The Apple Empire
I think we need to start asking ourselves: How much can you *really* trust Apple?
Sure, in the beginning they were a relatively honest and trustworthy company. Even their philosophy of completely controlling every aspect---the hardware, marketing, sales, etc.---of their products made some sense. Doing so eliminated the problems which Microsoft had struggled with managing... hardware incompatabilities, driver issues, OS being installed onto--or worse being sold with---sub-par hardware... all of these issues, although not technically nor directly the fault of Microsoft, they become attributed as the fault of the software. (These problems which still exist although the industry has gotten exceedingly better with. Better cooperative development with hardware manufacturers for hardware and drivers, clearer communication of hardware requirements, etc.)
In this early point of the computer industry, Apple's full-control mantra saved itself a lot of headaches. Every Apple computer had hardware which was more than capable of meeting the needs of the OS. Apple chose the hardware and developed drivers specifically for it themselves ensuring the OS would fully function with it. They controlled the marketing, so they ensured that Apple computers were portrayed exactly as they deemed.
The PC market, on the other hand, was a free-for-all. Any company who wanted to could jump in and manufacture components and there were several companies---not just ONE, like with Apple--who might be interested. This free-for-all, although somewhat chaotic in the beginning, many would agree was actually a great thing. Increased competition between companies in the market accelerated innovation and lowered costs. The lower prices and greater availability had a lot to do with the PC gaining a dominant control of the market.
However, being the minority market share that Apple held was a blessing, in a way. With PCs being the predominant system format, it also became the target of hackers and other malicious things. Apple didn't struggle with viruses and malware like Microsoft had (does?) not because the Mac OS is SO much more secure---as some would have you believe---but simple because very few people wasted their time to write a virus that would only work on <10% of the computers it reaches. Out of simple obscurity, a reputation of security began to grow.
But today? Apple computers use the same Intel processors of PCs---and they even advertise the fact they can run BOTH Mac OSX as well as Windows! Following a couple of setbacks with Windows Vista and 64-bit OSes, hardware incompatibilities are rare, with Windows detecting hardware and automatically downloading and installing most drivers all on it's own. Hardware manufacturers now automatically develop 4 different drivers for hardware right from the start: Pre-Vista x86, Pre-Vista x64, Post-Vista x86, and Post-Vista x64. Credit where credit is due: Microsoft has come a long way, working hard to make hardware and driver issues a distant memory... and have been largely successful.
So is Apple's total-control model still advantageous--or even valid--today? Well, I guess it's debatable. They've gained back some ground following their switch to Intel-based CPUs and their "I'm a Mac" marketing blitz. My own experiences with OS X always left me wanting... to me OS X seems over-simplified and made me feel shackled... and I'm not a fan of regularly having to go to command prompt in order to maybe my expectations being built too high by people's praises of Mac's superiority. But that's neither here nor there.
This is a company which only allows it's software to be used on the hardware THEY dictate (and make), who doesn't allow apps that compete with THEIR own software to be in the AppStore, who makes "royal decrees" limiting how you may use the products YOU bought---post-purchase, and are constantly taking measures to enforce these things so that you do not defy them by using YOUR devices in ways that Apple does sanction. (Imagine if Microsoft started trying to control what programs you were allowed to run on your Windows PC? How do you think that one would go over?)
I'm SURE you know about Apple's AppKillSwitch, part of the iPhone OS, right? You know, the thing that allows Apple to remotely disable any app you downloaded onto your device from the AppStore? (Don't bother checking your Settings menu... you can't disable it.) Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the idea of a company telling me what software I am and am not allowed to use on the device I BOUGHT, and I'm REALLY not comfortable about them building in a back-door that allows them to control my device in order to enforce it. But maybe it's just me.
It might also be worth mentioning that Android-based (that's Google's //open-source// operating system) phone sales have overtaken iPhone sales, with more than 300,000 Android devices being activated each day, and Google's Android Market appstore has been gaining massive ground vs. Apple's (heavily policed) AppStore in downloads.
But don't worry, iPhone users... *APPLE* knows what's best for you, so just make sure you update your firmware right away whenever there's a new version... Apple needs to protect you... from yourself. Hey, that's probably why they keep track of your locations. Protection.
Sure, in the beginning they were a relatively honest and trustworthy company. Even their philosophy of completely controlling every aspect---the hardware, marketing, sales, etc.---of their products made some sense. Doing so eliminated the problems which Microsoft had struggled with managing... hardware incompatabilities, driver issues, OS being installed onto--or worse being sold with---sub-par hardware... all of these issues, although not technically nor directly the fault of Microsoft, they become attributed as the fault of the software. (These problems which still exist although the industry has gotten exceedingly better with. Better cooperative development with hardware manufacturers for hardware and drivers, clearer communication of hardware requirements, etc.)
In this early point of the computer industry, Apple's full-control mantra saved itself a lot of headaches. Every Apple computer had hardware which was more than capable of meeting the needs of the OS. Apple chose the hardware and developed drivers specifically for it themselves ensuring the OS would fully function with it. They controlled the marketing, so they ensured that Apple computers were portrayed exactly as they deemed.
The PC market, on the other hand, was a free-for-all. Any company who wanted to could jump in and manufacture components and there were several companies---not just ONE, like with Apple--who might be interested. This free-for-all, although somewhat chaotic in the beginning, many would agree was actually a great thing. Increased competition between companies in the market accelerated innovation and lowered costs. The lower prices and greater availability had a lot to do with the PC gaining a dominant control of the market.
However, being the minority market share that Apple held was a blessing, in a way. With PCs being the predominant system format, it also became the target of hackers and other malicious things. Apple didn't struggle with viruses and malware like Microsoft had (does?) not because the Mac OS is SO much more secure---as some would have you believe---but simple because very few people wasted their time to write a virus that would only work on <10% of the computers it reaches. Out of simple obscurity, a reputation of security began to grow.
But today? Apple computers use the same Intel processors of PCs---and they even advertise the fact they can run BOTH Mac OSX as well as Windows! Following a couple of setbacks with Windows Vista and 64-bit OSes, hardware incompatibilities are rare, with Windows detecting hardware and automatically downloading and installing most drivers all on it's own. Hardware manufacturers now automatically develop 4 different drivers for hardware right from the start: Pre-Vista x86, Pre-Vista x64, Post-Vista x86, and Post-Vista x64. Credit where credit is due: Microsoft has come a long way, working hard to make hardware and driver issues a distant memory... and have been largely successful.
So is Apple's total-control model still advantageous--or even valid--today? Well, I guess it's debatable. They've gained back some ground following their switch to Intel-based CPUs and their "I'm a Mac" marketing blitz. My own experiences with OS X always left me wanting... to me OS X seems over-simplified and made me feel shackled... and I'm not a fan of regularly having to go to command prompt in order to maybe my expectations being built too high by people's praises of Mac's superiority. But that's neither here nor there.
This is a company which only allows it's software to be used on the hardware THEY dictate (and make), who doesn't allow apps that compete with THEIR own software to be in the AppStore, who makes "royal decrees" limiting how you may use the products YOU bought---post-purchase, and are constantly taking measures to enforce these things so that you do not defy them by using YOUR devices in ways that Apple does sanction. (Imagine if Microsoft started trying to control what programs you were allowed to run on your Windows PC? How do you think that one would go over?)
I'm SURE you know about Apple's AppKillSwitch, part of the iPhone OS, right? You know, the thing that allows Apple to remotely disable any app you downloaded onto your device from the AppStore? (Don't bother checking your Settings menu... you can't disable it.) Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the idea of a company telling me what software I am and am not allowed to use on the device I BOUGHT, and I'm REALLY not comfortable about them building in a back-door that allows them to control my device in order to enforce it. But maybe it's just me.
It might also be worth mentioning that Android-based (that's Google's //open-source// operating system) phone sales have overtaken iPhone sales, with more than 300,000 Android devices being activated each day, and Google's Android Market appstore has been gaining massive ground vs. Apple's (heavily policed) AppStore in downloads.
But don't worry, iPhone users... *APPLE* knows what's best for you, so just make sure you update your firmware right away whenever there's a new version... Apple needs to protect you... from yourself. Hey, that's probably why they keep track of your locations. Protection.
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