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General discussion

Defending the iPad's restrictions

Jun 19, 2010 12:00AM PDT

This article is a great counterpoint to the everything-must-be-open ideologies of people like Cory Doctorow.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/17/apple-intellectual-property-technology-ipad.html

As a producer or content I agree with this guy about IP. Its not up to tech ideologues and armchair philosophers to tell us how to run our businesses. I like Doctorow and Boing Boing. If he wants to float his content for free on the net and it works then good for him. But that strategy does not work for all content in all industries and pretending it does is a glib oversimplification of the matter. What works for a highly connected internet celebrity with a devout following of open source rue believers may not work for Hulu or ABC.

As a capitalist I believe the market will tell us what people want, not open source ideologues. And so far the market is speaking pretty clearly with the iPad.

Discussion is locked

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Good Article
Jun 19, 2010 8:01AM PDT

Though I cannot agree with the author on everything. Guess that makes me a communist... Happy

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iPad is successful in spite of it's restrictions
Jun 19, 2010 9:02AM PDT

Not because of them. It's just such a well designed piece of hardware and well designed UI in the software.

Anyway, I'm very much on Cory Doctorow's side. And the point is, you don't have a right to change how my device works and limit what I can do to protect your intellectual property. You don't get to violate my property rights to protect yours. What's worse is, they're getting the government to intervene totally on the side of content companies and against the consumer with laws like the DMCA. As a libertarian you should be on Doctorow's side of the argument.
This is not an anti-intellectual property position, but an argument against an absurb level of control and restrictions with assistance from government regulation, by the content and technology industries.

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baby, meet bathwater.
Jun 19, 2010 4:23PM PDT
This is not an anti-intellectual property position, but an argument against an absurb level of control and restrictions with assistance from government regulation, by the content and technology industries.

The author clearly addresses this when he says "Technology changes lead to important clarifications and extensions of the IP infrastructure, but they certainly don't invalidate it." The fundamentals behind IP are sound even if the details need to be changed to work in a networked world.

And Doctorow is anything but a libertarian. A libertarian lives and lets live. But this guy does not seem to be satisfied to use linux and all the other other open source products. He wants it all. Other people's wants and desires be damned. I find this sort of attitude arrogant and condescending. The implication to these ideas is that anyone who don't care about them or who disagrees is just too ignorant to know what is good for them. There is NOTHING libertarian about that kind of we know what's best for you attitude. That is authoritarianism even if the cause is a liberal one.

It reminds me of feminists who think they know what's best for sex workers and strippers and want to save them from themselves. Adults don;t need to be saved from themselves. if they want to choose a walled garden for a computing device its their choice.

And your property rights stop at the hardware. You are free to hack and iPhone or Ipad or iPod Touch all you want. But neither Apple nor AT&T is obligated to sell you service should you choose to do so. Just like Microsoft is not obligated to let you use XBox live should you hack your console. Services are not "property".
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I think the BOL Hosts get that...
Jun 20, 2010 11:39AM PDT

Of course if it's your invention you are free to do with it what you want! We just WISH it were more open.

And I can say that apple are ******* for locking down their product, but that's just my opionion.

The one thing we have to rely on is that in an open market that a competing product will come along that's comparable but is not restricted (ie something LIKE android).

sound reasonable?

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That's totally reasonable.
Jun 20, 2010 12:15PM PDT

That's what the free market is all about. If enough people want something, someone will rise up to give it to them. Kudos to Google for doing this (and Palm, and Microsoft and Symbian). Of course this is exactly what Apple is doing too... they are giving a group of people the experience they want, without the headaches that the absolute-freedom-above-all-else philosophy produces.

And the more successful Apple becomes the more angry and alarmist many everything-must-be-open true believers become. They claim to speak for "the people" with their demand for openness but who they really speak for is people who think exactly as we do. If you are not one of those you are to be mocked and derided or pitied for your ignorance (notice the hyperbolic language that gets used about Apple being a "politburo" and a "fascist state"... and the implication of course that anyone who likes Apple products is a "sheep" or a idiot.) This is what happens when you cross the line from a preference to an ideology. It becomes a religion.

Android is a great OS. Its not polished or focused enough for my tastes but for people who want absolute control over their phones its a great thing. But I'm also glad I have the option to choose differently. My love of a tightly controlled, highly polished experience does not mean I need to demand that Android become exactly like the iPhone. There is room in the market for a phones that fill a variety of needs. Complaining that Apple is not more like Android is sort of like complaining that the Catholic Church is not more like Protestant ones.

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Sure
Jun 20, 2010 4:30PM PDT

Apple is within their rights to make a closed product. Although when they go to government claiming jailbreaking is a threat to national security and is inviolation of the DMCA. They're asking for special favours from the government ad regulation in their favor against the people.
I consider myself an Apple fan, but I am certainly not going to stand for a closed system without protest. And am seriously considering switching to android. Though not entirely happy with the devices or Android. I am going to keep voicing a concern about Apples closed system and encourage others to complain until Apple decides to change their policies.

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All bark and no bite.
Jun 20, 2010 10:58PM PDT

Apple (and AT&T) knows there is nothing they can really do to stop jailbreaking. Those are empty jestures. They are just throwing stuff at the wall to see if anything will stick.... not unlike the way companies file for tons of patents and never end up using most of them. Its a COA move.

All they really can do is void your warranty and deny you support (which is something hacking will get you with a whole slew of products so there's nothing new or unexpected going on here). AT&T could also deny you service (although they don't). But neither of them can really stop you from doing what you want with your phone if you are truly determined to do so. They just don;t have to make it easy on you.

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Apple does what Apple does.
Jun 21, 2010 4:27AM PDT

They are not a company that tries to be all things to all people so don't be surprised when your protests fall on deaf ears. My impression is they care more about keeping tight control over their brand than they care about pleasing everyone.

If Apple leaves money on the table from open sourcers they seem to be just fine with that. The same could be said the way Cartier or Tiffany would not care about people wanting them to produce a line for Target. They just aren't interested and why should they be? These companies are plenty profitable taking the narrow paths they have taken.

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Oh, they're listening...and watching
Jun 21, 2010 6:00AM PDT

Android is growing at a rather exponential clip right now, and Windows Phone 7 is in the offing.

Google "Music" is supposedly being created as some kind of portal not unlike iTunes. Microsoft already has the Zune Marketplace, but in their infinite wisdom, they haven't quite grasped the importance of apps that run on platforms like the ZuneHD. But, they may.

In other words, Apple's not the only kid in town, and the town is growing.

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That is exactly my point.
Jun 21, 2010 9:48AM PDT

Apple is not the only kid in town which is the sign of a healthy free market which means all of Doctorow's hand wringing about the coming fascist state of computing is more than a little overdramatic.

Apple is, however, the kid with the highest margins. They understand that being the biggest does not necessarily translate making the best products. They focus on doing one thing and doing it well. Apple goes for depth, Google and lots of other tech companies go for breadth.

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True, Apple really hasn't had to try in a long time...
Jun 21, 2010 10:37PM PDT

They are innovators for sure, but in the past they'd been competing against Microsoft who is basically a no-show when it comes to competition.

These new developments, specifically from Google, are most interesting, however, and I think they should scare Apple a little bit... I think android and chrome and music etc could be real competitors, and we will see if Apple just rests on its laurels or if it steps up its game as well...

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Execution is everything
Jun 22, 2010 2:15PM PDT

In theory, the Amazon mp3 store should scare Apple as well... but its largely been a bust. I will believe google can pull off a great music experience when I see that they can pull off a great video experience (remember Google video). They are engineers, not master marketers (Nexus One being the prime example).

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(NT) haha totally
Jun 21, 2010 10:32PM PDT
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(NT) you can't say ****** on the forums?
Jun 21, 2010 10:29PM PDT
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(NT) hahahaha guess not :P
Jun 21, 2010 10:29PM PDT
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Content protection Yes - Apple lock-in No.

Hey minimalist, I totally support your desire to protect your IP, including your use of DRM to do it.

Please, though, leave some room for those of us in the middle, who support the use of DRM, but hate the way that Apple uses it to lock us into their products and prevent competition.

I think that Apple is giving DRM a bad name.

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I'm not necessarily trying to protect my own content.
Jun 22, 2010 2:09PM PDT

But I do understand as a content creator its not up to snarky internet celebrities with large followings to lecture us on the best way to do business. What works for the Cory Doctorows and the Jonathon Coultons of the world does not necessarily work for Harper Collins or Sony. The future is digital, we all agree on that. What we don;t agree on the path from point A to point B or the length of time it will take to transition.

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iPad is successful
Aug 19, 2010 5:30PM PDT

Yes, iPad is successful and its hitting the market now along with its essential iPad accessories.