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I read the techblogs and sites religiously. I am typically and early adopter. Although I do not program, I consider myself in the geek class ever since my Commodore VIC 20 days (with cassette recorder and everything). While I am certainly not the utmost authority, I read enough to know that I can take the pulse of the Apple geek community. To underscore my position, please read the comments to this NY Times piece.
After my post this week where I expressed my disappointment that Apple has chosen to almost deliberately screw people who had the "audacity" to tinker with their expensive iPhones, I received a post which embodied the very point my post was trying to make. That is the mindless, aimless and deft argument that Apple can do no wrong. Merely mentioning a disappointment was enough to send one to make a comment that only stated the position that I had already mentioned in my post. No originality in its thinking. It is akin to the mainstream media's repeating Bush's talking points. The Apple fanboys are merely repeating the Apple issued mantra of "we told you from the start we were not going to support third party applications and we also said that 'it is POSSIBLE that the update will render your phone inoperable.'" Blah, Blah, Blah. This does not address my main point. Why pursue those early adopters (not to mention the significant price drop only 72 days after release)? Why pursue those who are so fascinated with the product that they spend countless hours trying to INCREASE functionality? Why treat them as criminals? According to the comment to my post, apparently to modify a phone is somehow immoral and also breaching your contract. Perhaps this person should take a remedial course in contracts. Hacking the phone does not cancel the contract, for if this was the case then ATT would cancel your contract. WIll that happen? Hardly. Will it void the warranty? Yes. So what. Immoral? Jesus, when did your allegiance to a corporate entity turn into some sort of self righteous morality? Do you not realize that contracts are broken all them time. Contracts are like anything in business. It is a calculus of expenses. If breaching a contract would be financially or strategically beneficial and outweighs the potential liability, they'll breach away. Stop living in your Rush Limbaugh bubble of superiority, for this IS the real world. Until you have gone behind the scenes with large businesses negotiating contracts you have not the experience nor the knowledge to presume to tell me what the real world is.
So... back to Apple. As I eluded to in my post. The closest analogy I can think of is Metallica. To refresh one's memory. During the heyday of Napster, Lars Ulrich, Metallica's drummer and spokesperson went on a crusade to stop illegal filesharing. They tracked down users IP addresses of users and sued them. While no one questioned his legal foundation for doing so, the public backlash was LOUD and proved to be quite disruptive. Sales of subsequent albums tanked and permanent damage had been done to their core fans. Metallica looked like greedy, rich, arrogant bastards who were pursuing working class, ordinary people for loving thier music. In the end, only Metallica lost. Just Google Metallica torrent to see if Lars' quest had any significant meaning. Are downloading torrents still illegal? Sure, but the demand to listen to this band remains-albeit without the impassioned quality they had thrived on for nearly two decades. The aftermath was so severe that they hired a psychologist to work with them. This is fucking Metallica running around with a self-help guru- hardly the image that their base wants to see. Personally I loved the movie as I found it incredibly insightful, but I am certainly not one of their "base," but I digress.
So we now have Apple doing the same thing. But here it is even worse. At least Metallica had the argument that filesharing was against the law. Modding the iPhone may void the warranty but it is certainly not against the law. First the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) specifically excludes unlocking. It is possible that the there could be some other violation, but it is grey at best and would certainly set precedent if it did. But they are going after those who are their most loyal fans. Hardly anyone is complaining that such activity voids the warranty, but rather that this is a heavy handed tactic. I've heard comparisons to MS and Sony on the X-Box and Playstation. EXACTLY. Sony and MS quickly attacked those who modded their machines. BUT look at their image? How many would say that MS is good to their end users? Lest I remind everyone of Windows ME? Must I remind you that Dell has gone back to XP from Vista because of the problems? How about Sony? Sony, who invented the small music format but was so fucking stubborn that they missed their opportunity and are just now in 2007 abandoning their ATRAC codec used on MiniDisc (in fairness to Sony, the codec was exceptional). Both of these companies, at one point in their history, were the gold standard. Growing up if you had a Sony Trinitron, you were cool. Remember when the MS mouse first appeared? A work of art! With Windows 95, Microsoft finally blew past Apple's then aging OS 9 and I made the switch to them after being a loyal Apple customer since 1988.
Like Apple switching to Intel, so too has MS yielded on their stubborness and incorporated far more Mac-like features into their products. When it comes to phones, Windows Mobile and Smartphone have far surpassed Palm, relegating it to the dustbin of posterity. WM6 Smartphone is a decent OS. It is very functional and highly customizable (notice that customizable is not a fucking bad thing Apple!). There is a large developer community and MS works with them to encourage its expanded usage. The iPhone, like many Apple products, simply leapfrogs ahead of any offering from Samsung, Microsoft, and the giant Finnish Nokia. Despite the claims by HTC (a Taiwanese company that is putting out some amazing products and the company that made my last phone, the T-Mobile Dash) that they have a product as advanced as the iPhone, I remain skeptical. But Apple is blowing this opportunity to embrace their biggest fans and, instead giving them the Metallica-like treatment.
Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, Metallica, Microsoft, Napster
After my post this week where I expressed my disappointment that Apple has chosen to almost deliberately screw people who had the "audacity" to tinker with their expensive iPhones, I received a post which embodied the very point my post was trying to make. That is the mindless, aimless and deft argument that Apple can do no wrong. Merely mentioning a disappointment was enough to send one to make a comment that only stated the position that I had already mentioned in my post. No originality in its thinking. It is akin to the mainstream media's repeating Bush's talking points. The Apple fanboys are merely repeating the Apple issued mantra of "we told you from the start we were not going to support third party applications and we also said that 'it is POSSIBLE that the update will render your phone inoperable.'" Blah, Blah, Blah. This does not address my main point. Why pursue those early adopters (not to mention the significant price drop only 72 days after release)? Why pursue those who are so fascinated with the product that they spend countless hours trying to INCREASE functionality? Why treat them as criminals? According to the comment to my post, apparently to mad a phone is somehow immoral and also breaching your contract. Perhaps this person should take a remedial course in contracts. Hacking the phone does not cancel the contract, for if this was the case then ATT would cancel your contract. WIll that happen? Hardly. Will it void the warranty? Yes. So what. Immoral? Jesus, when did your allegiance to a corporate entity turn into some sort of self righteous morality? Do you not realize that contracts are broken all them time. Contracts are like anything in business. It is an expense. It is a calculus of expenses. If breaching a contract would be financially or strategically beneficial and outweighs the potential liability, they'll breach away. Stop living in your Rush Limbaugh bubble of superiority, for this IS the real world. Until you have gone behind the scenes with large businesses negotiating contracts you have not the experience or knowledge to presume to tell me what the real world is.
So... back to Apple. As I eluded to in my post. The closest analogy I can think of is Metallica. To refresh one's memories. During the heyday of Napster, Lars Ulrich, Metallica's drummer and spokesperson went on a crusade to stop illegal filesharing. They tracked down users IP addresses and sued them. While no one quested his legal foundation for doing so, the public backlash was LOUD and proved to be quite disruptive. Sales of subsequent albums tanked and permanent damage had been done to their core fans. Metallica looked like greedy, rich, arrogant bastards who were pursuing working class, ordinary people for loving thier music. In the end, only Metallica lost. Just Google Metallica torrent to see if Lars' quest had any significant meaning. Are downloading torrents still illegal? Sure, but the demand to listen to this band remains-albeit without the impassioned quality they had thrived on for nearly two decades. The aftermath was so severe that they hired a psychologist to work with them. This is fucking Metallica running around with a self-help guru- hardly the image that their base wants to see. Personally I loved the movie as I found it incredibly insightful, but I am certainly not one of their "base." So we now have Apple doing the same thing. But here it is even worse. At least Metallica had the argument that filesharing was against the law. Modding the iPhone may void the warrant but it is certainly not against the law. First the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) specifically excludes unlocking. It is possible that the there could be some other violation, but it is grey at best and would certainly set precedent if it did. But they are going after those who are their most loyal fans. Hardly anyone is complaining that such activity voids the warranty, but rather that this is a heavy handed tactic. I've heard comparisons to MS and Sony on the X-Box and Playstation. EXACTLY. Sony and MS quickly attacked those who modded their machines. BUT look at their image? How many would say that MS is good to their end users? Lest I remind everyone of Windows ME? Must I remind you that Dell has gone back to XP from Vista because of the problems? How about Sony? Sony, who invented the small music format but was so fucking stubborn that they missed their opportunity and are just now in 2007 abandoning their ATRAC codec used on MiniDisc (in fairness to Sony, the codec was exceptional). Both of these companies, at one point in their history, were the gold standard. Growing up if you had a Sony Trinitron, you were cool. Remember when the MS mouse first appeared? A work of art! With Windows 95, Microsoft finally blew past Apple's then aging OS 9 and I made the switch to them after being a loyal Apple customer since 1988. I started back with Apple in '03 with the second release of OS X and was blown away. I still love it and it is far superior to XP and in my opinion remains technically superior to Vista. Like Apple switching to Intel, so too has MS yielded on their stubborness and incorporated far more Mac-like features into their products. When it comes to phones, Windows Mobile and Smartphone have far surpassed Palm, relegating it to the dustbin of posterity. WM6 Smartphone is a decent OS. It is very functional and highly customizable (notice that customizable is not a fucking bad thing Apple!). There is a large developer community and MS works with them to encourage its expanded usage. The iPhone, like many Apple products, simply leapfrogs ahead of any offering from Samsung, Microsoft, and the giant Finnish Nokia. Despite the claims by HTC (a Taiwanese company that is putting out some amazing products and the company that made my last phone, the T-Mobile Dash) that they have a product as advanced as the iPhone, I remain skeptical. But Apple is blowing this opportunity to embrace their biggest fans and, instead giving them the Metallica-like treatment.
Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, Microsoft, Metallica, Napster
Throughout the majority of my life, the Canadian dollar was a fraction of the US dollar. Having a mother from Toronto and grandparents in nearby Windsor, Ontario, we would make frequent trips to the country across the Detroit River. I always loved it as everything seemed so inexpensive. This changed about a decade ago when competition and spirited Canadian economy seemed to introduce a general parity, but the US dollar remained at around $1.20'ish for some time. I know that from an economists perspective this is not all doom and gloom for this could make US goods more attractive as imports. Yes, I am am familiar with the basic tenants of macroeconomics. But economists live in a vacuum and they generally do not introduce such "fluffy" concepts as peoples' psychological perspective. I am sorry, but to me and I am sure many other Americans, this just does not sit well. We sat on a record budget surplus when Clinton left office only to be squandered by poor choices, greed, and a misguided war. Canada, our friendly neighbors intelligently told the US that we were international bullies and they wanted nothing to do with our Iraq debacle.
GM went on a short strike this week before they settled with the UAW. I think that corporate America learned something in the '30's. You do not strong-arm labor in times of economic recession (if you do not believe that we are in a full blown recession then you are living in your own reality... just come to the heartland for a moment and you'll quickly realize that much of this country is bleeding right now). GM knew that momentum would actually shift and the impotent masses may actually get upset and do something like light a fire on organized labor. They can't have that so unsurprisingly they came to a speedy resolution. This will happen a few more times and corporate America will merely placate and buy time until the next gold rush occurs and they will renege on their deals while their CEOs are earning 100's of millions of dollars. We never learn. I am not a labor apologist. That is to say I do not think unions are well run and they have lost their core purpose years ago, choosing, instead to become like the very corporations they were standing up against... greedy bastards. Unfortunately a laizez faire system is completely utopian in its ideal. For a while I swallowed the Alex P. Keaton school and indoctrinated myself with Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. Sure it sounds wonderful. But the problem is that it is never a true market for who is it that sets the ground rules for the market itself? Oh, yeah, that' right... corporate America. We have a created a system of oligarchies where we have just a handful of major players in a given market sector. How is this TRUE capitalism? Capitalism is NOT Darwinian in its implementation in the US. Nor is it laizez-faire. If it were, Chrysler would have folded in the 80's when it sought out a government bailout. What about the no-bid contracts in Iraq for Bechtel, Halliburton, and many others in the defense industry. Is this an open market? Hardly. I find it so utterly ironic that these free-market types want the rules only to apply to their chosen bedfellows. Let's see what true competition does. We do not even understand this concept. We pass judgment on other countries and act superior, but many other countries have LAWS (yes, sometimes you need laws to enforce free competition- see Sherman Antitrust Act) to ensure competition.
Technorati Tags: Adam Smith, Democracy, Competition, Quicksilver, Wealth of Nations
Anyone who knows me understands that I am an Apple enthusiast. For nearly 20 years (save a 4 year period while in law school) I have loved Apple's products. As Apple has hit home run after home run since '01, I was just in awe like so many others. I have three Macs, and in our house we have no fewer than five iPods (3G, U2 3.5G, 5G xs 2 and a shuffle). However, the recent asinine behavior of Apple in reference to their "update" to the iPhone to disable the unlocking and hacked features has me fuming. Some will say it is their prerogative. I say sure, but it also my prerogative to lower my admiration for them. Should this matter? Yes. I am not alone. Many people feel utterly betrayed by a company that has stood for hip products and generally good customer service. What astounds me is the Apple apologists who claim "you knew that Apple was not supporting third party software... you took the risk... the exclusivity of the ATT contract is guiding this." Since when are Americans corporate shills? Jesus, "hacking" is what has propelled the industry in the first place. Then people say that Apple is doing this so that it "just works" and compare it to their other products. This is bollocks. It would be akin to having Apple lock you into Safari and prohibiting the use of Firefox. What if Apple said suddenly that we will not "support third party software on the Mac?" I see it as a direct parallel. I have been using either a Treo or a WM5 or WM6 for years now. I have always added software and installed "hacks." Microsoft and Palm never cared about this and this is fucking Microsoft. Apple is just being a douche-bag I think that going forward, I believe that I would honestly be amenable to other products. While I am sure I will remain with Apple, this has made the Kool-Aid that I've been drinking wear off.
This rant has nothing to do with the amazing technology the iPhone is. But Apple, the Company, is really becoming Microsoft slowly and steadily and it is fascinating to watch how MS is slowly gaining SOME good feelings (especially in light of the monstrous week of Halo 3 this past week.)
