10-25-2011, 02:10 PM
Quote: [the] controlling trend he set with apple has caused almost all major companies to take the same route in order to make more profit.I'm not sure I agree, here. If we are talking about the iPhone, Android is the only known smartphone competitor, and it is Open Source.
If you are talking about other Apple products like the iPad versus the Kindle or Nook, then there isn't really an argument that can be made, since most technology products have long kept proprietary elements tied to their products in order to maximize profits. The same goes with cellular phones. It is very rare to find one charger that will fit many phones. Each phone has its own proprietary connection. Why? Because part of the total profit for phones comes from the accessories, which companies rely on to help support their bottom line.
Same with content and the "walled up" hardware from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple, among others. These devices can read in content that has been converted into their proprietary formats to maximize their own profit.
Does it suck for the consumer? Sure! But is Apple responsible for setting such a trend? Absolutely not. It's been happening far longer than Apple has even been around.
Steve