Remember that really cool TV ad that Apple ran during the 1984 Superbowl? The one that showed (a very-hot) Anya Major swinging that big hammer at big brother?
Times have certainly changed since then. Apple has become that malevolent force they sought to destroy.
No one denies that Apple makes some very nice computers and personal electronics. So nice, in fact, that people march to Apple's churches everywhere and stand in line to purchase them. It's pretty funny -- or sad, really.
From a purely functional POV, Apple's Macs are dreadfully overpriced. In terms of performance, depending on configuration, you will spend around 2x to 3x more for a Mac that runs far fewer titles than a similarly equipped Windows computer. But damn! You will look good! Nothing like sitting at Starbucks, sipping a $13 latte, and updating facebook on your Mac. If you did that on a Windows laptop, I do believe you'd be asked to leave the premises and to please not come back. Well, at least not until you bought a .....
But people do have priorities in life. We all must decide what's important. If it's important to have a computer CNC milled from a solid block of aluminum then Apple's got you covered. If that's what you want, fine. It's a free country -- or so they say.
No, what really blows the foamy goodness off the top of my latte is Apple's business practices with their iDevices. If Steve didn't give you some (arbitrary) functionally, it's not because he forgot or didn't think about it. I mean really, can you imagine Apple not doing something because they "forgot"? No. If some function isn't there it's because Steve/Apple doesn't mean for you to do it. Really, it's that simple.
In the world of just about every other platform, the creators of those platforms, like the Almighty, gave man free will. "Go forth and multiply", or something like that, was the ethos. In other words, do what you want.
But in Steve's Kingdom, that is not the case. Job's job is to prevent that. Apple controls every aspect of the user experience. The hunk of metal that is your iPhone/iPad/iPod(Touch) may belong to you, but Apple controls how you use it. Not what you do, but how you do it. They do this by locking down the device, allowing you to install apps that only Apple approves and from only one source!
Sadly, many people are blissfully unaware of this. Apple has so inculcated in the public the superiority of the "app store" that many people don't even realize they are handcuffed to Apple in this manner. Their attitude is that people can't be trusted to make a decision for themselves. Everything that's visible to the customer must be curated by Apple. How arrogant.
Imagine if Toyota forced you to buy all accessories for your car from the dealer. How would you like that?
You might say, "What's so bad about that. The App Store has everything I could ever want". Really? Apparently the several million people that have jail-broken their phones disagree.
Apple is especially hostile to developers. To develop for iDevices, you must 1) sign a lengthy license agreement, 2) pay a yearly fee for the privilege, 3) accept that Apple gets a 30% commission of any app you charge for, including in-app content, 4) run the risk that apple won't approve your app if they "don't like it", more...
You may think that Apple, being a private company, is free to do all this. And so far, they have. But there are antitrust considerations here. Private companies can't do any damn thing they want just because they are private companies. Ask Microsoft how that went with Internet Explorer or accusations over hidden features in Windows that only Microsoft programmers knew about.
Now Apple is extending their reach even farther afield. For example, if a developer offers an app that allows you to subscribe to content, the developer must allow that content purchase to happen inside the app -- and, of course, fork over 30% to Apple. For content with slim margins for the developer, that 30% is a deal-killer. You see how Apple is extending their reach beyond their own business? Through the monopoly of their app store, they can force developers and publishers into altering their business models before they are allowed inside Apple's precious Garden of Eden.
But regardless, when you buy an iDevice, you are explicitly agreeing to be chained to Apple and behave only as Apple would have it.
THAT is the real problem now with Apple.
For the record, I do have an iPhone -- albeit a jail-broken one.
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