Bloomberg reports that network operators have finally totally lost it. “Wah wah wah,” says the CEO of one or the other or France Telecom, Telecom Italia or Vodafone ‘we don’t pay our taxes’ Group. “iPhones and Android devices are being used LOADS now, and it’s JUST NOT FAIR!”

The argument appears to centre on the fact that mobile operators are whiney bastards who don’t have the balls to charge users by the MB of data downloaded, instead competing with ‘unlimited’ plans; and so rather than charging users proportionately, they’ve come up with a CUNNING PLAN.

Unfortunately, the cunning plan is this: have Apple, Google and Facebook pay for the billions of dollars of investment requires to sort out their shoddy, under-strain networks. No, really. Good luck, guys! I’m sure this idea will pan out swimmingly!

Of course, this level of stupidity has precedent. We’ve already had idiot ISPs saying the BBC should pay them money for having the audacity to create the wonderful iPlayer that loads of people love using (rather than, say, killing unlimited broadband and charging people on the basis of the amount they use, like with electricity and gin).

So, well done, network operators. I’m sure Steve Jobs and his pals are nearly dead through an inability to breathe properly, due to laughing non-stop for several hours.

Hat tip: Matt Gemmell’s hat.

Apple’s soon to unleash its Mac App Store. Similarly to the App Store for iOS devices, it will provide a central location for Mac apps to be bought, and Apple will take a 30 percent cut. In return, Apple will deal with hosting and billing, along with potentially providing visibility for apps from a range of developers.

Lots of people have said this is the Worst Idea Ever, presumably not fully understanding that most computer users never buy an application, and many of those who do get hugely confused during the install process (often running applications from disk images that they never unmount). A one-click purchase followed by a single-click ‘update everything’ button has the potential to revolutionise software purchase and installation.

The problem I have with Apple’s plans is that the existing App Store is horrible. Ignoring for a moment its terrible search and sluggish performance, the service is a bug-ridden mess. Every single time I try to redeem a promotional code, I am greeted with six error dialog boxes. Every time I try to update my apps, I’m told the information being displayed is ‘outdated’ and that I should refresh the page. Often, I’ll find that I’m being presented with an update to an app that’s no longer available, meaning the ‘update all’ button doesn’t work. Connection errors are commonplace. If this was just me, fair enough, but Apple’s support forums are littered with people suffering from the exact same problem—and when one error is fixed in an iTunes update or ‘behind the scenes’, another appears.

For me, this is a head-banging-on-desk kind of frustration, but for the typical iOS device owner it utterly destroys the user experience. If the Mac App Store suffers from similar errors, it won’t be enough of a step-up from the existing software purchase and installation model. For most companies, that would be fine, but for Apple this shouldn’t be good enough.

24 Ways has been running for several years now, providing 24 end-of-year articles for web designers and developers. It’s like advent, except the tasty treats are web design tips, not chocolates.

This year, the company is releasing an annual. The idea is to compile everything over the season into an 80-page book, then fire the proceeds at Unicef. The book’s only going to be on sale until the end of December and is looking for sponsorship, so:

• If you’re a wealthy but charitable sort, sponser the thing (PDF).
• If you’re in the web industry, buy the thing.

There’s a lot of Apple in Microsoft and especially in Windows. However, when Apple started branching out into other fields, Redmond’s photocopier seemed to malfunction; while Apple blazed ahead with the iPod, Microsoft stalled with Zune.

Cult of Mac reports on Microsoft’s latest me-too blunder: opening retail stores across the way from Apple’s own stores.

John Brownlee:

The problem here is that Microsoft isn’t really a brand the same way Apple is: with the exception of the Xbox 360 and a few accessories, Microsoft sells software, not hardware, and so their stores aren’t showcases of their corporate inventiveness… they’re merely the same as any other big box electronics retailer.

Of course, he’s right. Microsoft is a big, successful company, and a hugely profitable one. Despite people saying Microsoft is ‘doomed’, it still has income and profits that are the envy of many in the industry. However, it’s not Apple. It doesn’t control hardware and software relating to its most important product (Windows), and it doesn’t have end-to-end product lines in the consumer electronics space, nor a strategy that’s nearly as coherent as Apple’s.

When you go to an Apple Store, you’re primarily looking at Apple products, augmented by third-party items that Apple doesn’t care to produce itself. When you go to a Microsoft Store, you’re instead largely looking at third-party products that Microsoft is somehow associated with. The Apple Store is unique. The Microsoft Store is a prettier version of Best Buy or Currys.

So:

• The new Apple TV, slightly larger than a Club bar and only £99.
• The recent iOS 4.2 upgrade, with AirPlay, enabling you to send video from your iThing to your Apple TV, just by prodding an on-screen button.
• The spiffy Air Video, enabling streaming and live conversion from Mac or PC to your iThing.

In the world of non-idiots:

• User buys all of the above, and happily plays anything stored on their computer on their TV, wirelessly.
• User also buys and rents stuff from the iTunes Store with absurd ease.
• Buyer is now hugely happy.
• Apple makes buckets of cash.
• Everyone who likes TV loves Apple.

In the world of Apple:

• AirPlay video is blocked to developers, out of pure spite and stupidity.
• Apple TV considered a waste of time by loads of people.
• Buyers left with other equally problematic products.
• Apple makes buckets of cash, but fewer buckets have Apple TV written on them in marker pen.
• Everyone who likes TV hates Apple.

Maybe iOS 4.3 will change everything, but I think it’s more likely Steve Jobs will broadcast a live video of him smashing an iPhone to pieces and announce Apple is to become an Android-based company.