Comments on: Schmidt plans talks with Apple over board role

Following Google's announcement of its Chrome OS project, CEO Eric Schmidt and Apple might have to consider his board service in a new light.

[zmonster]

Schmidt has been in conflict with Apple ever since Google released Android. Google's phone OS competes DIRECTLY with Apple's iPhone. Now Google is releasing an operating system?! As an Apple shareholder who has worked very hard to earn a living and buy Apple stock, I cannot believe that Apple is allowing Schmidt access to ANYTHING. Schmidt no doubt knows Apple's long terms plans and only an idiot would believe he is not using that information to give Google a potential advantage. Something is rotten here.

[thelemurking]

I would somewhat disagree. Apple doesn't seem to be in the market of selling operating systems. They seem to be more of a hardware company. They sell you the hardware with the OS. Since their EULA prevents you from installing their software on anything but Apple hardware, then there is no conflicts of interest here.

Google released an open source OS for manufacturers to use on their phones. Since no one but Apple is allowed to make an iPhone, then Android doesn't really compete against it. If the iPhone OS X port was freely available for any manufacturer to use, then YES, there would be a conflict based on the competition.

The same should hold true for Chrome OS... since it's a linux distro designed to run on netbooks/net-tops for the time being, then there is no competition since Apple does not sell netbooks.

If the Chrome OS was being designed to run on Mac's and Android was able to replace the OS on the iPhone, you might have a case, but that's not how it's going right now.

[dhavleak]

It works both ways in fact -- being in conflict with Apple over some products, and also avoiding competition by know each other's strategies etc. As a consumer, this is a bad thing. As an Apple shareholder, you have to be concerned about the one-way flow of 'insider' information here. This is unethical, plain and simple.

If Schmidt has to recuse himself from iPhone conversations, and recuse himself from Mac conversations (because Chrome OS will require a hardware partner ecosystem as well), then what's left -- ipod discussions??

[calculatorwatch]

people don't seem to understand that an OS, no matter what system it's on, is part of a computer and part of your purchase

what i mean by that is people don't simply buy an hp or a mac or an iPhone or an HTC and leave it up to the company that makes the hardware to decide what OS runs on it, people make a decision to buy a computer or phone based at least partly on the OS running on it, meaning they're at least partly deciding between a computer with chrome OS, windows, linux or OSX or deciding between a smartphone with android, mobile OSX or windows mobile

the point being that competition stems from consumers choosing where to spend their money, not hardware makers choosing what OS to use, so if there is an option to buy computers or smartphones running different operating systems then those OSs are automatically competing

if i need to hammer the point in any further i'll say this, microsoft has practically the same strategy as google in computers and smartphones with regards to distribution and not selling hardware, so saying google isn't competing with apple is like saying micrsoft isn't competing with apple either, and i dare you to turn on the tv for a few hours without seeing a commercial that would beg to differ

[BtmnHatesRbn]

Google, Apple, Sun, Oracle, Disney. The cool kids in Silicon Valley.

[Seaspray0]

They're cool wanna be's. In silicon valley, HP is the cool kid on the block.

[jessiethe3rd]

Interesting Pact they all have... so much for choice in the matter.

[Mr. Dee]

The point is, Schmidt has been privy to information about Mac OS X ever since he joined the board. What was happening between that time and now? We all know that that Apple works on multiple releases of OS X at the same time, so he is probably dishing all the info to the Chrome OS Team about 10.6 and 10.7 while he can. Sneaky fellow and the inset picture says it all.

[thelemurking]

Yes, because we all know that Chrome OS is going to be an OS X clone for netbooks... </sarcasm>

It's going to be a browser based OS... it really won't have anything in common with OS X other than any similarities between BSD and Linux.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Apple trusts a guy named Schmidt ???

[biggstuu]

I thought google's mantra was "do no evil". Sounds like Schmidt is forgetting that.

[calculatorwatch]

I think that's Brin and Page's mantra, Schmidt is a business person, he can't help it

[lrd123]

For a company that's had more failures than success, Google really thinks highly of themselves.

[lrd123]

I'd bet they'll be laying off more people than selling there toilet bowl Chrome OS.