2009 GF5 Tournament Round 5: The Beatles vs. Apple

by E. Christopher Clark | Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Beatles vs. Apple

Here it is, a battle for the ages, a real-life conflict renewed in the quest for Geek Force supremacy! For years, Apple Computer, Inc. battled Apple Corps, Ltd. over trademark disputes and such, putting at odds the world’s greatest band and what was once (and might yet again be) the world’s greatest computer company. In 2007, that dispute was finally resolved. But the Beatles have continued to stick it to Apple, opting to release their music digitally for the first time as part of a Rock Band video game package, as opposed to releasing it through through Apple’s iTunes Store.

In terms of contributions to geekdom, Apple seems the clear winner here—the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone, the iTunes Store—but in terms of contributions to the public at large, the Fab Four most definitely come out on top. Hundreds of years from now, when computers as we know them are thing of the past, our descendants will still be singing the songs of the Beatles. Right? But, then again, how are we going to get to where we’re going without the technological advances that companies like Apple, and companies trying to take down Apple, are providing?

It’s time to vote, folks! Do it now, and do it as many times as you’d like before 10 pm EDT on Thursday, April 9.