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The Apple Paradox, Closed Culture & Free-Thinking Fans
waderoush writes "The secrecy surrounding the expected Apple tablet computer is only the latest example of the company's famously closed and controlling culture. Yet millions of designers, musicians, and other creative professionals love their Apple products, and the Apple brand is almost synonymous with free-thinking creativity. How can a company whose philosophy of information sharing is so at odds with that of most of its customers be so successful? This Xconomy essay explores three possible explanations. 1) Closed innovation, overseen by a guiding genius like Steve Jobs, may be the only way to build such coherent, compelling products. 2) Apple's hardware turns out to be more 'open' than the company intended — Jobs originally wanted to keep third-party apps off the iPhone, for example. 3) Related to #1: customers are pragmatic about quality, and the open source and free software movements haven't produced anything remotely as useful as Mac OS X and the iPhone."
This time one of you other guys is going to have to make the "Apple=Gay" jokes.
You are welcome on my lawn.
This is probably the first time in history a cult has been described as "free-thinking"......
I accidentally ejaculated on my iPhone's touch screen while reading the summary. Does the warranty cover that?
You have to wonder which KoolAid fountain they were drinking from when they wrote that line....
The core components of Mac OSX & the iPhone OS are taken from open source.
I want to buy a mac because I'm a geek and have never used MacOS. Then again I've never used it because I'd rather pay off my house...
Elitist really? You are simply jealous and I'll bet that you can't even comprehend the refinement and engineering that goes into Apple's devices, but then again, it is so hard for those so far away from the apex of technology to understand such things.
If *only* there were a freely available OS to us on phones that wasn't from Apple - hmmm
Most of Apple's iPhone and desktop OS is FOSS anyway: the Mach kernel, BSD libraries, the gcc compiler and runtime, and tons more.
True, but the GUI layer isn't, and that's what is most important from a typical user's perspective. Apple will defend that "intellectual property" to the death.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
Mac users are bought
Where do I get one? Is there a code word I have to use at the Apple store? When I get it home, will it, like, you know, do "stuff" to me?
Mac users are bought
They sell Mac users in Spain?
Mada mada dane.
Brian: 'You're all different! You're all individuals!'
Crowd [Unison]: "YES! WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT!" :("
Lone Voice: "I'm not
Excellent observation! Like the Puerto Ricans, Apple users are a vibrant and creative culture just trying to make it in the bad New York streets with all those Windows thugs snapping their fingers in some weird choreographed dance fight.
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
About $500 more then a PC user
I see your capslock key is acting up though. You might want to have Apple take a look at that for you.
"linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
I own a mac that has been used in public all of once, in an airport.
I would assume you were in the airport Starbucks, then?
Hey I bought one and I own one simply because I AM Better than someone who can't or won't afford one. "Smug Assholes" of the world Unite. We can beat the Windows and Linux weenies wherever they pop up. We are better than they are and we know it. Why don't we just accept the superiority that they assign to us, we have it anyway. Inferior people simply refuse to recognize the perfection that we have and that they don't, they are insanely jealous of our coolness and superior taste in computing devices.
Why bother
You know the GP referred to "some Mac users?" He was talking about you, douchebag.
Hey, I finally got my first freak! Took you long enough!