> Something important and valuable is indeed being lost as Apple shifts to this model of computing. But itβs a trade-off, because something new that is important and valuable has been gained.
Why should it have to be a trade-off? Because Steve Jobs said so? With Chrome OS, there's a dev mode where you can do/install everything you want and get into console mode. And Android is totally open source too. So as much as Apple wants us to believe there's a necessity in restricting, the truth is that there is absolutely not, it's an artificial restriction.
There is a big trade off the other way. Android has a terrible UX. There are a lot of examples but one is their store. App prices are listed in Dollars, Euros, Pounds, and Yen and that is just a small sampling of apps I've seen. What you gain in openness with open OS you lose majorly in polish and usability. There is no perfect platform that satisfies all needs.
To the extent that's true, it's not because Android is open. The Android Market does have many shortcomings (my favorite WTF is the 325 character description limit), but fixing them in no way requires adopting a closed model.
There is no perfect platform that satisfies all needs.
Agreed. I have no problem with the existence of a walled-garden platform that has armed guards facing both in and out. I do have a problem with that being the only model for mobile computing, which is exactly what Apple is aiming for with their lawsuits asserting that Android is illegal.
> Android has a terrible UX. There are a lot of examples but one is their store. App prices are listed in Dollars, Euros, Pounds, and Yen and that is just a small sampling of apps I've seen.
That just means that Google didn't do a good job at designing their app store. Why does it have anything to do with imposing restrictions on developers?
Why should it have to be a trade-off? Because Steve Jobs said so? With Chrome OS, there's a dev mode where you can do/install everything you want and get into console mode. And Android is totally open source too. So as much as Apple wants us to believe there's a necessity in restricting, the truth is that there is absolutely not, it's an artificial restriction.