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...and I thought I was totally in the zone?

Mar 19, 08 - 10:18 am Comment from: TowerTone

When I got up this morning, my RSS reader showed 6 new stories for Wired. Five of them were Apple related, including this one.

or was that zune?

@TowerTone

I guess they've said all that can be said about vista's greatness!

How about the secret of Apple's success is that they are one of the few companies in America that actually respects the customer and builds products that they can take pride in? So much of what the rest of corporate America throws our way is an insult to our intelligence, e.g., Vista, Zune, McDonald's, most of the cars. When you throw down the money for an Apple product you don't feel porked.

Mar 19, 08 - 10:27 am Comment from: silverhawk

"It locks consumers into a proprietary ecosystem."
I don't feel locked in. My OS X can handle a whole lot (anything M$ can program) more than his MS system can. How can that be a lock in? Idiot Wired writer!

Mar 19, 08 - 10:28 am Comment from: IKON

I have an iPhone, an iPod Touch, a macbook pro, etc.
Please Apple let me know what I want next.

one needs to look to their inner soul

seriously, who hasn't been flunked by dodgy mobile phones... maybe that's what ticked Jobs off to creating one.

We're all happy that our USB printers work when their plugged in, hence there's no point in making a better one. The real money comes from a device that does what other industries still scratch their heads on.

the next step in technology is wireless HDMI

You're right Bill. Yet none of these reporters want to say that. It doesn't have "pizazz", and they won't get hits. Welcome to 2008.

Mar 19, 08 - 10:53 am Comment from: Not Bill

You cannot formulate genius. Another tyrant would simply be a buffoon. The amazing thing is how right he is about his world; how in th zone. He has also matured greatly. He is not the jerk he once was. Read iCon (biography of Steve) for a good perspective on this.


People think Apple has a closed system when they look at it from the hardware manufactures point of view. The miss the fact that it is pretty open from the users point of view. It is MS that tries to crush the competition by forcing everyone to use their applications if they want to use their operating system.

It seems like Jobs is the prototypical consumer at Apple. If he wants it and it is developed to the point where he is satisfied (nearly perfect) the rest of us just love it.

"At most companies, the red-faced, tyrannical boss is an outdated archetype."

Err, no, at most companies, it's a current reality. And he or she is a total idiot to boot. Jobs may be a tyrant, but he's a brilliant tyrant. So were Edison and Picasso.

Since when is "locking the doors and sweating and bleeding until something emerges perfectly formed" evil? If Apple's success is due to its "Industrial Revolution relic" way of conducting business, well, God help us all.

I want a Big Mac.

Mar 19, 08 - 11:10 am Comment from: Macromancer

"It locks consumers into a proprietary ecosystem."

And Microsoft doesn't? It's a bigger ecosystem but you are still locked into it.

i'll never forgetting seeing this on a news stand in 1997

http://juergenalker.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/applepray1.thumbnail.jpg

Mar 19, 08 - 11:16 am Comment from: Zune Tang®

This is my favorite line…

"It [Apple] locks consumers into a proprietary ecosystem."

So true. Hey MAC lemmings, how does it feel to be chained and bound to Apple's antiquated proprietary system? I can put any video card I want in my Dell. Can you do that with your toy I-Mac? You have to feel especially disappointed with the closed file formats Apple dumps on you like .PDF, .JPG, .PNG, .MP3, and the worst of them all .AAC. And that's the tip of the iceberg. It's called lock-in, losers.

I'm rockin' some Styx in magnificent .WMA format right now on my Dell. Maybe later I'll watch that funny video Ned in Marketing sent me of a monkey peeing on himself in glorious .WMV format. Good stuff.

Your potential. Our passion.™

Mar 19, 08 - 11:20 am Comment from: MikeK

@Macromancer,

I believe the author meant proprietary in a sense that Apple hardware must be used to run Apple software.

Mar 19, 08 - 11:26 am Comment from: ChrissyOne

@ Sheep Register

*Exactly*. Problem is, many companies have a boss who pretends they aren't a tyrant for the sake of the New Economy, and then goes ahead and does the same old shit. I think a trip to Executive Compensation Land might be a better window into what kind of tyrant runs your company.

Bernard Ebbers is looking quite well fed in prison.

Mar 19, 08 - 11:45 am Comment from: British Mac Head

I love Zune Tang's silly sarcastic piss takes. If he were for real he would be such a freakin idiot

But hey, .wma and .wmv not lock in formats!

Brilliant!!!

Mar 19, 08 - 11:56 am Comment from: Mac-nugget

I take issue with the word evil on this article. Evil is dumping your product for free or as a loose-leader to gain a market, only to squeeze the consumer at a later date. Evil is investing money in companies only to influence them in to killing your competitors market viability, as opposed to competing on pure merit.

I used to like Wired Magazine back in the early 90'. To me it is no longer in "the zone". So I stop reading it a long time ago.
Now, if we only examined with detail what getting locked in to Apples ecosystem really implies, you would conclude how little veracity this article really possesses.

Apple "locks consumers into a proprietary ecosystem."

BULL CRAP! What other computer allows you to run BOTH Windows and the Max OSX, natively?! And Linux? Huh? It's the most OPEN machine on the planet!!!

Also, Apple is great about avoiding proprietary tech and seeks always to work with open standards -- in direct opposite of MicroSloth which forces its proprietary hooks and standards on everything it touches.

GET IT STRAIGHT!

As Apple keeps growing, get ready for more of this. And the lawsuits too.

Mac84, just to be fair, the only reason OS X doesn't run on non-Apple hardware is because Apple won't allow it. BUT it is a good point that Apple cares more about you buying it's hardware than it's software.

If there is one thing that bothers me about anything that Apple has done lately it is the iPhone. If I pay $400 dollars for a phone and want to use it with a different carrier, I am guaranteed no updates for life. I bought it, it is my property, if I want to hack it, that's my business. Don't go out of your way to brick it, if I want an update. I don't care what terms they set before the sale, once that money leaves my pocket the cord should be cut. It's no different than GM replacing upgrades on your car when you get an inspection. I think most of you would be very upset about that right? So you could say 'well don't buy one,' and that is why I haven't. And that still does not make it right.

Mar 19, 08 - 12:50 pm Comment from: Gandalf

This article is an insidious attack on Apple and Steve yet again.

Google's 'do no evil' mantra depends on Google's definition of evil, they are not the white knight but it suits their purpose if you think that they are.

Mar 19, 08 - 12:59 pm Comment from: Cubert

What "proprietary ecosystem"?

My printer, scanner, router, and digital camera have nothing to do with Apple. You can connect your Mac to any third-party monitor. You can run any OS you want on a new Mac and never (the horror of it) run OS X if you want. My iPod is loaded with music from CD's I purchased. No one has to purchase a single damn thing from the iTunes store.

Why do journalists still spew out this proprietary ecosystem crap? It's the same as all the lies from the 90's - Macs can't get on the internet, you can't run Microsucks Office on a Mac, you can only use an Apple monitor, etc., etc.

Mar 19, 08 - 01:03 pm Comment from: Brau

Kahney writes, "At most companies, the red-faced, tyrannical boss is an outdated archetype, a caricature from the life of Dagwood. Not at Apple. Whereas the rest of the tech industry may motivate employees with carrots, Jobs is known as an inveterate stick man."

What an idiot Kahney is. Jobs is not simply some ego-driven authoritarian; that is what drives the MS camp and other mediocre products. Jobs simply recognizes true creativity when he sees it and is unapologetic to dullards who falsely think they are, because it is this acceptance of mediocrity that begets products like MicroSoft and the other cell/pc makers. This of course makes him very unpopular to any who like to entertain lofty delusions about themselves. If you are in Steve Jobs' company and you say you have a great idea ... it better be great or he'll let you know. That is not authoritarianism, it is challenging people to be truly great, accepting nothing less, and why Apple is releasing great product after great product.

So now, not only is loose lose, so is loss.

Frickin' bozo illiterates.

Let us pray: Thank you, Lord, for creating Steve Jobs and Steve Woz, hippie, lefty, Democratic, capitalist innovators, who created Apple Computers in hippie, lefty, Democratic Northern California.

Mar 19, 08 - 02:01 pm Comment from: Big Al

@ Lardlad,

If you jailbreak your iPhone you void the end user agreement you sign at startup. As a result you invalidate the warranty and you end your ability to install any possible updates.

If you decide to break the contract with Apple, it's your decision, not Apple's. When you get an Apple product you get the whole ecosystem. You don't like the ecosystem, no problem, but you're on your own.

Quit your whining.

Mar 19, 08 - 02:04 pm Comment from: Mac-nugget

@Lardland
"If there is one thing that bothers me about anything that Apple has done lately it is the iPhone. If I pay $400 dollars for a phone and want to use it with a different carrier, I am guaranteed no updates for life. I bought it, it is my property, if I want to hack it, that's my business. Don't go out of your way to brick it, if I want an update. I don't care what terms they set before the sale, once that money leaves my pocket the cord should be cut. It's no different than GM replacing upgrades on your car when you get an inspection. I think most of you would be very upset about that right? So you could say 'well don't buy one,' and that is why I haven't. And that still does not make it right."

A cell phone is not an independent product that can work with out a network. Apple chose to tie the iPhone to a network because it also wanted to use proprietary technology, like the visual voice mail feature. It also wanted to keep full support of the phone and it's updates so it will continue to be a reliable product. All other restrictions imposed on the user are based on this last premise of reliability. Think on this last point carefully and then consider the alternative. I have unlocked 3 iPhones for friends and family members that do not have access to ether ATT network or iTunes Music Store in the countries they reside. I have also first hand knowledge of how easy it is to use the iPhone with T-Mobil for example, and having it also be using the latest update. So if you want one, but have not purchased, it's probably because of two things, one loosing your warranty is a big deal for you, or, you can't afford one.

Mar 19, 08 - 02:29 pm Comment from: Mr. Peabody

I guess we never explore, in depth, why Microsoft, uh, thrives, because if we did everybody that works at MS would have to go to jail.

Mar 19, 08 - 02:59 pm Comment from: alansky

Actually, one could also make the opposite argument: that it is the design-by-committee mentality that is the relic. Design by inspiration is not the result of wielding autocratic control; it is the result of vision, which is always a rare commodity.

The design-by-committee mentality is not based on some new-age world view but is the predictable result of the autocratic, top-down management style that, contrary to the author's opinion, still dominates business and industry today. Most white-collar workers in our society strive not for creativity, but for survival. Nothing kills creativity faster than realizing that your job is as disposable as the next bright-eyed job applicant. No one wants to stick his (or her) neck out; and the company big shots, for the most part, wouldn't know a good idea if it poked them in the eye. Hence the invention of design-by-committe, wherein individual workers never have to take sole responsibility for anything and the big boss can be assured that at least a dozen middle managers think the company's latest creation is a good idea. Needless to say, this kind of "creativity" could also be called design-by-mediocrity. Praise be to the bell-shaped curve.

Mar 19, 08 - 03:11 pm Comment from: Ampar

" . . . because if we did everybody that works at MS would have to go to jail."

Directly to jail. And you won't get $200 either. You know why.

People are just tired of Apple and Steve Jobs showing the rest of Silicon Valley how they screwed up the very basic products they are supposed to be experts at...computing, telephony, digital entertainment. Let's face it if you are some top dollar Berkely/Stanford grad and Steve Jobs runs circles around you on a daily basis, it is difficult to justify your salary.
If I worked at M$ I would go to trade shows with a bag over my head. How could I look my peers in the face after I screwed up a Clinton provided de facto anti-trust exemption, and I still can't release products people can get excited about. Nor can I finally put all my competitors out of business with superior products. Talk about a company making money solely b/c it has locked its users into a sad ecosystem.

Just my $0.02

Ok.
So who would you rather work under:

A sarcastic jackass like Ballmer or a brilliant tyrant like Jobs.

Mar 19, 08 - 05:13 pm Comment from: Not Bill

@lardlad

I think you have a valid point. Apple is locking the phone to ATT because it gets a monthly kick back. This is a new model; different from the computers, or even the iPod. For it to be similar you would be forced to use only one ISP and only could get music only from iTunes. This would be the case simply so that Apple could make more money. We have this going on with the iPhone.

Mar 19, 08 - 05:41 pm Comment from: alansky

I think you have a valid point. Apple is locking the phone to ATT because it gets a monthly kick back. —Not Bill

No, Apple is locking the iPhone to AT&T;because no mobile service provider in its right mind would have allowed Apple to maintain so much control over the iPhone unless Apple gave them an exclusive deal for some period of time. Apple's "monthly kickback" from AT&T;is a drop in the bucket compared to all the revenue they'd make if every mobile service provider in the universe was authorized to support the iPhone?

But even if Apple could have avoided giving AT&T;an exclusive on the iPhone, turning it loose in the wild for just anyone to connect to just any network would have also limited Apple's ability to exercise the degree of control they deem necessary for the proper use and development of their ground-breaking product. So, in a sense, AT&T;is serving as an iPhone laboratory; but Apple certainly may prefer not to sign new exclusive distribution deals when the first round of contracts expires.

Hey MacNugget.... Do you know any other software maker who would continue to upgrade your software after you radically altered it? you can always re-set it to the way it was and then upgrade. You're also free to hack it as much as you like, no-one will stop you. Just don't expect Apple's upgrades to work on altered code.

Two favorites from the Wired article.

1) RMA is the fault of the record companies NOT Apple's - and now they complain about it locking into iPods. morons

2) The comment by the right winger claiming that Macs were for Liberals and not him and his PC. You right wing folks need to set him straight. haha

&

@Jake (here on MDN) - that was awesomely droll.

Mar 20, 08 - 06:46 am Comment from: MacSmiley

Ask people who go on the wildest of roller coasters if they feel the compulsion to have the "choice" of not being locked in!!

Mar 20, 08 - 01:50 pm Comment from: BuriedCaesar

Gruber has a scathing response...

http://daringfireball.net/2008/03/kahney_jackass