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> Apple normalized turning consumer devices into fiefdoms we don't own They did it insidiously too: by having the best ecosystem, privacy and (arguably) securi
by unsupp0rted 3y ago
> Apple normalized turning consumer devices into fiefdoms we don't own
They did it insidiously too: by having the best ecosystem, privacy and (arguably) security for 2 or 3 decades straight.
If only their devices were less pleasant to use, out of the box, their fiefdom would have failed and there’d be no copycats.
- al_borland 3y agoCredit where credit is due, Apple sold (and is still selling) digital music DRM free. If I recall, they were the first legit store to offer that, which allowed/forced Amazon and others to follow suit. I imagine they were able to pull this off because the iPod gave them a lot of leverage with the studios, and those studios were also desperate to curb piracy. If only they could have gotten the same deal with movie and television studios…
- echelon 3y agoApple's the only one that's allowed to DRM a platform. Can't have unauthorized, untaxed bytes running freely on the platform. Apple will lay waste to every other industry and force them to behave. They just don't apply the same rules to themselves.
- jonhohle 3y agoIt’s not like Apple sells hardware that you have to pay for softupdates to unlock functionality (except for updated WiFi that one time over a decade ago, but that was a GAAP accounting issue, IIRC). I’m not a fan of how unserviceable the hardware is (especially coming from the days of PowerBooks and the first decade of MacBooks we hear everything was user upgradable/replacable. But I am a fan of having a silent, super fast computer with all day battery. As far as I know, the copycats copied the worst parts of Apple without realizing they need to make pleasant to use, secure, private systems first.