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Comment by adatta02 | Hacker News Reader

And does anyone who is actually going to buy the iPad care? Of course not.

A better question would be whether Apple's increasingly laughable control freakery puts any potential buyers off. I know it does because I am such a potential buyer.

I don't think it does. I am a potential buyer, and I could care less about the "openness" of the product.

I actually see it as a good thing more than bad however. With a PC, every time I run a new program, or get an upgrade, buy a new device, etc, I never know what to expect. With Apple, there's no question. It almost feels "safe".

I'll never give up my MBP, but I think the issues you're speaking of have more to do with the OS (cough Windows) then they do with the openness of the PC itself.

I don't feel safe with Apple. They deleted all my music from my iPod without asking just because I inserted it into the wrong Mac. I guess Apple fans will be able to explain to me how this is really an ease of use feature.

Doesn't put me off one bit, and I'd imagine that the number of people who'd (A) actually understand the issues you're complaining about and (B) actually agree with you enough to stop buying from Apple is nowhere near enough to make a dent in any product they release.

(I'll probably still wait for the second-generation version, though, just like I did with the iPhone)

Not all people are equally important in this context. I influence buying decisions of quite a number of people as the go-to computer person and as an entrepreneur. I am a developer making platform decisions for mobile apps.

As a business owner I'm not going to let an all powerful middleman get in between me and my customers. And as a freedom loving person, I'm not going to let anyone censor my dictionary.

I influence buying decisions of quite a number of people as the go-to computer person and as an entrepreneur.

Let's turn your statements on their heads and see what falls out:

So what you're saying is that having a middleman make your technology decisions for you is a bad thing, and that you'll use your position as a middleman who makes technology decisions for others to try to prevent Apple from doing that?

I am not the all powerful middleman for anyone as most people are simply not stupid enough to sign away their rights in that fashion. I just give advice.

But you're right that I'm acting in my own interest. I'm not making a moral case here. Nobody is forced to buy from Apple, so Apple is free to do whatever nonsense they want.

What I'm saying is simply that it is not in my interest to do business with Apple if they take away the most basic freedoms from me. Neither as a user nor as a consumer, and least of all as a hacker who likes to tinker with stuff.

Somewhere in the depths of their evil corporate headquarters, Apple has a spreadsheet with 3 cells. One is labeled "People who buy devices if they are really easy to use". Another is labeled "People who don't buy devices unless they can replace all of its software". And the third cell is labelled "The greater of cell 1 and cell 2".

This contradition between ease of use and keeping particular basic freedoms is a complete red herring. I don't see how it makes the iPhone easier to use if Apple censors dictionaries.

As the Android's apps market clearly shows open not necessarily means better, it might just mean messier :)

Yes, open is more 'powerful' and yes, it allows 'more things' to be done, and yes it doesn't piss developers off, but for an average user that just wants to do everyday things Apple's approach might be just better overall user experience.

iPod is not the mp3 player with the most features, its the most polished experience. same for iphone and for almost any of their products.

so .. I'm not at all sure there would be more buyers if it was open then it will be now with its closed nature.

They know what they are doing :)

I'm not so sure they know what they are doing. Do they know how far their business has crossed over into the realm of the fashion industry? The fashion industry has different rules. For instance, one of the more dangerous things for a luxury brand is "The Average User". Kicking independently minded people in the face might just turn out to be a bad move.

I may be an unusual case of convergence, but I find both the iPad AND what the FSF say relevant.

I really like the ease of use of something like an iPad whilst getting concerned about the long term consequences for my data.

Exactly that's why we should concentrate efforts on building up free alternatives. It's not that music discs, printed books and movie theater tickets were free before the advent of the PC. I believe the most important breaktrough for freedom (in regards to IT) is the personal cloud (or the houshold/street cloud).

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