I continue to be amused by Cory’s occasional missives toward the iPhone. It’s almost as if it eats him up inside that millions and millions of people like (or even love) something that goes against his personal belief systems (open software, etc) leading him to invent tortured analogies that utterly fail to recognize that the majority of people don’t really give a shit about his ideals. They just want a phone that works well.
I myself happen to believe in and support open source projects. I also own an iPhone, like millions of other people. Yet somehow I manage to avoid any kind of cognitive dissonance as a result of these two competing ideals. It would appear that Cory has not yet managed to achieve peace with these elements of reality.
This statement makes the rather bizarre assumption that only that which one gets paid for is worthy of being considered a good use of time. I hold it as self-evident that this is nonsense.
The statement you were responding to may very well have been wrong (though that is quite subjective). Your response, though, was objectively wrong.
I could care less whether he got paid for it or not, so there’s really not much there to deal with. You, however, seem to be fixated on the subject of “pay”. Why is that?
Waste is what you’re doing with mine. Stop now, take the chip off your shoulder, and go outside for a minute for the love of god.
Another answer is: I think you misunderstood. I tried to explain. I wasn’t talking to you, which I shall now return to doing. (edited to add: moderators thankfully intervened to remove a few messages at this point)
Thank you for your correction! I’ll do my best to pay closer attention next time.
Concerning your other reply: Ⅰ specifically mentioned “other things,” as in “not mobile communication devices.” As you might have guessed I do like the way iOS works and would have no objections to other mobile operating systems working the same way. I guess our difference lies in our view of mobile devices. To me they are just that; I don’t expect them to be a pocket PC, my laptop is better suited for general computation purposes. If you do expect your mobile device to fully use its computational capabilities then iOS is not for you.
There is a major difference between smartphones and “general purpose computers”; one of them is usually carried in a pocket (or on a lanyard around neck) everywhere, one is not. The availability is a strong factor here.
This should come as a right with the hardware, not as some additional “privilege” to pay significant money for. Charging me to run my code on my hardware is what I consider a big no-no.
That again supposes that being paid for ones time trumps all other factors. And again, this is nonsense. It’s entirely up to us as individuals to decide whether the time we spend doing non-pay things is worthy of our attention or not. The notion that anyone else has a say in that assessment is foolish at best.
I meant “waste” in the sense that it wasn’t a very good allegory, and that the people to whom he is trying to prove a point to are not likely to be swayed by its logic (c.f. Zieroh, above).
I donate to the EFF. I like, use, and support open source software. I chaff at insane DRM schemes that fundamentally break end-user experiences.
Apple’s use of DRM in combination with its curatorial practices are hardly the most egregious; they are ostensibly a trade-off meant to increase security, which by and large function as intended. The U.S. Government has been waging a war against phone encryption as applied by Apple. Application sandboxing and robust digital signings keep malicious apps largely in check (remember fake Android apps spying on Hong Kong protestors?).
I place Apple’s DRM up there with Steam’s: Yes it is DRM, but it is designed well enough, and (gasp!) confers benefits so that it doesn’t bother me.
This is where Cory’s allegory fails: the DRM’ed dishwasher that he posits is bad prima facie and would fail instantly in the marketplace. And yet Apple sells hundreds of millions of phones. Where is the disconnect? Between the author and this column, or between consumers and their phones?
Yes, that supposes there are better things to do than arguing online. Apologies if you do value our discussion that highly! I know I’d consider many things more worthwhile, but I’m on a train and this BBS is just too much fun. I also enjoy wasting time.
I actually thought this piece is not about Apple at all, its about Keurig.
It’s about locking down devices which have never been locked before. is it far fetched to think that at some point there might actually be a dishwasher that only accepts certain kind of dishwashing liquid which comes in single load pods for your dishwashing convenience?
Not really.
What happens when you extend this fantastical scenario beyond just detergent and say that your dishwasher can only accepts certain plates, pots and pans specially formulated to avoid having to pre wash your dishes?
I’m not saying you’re wrong to think this is crazy, I’m saying you’re missing the point and therefore arguing pointlessly.
And modern farm equipment. And cars. and tomorrow.
A good allegory requires a little distance to appreciate. When someone takes it personally that usually says something too. I am glad you read it more or less the way I did.
