The biggest point is probably that the existence of an Open Source/Free operating system has probably enabled more profitable businesses to exist than iOS. May

The biggest point is probably that the existence of an Open Source/Free operating system has probably enabled more profitable businesses to exist than iOS. Maybe. On the one hand, I know exactly how great it is to have development tools that are a free download away (I remember shelling out hundreds on a C++ compiler in the mid-90s). Open source definitely rocks in this respect. On the other hand, I know that without the iPhone, iOS, and all of the associated things that came with it (including the industry's massive pivot to compete in its wake), things might look very different for an app developer today. (Or at the very least they'd be slower in getting to this point.) I think it's important to realize that there were no independent app developers in 2007 - writing, buying and using software for the Palm handhelds or Windows CE was radically different on nearly every level.