After I 'axed' my iPhone two weeks ago, my video of the action
have seen almost 6,000 screenings and caused quite some debate.
That's wonderful - that was my hope. However, some think that my
action was simply an act of unconscious rage or a cry for
publicity. In regards to the latter I have to disappoint my
detractors with the fact that I have more publicity than I could
possibility ask for already. In regards to the first, my act was
quite calculated.
You see, the essence of 3.3.1
gate is not about whether to allow a certain programming
language or a platform, the essence is about being a responsible
platform owner. A test that Apple definitively failed with their
new iPhone OS terms.
As a successful platform owner you're blessed with having a huge
eco-system making your platform even more valuable. These
eco-system consists of thousands of developers all believing in
your platform and building their business upon your directions and
by giving you trust. Sure, they benefit too and that's what makes
it all a healthy and sustainable practice - a win-win so to speak
if I knew how to tie a Windsor.
But trust and power goes hand in hand with responsibility and
this is where Apple failed miserably. While I've always found the
current constellation with the AppStore lock-in and their double
moral censorship unhealthy as it gives the platform owner (Apple)
way too much power of the ecosystem, it's the name of their game
and not a surprise for anyone investing in the platform. But the
3.3.1 gate showed just a slight glimpse of just how huge their
power is. With two tiny sentences they swipe out a ton of
independent developers who actually want to contribute to their
platform.
But worst of all - it's a completely unnecessary show of force.
It was a proof of an arbitrary and ruthless platform leadership.
iPhone apps developed using Monotouch, Unity or Adobe tools is not
guaranteed to perform worse than native Objective-C apps nor are
the theories about lack of full API support for new versions legit
-
Monotouch is already on pair even with iPhone OS4 still in
beta.
I didn't axe my iPhone as an act of rage. I axed my iPhone to
show my disgust for this type of leadership and misuse of power.
And as a signal to the Umbraco community that you'd never see this
in our eco-system. That was worth the $699!