4 ms·

iOS is a free operating system. You are only paying for the device.

by younata 14y ago

recoiledsnake 14y ago
What a specious argument. And in other stories, blogs and comments, we hear that Apple takes 80% of the mobile industry's profits and about the high margins on iProducts and the $100B+ cash hoard that they have. But now the tone is all about how poor Apple was forced into a corner by Google and others and had to subject its users to bad maps. Guess what? Maps is hard. Why did Nokia buy Navteq in 2008 for a whopping $8B? Why do you think Amazon recently choose to license Navteq maps from Nokia for their Kindle tablets' Maps API? Given that Amazon makes $7 million profit a quarter and Apple makes $4M profit an hour like Gruber sneeringly likes to remind us[1], is it wrong to expect better maps from a phone that costs much more than a run of the mill cheap Android phone? What excuse is there for driving directions that direct you to drive on train tracks? [2] [1] http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/07/27/amzn-profit-correction http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/07/27/amzn-profit-corr... [2] http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/image/32188632467 http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/image/32188632467
- jarek 14y ago
  > What excuse is there for driving directions that direct you to drive on train tracks? [2] Judging by all the cars parked on both sides of the track, there's probably a driveable surface there too. Not uncommon.
untog 14y ago
A fuzzy distinction at best. You can't get an iPhone without iOS, and you can't get iOS without an iPhone/iPod.
nthj 14y ago
How many people would buy an iPhone without iOS, or even with a poorly implemented iOS? Far fewer. Apple sells an experience — the whole package. They always have. That's why Antennagate, a hardware issue, and Maps, a software issue, are equally frustrating and newsworthy. Apple proposes to remove the hardware/software distinction and deliver a magical device that just works. Maps no longer just work for many people. And that's the problem with magic. It's very brittle. The clock strikes midnight and everyone turns back into a pumpkin, the ball is over. And so many people are frustrated, because they pay a premium for this abstraction, this magic, and it has disappeared, and that annoys them, and it scares them, because if Maps can stop working when it used to work, then so can my Phone, and my Email, and all my kids' baby pictures, and overnight, Apple's customers no longer feel in control. I like the new maps (I live in Austin, the data seems pretty solid.) But this letter is a big deal. For the first time that I'm aware of, Apple has publicly admitted that there is no Wizard of Oz, and they're just a man behind the curtain, and would you please bear with us while we iron out the glitches?
liedra 14y ago
What alternative OS can I run on the device?

iOS is a free operating system. You are only paying for the device.

by younata 14y ago

iOS is a free operating system. You are only paying for the device.

What a specious argument. And in other stories, blogs and comments, we hear that Apple takes 80% of the mobile industry's profits and about the high margins on iProducts and the $100B+ cash hoard that they have. But now the tone is all about how poor Apple was forced into a corner by Google and others and had to subject its users to bad maps. Guess what? Maps is hard. Why did Nokia buy Navteq in 2008 for a whopping $8B? Why do you think Amazon recently choose to license Navteq maps from Nokia for their Kindle tablets' Maps API? Given that Amazon makes $7 million profit a quarter and Apple makes $4M profit an hour like Gruber sneeringly likes to remind us[1], is it wrong to expect better maps from a phone that costs much more than a run of the mill cheap Android phone? What excuse is there for driving directions that direct you to drive on train tracks? [2] [1] http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/07/27/amzn-profit-correction http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/07/27/amzn-profit-corr... [2] http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/image/32188632467 http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/image/32188632467

jarek 14y ago
> What excuse is there for driving directions that direct you to drive on train tracks? [2] Judging by all the cars parked on both sides of the track, there's probably a driveable surface there too. Not uncommon.

untog 14y ago

A fuzzy distinction at best. You can't get an iPhone without iOS, and you can't get iOS without an iPhone/iPod.

nthj 14y ago

How many people would buy an iPhone without iOS, or even with a poorly implemented iOS? Far fewer. Apple sells an experience — the whole package. They always have. That's why Antennagate, a hardware issue, and Maps, a software issue, are equally frustrating and newsworthy. Apple proposes to remove the hardware/software distinction and deliver a magical device that just works. Maps no longer just work for many people. And that's the problem with magic. It's very brittle. The clock strikes midnight and everyone turns back into a pumpkin, the ball is over. And so many people are frustrated, because they pay a premium for this abstraction, this magic, and it has disappeared, and that annoys them, and it scares them, because if Maps can stop working when it used to work, then so can my Phone, and my Email, and all my kids' baby pictures, and overnight, Apple's customers no longer feel in control. I like the new maps (I live in Austin, the data seems pretty solid.) But this letter is a big deal. For the first time that I'm aware of, Apple has publicly admitted that there is no Wizard of Oz, and they're just a man behind the curtain, and would you please bear with us while we iron out the glitches?

liedra 14y ago

What alternative OS can I run on the device?