Quote:
Originally Posted by perversity
I really miss the days when Apple seemed to focus it's resources on creative professionals, and I think the iPhone was the beginning of the end of a great thing.
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This is especially true as the iPhone 4 license cuts flash out as a potential language for development. Adobe was working on a conversion routine for CS that would allow mac developers to develop flash, and then convert the code into something that would run on the iPhone without having to dip into other languages themselves. For no reason other than spite, Apple took that tool away by forcing developers to use only approved languages for apps. Converted apps will be rejected for violating the license.
In fairness, Apple's desktop/laptop market control under the old regime was very, very limited. They prospered by having great margins, not great penetration. Their marketshare under the control-freak iPhone regime is impressive and nowhere near a ceiling (we'll have to wait and see what happens as they show up on more carriers per region). Sadly, not only have they become convinced that centralized control is the wave of the future, they've persuaded a lot of others too. Windows Phone 7 basically kicked the older, very open Windows Mobile environment to the curb and put Zunies with iPhone envy in charge of the store. With mobile environments locking down like crazy, one wonders how long desktop environments will remain open and adaptable to a variety of specific uses, rather than locked down to whatever the limits of the mass market demand.
As big and overpowerful as Google as is, their interests coincide with more open access, and they make great efforts to offer perks to niche power users of all different stripes in all of their products, even while serving mostly mass market users. I can't imagine how frightening the computing landscape would look right now without at least one powerful company having that type of culture.