NET RESULTS: Steve Jobs and co have bucked the open-source trend that has defined the internet age
APPLE’S SUCCESS with the iPhone makes no sense. Certainly not if you take “sense” to be the collective hive mind of geeks and techies that you can tap into by watching Twitter or numerous techie bulletin boards. In recent years a tyrannical world view has begun to hold sway in tech circles. Put simply, it can be summed up as “Open standards and open source, good. Proprietary closed systems, bad”.
It’s not hard to see why this view began to hold sway. The web’s rise over the last 10 years was almost entirely down to the fact that it was an open system. Despite the best efforts of some corporations everyone can partake but no one can dominate. As a result, pre-existing but closed online systems such as America OnLine, Compuserve and Apple’s eWorld either withered on the vine or moved their content to the web.
All of which makes Apple’s recent successes the more surprising.
The maker of the iPod, iTunes, iPhone and Macintosh computers is riding the crest of the wave at the moment. Its third-quarter results last month – which included a net profit figure of $1.23 billion (€850 million) – were driven not only by strong sales of the iPhone, which benefited from price cuts and the introduction of the new 3GS model, but also a return to growth for the venerable Mac.
The warm fuzzy feeling that surrounds Apple products – with their easy-to-use interfaces and sleek industrial design – might suggest that Apple is merely tapping into the mood of the times.
Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Apple is thriving because it tightly controls a closed system.
The Californian company designs the hardware, although as the back cover of the iPod reminds us it is “Designed by Apple in California. Assembled in China”. Apple also writes the software and tightly controls what other companies can get access to its platform.
Want to get your software on the iPhone? Submit it to Apple and they might be back to you in the next month or so to let you know if it meets their requirements.
Oh, and it’ll have 30 per cent of the revenues should it decide to give you access.
In recent months tech news sites like Techmeme have been littered with stories about the latest developer to get the thumbs down from Apple’s AppStore.
Given the popularity of iFart and its ilk one has to wonder what crimes against Apple supremo Steve Jobs’s company the unsuccessful developers have committed.
Apple is also currently locked in an arms race with Palm to prevent the smartphone-maker’s devices accessing iTunes.
Yes, this is the same company whose chief executive in February 2007 wrote an open letter to the music industry calling for the removal of digital rights management restrictions on downloaded music sold through iTunes.
“Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.”
Jobs got what he was looking for earlier this year when the last major labels removed the restrictions. This means you can now buy music on iTunes and copy it to a player from Creative, Sony or iRiver, but just not through the iTunes interface. Palm found a way to fool iTunes into thinking its Pre smartphone was actually an iPhone. Apple didn’t waste time releasing an update to the iTunes software which locked the Pre out.
Apple’s expansion into the mobile phone world has also put it at loggerheads with erstwhile partner Google. Google’s mobile play is Android, an operating system for phones based on the open source Linux. In contrast to others, Google provides the software while others make the phones. The increasing focus by both firms on mobile, where they are in direct competition, is widely believed to be the reason Google chief Eric Schmidt stepped down from the Apple board at the beginning of this week.
Now for the admission. I don’t think there is necessarily anything wrong with closed systems and proprietary models. This last week I’ve been playing with an iPhone 3GS and this long-term Nokia fan is close to being converted.
The latest iPhone doesn’t do anything that other smart phones doesn’t do, but the ease with which it does it beats all competitors.
The improved battery life, enhanced location-aware functions and huge range of software which can be easily installed through iTunes make it a compelling device.
Of course it’s not all positive. Sure the wimpy three-megapixel camera is still a major bugbear (is it any wonder one of the best sellers in the AppStore is a 79 cent piece of software which gives it zoom capability).
While I still enjoy playing with technology, the demands of a young family and the other distractions of approaching middle-age mean I have less and less time to do so.
If getting products to work together seamlessly and elegantly means ceding control to Steve Jobs and his lieutenants I think it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
