Re: An observation about Apples claims on jamming

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ronald Lachman <ron () catbird com>
Date: July 31, 2009 5:47:27 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] An observation about Apples  claims on jamming

Debating the technical merits of Apple's claims is not the point.   
Some technicians at Apple were likely asked
by the attorneys to provide technical reasons for the closed approval  
process.

Apple feels a need to maintain a tight control on the applications for  
a few reasons, the primary one being
to increase the value of and  further honor their business deal with  
AT&T and other carriers.  The premise of
security has a shadow of merit, but its perfectly clear if  
applications that enabled voice communication using the
3g data path were allowed, carriers could loose $100MM or more of  
revenue.  Its more than 90% a business
preservation strategy.  Apple gets hundreds of $ of revenue for each  
iPhone from AT&T and other carriers over the world.
If applications that threatened those revenue streams were allowed,  
the business deal for Apple could be threatened.

Corporations rarely defend their positions in court primarily by  
saying "we do this so we have better odds of making more
money".  Apple doesn't deny they do this to preserve their  
relationship with the carriers, they are merely adding additional
"technical reasons" for their position.

And despite all the debate in this list on the validity of their  
position, its not black and white.  Like many issues, there is a grey
zone.  By exerting more control, and having applications go through a  
validation and approval process there is some
additional security provided.  (And a much stronger business model).

Free markets and Open Systems are not black and white issues either.   
Apple's insistence on some degree of closed model
does not seem to deter tens of thousands of us to get their SDK and  
develop software for their platform.  They are certainly
not totally closed.  They are certainly successful, and this close  
attention to balance in their business model has enabled them
to invest in and create some of the slickest, highly functional and  
most usable platforms around. Tens of millions of us are happy
to pay the highest prices on the market in each product category that  
Apple focuses in primary efforts in (smart phones, music
players, laptops, etc).

I have no stake in Apple, other than I love their products.  I'll  
almost certainly want their tablet, their next iPhone, and their next
macbook as well.  Dave, I wouldn't be surprised if the *majority* of  
the clueful "IP" readership are reading your postings
on an iPhone or Macintosh, simply because most of us are technology  
professionals and we appreciate superior, generally
better built and more secure products.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Apple makes the worst products...  
Except for all the rest!

-ron




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