Slashdot Mirror
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 is probably the first time in history a cult has been described as "free-thinking"......
I don't want to start a conspiracy theory or anything, but I have a cousin who only turned bender AFTER he bought an iphone and mac book.
Coincidence or causation? Has anyone checked the iphone source code for back-doors?
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.
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...
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)
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!