Actually Microsoft was the first PRISM data provider.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_%28surveillance_program%29#/media/File:Prism_slide_5.jpg The problems with Apple go far deeper than the NSA and are rooted in the IOS business model that was started with the iPhone. What makes this so abhorrent is that Apple uses DRM to only allow applications from their own store to run on IOS devices. This turns the App Store into the perfect tool for censorship and surveillance in effect turning IOS devices into Portable Orwellian Telescreens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telescreen. This form of censorship was applied to censor Bitcoin until last year and is currently used to censor Bitcoin,
Monero and every other cryptocurrency in certain markets for example China.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.11571471. In addition to this Apple simply has extremely poor security as was evidenced by the nude selfie incident, failing the most basic concepts such as not allowing automated mass logins to run brute force attacks on a password.
What I fail to understand is how people can trust Apple or Microsoft and not trust the state. This makes no sense to me at all. Edit: I should point out that if I was given the contract by the Ministry of Love to deploy the Telescreens in George Orwell's 1984, I would use Windows 8.1 RT devices over IOS devices because Apple's poor security makes jailbreaking IOS possible.
I suppose, this rootes in three sufficient factors in our modern society
The Massmedia and it´s commercials suggest you to use MS and Apple to stay on top of technology and, maybe the far greater factor here, the use of Apple products inherents a higher social status then the use of for example Android devices, which is questionable.
For the understanding of security you have to know the risks and downsides of technology, geeky people seem to be better advised. Most people know how to turn on a PC, but few are familiar with the command line operations. Again the Massmedia and our modern educational system does not build the consciousness to question a system, it rather tells you what you
have to use and what you
have to believe.
Nobody is able to question the legislative and their praxis, also "secret" proceedings tend to give little to none information behind from the scenes. Also the Massmedia is advised to keep the citizens "informed" what certain entities
want you to know.
You have to use alternative channels to get your information, and suprise suprise, these are not brought to you by the Massmedia.
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So in my personal limited opinion this all is related to disinformation and the use of tools which are not worth to be mentioned as a tool.
For example in my EDP education we where endorsed to use Linux, i learned pascal and turbo pascal, a bit C and others, and nobody told me i
have to use MS, beacuse it is the only wide spread and running system, which is not true.
This question is the same as the commercial and wide spread use of BTC, Monero and so on. If you look in the Massmedia, bitcoin and it´s affiliates died about 176 Times until now, so cryptocurrency and Linux will always stay the tools of rebellion and a minority
To get back to Apple: It is an US based company, so it has to follow the rules what the military complex establishes. I am not a friend of proprietary Software, and this has been the far better choice on the long term. If the strategy Apple drives at the moment speaking is house made or forced is worth an other discussion.
Regarding MS it is pretty easy to give you the awnser ->
http://members.tripod.com/diogenes_maclugh/BGIlluminati.html http://www.illuminati-news.com/070906b.htm