Has Apple Stopped Thinking Different?
Posted on: July 30, 2009Posted in: Blog
Author: Cali Lewis70 comments so far
I can’t help being an Apple fangirl, but I CAN help being an Apple fan whore.
I was drawn to Apple because Apple thinks different. They flew the pirate flag to represent moving in a direction other than mainstream. When Apple launched the iPhone, I lined up to buy it. When they improved it, I lined up again. Right now for me, though, Apple is starting to appear way more interested in profit than consumers. How else can I understand the disdain for Google Voice? I’m now looking into other phones, and I’m not happy about that. I really love the iPhone, but if Apple is going to stifle innovation, I’m not willing to love that. Again, they flew the pirate flag. That means something to me. But now it seems like they’ve abandoned thinking different and now just think like IBM did.
Congrats Apple, you’re building market share! You’re not standing for what matters. What matters is the user experience, and in technology, the user experience is always going to be represented by the pirate flag. Apparently Cupertino has lowered the flag and left us with all the fellows in their ties singing the corporate song. So sad.
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July 31st, 2009 at 5:15 am
This couldn’t possibly be better said. I’m glad that I am not alone in feeling this way.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:17 am
[...] [via CaliLewis.me] [...]
July 31st, 2009 at 8:26 am
true … but am apple fanboy myself …
once and apple fanboy … always an apple fanboy …
July 31st, 2009 at 8:28 am
“Think Different” was based on the RISC as the core of Apple computers, with the loss of RISC, Apple no longer has a “difference” to set them apart…
July 31st, 2009 at 8:28 am
I can’t help wondering if this will get worse, or better, once Steve is finally gone for good. They were going nowhere fast without him last time. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:29 am
I don’t agree completely, I must admit. The iPhone 3G was great and still is, and there’s no need to upgrade to 3GS unless one has a dire need for those new features, simply too much money or just an Apple fanboy/girl, which is okay too
I also think it’s important that Apple sometimes look to make a profit, after all, their stock has been EXTREMELY well the past year or so while everything else dropped like crazy.
I’m sure now that Steve Jobs is almost back in charge, it will become a bit more what Cali is looking for, but I also think it’s important to remember that it’s going to be tough to think different if you’re not making a profit elsewhere
July 31st, 2009 at 8:30 am
Jailbreak…still have the best phone ever with all the innovation that Apple won’t let you have.
Background apps, google voice (GV Mobile), tethering, video recording on 3G, Qik application, and all the customization you could ever dream of.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:31 am
Dont forget that Apple have contracts with AT&T. As a European reading about the situation from the outside, I dont understand that noone has started a signup campaign against AT&T.
Apple´s biggest flawes when it comes to iPhone is that they threat every other country in the world after the AT&T deal.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:31 am
PS: If you DO decide to call me Apple fan whore, please do so without yelling at me
July 31st, 2009 at 8:32 am
How else can I understand the disdain for Google Voice?
It was AT&T’s decision, not Apple’s, to withdraw it from the App Store.
Cheers,
Rick
July 31st, 2009 at 8:33 am
I can post now
And yes i agree…
But atm you cant blame anyone for trying to make as much money as possible in these shakey times…
July 31st, 2009 at 8:34 am
Isn’t this what Apple always do? Limited, controlled experiences for good and ill. Seems Apple fans are starting to notice the latter.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:34 am
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090729/1929035702.shtml
July 31st, 2009 at 8:34 am
Well said. I love innovation, not more of the same old stuff. I hope they see their error before they drive too many away.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:35 am
It was never about hardware, or, really, the OS. It was the combination of design and control that made Apple what it was. Now the design is becoming subservient to the control, and the control exercised to the aim of profit.
If Android continues to grow and evolve, I’ll be looking into one of those phones when it’s time to renew. I already buy into the openness of the OS.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:36 am
Much of this is due to the omnipresent economic psychosis. It happens. In time this too shall pass.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:37 am
I think they should really start looking into insanely different stuff to get back on track. I recently read an article about screen miniaturization (can’t find it, sadly) where these guys managed to get something like 2000 pixels in a screen the size of a quarter. That, in conjunction with recent developments in mind controlled computer actions, can pave the way for really “out of the way” computing. I always wanted a phone/computer where the interface is displayed inside my sun glasses and controlled by my thoughts
July 31st, 2009 at 8:39 am
Apple could think different before when it wasn’t so tied in with other companies – now that it is, there are more masters to please than just the lowly users.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:46 am
Just FYI, for those commenting on it. AT&T came out and said it wasn’t their decision. At first I was upset at them until that. Apple hasn’t refuted that statement.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:47 am
I agree with Rick. The anger needs to be directed at AT&T, not Apple. I’m sure Apple would love to have Google voice on its phone. It does nothing but make the iPhone even more appealing to consumers. It’s a threat to AT&T, so that’s why it’s shut down. It will divert usage from limited talk minutes to unlimited data usage on an already congested network. Bad for their bottom line and for their wildly insufficient efforts to expand their bandwidth.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:52 am
Sorry, I don’t believe for a second that it wasn’t AT&T’s decision. Who’s profits would the inclusion of GV affect — Apple’s or AT&T’s? Why would Apple care one way or the other? I don’t care what AT&T says, it’s their fault.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:53 am
As an Apple fan, I really hope that they will get back to innovention, rather than selling the heck out of what already works.
That being said, everything has limits. Even for all the open-source goodness of Android (which I opted for over choosing AT&T), I still have limits from my network… for instance, TMobile will cancel my service if they catch me tethering my G1. So the Google voice thing for iPhone is really no surprise. Unfortunate, but not unexpected.
In the utopia where Apple COULD control not only their hardware, but also the network that it runs on, I think we would be having a very different conversation right now.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:53 am
Ok, I’m an Apple whore. I admit it. But, I’m not an AT&T fan. The sooner this contract is over the better. Before you can bash Apple for the Google Voice problem, take into consideration that not allowing companies to take from AT&T’s bottom line profits was probably written into that contract and now every time AT&T cries, Apple has to act. I’m not sure what will happen in the future, but eventually you’ll be able to use your Google Voice on your iPhone.
Heck, you seem like a pretty smart girl. Just jailbreak it and install GV Mobile through Cydia. You can also connect through the google voice web page. So, it’s not like Google voice is completely unusable from your iPhone.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:54 am
I wonder how much of this is due to a contractual obligation between Apple and AT&T, or if it’s AT&T demanding Apple remove GV.
If the latter, I think AT&T’s nuts, because, while they may lose some SMS business to GV, they’ll gain a lot more. Whenever anyone gets rid of their home phone and goes cellular-only (and CAN do that because of GV), AT&T wins (assuming they’re with AT&T which, if they have an iPhone, they are).
One complaint I had with Apple (and the reason why I held off getting an iPhone for so long) is their “We know what is best for you” mentality. The idea that they and only they can dictate what apps run on their product goes against my open source grain. But when it took 20 minutes one morning to check twitter on my blackberry, I realized that there was something to be said for that level of control. When they control both the hardware and software, reliability is the result. That same day I got my 3GS.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:56 am
Rick, AT&T has no control over Apple’s App atore. Apple likes to blame AT&T for everything that the iPhone lacks, but it is Apple that builds and programs the phone, not AT&T. If it were AT&T blocking applications, jailbreaking the phone wouldn’t work. No, you jailbreak the phone and Apple can and will brick it on you if you try to update it.
But the iPhone should be profitable, its not really an innovative piece of hardware, but Apple had never really been truly innovative. What Apple has been able to do better is packaging and promoting. Elitism has always been their biggest selling point. It suprised me to see them team with AT&T to bring out the iPhone, I would have thought an Apple cellular would have been more in line with thei philosophy.
The truth is that Apple has done like the pirates of old; lowered the Jolly Roger, taken up governorships and started becoming mainstream for profit entities. Its kind of sad to see and worse knowing that it will only get worse from here.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:59 am
Did Apple have a choice? From what I’ve heard, Phil Schiller himself approved Google’s app, but it was pulled, so evidently, it was too close in functionality to Apple’s design for the iphone. They didn’t allow Skype to bypass AT&T did they? Come on, a phone has to be used by the carrier it’s tied to right? Or else, why would any carrier subsidize it? Yeah, I don’t like it either, but I’m not going to throw away my iphone and go to an inferior cell phone, just because one app won’t work on it….
July 31st, 2009 at 9:10 am
It may not be AT&T’s decision but I suspect Apple does have to consider that in this one instance, they have to act with the graces of the telecoms, none of whom would be terribly enthused to have the very devices they promote undercut the core of their business model.
Besides, I’m not convinced that not supporting GV is rejecting innovation. This is a case of 2 900 lb gorillas wrestling for dominance (Google vs. the telecoms). If anything, I don’t find that supporting yet another of Google’s strategies to drive all information globally through itself innovative, I find it chilling.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:10 am
@Cali To clarify, AT&T didn’t say outright they weren’t behind the decision. Instead, they said they weren’t in charge of the App Store, so talk to Apple about it. True, they aren’t in charge of the App Store, but think about this: why would Apple be the one that yanked GV? What is their vested interest.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:13 am
It’s all my fault. I finally switched to a 3gs (from BB) last month. It figures that when I finally join up, the backlash against Apple starts.
In all seriousness, I have also noticed that Apple’s app store policies are a bit over the top. On one hand, when the app store launched, there was little control over what was being placed out there (200 flashlight apps, anyone?) Apple has also declined to sell the Commodore 64 emulator app (pretty sweet for those old enough to remember the C64 first hand – http://toucharcade.com/2009/06/20/full-commodore-64-emulator-rejected-from-app-store/). Though not as useful as Google Voice, it’s just as frustrating when you know something is good and available but just not for you.
I’m sure Apple will come around. “I Quit The iPhone” has been a trending topic on Twitter today as well. I’d be surprised that come this time next week, we aren’t able to use GV.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:15 am
Since so many still blame AT&T for not allowing Gooogle Voice on the iPhone, please explain then why the app is available from AT&T for the Blackberry and WinMo phones?
AT&T has no say in what apps Apple will allow on the phone and in the app store.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:18 am
I think it’s pretty obvious that at&t has to be a factor in this one. apple loses no revenue if people use google voice, skype, or even tin cans and string to make voice calls.
Although I think Apple should not have done this, and I don’t like their app store policies, what bothers me more is their filing linking jailbreaking to terrorism. That’s like the fact that any conversation hits the lowest of lows of absurdity anytime someone losing an argument brings out the hitler comparison. Well, Apple did that with their argument on jailbreaking.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:18 am
I completely understand wanting to make money and increase market share; but Apple has always tried to set itself as a different company that tries to better the industry, not just make money. I love Apple products but could never have an IPhone due to the AT&T issue. I have been told by AT&T (who is my service provider for other things) that they “don’t care”. Even if a company does not care about its customers, that is never something to say but I have heard that line used more than once when I have asked them to fix problems. No company provides perfect customer service, but I do ask that they at least fake caring when I am paying them lots of money and their service does not work. I love my Blackberry and will always have one separate from my IPod (I love my touch!) but other people in my house would love an IPhone but have found other, non AT&T alternatives; he bought a Palm Pre when it came out and it is a wonderful phone whose application base is expanding each week. Stay true to Apple because they do make good products but I am hoping that they will go back to their old position as innovator and acceptor of new things!
July 31st, 2009 at 9:20 am
I think this has more to do with Apple vs. Google than a conspiratorial AT&T. Yes, the flood of new traffic Google Voice would add to AT&T’s already creaking network would tarnish Apple more than AT&T (how could AT&T get more tarnished)?
But, just maybe Gruber had it right – “Google Voice is a mobile phone service provided by the maker of one of the biggest competitors to the iPhone OS. What if Google Voice were instead Microsoft Voice? And what if Windows Mobile were as modern and competitive as Android? Would you be as surprised then that Apple is discouraging iPhone owners from using the service? “
July 31st, 2009 at 9:23 am
As long Apple does not pull my purchased copy of GV Mobile from my iPhone then I don’t care – BUT – if Apple does yank it off my iPhone then I’m going to Jailbreak my iPhone… I might even also buy a Skype number and use Skype over 3G.
I can’t imagine a huge amount of U.S. iPhone users making international calls with Google Voice. IMO, most are using Google Voice to aggregate several phone numbers into 1, and to mask their mobile number.
If the majority of AT&T wireless subscribers are staying within their calling plans then where is the loss of revenue?
If the $$ loss isn’t there, why does AT&T want to cast itself in a negative light? Its PR and marketing groups should quit over AT&T continually shooting itself in the foot.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:32 am
There so much I could say here, but no one would ever slog through that diatribe. So, I’ll say this instead.
“Thinking Different” is determined by who? The consumer or the marketing department? I ask that from the point of view of the mainstream as for when Apple was in its hayday back when they were the mainstream. So what has changed? They’re no “different” now then they were then, except for this time they’re the underdog. And who doesn’t like to root the underdog that’s different because they have to be to separate themselves from the crowd. Is it that Apple’s user experience is all that different? That’s up to the customer to decide.
Would it be a stretch to compare Apple to a band you love that plays in a hole in a wall venue that jump’s slowly to making it big? If you’ve watched the career of the Black Eye’d Peas you’ve seen this first hand as just one example. The onset of Fergie to the group propelled them to stardom outside of the underground and now that they’ve it mainstream acceptance those same underground fan’s have started to turn on them not because their any less what they were, but because they have evolved. We all want everyone to see things our way, but what do we do when that actually happens?
July 31st, 2009 at 9:38 am
I’m an Apple fanboy and I’ve been extremely annoyed at how they have been handling their App Store.
Keep in mind Apple never wanted the iPhone to native Apps. We have native apps because we made a big deal about it and we started hacking our phones to use them. The only way Apple could control the hacking and using of native apps what to allow them in.
So now, instead of hacking our iPhones to use native apps we hack them to use rejected native apps.
Apple is dropping the ball on the App Store and someone is going to sue them.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:39 am
I Totally agree with you Cali. It is the truth. I HATE when user experience in technology has to pay for … well .. what ever one is saying. In the end… I agree.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:42 am
Wow! What have you done At&t?
July 31st, 2009 at 9:43 am
Absolutely…
What about a Pre?
July 31st, 2009 at 10:04 am
Cali,
Apple has never flew a pirate’s flag. If you believe they have in the past then you’re gravely mistaken.
From day one Apple has marched to a beat of a different drummer. On some days that beat seems slightly off and other days everyone is running to catch up.
Many have knocked Apple’s exclusive carrier deals, but at the end of the day it really was a game changer. And the complaints about selecting AT&T as their US carrier, what was Apple’s other choices? T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon?
As far as Google Voice goes, I personally see several problems with the technology, which explains why Apple is reevaluating the application.
My personal concern if Google, giving them further access to my personal data and information worries me. Remember Google makes all of their money from advertising and …..
July 31st, 2009 at 10:05 am
You’ve summed up the thoughts of a lot of Apple fans perfectly, myself included. We can only hope the EFF wins their fight to legalize jailbreaking.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:09 am
Wow Cali,
So you’d give up the iPhone over ONE SINGLE app that wasn’t available BEFORE, merely because it isn’t available STILL? Not only is that totally absurd, it’s insane. Did you buy your first 2 iPhones because you wanted Google Voice on it and that was the only reason you bought it? How does not having Google Voice cripple your iPhone? And would switching to a different phone then GIVE you the Google Voice app on that phone?
Don’t forget, Apple has a partner in this iPhone endeavor. If you aren’t familiar with AT&T’s control freakishness, then I suggest you study up before blasting Apple.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:14 am
I agree whole-heartedly with you, Cali. I do hope you don’t drop the iPhone because it is the best, but Apple really needs to wake up.
The best point you made was about the fact that Apple is the new IBM. They are into profits now more than anything else. They have billions of dollars in cash, yet they charge $30 for a stupid little iPhone stand that should be included anyway? Come on! These probably cost less than $5.00 a piece to make. I don’t have a problem with them making a profit, but let’s not rape the consumer.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:15 am
Above everything else, I think it raises the question of just how important true innovation is to Apple. It’s seeming more and more like if they can’t monetize it themselves, they don’t want it around. If they could be this controlling with the Mac, I truly believe they would try. I didn’t used to think that. It’s scary.
(Sorry for the double comment)
July 31st, 2009 at 10:25 am
I love your show Cali, but the truth is that only .01% care about this. Everyone else, like me, loves their iPhone and can’t remember life without it.
Google Voice is a great service, I’m sure, but there are features which hurt AT&T as a carrier. We’d all love a free lunch, but when you can place calls for free on a cell phone using internet only, it’s not hard to see why AT&T wouldn’t want it. I know Skype exists, but way more people use Google apps and this is a bigger competitor.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:29 am
I’m going to restate what I said via twitter with some modifications…
Even with it most likely being AT&T’s fault that certain apps get removed (or the developers fault because they go and do something stupid in some cases.) With Apple maintaining control of the device unlike any other subsidized phone I’ve ever seen, any contract Apple entered into with any carrier would most likely result in clauses that say you can’t have software we don’t approve of and you can’t have software that can duplicate functionality of a service we provide. Granted there are exceptions in every contract and exceptions that can be added in.
I decided a long time ago that I didn’t like Apple’s policies on Applications, back when they didn’t have an App Store. I’ve had a jailbroken iPhone since the beginning and I’m glad I do because I’ve gotten some of the best apps on my phone that would never be approved for the App Store or that were pulled off.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:33 am
@Alan uh Google Voice doesn’t allow you to take calls for free on your mobile phone. Calls are forwarded to your phone number and you still use minutes for them.
The only service that Google Voice provides that would harm AT&T is SMS. (and there’s Voicemail but I don’t think that’s an issue.)
July 31st, 2009 at 10:42 am
Not sure what everyones desire to have background apps is. I for one, do not want this. This ability opens up a whole can of worms. Picture an app starting a thread that wants to run (Like a game), the phone will run it. You ‘exit’ the game by hitting the home button but the thread still runs, draining power because the phone is not able to go into a sleep mode. All it takes is one bad app and your battery will drain. Who gets blamed for that? Apple. I completely see why they doesn’t want this. I think, in every review of the android based phones I have seem one of the biggest complaint is battery life.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:48 am
@JalenJade -
I didn’t think this either, but it does say you can PLACE (not take) calls on the Google Voice website:
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html#
If anyone would like to clarify, please do.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:51 am
Cali you are so right. In fact, they’ve been angering me so much for the last couple years, I buckled down and bought a PC. I’ve owned a mac and supported apple all my life, but now I just don’t care anymore to do so. They are not the apple they used to be.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:57 am
@ Henry Garcia,
I’m with you, except for streaming audio apps. I wish Apple would let devs flag an app as streaming audio and let it get some extra scrutiny so it can run in the background. Or somehow sandbox streaming apps into the iPod app, something. I love using MLB AtBat but when I’m streaming a game, I can’t do anything else, which is annoying to no end.
July 31st, 2009 at 11:11 am
I’m not sure that Apple is thinking different here as much as they are being constrained by AT&T. It seems to me that the level of griping about AT&T has been growing over the past few months which will most likely lead to a mass exodus the minute that Apple dumps their contract with them.
I will be the first among the first in line at the Verizon store when that happens.
July 31st, 2009 at 11:20 am
Cali, I applaud you for having the guts to express your opinion on this.
July 31st, 2009 at 11:45 am
@Cali Why the hate for IBM? Seriously, what did they ever do to you?
–Pete
July 31st, 2009 at 12:09 pm
mah, they’ve always been a matter of love/hait, they have success because they take decision in place of the user, imposing something that becomes habit.
That’s sad when it collides with your very personal needings.
July 31st, 2009 at 12:11 pm
I am SOOO glad I’ve found your blog Cali!
July 31st, 2009 at 12:35 pm
love the iphone. probably going to get a 3gs. but this stinks. the only power we have as consumers is a boycott.
perhaps a ‘don’t buy from the app store’ 1 day protest every month till the app is allowed?
July 31st, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I agree totally, i too am looking at other phones now…I have never been a MAC user due to price, but i have spent RIDICULOUS amounts of money on many Ipods/Iphones. So I too agree!!
July 31st, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Too many comments to read. I will say that I think people are missing the point about “bottom-line profits.” AT&T already forces iPhone consumers to purchase a $30 Unlimited Data plan (which, as we know, has caveats and is therefore NOT unlimited). Google Voice only robs from AT&T’s profits IF the user has an unlimited or otherwise large voice plan that Google Voice functionality will reduce the need for. This scenario doesn’t affect the typical user. For example, I have the cheapest voice plan, but would still use Google Voice if I had the option. It would require a genuine analysis of their user pool to determine true loss of profit. The jailbreak concern is greater, I think, as most US customers (OWNING their phones, unlike in other countries) want more freedom with their device.
July 31st, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Wow, talk about a heated topic. I feel exactly the same way as Cali on this. Part of me wonders if Jobs is the reason for the lose of consumer focus. Perhaps he’s out lived his usefulness? Then again maybe the company will tank again once he’s gone. Time will tell…
July 31st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Oops, correction, “loss” not “lose” I hate when I get that mixed up. :-p
July 31st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I’m just as shocked about Apple’s decision regarding Google Voice as the next person. It is a wonderful innovation. But to even consider jumping ship on Apple at this early stage without waiting to see the reasoning behind their decision is fickle. Perhaps we will never know. But choosing to abandon the innovation of the last decade and take a step backwards by using another phone just to have one small feature seems a bit like a child throwing a tantrum.
Apple’s had it’s share of blunders. But I’d say they’ve had far more grand successes than failures. Give it time and see what happens.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I’m disappointed that this class of app was pulled, but not crushed. First, I don’t have an iPhone yet (can’t wait to get one though). Second, there will be ways to utilize the service without a dedicated app. Third, I think that ATT is partially to blame.
July 31st, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Spamboy said it best. I don’t trust AT&T’s ability to be honest any more than I trust Apple’s ability to be “open.” The only reason probably 90% of the remaining (non-iPhone) mobile users don’t have iPhones is because of AT&T. I would hope Apple knows this. “We’re happy w/ our relationship?” What-evs!
July 31st, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Excuse me, but I might be talking out of my hat here, since I’m not yet an iphone user, but Apple may simply consider the App irrelevant if users access their gmail account via Safari !
August 1st, 2009 at 5:21 am
[...] just CLICK HERE to see what Cali Lewis of GeekBrief.TV thinks about Apple’s change in character from their [...]
August 1st, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I became an Apple customer not because of their “pirate flag” but because OS X (and some other products of theirs) were technically superior to the other choices I had. (Obviously better than Windoze, and even Linux takes a back seat, in my opinion.) Having begun with NeXT in the early 90s when others were settling for DOS under a GUI, I couldn’t help but give Jobs’ next brainchild a try, and I’ve never been sorry.
That said, if they’re beginning to think more like a Microsoft or IBM, it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be turning out swill and expecting us to go for it just because it’s there. I haven’t been a fan of AT&T in years. (I always had crappy service with them and only stayed with them as long as I did because I was employed there and got it for free.) However, as long as Apple is in bed with them, they’re every bit as culpable in this as AT&T is.
For my part, I won’t be purchasing an iPhone until they open it to other providers, and that may be years away. I can wait.
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Lifelong nerd, Apple customer since 1981, and Mac user since 1991. Don’t work for Apple, or any Apple partner. 2 iPod touchs in the family… only one of them jailbroken so far. Don’t own an iPhone yet (AT&T reception stinks in our area). I currently have computers on my desk running OS X, Windows, and Ubuntu Linux — whatever works.
Some points regarding the general discussion:
1) I echo comments by BlueHeronTrail (and others). I won’t be going with an iPhone — no matter how much I lust for it — until AT&T is no longer a requirement. In my neck of the woods (S. New Hampshire), Verizon simply has very little competition in terms of coverage (and believe me, I’m not such a Verizon fanboy either). Sprint is a distant second in my coverage area, and AT&T is simply not in the running.
2) I’m also disappointed by some of Apple’s decisions regarding apps, features, and other points; however, I think it’s important to take a deep breath before every criticism of the App Store, and repeat the mantra, “No one has ever done this before. There Will Be Mistakes.” Yeah, they will mess up. And yes, they may __richly__ deserve scathing criticism. But they are also pretty much in uncharted territory in terms of this kind of product development. Sort of like Amazon with the Kindle. Companies SCREW UP, largely because they are composed of people who make mistakes on Mondays, Fridays, and most other days that end in “y” — fact of life. Should we forgive them every time? No, not at all. But should we recognize that this is Really Hard? Absolutely.
3) I guess that not many of us know what the legal issues are with putting a VOIP app onto a phone on a cell provider’s network (I sure don’t). I suspect that Apple and AT&T are somewhat aware of these things. Maybe Apple decided that it just didn’t want the liability headache from some arcane contractual language, and pulled the plug to shortcut the whole legal thing. Yes, it pisses us off, but if some-phone-company sues for millions of dollars down the line, then that will effect us, too. Right?
4) If you are really pissed off, then jailbreak it. My iPod touch has all kinds of wonderful “unauthorized” stuff on it; it’s a low-end Unix workstation in my hand, and I have a number of apps that have been removed from the App Store. Yes, you do have to redo it after each Apple update, and yes, there are risks, and no, I don’t update my iPod at the first opportunity (I’m on 2.2.1, waiting for 3.1 to hopefully fix all the performance bugs reported in 3.0…). But it really is not rocket science at this point, and if you do it correctly, you can indeed “virginize” the device to restore it to factory-fresh condition (should you need service, etc). So I would urge everyone to please stop complaining as if there are no options; you do have an option in this case. If you choose not to use it __after__ recognizing that fact, then that is also a valid choice.
5) I’m really hoping the next-gen iPod touch will mirror some of the hardware in the iPhone (namely the combo mic/earphone jack). In that case, VOIP on an iPod is entirely feasible on WiFi. And then I will jailbreak that one if needed, and happily run Skype…
6) @Joseph Lewis: “Apple has never flew (sic) a pirate’s flag. If you believe they have in the past then you’re gravely mistaken.”
Sorry, Joseph. Maybe you were just speaking metaphorically (in which case, please ignore this nit – you are entitled to your viewpoint); however, in terms of factual history, you’re simply wrong. Cali was speaking literally as well as dramatically; back in the ’80s, Apple did fly a real pirate flag on the roof of their “Bandley 3″ development building. You could have discovered that by Googling “apple pirate flag”, and selecting the first result (or any thereafter):
http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Pirate_Flag.txt
The article, authored by Andy Hertzfeld — if you don’t know who he is, please look him up… fascinating guy — shows the flag (with Jobs in front), and tells the story. I remember seeing a photo of the flag hanging off the front of the building some time after it first happened.
August 22nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Apple has posted their response to the FCC’s inquiry. It is mostly self-serving marketing nonsense. Parts of it are probably out and out lies, such as the assertion that Google Voice “disabled” the iPhone’s telephone and SMS interface. The Google Voice application would almost certainly work only for the Google Voice number, and would not “disable” anything on the iPhone. The stated privacy concern, about uploading contacts to the Google server, may be legitimate, but given the disingenuous nature of the rest of their response I am highly skeptical.
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/apple-answers-fcc-questions/
December 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 pm
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