Apple’s iPhone will self-destruct with third party applications
By Triston McIntyre
Look here, folks: Apple has no intentions of going all “Linux” and everything anytime soon; though many people have expressed interest in developing third party programs for the iPhone, was Steve’s assurance that Apple would be willing to work with them just campaign rhetoric? I think the day Apple opens up completely to third party support for the iPhone is the same day we wave buh-bye to the all-star security and reliability that will sell the iPhone in the first place.
After all, where is the faith in Apple? Are iWork and iLife not enough to grant Apple some faith that the included software will be sufficient?
Let’s remember, though this is a ground-breaking phone, it is still just that. We’re not talking about the same computer interface we’ve all come to know and love; this will be completely unique, and Apple has promised to deliver.
Furthermore, the framework of Apple’s success is built on security, ease of use, and creativity; by allowing a plethora of third party applications, you might as well call the iPhone the Windows Phone, because third parties are directly responsible for the horrendously buggy and unsafe nature of Windows, are they not?
Granted, most programmers who swing the Mac way are much, much better than those of the Windows variety; I’m not saying we would not see quality content. Much thanks to you who have provided great applications to OS X.
What I am saying, however, is this: Why fix what isn’t broken? Or even out yet? After all, if Apple is going to keep things safe and easy to use, they will need to rewrite any program that comes through the door to make sure it isn’t buggy, or doesn’t have any exploitable back-door entrances.
Realistically, today’s revelation by Jobs about “working” with third party developers will most likely only mean allowing the public think tank to work as it always has, and Apple will draw the best ideas from the pool. Apple has always had a nack for improving on good things (see Virtue Desktops or other great third party designs that are making waves in the forthcoming Leopard release).
If you were looking forward on submitting your application to Apple and see it on an Apple page a few minutes later, like the Widgets page, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. Now, if you’re smart and creative enough to make something Apple hasn’t thought of, while you’re submitting your creation, perhaps you should offer your skills to the team, because they’ll want the brains that outdo their current employees.
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on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
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Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
May 30th, 2007
If this Chicken Little attitude towards developers had any merit, then the Macs that are currently out there would be walking security holes. Anyone can write and install applications on them. That hasn’t happened, not because Mac developers are magical, but because the underlying operating system is reasonably solid.
If we can believe Steve Jobs, the same operating system underlies the iPhone. While one should always be cautious about installing programs on any of one’s computers (and, yes, the iPhone is a computer), there should be no reason that anyone’s application not running with super-administrator privileges should put the iPhone or the world at risk.
January 10th, 2008
If it makes you feel good to write things such as “Granted, most programmers who swing the Mac way are much, much better than those of the Windows variety,” then go right ahead. Those of us in the real world will just sit back and laugh. You don’t get out much, do you? Is your loyalty so strong that you are blinded to anything good from The Others? This kind of attitude only serves to give the Mac haters more ammo, and in this case they are justified.