In Blogosphere in today's Gulf News Apple's recently announced iPhone seem to be the topic of the day. Keefieboy was chosen, which is all well and good since it was a funny post, but after that it was all non-Middle East bloggers. One post from a guy in Utah, then there's David Pogue with the New York Times, and John Naughton writes for The Guardian in the UK, as far as I know.
Now I'm not saying that Gulf News should necessarily only link to local/regional sites, but why pick so much non-local/regional material when there's plenty from right here that they could have picked up? Anyone know how we can ask Adam Flinter? Or is this not an issue for you?
[cross-posted to Emiratesmac.com]
16 January, 2007
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6 comments:
you can always send him an e-mail, I'm guessing adam.flinter@gulfnews.com
When I saw that this morning, I just skimmed it and then thought "What is the NY Times blog doing in this list?" This whole iPhone hoopla seems like another of Steve Jobs' reality-distortion field exhibitions.
Clicked your RDF field. That's a really dumb term, obviously created by someone jealous of another's success. There's no delusion involved in Apple's product announcements apart from normal marketing hype. Leading people to believe, for example, that some prophet is going to lead them to salvation (like a large percent of the world's religions) is delusional, not marketing a product, which in fact has the functionality it is said to have.
iPhone - the roach motel business model
Randall Stross has a great op-ed in today's New York Times about how Apple's iPhone comes chock-full of DRM that will restrict your freedom and your consumer choice. He makes the great point that although Apple claims it adds its DRM (which locks you into buying Apple products) at the behest of the music industry, that many of the copyright holders whose work Apple sells in the music store have asked it to switch off the DRM. An Apple lawyer has gone on record saying that Apple would use DRM even if the music industry didn't want it.
It's ironic that a company whose name is synonymous with "Switch" has built its entire product strategy around lock-in. The iTunes/iPhone/iPod combo is a roach-motel: customers check in, but they can't check out.
And it doesn't stop with the iTunes DRM. Apple and Cingular have been trumpeting the technical prowess they've deployed in locking iPhone to the Cingular network, to be sure that no one can switch carriers with their iPhones. Even the Copyright Office has recognized that locking handsets to carriers is bad for competition and bad for the public.
There's another thing you can't switch with the iPhone: the software it runs. You can't install third-party apps on handset. Steve Jobs claims that this is because running your own code on a phone could crash the phone network, which must be news to all those Treo owners running around on Cingular's own network without causing a telecoms meltdown.
Lock-in isn't good for you. Does anyone really believe that Apple will make better products if its customers aren't free to switch to a competitor? Or that Cingular's network and pricing will be improved by lock-in?
Even if you are ready to pledge a lifetime commitment to the iPod as your only brand of portable music player or to the iPhone as your only cellphone once it is released, you may find that FairPlay copy protection will, sooner or later, cause you grief. You are always going to have to buy Apple stuff. Forever and ever. Because your iTunes will not play on anyone else’s hardware.
Link (Thanks, Robby and Craig!)
(Thumbnail of image taken from an illustration by Christophe Vorlet)
See also:
Apple sued for iTunes/iPod monopoly tying
Anti-iTunes DRM demonstrations across the USA tomorrow
Apple steals iTunes customers' paid-for rights to stream
Apple to iPod owners: "Eat shit and die"
How iTunes is bad for the music industry and the public
Why Apple is to blame for iTunes DRM
Indie band pulls out of iTunes, cites "crippled DRM"
Hillary "RIAA" Rosen: iPod DRM is cruel and unfriendly!
iTunes phone gratuitously crippled by DRM
Music labels: DRM makes you into iTunes' love-slave
Protect your investment: buy open
posted by Cory Doctorow at 08:00:44 AM permalink | blogs' comments
link to the above post
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/14/iphone_the_roach_mot.html
Anonymous, if you (and Cory) are unhappy with Apple and iPhone, we'd welcome your views over at Emiratesmac.com ;-)
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