Apple aims to take a bite out of Facebook

In case Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t been attacked enough over his social network Facebook – for its aggressive policies, for changing its platform every morning and every evening, for collecting private data from users – he is about to bet hit from an entirely new direction -- this time from Apple, which could hinder Facebook’s planned IPO or, at least, lower its stock value.

Facebook is conspicuously absent from Apple’s newest operating system. It simply does not exist on the developer preview version of the new Mountain Lion operating system. With integration within operating systems known to be important, Facebook’s absence from the consumer cloud feature of the next generation’s operating system could prevent it from integrating in the future. Facebook could become irrelevant for iPhone users, even the existing ones, if Apple launches its own social network whose users would have one key interest in common: a love for Apple products. They could potentially have one more thing in common – hatred of Microsoft, and now, Facebook.

Alongside the newest Facebook trend of cutting down the number of “friends” to avoid being bombarded with irrelevant information, the issue of privacy once again came up this week. The Sunday Times accused the social giant of accessing personal information and spying on users’ text messages. According to the Times, Facebook is reading private text messages sent from smartphones on which the Facebook application is installed and collecting private data such as geographical location, contacts’ phone numbers and addresses and browsing history.

Facebook’s new timeline feature also contains information that users may not want to remember, or share. In addition, some Facebook applications demand, and receive with hardly any resistance, extensive information on the user as a term of use during the basic signing-up process.

An official Facebook statement denied the accusations, saying, “There is no reading of user text messages.” But the company admitted that “on the Android App store, the Facebook app permissions include SMS read/write.” Apple is going to put a stop to this.

Before he died, Apple founder Steve Jobs set one goal: to make Apple the core of consumer cloud services. Initially, the company launched its cloud features within Mobile.me, then it upgraded cloud-enabled versions of its operating system. The recent preview of its newest operating system, Mountain Lion, revealed how Apple plans to change the technological world once again.

Many companies have learned the hard way not to underestimate Apple. Now is the time for Facebook and Microsoft to take some bold steps to ensure their relevance in the cloudy future.

Forgoing cooperation with Facebook, Apple has chosen new strategic partners like Flickr, Vimeo and Twitter. But Apple is set to end the careers of several additional application developers by integrating many new features within its new operating system, which will be compatible with many older versions of the iPhone as well. These companies don’t stand a chance, when the world’s most valuable company declares war on them or cements boycotts already in place against them.

With all due respect to Android, today’s world can’t do without Apple because it is the trendsetter. Apple also has $100 billion in cash, so it can make any purchase necessary to crush the competition. Apple is now renewing its onslaught on the personal-computer market and demonstrating double-digit growth in that market – the fastest in the industry. The growth is attributed to the fact that wherever the iPhone was launched there was a corresponding rise in Macintosh purchases, as people realized Apple’s system was a user-friendly and effective alternative.

Even though Apple is not participating in the Mobile World Congress – a mobile communications expo currently taking place in Barcelona – its influence is apparent in every new device on display there. The world is currently awaiting two major Apple launches: the iPhone 5 and the iPad 3, expected to be launched in March. The new devices are likely to reshuffle the deck for the entire industry, once again.

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