Apple is the New Microsoft
herlein.com
herlein.com
Apple is hardly the new Microsoft. Microsoft's developer relations are bar none the best for any commercial entity or platform I've ever developed for. That's not saying their API's or SDK's are well designed, what it is saying is their developer support simply cannot be beaten.
Now, I've been entirely Apple based for the last three years and - in terms of hand holding tool chain support - it's a relative ghetto in contrast to what MS provides.
MS is definitely more open than Apple is, specifically when it comes to the iPhone, so I'm not sure how Apple is the new Microsoft in the slightest sense. Now, I don't mean open in terms of open source and all that, but I mean open in terms of what, when, where you develop and deploy.
In many ways, I wish they were the new Microsoft. That would mean that iPhone is an open landscape with API's that aren't encumbered with a "father knows best" mentality, which, as a developer, is frightening if it's a picture of what's to come. Can you imagine a future where Apple dictates what you install on your laptop or desktop? Why is the iPhone/iPod Touch any different? Because it has a GSM chip?
The problem is that if consumers accept this scenario, which they've readily done with the App Store, then the next logical conclusion is that the next device from Cupertino that isn't a laptop or desktop will come with the same closed, crippled, handicapped (from a developer's perspective) ecosystem. Then the next iteration after that will move it closer to the reality that your desktop will be locked down in the same fashion.
No, Apple is not the next Microsoft. They've become their own brand of monster.
Apple's documentation cannot begin to hold a candle to MSDN, their direct developer support even worse. Developing on MS platforms is a joy - it's straightforward with copious amounts of documentation provided directly by Microsoft.
Developing on iPhone/OSX is a pain. Much of the "documentation" resembles a Obj-C header file, important details hide in gigantic tomes of text with zero sample code to bring it out. Unexpected/weird behavior is rarely documented... the whole thing is a gigantic labyrinth that breeds tribal knowledge instead of documentation.
Ugh.
Apple's documentation is "complete" insofar as all the major bits are written down somewhere, but it's very opaque and hard to read. Their ridiculous lack of diagrams, visualizations, and sample code also makes your life much more difficult than it must be.
In fact, I do not think there's ANY sample code anywhere that isn't a "sample project". As in, when Apple does decide to grace your presence with sample code, it's a large, integrated thing that really doesn't help you learn a specific API or component.
* No, the assertion that people only buy apple for looks or status is not acceptable. I am fundamentally uncool, have long since lost the desire to become so, and yet I love a lot of apple's products for their usability and attention to detail.
Apple has always been oriented toward consumers, and Microsoft has always been oriented toward developers. I don't think there's anything new about this phenomenon. In Apple's early days, the consumers were hobbyists, and when they released the Macintosh, they made the transition to serving a non-technical market. Ever since then, I think they've essentially pursued the vision of releasing sealed, polished, all-in-one products. I think in Apple's ideal vision of the world, there would be little or no role for third-party developers.
I still prefer Macs (post-OS X) because I prefer Unix, and I like my iPhone because, well, it is a nice product. But I also hope the FCC delivers a healthy smackdown.
I'm not trying to be condescending, but these points have been beaten to death on HN already, right down to barking "Just open the iPhone for third-party developers and allow other application stores," which, while it gives me warm fuzzies, is just clearly not something Apple is willing to do without serious forethought. Why not add something novel to the debate?
And in any case, it's not the "closedness" that people are complaining about with regard to the iPhone; that's just the practical tool Apple is using. The complaint is about Apple's attempts to use dominance in one sector (smartphones in this case, though I think a similar argument can be made about media players and iTunes) as leverage against competitors or to favor its own products, or those of its allies.
And it is that behavior that seems very Microsoft-like to those of us who remember the 90's.
How many decades ago was that??
Microsoft has been a horizontal monopoly. Apple has large horizontal and vertical reach but has cleverly avoided being a monopoly of either sort. This doesn't mean Apple hasn't been evil but at least when Apple is evil, there's an alternative...
Including the iPhone in the 4.3 billion worldwide phones is like including PCs in electric typewriter sales; sure they can do some of the same things, but they're clearly different products.
That's like saying, "Arby's has a monopoly on good-tasting fastfood." You can't have a monopoly on being the best at something. Just because you think that the iPhone is the best phone on the market doesn't mean that you can claim that Apple has a monopoly just because you don't like their competitor's products. (Well, you can -- freedom of speech and all -- but you're wrong)
Apple really are the new Microsoft.
http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/04/cx_ld_0304aapl.html
SitePoint, 2006: If I had my doubts before, I stand corrected: Apple is the new Microsoft.
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2006/01/17/apple-photocasting...
Macworld, 2007: It's official: Apple is the new Microsoft.
http://www.macworld.com/article/59914/2007/09/newms.html
So is it a seasonal thing? Like brown becoming the new black in Autumn?
But maybe the US and EU monopoly courts are complete idiots...
I know we're speaking in analogies, but Wikipedia defines ecosystem as:
"An ecosystem is a unit of interdependent organisms which share the same habitat."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem
...I fail to see what disqualifies the App Store as an ecosystem, analogy-wise.
I've had enough self-described "rebels" (in this case, "heretic") who think they are going out on a limb criticizing Apple and making broad statements such as "Apple is the new 'X'". The author doesn't appear to know much about how Microsoft operates or how it attained it's current (perilous) position, otherwise the flaws of this comparison would have been obvious during the first edit.
"...comparisons are odious, Smith."
Has Apple done some questionable, uncharacteristic things lately? Sure. Does it make life difficult for Developers? You bet. Is this something they've never done before? Absolutely not.
So instead of trying to draw attention to yourself by invoking dramatic characterizations (I once heard someone say that anytime someone compares something to Hitler in an argument, they automatically lose) how about "sticking it to the man" by building something better yourself. If you're right, maybe someday someone like you will come along and write a rambling diatribe about your creation (and then you'll know you've really made it).
How many New Microsofts can we have? :)
The proper point to focus on is a simple one: is Apple using its monopoly power in one application area (e.g. the App Store), to gain a monopoly in another (e.g. voice applications)? For to do so _is_ illegal. Our lawmakers have already pondered this issue and deemed it unacceptable. They have stated the illegal behavior precisely. A proper DA should have no difficulty prosecuting this behavior.
P.S. I also don't understand the level of whining among the iphone devs. The Android is an open platform, move over already - you can't choose to be punished and then whine about it.
People bitch and moan about this, but the fact is that for a lot of developers this won't be an issue. Why? Because the game market for the iPhone is HUGE and you can bet there will almost never be an issue with duplicate functionality or explicit content because a game can incidentally download the Karma Sutra.
Games account for about half of the top selling apps (12/25 last I checked), and some games are getting so many downloads they are getting installed on almost a third of all devices (Tap-tap revolution got to 30%).
The game market is huge and will continue to thrive. The video game industry is entirely accustomed to this! It's just another console to them, albeit one with LESS restrictive rules. No price restrictions, no strict content or style guidelines, and no content requirements. Apple is hands-off compared to Sony and Nintendo.
Harvey Dent: You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain
This is what happens when you let propaganda factories take over news outlets.