A little future doom scenario (atmosphere wise, think Bladerunner)
1. Imagine Apple will implement the same business model for your desktop or laptop as they do on the Iphone/Ipad/Ipod. Which essentially boils down to: just use the almighty Appstore.
If you say: "no chanche in hell, that would be commercial suicide". Why is it then, that the iPhone/iPad are what they are now?
2. So if you want to install or download anything on your computer you will have to pass the Appstore. There is no get out of jail free card here. No downloading from the web what YOU choose. No, you can only download from a collection of what Steve and his employees like. (just like on the iPhone).
3. What if, just for the sake of argument, there's no app for it? Let's say a good porn app. I did a test and searched for "porn" in the Appstore. Besides some lame sex jokes, a porn name generator and, you read it well, an app to deal with porn addiction (sic: finally I got help), there is nothing worthy of the name.
4. Porn in this case serves my point because it's a metaphor.
Let's take it a step further: Replace porn by free news gathering for instance.
What if that controversial book or communist newspaper you want to read or a disputed video you want to watch has been banned by Steve on his almighty iPad? Yep, a device optimized for reading books and newspapers... Or maybe you would want to choose for using let's say NeoOffice instead of KeyNote on your new Appstore enabled laptop? Or you would want to play DarkOrbit (www.darkorbit.com) on your new computer that you bought yesterday (time of writing 60.000 people online)... I guess Steve's not gonna want that...
That's not gonna happen you say? We'll see... Steve can do what he wants, it's his business. Great products, great marketing, nice and shiny, working well (most of the time), all very true... But for me personally, I think I'm not gonna wait for the almighty Appstore true censorship to take mine elsewhere...
Let's see, what else is there... There is an operating system that permits me to install whatever is out there. It's called Windows. Wait there's another one... It's called: Linux or wait there's more: it's called Android... and on and on...
I say hooray for 'open' and freedom of choice!
6 opmerkingen:
If you don't like Apple, don't use Apple...
I don't understand why so many people have problems with a private company making private decisions.
If users don't like it, users will not buy it. The free market is a democratic market. Power to the people!
Ciel, please do not take this personal at all, but what you say is bullshit. Simply saying 'If you don't like Apple's decisions, don't use their devices' is ridiculous.
I am an iPhone/iPad developer and I love Apple's devices. Nothing competes (for now) against the iPhone and iPad.. wonderful devices. The problem is that it is dangerous when a company like Apple start's to decide what you can consume and what not. Wim has a good point opening the discussion towards desktops.. but what about television?
If you sign up for digital TV you want them to provide all the channels no? Movies, series, sports, porn, documentary, ..
You should be able to decide what you want to watch, browse, consume and experience on your device and it is definately not up to Steve Jobs to decide what content is allowed. Next thing you know he will only accept songs that don't have the word fuck, into the itunes store.
The only one who can decide what (not) to watch is your mother! :)
Wim, nice post, people do not seem to get the importance of Apple's choice because they are not as familiar with iPhone and iPad as they are with their PC. Nice point of view dude,
Keep on rocking
Thanks for the nice words and support Thomas! Good point regarding television. Let's how that will evolve.
@ciel I don't have a problem with private company's making private decisions.
That's what I wrote in my article.
And it's my private decision to not agree with Steve Jobs censorship and abandoning Apple products. You can count on it: My next phone and computer will not be made by Apple.
> Power to the people!
Well, there are smart people and there are dumb people, and there are smart people making stuff for dumb people… :]
Perhaps this article (Dutch) is food for thought.
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