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Should Apple Open Source the iPhone?
An anonymous reader writes "Given the OpeniBoot project is just a breath away from getting Android onto the iPhone, maybe Apple should consider opening up the platform. This post has five reasons, but I think there are far more. Without open source, Apple will find itself in the same position as today's Microsoft in seven years."
Without open source, Apple will find itself in the same position as today's Microsoft in seven years.
The largest software producer on the planet? Perish the thought! That would be TERRIBLE!
Anyway, I don't like the iPhone either but let's face it, some people are zebras and others would just as soon kill you as open a pack of gum.
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
"Without open source, Apple will find itself in the same position as today's Microsoft in seven years."
You say that as if it were a bad thing. I'm guessing that despite the recent drop to 89% marketshare MS is feeling just fine.
I'm not saying OSS would be a bad move for Apple or the iPhone, but to say that if they aren't careful they might end up completely dominating the market and rolling around in mountains of cash isn't going to get your point across to most people.
A huge part of the reason why people buy the iPhone is the unified user experience. Yes, I'd like a platform that I don't have to pay $100 to develop on...
But my mother doesn't care. she wants a smartphone that "Just Works": its easy to use, with lots of apps.
Apple has provided a great unified user experience on the iPhone, and thats the secret. Its a smartphone my MOTHER can use.
Opening up the platform wouldn't help.
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First, they simply won't. The question is little more than theoretical and we all know how that goes.
And secondly, they'll end up like Microsoft? Do you mean they'll end up with 85%+ of the market share? How is that a loss?
I know OSS is real popular around here but let's face facts, MS and Apple have a combined 98% of the marketshare in their primary markets and tons of side markets that are doing well. Give us a real reason they want to be in alignment with the other 2% of the market.
I know, most folks here have a real love for the open source way but when it comes down to making a dollar off it the ratio of wins to loses is pretty sad. Given all the advantages of open source it's hard to understand why it never really got a bigger foothold and now it seems to be little more than that... a foothold that those involved are trying to keep in fear from falling off the mountain altogether.
Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
one would think apple would have learned from their past mistake of a less closed platform overtaking them and nearly sending the company down the drain
Apple went down the drain more from the clones. Look, Apple's whole thing is about the entire consumer experience from store to computer hardware to boot. It always has been and hopefully always will be. To say that Apple should just be like Microsoft, is kinda crazy. Apple doesn't have the money to compete with Microsoft or Dell and so the real brand differentiator is that they have an entirely different business model.
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No, I think they should keep it as is, or maybe even lock it up even tighter.
Umm, what were you expecting Slashdotters to say?
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Different business models entirely--Apple learned their lesson in the late nineties by finally stopping its efforts to be like the big boys. By focusing on a niche market and slowly expanding it is perhaps akin to Southwestern Airlines vs. American
And those who do learn from history go mad while watching the same shit happen over and over again.
If you have something that you dont want anyone to know, maybe you shouldnt be doing it in the first place -Eric Schmidt
I have to admit I had a similar response. There are so utterly few open source projects that succeed in any large financial way, apple are a company that wants to make money, and the iPhone is one of the biggest gadget successes in the last 5 years - their iPod is one of the others.
This post seems to say Apple should dump surefire success and go for something risky and likely to flush all their efforts into the toilet. Goodluckwiththat indeed.
I prefer Apple's performance over Linux. I have been using Linux for more than 10 years, and I still think it's not nearly ready for the desktop. Many commercial systems or programs still outperform their open source compatitors by far. Give me a phone that works, not one that I have to tinker with for a long time to get something simple working.
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Where does MS go from here? Oh, I don't know... Consoles, handheld music players, cell phones, car control systems, Internet search...
Oh wait, they're falling in all of those (consoles excepted) because they waited for someone else to forge the path, then were unable to buy the leader out as easily as they have been able to in desktop software.
Microsoft isn't suffering from success, they're suffering from a profound lack of vision.
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