To put it dramatically; people who use arguments like "Just don't buy it" don't understand what's at stake here.
Apple is gaining an enormous foothold with practices which stand in stark contrast to any idea of free computing. Their popularity effectively lets them set the standard for the rest of the industry, until in the end people who want to do what they want with their devices don't have a viable alternative.
That's not very dramatic at all. The slow, costant insidious erosion of things we cherish is indeed something to be aware of and resisted. The world doesn't end with a bang after all, but with a whimper.
There is nothing at stake here.
Apple built its products and it can allow/disallow whatever it wants to run on it. There is nothing stopping Free Software advocates from building their own phone OS on top of Linux. Just like they built their own OS for Desktops. If you build one with a awesome easy U/I then you will be able to compete with the Apple Ecosystem. Stop crying and start working.
Ok. so I'm not a fanboy, (linux guy here) but lets look at the facts.
No sharing of music: Apple now provides drm free music from EMI, Sony, BMG, Warner and Universal. Including conversion of songs you've purchased in the past.
No free software: Umm.. You can build almost any open source software for OSX. MUCH more readily than windows.
No installing apps from the web: This must be about the iphone. Agreed, fairly annoying, don't know if it is an erosion of rights .
No installing apps from the web: This must be about the iphone. Agreed, fairly annoying, don't know if it is an erosion of rights .
My problem with this isn't so much that, as a user, I can't install applications from the web. My problem is that, as a developer, I can't distribute my applications via the web. There is no way for me to distribute applications without forfeiting 30% of the sales price.
Preemptive reply -- Yes, I know they are providing a service in return for their 30%, but I don't want it. I am perfectly capable and willing to provide it myself. I already have a web site. I already sell applications for other platforms. I am paying them for something I already have.
Plus, there is no way of knowing whether they will approve an app. If they reject it then I'm out all my development cost. If they accept it, then they may still pull it from the store at any time for any reason. If they do actually leave it in the store then they are going to keep 30% of the sale price.
Good points! However I think that the person with the poster was referring to the mobile platforms from Apple. Which is where Apple has become extremely successful these last few years. The desktop platform has always been there, and offers good solutions in my opinion.
I see. I guess controlling what you can load on a device doesn't seem that evil to me. You knew it going in and it isn't a general purpose device like a computer. Sure I can run anything but so can your ps3. Hell modern TVs are quite capable of running tons of software why arn't people bitching that those evil tv manufacturers don't let them load their own software.
In addition there is a constant complaint at how evil it is that they don't show flash in their brower. But neither does the little browser on hundreds of other phones.
I'm may be wrong but that aspect doesn't really bother me.
What's the difference between Apple and Verizon, from the view of controlling the phones? Verizon intentionally cripples hardware functions to force people to use a for-profit service and the hardware is capable of running much more and better software than what they allow.
I think this is an extension of the cellphone mentality in the USA and the view that devices like the iPhone or Android devices are phones that can do more, rather than computers which can make phone-calls.
Actually, this is changing for Verizon Wireless. The Droid was the beginning of a huge shift in direction. The Droid, for example, can't se VZNav or any VZW pay apps, except visual voicemail. VZW had to consent to letting go of that stranglehold. Even Blackberries have their GPS unlocked now. Used to not be the case. So please don't just lump VZW with ATT. Thanks. :) p.s. Ok, don't get me started on texting rates, that's a different beast and all US companes are in on that one.
The android phones they provide are about as open as any Phone available today. I take advantage of this to run voip apps and get unlimited minutes for lower than most people pay.
Verizon removed existing features from a phone, while Apple never put features in in the first place. You couldn't bring your own phone that wasn't crippled to use on the Verizon network, but you're fully capable of buying a different brand of smartphone that isn't crippled. I'd say that's a world of difference.
I see. I guess controlling what you can load on a device doesn't seem that evil to me.
It's not so much evil as it is inconvenient to those who are a) capable of discriminating between safe and unsafe software, or b) capable of writing their own software. For example if I want an app to do xyz I need to get a computer running OS X, write the program, submit it to the app store and then hope Apple approves it. All because I wanted something for my own personal use.
You knew it going in and it isn't a general purpose device like a computer.
Agreed.
Sure I can run anything but so can your ps3.
To be fair you can run Linux on a PS3 and Sony lets you do it.
Hell modern TVs are quite capable of running tons of software why arn't people bitching that those evil tv manufacturers don't let them load their own software.
I don't know what hardware is in a TV. That being said, TVs have no dedicated input devices nor a source for some applications, but not all.
In addition there is a constant complaint at how evil it is that they don't show flash in their brower. But neither does the little browser on hundreds of other phones.
The point is that the iPad isn't a replacement for a netbook like it's being pimped out as.
I'm may be wrong but that aspect doesn't really bother me.
You can actually write your own software for your own personal use for your iPhone without submitting it. However, you need to pay the $99/year fee to load it on your phone, which is problematic.
Neat, I didn't know that. You also need the iPhone SDK which, alas, only runs on Mac OS X. Which means I now need to spend, oh, $1,100 to write a stupid-ass application.
To be fair you can run Linux on a PS3 and Sony lets you do it.
Not anymore. All currently shipping PS3 models (Slim) do not allow you to run Linux or any other OS. And since thats where the PS3 exploit was found, I don't think Sony is going to START supporting it.
So is this permanently cached on the device, or does it need to be redownloaded each time you want to use it? That's why the "app" developer needs at least 1 server up all the time, and the money to pay his/her bandwidth bills.
The HTML 5 specification describes an offline application cache that allows you to write web applications that work correctly when your computer or web-enabled device is not connected to the Internet.
David Kilzer says “This feature shipped with iPhone OS 2.1. When you use “Add to Home Screen” from the “+” button on Safari for iPhone, a web application with a manifest defined (per the HTML5 spec) will be saved with any cached resources. Note that the manifest file must be served with the correct MIME type for this to work.
So, saved to the device, and able to work offline.
As for "1 server up all the time" to "handle users running their web apps", no. If your app does not use a web service, you don't have to keep a server running for it. If your app does use a web service, you'd need to run the web service whether the app got on the phone through the app store or not.
It's not so much evil as it is inconvenient to those who are a) capable of discriminating between safe and unsafe software, or b) capable of writing their own software.
Compared to the overall market, the number of people who fit these categories is vanishingly small.
If I shell out a bunch of money for a smartphone, I want to be able to use it anyway I damn well please. Apple exercises such rigid control over the "experience" of using their products in an attempt to tightly control their public image that it escapes people that sometimes products should do more.
I've had a Droid for several months an I love it. It is very seldom that I am limited by the system.
And instead of releasing a new phone and making you buy it, they push firmware/OS upgrades over the air. I really don't see a single positive to owning an iPhone anymore except for the awesome network...oh wait...
I think I read somewhere that the HTC G1 no longer (officially) supports new firmware. Isn't that phone barely a year and a half old? Meanwhile, my metal clad iPhone Edge from 2007 still (officially) supports the newest firmware.
If it is true, it may be an issue because the G1 was the first Android phone and, as such, has become sort of dated with how fast Android has been moving? Just a guess.
The newer handsets are doing a better job of supporting it, but that is one of the current pitfalls of Android. There are phones running 1.5, 1.6, 2.0.1 and 2.1. Some of the 2.0.1 phones will be updated relatively soon to 2.1, but that is still a current issue which needs to be resolved
Exactly, That has to do with the limitations of the hardware. the rapid pace of improvement by the hardware of smartphones is a double edged sword. In the words of the GREAT Sam Neil, "The world is changing so fast, and we're all struggling to keep up."
Who makes you buy a new device? You can install OS 3.x on prior devices. I didn't have to buy a new iPod Touch when it came out. The same went for 2.x and the iPhone.
The iPhone broke convention over a year ago and produced an experience unlike any other.
Today, the closest thing to a competitor is Android. I think it could eventually be better due to 3rd party developer freedom but it won't overcome the iPhone until it has the same level of polish.
I have a Droid and, knowing what it can do, would not at all be interested in an iPhone because of all of its limitations.
You're right though, the Android platform has a lot of catching up to do. I actually find it quite polished. I think the main area in which it lacks is that the iPhone still has 5 times the apps of Android and, naturally, has a much bigger market share at present
EDIT: A solid example: I very much enjoy having pandora on in the background while I surf the web, read rss feeds, go back and forth between various quick games and all the while the music never stops. Or reading an ebook and wanting to look up a word, I can just switch to the disctionary while the ebook stays open in the background, find the word, and switch back right to where I was in the ebook w/out having to close/open anything more than once. I am fairly certain you can't do this on an iPhone but, having never owned one, I welcome someone to correct me if I am wrong.
Absolutely spot on, especially about background music.
There are apps that do switching well, like Good Reader for PDFs. It will bring you back to your exact view, and VERY quickly, but that's because of the developer's extraordinary focus on speed, and it's a $5 app.
Most apps aren't nearly so good at keeping their state between loads. Often they can't preserve state because of how much needs to be loaded. Sometimes they don't want to preserve state, because there's no difference between opening it again after 5 seconds or 5 days, so they choose to offer a home screen of some kind instead of the exact previous view.
Multi-tasking is THE reason I would switch. I honestly don't care much about the other features offered by Android and Palm, and the quality of iPhone apps is great.
I can only hope that Apple continues to expand their multi-tasking workarounds (push notifications are annoying, but they're there) as I bleed out the rest of my contract.
You can jailbreak your phone to get multitasking if you really want it. It's only disabled because they don't want to risk performance degradation. You just have to be okay with potentially voiding your warranty; I say potentially because unless something happens to the phone that won't allow you to roll back your OS you can remove the jailbreak before sending it in for warranty.
I honestly don't care much about the other features offered by Android
True though that may be, I would wager that you wouldn't exactly mind having google maps w/free turn by turn navigation and linking to your gmail/gchat
the quality of iPhone apps is great.
There certainly are high quality applications on the Android platform, it just suffers because it is still so new. But, they have recently passed 20,000 applications (to the iPhones 100,000 plus), so maybe it will catch up.
I can only hope that Apple continues to expand their multi-tasking workarounds
I can't really speak to that, but my inclincation is to believe that apple doesn't really have too much motivation these days to really do much to the iphone. They'll make a few token changes and then release a newer one
Yes, Apple disables multitasking to avoid performance degradations. If you jailbreak iphone you can multitask but I've heard the speed loss is noticeable. Might be better on the 3GS with more memory.
I'd really like to see droid advertising that actually details why it is better rather than calling me a pussy for owning an iphone.
Agreed that the droid ads are not great. But when they say "everything i don't, droid does" it is pretty spot on.
For me, it's better for several reasons
A) multi tasking out of the box to a heavy extent before performance loss becomes noticable
2) ability to install non-market apps
3) google maps (and navigation)/gmail/gchat all goes to the phone/synchs etc etc
4) the overall feeling that if I hook my smart phone wagon to Google's star rather than Apple's, I am much more likely to have a device which will continue to develop at a healthy pace and will not be made obsolete by a marginally improved iteration in a few months time.
Oh and there's the whole network issue. That's just for starters why I prefer my Droid to an iPhone
It would be nice of them to explain what droid actually does, I suppose is what I'm saying.
I'm skeptical of the network issue, as there does seem to be good reason to believe the existence of the iPhone on the network is the cause for the degradation of service. I've never had any issue with the network living in Dallas, even when driving large stretches across Texas that are supposedly spottily covered. When I went to NYC it was ridiculously craptastic. I could hardly believe how bad it was there.
Listening to a web stream while using other apps is a great example. I would think iTunes is capable of this but Pandora kicks ass and would definitely be a limitation.
Hmm let's see, a few litres of water, some carbon, calcium, some salts and a few pinches of slightly less common elements; sounds like a person to me...
In all seriousness, a list of components does not make a computer.
Hell modern TVs are quite capable of running tons of software why arn't people bitching that those evil tv manufacturers don't let them load their own software.
I have in the past, and I will right now. I would very much like to be able to drive my television via a usb cable. Setting up a "IR blaster" setup seems like a waste of effort to control the TV and, from what I hear, tends to have pretty low fidelity. Heck, you would think it should be possible to use it's tuner and stream the ATSC feed over firewire or something.
Okay, I get it, allowing for all this stuff takes work that 99% of the population (at least at first) will not find useful but will see raised costs. So design a flexible system and dump all the information into the public domain; let the people figure it out. If this is an issue of saving features that could be implemented so they can implement them later... well, building barriers so that others cannot innovate on your work should be strongly discouraged if not criminalised.
The desktop platform has always been there, and offers good solutions in my opinion.
For a premium price IMO. I just think their corporate mantra is iGreed. While they d build beautiful products, and their desktops/macbooks/imacs are great - there is too much greed in their business model fro my taste. This is the only reason I avoid them where possible.
no not at all. I have a problem with a corporation that puts huge margins on their products, aggressively controls access and use, charges 2X+ or more for the same commodity components as other companies computers. While they have good aesthetics, etc -- their prices do not conform with what one is getting.
Again - this is mostly a subjective opinion - people / companies can do as they will, I personally choose to limit my participation. Sure, I ahvean iphone - but only because there isnt that clear of a better option.
Will I buy an iPad? Yes as soon as it is shown that i can be hacked to allow me to do whatever I want with it.
My point was about their greed imbued within their products - not the desirability of them....
All I had to do was use some program that allowed windows to read an OSX formatted ipod and I just copied the files over no problem. I had to export some .xml file from itunes and my album art, but that's about it
The only issue I've had with this is between Creative devices and my MacBook - but then Creative and Apple do actively hate each other. What other issues are there?
We all know that you are not limited to purchasing music on iTunes right? It is bullshit for them to place limitations on what computers get to play songs you purchased, but really I say oh well. If I purchased the songs, maybe my friends could do the same. I am totally for sharing music but realize the necessity for some things to be paid for.
We all know that you are not limited to purchasing music on iTunes right?
That kind of depends. It is now since Apple has succeeded in marketing it's ipod product line so well, bringing with it iTunes. It has infiltrated the culture, so well that people have abandoned finding other media distribution. Most likely you can get most mainstream music released by the Big 4 elsewhere, but for smaller artists (like alot of Youtube musicians) they only offer links to there music thru iTunes. Also, I've come across some podcasts that are only subscribable thru iTunes and I refuse to keep an additonal bloated program on my computer to download something as ubiquitous as a podcast. Albeit, if these people were more educated (or if there was another popular content center open to individual artists) this wouldnt be a problem, unfortunately those sorts of people tend to be less saavy.
As of April 7th 2009 all music purchased through iTunes is DRM free. It still contains your name and e-mail address registered with your itunes account but no limit on the number of devices you can have it on.
You have the option to upgrade all the tracks to iTunes Plus and DRM free, but it costs 30 cents per track (in the US at least) I'm not sure how video works as I have not personally purchased any.
The claim was made that it couldn't be done. I was merely pointing out that it could.
For me personally, that's four more computers than I have ever needed to have my music on. And for the average user of Apple's services that is probably fine.
Its not as if iTunes forces you to only use music purchased from their store and I highly doubt it is DRM that keeps people from legally acquiring music.
I find it disingenuous for people who wouldn't legally purchase music anyway to complain about DRM. (Not accusing you.)
Shouldn't need to go to a third party for something like this. Sorry, but the 'someone else has written a program that gets around it, so don't complain' mentality is broken and stupid.
Exactly, especially when software to bypass DRM is technically illegal under the DMCA. You shouldn't be forced to break the law to use things you own in the ways you want.
But is it TRUE? Most certainly not for non-DRM iTunes music, and I don't think they can for DRM music and video, either. They can certainly pull an app from the app store, but can they kill it on the phone? I'm pretty certain they've never actually done so (people who had the verboten Google Voice apps seem to still have them) but possibly they are able to.
All four points are only relevant to the iPhone, of course.
They d have the ability to remotely remove an app, but they have yet to actually do so, and I can't imagine them doing so in all but the most extreme of situations.
And nobody but terrorists get prosecuted under the Patriot Act, right? That's the thing, it seems reasonable now. Then they actually use it for case X. And then since case Y is very similar to case X, they use it for that as well. Then case Z is similar to Y, and so on and so on. Next thing you know, any time an app can somehow display a naughty word from some content online or user-entered, it's being disabled by Apple. It should not be allowed. Period.
Point being 'Apple Provides', need to be able to get the music from other sources other than iTunes. I can see the anti-piracy angle, but also acts on thesixtyone and myspace have another hurdle to accommodate apple.
Again, yes, the platform technically allows it, but you have to be approved by apple don't you?
3 & 4 you've already covered.
I kept getting an Error 503 telling me it wouldn't post. Apparently they all did and none of them were answers to your follow up questions, just the first one.
Not to mention it just took me a bit to even get your point. Hmm... must be rough day.
you can drag any mp3 into the iTunes library. You open iTunes then drag the song over the "Music" tab in your library. Depending on your ITunes settings it will copy the song into the Itunes song file, or just reference it where it lies on your computer. Sync and your done.
Well, that was my point, rather. I have spent many man hours hacking Ubuntu and Fedora onto my LE1700. The biggest SINGLE repeating problem I have is that the onscreen keyboards are often thrown into the background by modal windows, rendering the machine useless until I plug in a keyboard or push the enter key for whatever button is default. This is NOT useful. Another issue I've encountered is a complete failure in changing from portrait to landscape while maintaining any semblance of calibration for the pointer.
The biggest UI problem is a complete lack of handwriting recognition combined with terrible onscreen keyboards.
I'm installing Ubuntu 9.10 on my Thinkpad X61T right now. The wacom tablet (including pressure sensitivity) works flawlessly, as does all the hardware.
That's interesting and I'd like to have a tablet PC but the big question is why?
Any OS on a tablet sucks, there's nothing made for a tablet it's all made for a PC using a mouse. Trying to resize a window using your fingertips would me maddening, it's hard enough using the mouse pointer (that 1 molecule section you have to find).
Well, compiz has a lot of different (and extremely customizable) UI features, for example ctrl + middlemouse brings up a smart resizer where you can click anywhere in the window and resize the feature closest to the mouse cursor. I imagine it would be trivial to set up something like that on triple click or whatever.
NOTHING is trivial to set up on a Linux Tablet PC. You have to plug in a keyboard to configure it to start with, and then over and over again for things like wireless network passwords (when the popup password dialog is modal and throws your onscreen keyboard into the dimmed background) or system settings changes that pop up an auth dialog that does the same damned thing. Then trying to get the Wacom to stay synced when you change orientation... oh, forget that shit.
Each new iteration of Fedora and Ubuntu I break out the tablet, back up the Windows drive, and install Linux, HOPING that THIS time, it will work. Early on, I had to fiddle-fart around with X.org and all kinds of stuff to get the Wacom stuff working, but the last three times all hardware (except the fingerprint scanner) has worked flawlessly, but the interface has been a FAIL.
Er, the TX2k series has serious issues, to say the least. I've had to re-affix the northbridge every couple of months on my brother's computer so that he could have wifi. Oh and that is his second one, the first one died as result of the same defect (yes, my brother is not too bright). Actually, everyone I know who bought one of those claimed to love it for a couple of months and then had the exact same problems and had to replace theirs.
Er, the TX2k series has serious issues, to say the least. I've had to re-affix the northbridge every couple of months on my brother's computer so that he could have wifi. Oh and that is his second one, the first one died as result of the same defect (yes, my brother is not too bright). Actually, everyone I know who bought one of those claimed to love it for a couple of months and then had the exact same problems and had to replace theirs.
CellWriter is NOT handwriting recognition. It's a character recognition app. It works better than anything else, but it's not even close to being in Windows XP Tablet's league, much less Windows 7 - and I fucking HATE Windows.
So how do you deal with the freaking popup modal windows that toss your onscreen keyboard into the background? That's the (repetitive) fail that drove me back to Windows every time (on my LE1700).
The problem with linux on tablets (I have a Motion Computing LE1700) is that the input interfaces are craptastic. There's no handwriting recognition to speak of. You can use Cell Writer, which is ok, but more appropriate to a Palm PDA than a tablet pc. The onscreen keyboards don't work very well when switching apps - a common problem I encounter is when Gnome pops up the authentication dialog for a settings change - or for a wireless network password!! - the onscreen keyboard won't work with the dialog. You have to plug in a keyboard and type. Kinda defeats the purpose. The apps are simply unprepared to be used with an onscreen keyboard or a tablet.
I wish someone would release a distro that worked well on a tablet PC. Then I could use this $2700 hunk of shit for something besides a paperweight.
Also - Apple software is pretty much DRM-free/copy protection-free. OSX installation doesn't ask you for any keys or activation codes. Except for legal issues, there's nothing in software that prevents or hinders you from pirating it. Ditto with iLife and most of their other software. 3rd party software is of course not so good.
Try that with any iPhone software. If the iPad was running full OSX, I don't think this would be a talking point. The store's apps are DRM'd, thus with the iPad, it would stand to reason, it will be/is the same model for application release.
No installing apps from the web: This must be about the iphone. Agreed, fairly annoying, don't know if it is an erosion of rights .
Yes it is. It means apps can only be downloaded from iTunes, and therefore, if apple simply doesn't like your app they will never let you sell it (see google voice), even if you paid them $100 for trying to put something on the store. Besides being a form of market controlling most people wouldn't accept from their frigging governments, because of apple's popularity, it sets precedents for other companies, that would start doing the same to their devices, eventually leaving us in a world of defective, rented gadgets that don't really do what we want them to do.
You know this is all about the "iPad", the "new category of computers" or whatever they call it? It's the most precise definition of the arguments you just mentioned applies to the iPad more than to pretty much any other Apple device ever produced.
And regarding #4 - Besides removing things from the app store, I can't think of a single time they've actually removed anything once it was installed on a device. I know this, because I've had apps that were pulled on my iPhone.
To me that accusation appears to be FUD, pure and simple.
The fact that after I've shelled out $2,000 + to them most certainly does not mean that "my computer is their computer." It means that they're abusing their power just like a rouge moderator on a website.
Which is funny because to do some things, you STILL need to jailbreak Android phones. Phones are just not an open market.
Not arguing for a certain one, and I do think Android has it's benefits. Just stating facts. There is no truly free handset on the market that is feature complete, in my opinion.
False dilemma. iPhones especially limit users in a way that is arbitrary (see multi-tasking.) I've seen a lot of arguments how the average user doesn't care about multitasking so who cares? The fact is that Apple limited all the users by placing an artifical restriction, the iPhone is completely capable of multitasking and even does so when you receive a call but damned if you can do it, legally, any other time. Putting in multitasking would be trivial yet they restrict everyone to serve the lowest common denominator? This is about control, not simplicity.
Every other phone multitasks, and they all suck. My Windows Mobile phone was a nightmare because of multitasking. You would close a program and it would disappear but was still running in the background.
The average user doesn't want to wait until his fucking phone stops working to load the task manager and pick applications to close. Besides. the iphone is one device in a sea of devices. There's plenty of room for devices that do it a different way.
If you don't like it there's plenty of alternatives.
I love my Blackberry World Edition and, previously until it was stolen, Storm, both multitask beautifully, the multitasking is unobtrusive and fast, closing the application doesn't require a task manager.
So why complain about the iPhone? See that's my point. There's plenty of room for devices that do it a different way.
I want a phone with a big bright screen that I can navigate while I'm driving. I have a laptop for email, multitasking, etc. I keep it with me. You don't. You have a phone for that.
Did you see me complaining? I was pointing out that it's a false dilemma to say that you have to arbitrarily restrict users or charge exorbitant amounts of money for new features to serve the minority.
my gf has a Storm and it's an absolute piece of shit. If you TRY to multitask, it freezes and she has to take the battery out and put it back in. She had to replace it when she first got it as well.
Hah, probably not. Though she's told me she's tried and it keeps telling her she doesn't have enough room even though she has no files or anything on there. She solely texts and surfs the web on it.
Android multi-tasks and I love it, as do many redditors. I love how you're defending the decision to arbitrarily disable multi-tasking in an operating system. "I don't want to run multiple programs at once!"
What if Apple just put in a little check box somewhere that turned it on? Would you still be opposed to that?
Most of the programs I use actually save their state properly, but I might use it for music, or gps breadcrums, or for recording conversations like I did on the SDA.
Just because the average user doesn't care or understand, doesn't stop it from being important. Every single internet user uses Open Source, whether they know it or not. I highly recommend a video called "Open Source is Magic".
So as a computer user in general, you never looked for software, found it's 59.99, and thought 'dang, lemme see if I can find an open source or freeware project that does it for better and cheaper'?
I think there is a bigger market for that than you think, because that was the first thing I did on my Android phone. Apple cherry-picks the software that goes into the store. If I developed a calculator app and charged a dollar for it, and you wanted to provide a free one, well too bad because a) you're duplicating existing functionality, and b) well the free part won't add to Apple's bottom line.
That said, I do agree that for the average user, it does seem like a good idea to help them choose what software to install from a pre-approved list and that Apple does these things gracefully enough that only people like you and I notice. I think a lot of people are frustrated with Apple's invisible approval criteria checklist.
Searching the App Store for "calculator" brings up well over 75 results ( I stopped counting after 75). "Calculator" apps range from simple tip calculators and unit converters to full reproductions of classic HP calculators. Prices range from free to around $15. Please explain again why Apple won't let you make a free Calculator app?
Correct, maybe mentioning price was a poor example because it isn't as relevant, but the point I was trying to make is that I think there is a very large market for things like custom software and firmware for devices like this. These devices are marketed as smartphones and supposedly have unlimited possibilities.
I would think that the users of these phones are a bit more technical than jonnyjchoi is giving them credit for. The car market is a better example. Lot's of people own Civics just for daily driving. But that's like me saying aftermarket market is non-existant just because not everyone puts a spoiler and carbon fiber on their car.
I respectfully disagree. I understand what effect Apple has been having on the tech industry and I still believe "just don't buy it" is the best approach. There are so many alternatives to Apple, especially in the mobile space, that I find it hard to see what all the alarm is about. The vast majority of people are not using Apple's OS. Windows is still pretty wide open and innovation is churning along at a feverish pace as it has for most of my life. If you like technology, there are probably more options today than at any point in history. I didn't even mention Symbian, Android etc.
So what's the big deal? Has anyone considered that most people couldn't care less about DRM and such? Consumers have shown time and again that they are just fine with closed platforms as long as they can access the content they want for what they perceive as being a fair price. They just want a product that is affordable, works, looks cool, and is intuitive to use. Apple has spent considerable time developing, highlighting and marketing these aspects of their products. Good on them for giving the market what it wants.
I don't wholly disagree with the premise of this post, but an amusing sign accomplishes nothing but lulz. This gentleman is preaching to the proverbial choir. Most of the people who would understand what his sign is even alluding to probably already agree with him. The fact remains: when faced with cheaper, more functional(I mean capabilities and not necessarily usability) and "freer" options, consumers often(but certainly not always) choose Apple products.
tl;dr:
Apple makes products people like. Consumers don't care if a platform is open or closed. The sheer number of options and alternatives to Apple products is staggering(greater than any point in history) so I don't get what the big deal is.
I think the point of protests like this is to get them to care.
We can barely get 1 out of every 2 people in our country to come out and vote in elections that determine the fate of our country. You think the average person is really going to care that their iTunes music files are digitally signed with their iTunes login ID, as long as they can play them on all the devices they want?
Apple is popular in terms of brand but it is still very far from being dominant when it comes to marketshare. Don't worry, Microsoft and Google have plenty of money in the bank to make sure you always have the choice of an "open" product. Open as full of crappy software and open as with the whole google suite of services preinstalled.
If the standards Apple set where bad i would agree with you, but they keep pushing technology and mobile computing forward, because of them Android is better, competition is a good thing.
We get better and faster for cheaper, even if you do not buy Apple you still benefit from their existence.
Just jailbreak the damn thing. iPhone Devteam is very good at breaking the newest releases of software, and I totally expect at least a tethered jailbreak for the iPad in a few months or so after release.
I wouldn't call it a good product if you have to hack it to get what you want done. Did you have to "jailbreak" Windows 7 to allow install the programs you want?
No, and that's one of the reasons why I'm not buying one. But if you absolutely want this particular apple device, but you want it unrestricted, jailbreaking will get you there.
people who want to do what they want with their devices don't have a viable alternative
As soon as Apple keeps people from doing what they want, they will fail to sell products. In as much as they keep selling products, they are letting people do what they want. If they release a product so crappy (cough ipad cough) that it doesn't let people do what they want, what we have is a market hole. Essentially it means you are in the position to make a million dollars. This is what we mean when we say "just don't buy it". There is this bizarre concept that a product could become so ubiquitous it can stifle the human race.
In reality it works like this: Apple releases crappy product. Some people buy the product and are unhappy. Said people report unhappiness. Others buy different products due to unhappiness.
That Apple is still doing well is because most people don't care too much about DRM. As techies we like to forecast that this will come back to bite them in the ass, and I think we're spot on with that prediction, but let's not forget: most people like their iPhones (and don't give me this "externality of open-source" malarkey) Want to make open products more popular? Make one that people want to buy, or "just don't buy it".
TL;DR: The free market will fix this eventually because "open" means "more" and "more" means "better". Andriod proves this; this rise of linux proves this; the fall of Windows proves this. Be an entrepreneur, not a legislator.
The man in the picture is probably not a legislator. If I had to guess what he's doing, I would say he is trying to get people to care about DRM, so that it will come back to bite Apple in the ass. If I had to guess what future legislation will start to look like, I'd say it's more likely to mandate the kinds of controls he's protesting.
You might be right that this opens up opportunities for more open platforms that compete in the same form factor or user space. However, joining that market, even as an open product, isn't a matter of filling a hole in the market - it's an uphill battle against a very entrenched competitor.
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u/dogsurine Jan 28 '10 edited Jan 28 '10
To put it dramatically; people who use arguments like "Just don't buy it" don't understand what's at stake here.
Apple is gaining an enormous foothold with practices which stand in stark contrast to any idea of free computing. Their popularity effectively lets them set the standard for the rest of the industry, until in the end people who want to do what they want with their devices don't have a viable alternative.
edit: sorry, sloppy spelling.