple, aside from blocking the coolest app ever, was in fact probably more of a monopoly than Microsoft ever was (see here).

It looks as though they might in fact get slapped by the US Government. Personally I couldn’t be happier about this rooster coming to crow. Apple’s entire way of life has been built on top of a soap box inside of a glass house. Apple has and always will view themselves as a group of elitist. The irony of course with Apple is not only are they a monopoly, they are in fact more of a monopoly than Microsoft was.

In order to run Apple software you have to buy Apple hardware. If you buy the iPhone, iPod, iTouch, or iPad — the vast majority of their business, you have to use Apple software to communicate with it, and you’re limited to applications Apple sanctions. You’re limited to Apple’s store to buy applications and resources, and you’re restricted to Apple’s software to develop for it.

Going a step further, Apple’s products include everything bundled into it that one needs for basic functionality — something Microsoft was attacked for in their Anti-Trust case.

Apple has manged to fly below the radar sleeping in all day and snubbing the world — but it appears as though their rooster might just be coming to crow.