Techcrunchit has a good feature on this - food for thought, indeed:
"Geeks and enthusiasts.. lined up enthusiastically on Friday to purchase a device that is completely proprietary, controlled and wrapped in DRM. The irony was lost on some as they ran home, docked their new devices into a proprietary media player and downloaded closed source applications wrapped in DRM. I am referring to the new iPhone - and the new Apple iPhone SDK that allows developers to build ‘native’ applications. The announcement was greeted with a web-wide standing ovation, especially from the developer community. The same community who demand all from Microsoft, feel gifted and special when Apple give them an inch of rope. When Microsoft introduced DRM into Media Player it was bad bad bad - and it wasn’t even mandatory, it simply allowed content owners a way to distribute and sell content from anywhere. Apple has wrapped the iPhone SDK in enough licensing, security controls and right management that it would make the Microsoft Acive Desktop team blush. The phone and platform that is certain to soon take second spot behind Symbian in the smart phone market is also the most restricted and closed. Applications can only be installed from a single source, iTunes, and open source applications and distribution is near impossible. How do you install an iPhone application without iTunes..."
It is surely bizarre that we are willing to accept this from Apple but utterly reject it from everyone else. Thoughts, anyone? Use the comment box below.
The reason users accept it is because for the most part, it all just works.
There is no other platform available that delivers such an easy to use and friendly experience. Yes, the iPhone might lack some features, but for the vast majority of consumers, it's a home run.
Posted by: John | July 16, 2008 at 03:43 PM
I dont care bout DRM as long as i have the best f***ing developer SDK out there. Sure you need to pay Apple to sell your stuff and there is no open source, but everything WORKS.
M$ and DRM? They never worked it out right...
The reason why we are willing to accept this from Apple but utterly reject it from everyone else is simply because at Apple things work and from everyone else it doesnt.
I preffer 100% closed working platform over 100% open not working one :D
Posted by: Mih@ | July 17, 2008 at 08:34 PM
To date Apple is the only company that has provided a fully integrated "trifecta" solution that ties together desktop and portable hardware, desktop and portable software, and web services. Palm and RIM only partially achieve this.
Mobile Me's automatic data synchronization and backup adds another layer of value to what is now the most compelling overall system for mobile users. This strategy is proving very hard to duplicate, even for Google and Microsoft.
For all this to work together, Apple has to exert limitations and control on the variables involved. Their original decision to employ DRM was forced on them by the major labels in the early days of the iPod.
But it's not just that it works. It's also elegant, thoughtfully designed, and capable of being used by ordinary civilians, rather than just IT professionals, early adopters and computer hobbyists.
Apple not only innovates, they empower.
Posted by: Stephen Hill | July 23, 2008 at 12:16 PM