Fruit themed toymaker Apple is portrayed by its fanboys as an alternative to the Evil Microsoft, however this often flies in the face of evidence which shows the outfit as just as nasty.

The latest story involves Apple’s decision to block Google’s location-tracking service called Latitude from the iPhone. While it blocked Latitude it is frantically trying to patent a similar technology and thus shut down Google's efforts.

Google launched Latitude back in February 2009, while Apple’s patent application was filed back in June 2008 but it is up to the courts to decide who developed the technology first. However what is interesting is how Apple is using its total control of its App store to gain the upper hand on competitors.

The standard technique for shutting down an application is that Apple claims it duplicates functionality. But isn't that the same as saying “upsets our monopoly”.

It is only a matter of time that an outfit with money starts court action against this policy from Jobs Mob. Most of the app developers are small outfits with little cash. However an outfit like Google with the cash and motivation can legitimately claim that Apple is using its App store policy to squash competition.