Comments on: iPad is Yet Another DRM Crippled Device

By: Thomas Gideon

Thomas Gideon — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:04:44 +0000

My right to free speech isn’t predicated on inventiveness. I am well aware of the limits of my free speech. I also feel an obligation to go along with that right, to express it in the pursuit of saying something interesting. I believe my blog and podcast speak for themselves.
I am not speaking to Apple, either. I will exercise my right to spend my money with a competitor who offers a product that I find more suitable.
This post is part of my own synthesis of the tension that Zittrain lays out so well between open and closed systems. It was for my readership who may not have considered the iPad as part of that continuum, not necessarily drive-by commenters who don’t have anything substantiative to say, critical or otherwise.

By: Knighthood

Knighthood — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:03:58 +0000

This post’s just grumbling from someone who neither invents nor delivers anything in terms of technical innovation themselves. Yawn – easy to be a critic, so I’ll stop doing it myself.
OK, bottom line: Apple’s a COMPANY, in a global CAPITALIST world. It makes money. It does what it wants. Stop whinging – you have no say in the matter. If it doesn’t sell, then tough luck Apple.

By: hugh

hugh — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:03:04 +0000

I’m definitely in the meh camp. Tablets have been around for ages. Their niche is dedicated applications like inventory collection. If they were so wonderful to carry around, geeks at least would be carrying them around. We don’t because they aren’t. If I’m going to tote something that size, it damn better have a keyboard. To me it’s a Touch that won’t fit in my pocket. Double-meh.

@Marc: #3 Mini-notebook becomes device of choice (unless you think that one happened last year).

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:46:57 +0000

Well written cmdln. The Apple lock down bows greatly to the corporate fears of us stealing the media (device DRM definitely stops media theft on device but what about the interwebs?).

I would SERIOUSLY consider this device as a target for jailbreak. Most of the stuff I want to do is NOT going to be available in the app store (ever). I like paper books, not into kindle type of stuff. My iPod touch is a perfect toy, just like the iPhone is 101% a toy with exchange. I want to use the iPad as a GIU for other hardware/software. (I can build my own tablet for the same price. The software + hardware is so much more mature than what I can do)

To me the iPhone performance is weak. Blackberry still kills them on email, Android shows me that the iPhone OS offers nothing other then GOOD games. The deal with (the devil) ATT is another crusher.

So, we end up with iTampon (as they are calling it on twitter). Insert your own local translation of that idea…

But remember, this is THE YEAR OF PARADIGM SHIFTS!!! Here are the first 2:

1-Apple moves into advertising with the purchase of online advertiser *slips my mind*
2-Google moves into hardware manufacturing (Nexus Uno).

Apple is permanently moving into a room with no windows called “User Experience”. With these recent decisions I feel they are sealing the door behind them.

Drop DRM, open the platform, stop being lame.