But barring the removal of direct distribution and the UNIX shell, I say more power to Apple in terms of re-inventing the consumer computing experience. What the author doesn't seem to understand is that great design and usability can never be achieved solely by adding features. Things need to be taken away as well. I can personally vouch that taking these things away is a huge win for someone like my mom who will never understand or be comfortable with filesystems. For her, the limitations of iOS take her from a place of constant fear to a place where she can actually explore and figure things out like us geeks take for granted.
It might be uncomfortable to think that tech devices are no longer primarily for geeks, but that chasm has been crossed, and we have to acknowledge that programmer devices are increasingly going to be distinct from the mass market devices.