Jobs' 'Open' Opinion
posted Sunday Oct 24, 2010 by Jon Wurm
It seems like I can't go one week without Steve Jobs finding some imaginative way to say and/or do something that I feel compelled to write about for a variety of personal reasons that originate from a dark and scary place with enchanted creatures. Similar adjectives may be used by some to describe Jobs himself and if you consider that blasphemy then this article probably isn't for you.
Hit the break to find out how the world is according to Steve.
The center of this week's Apple news revolves around last Tuesday's earnings call. It seems that Google, or more specifically Android, has been poking and prodding its way under the Apple's skin. We know Apple has had internal problems with iPad sales recently as the production supply can't meet the current demand, rising pressure from Android tablets are starting to take its toll. These factors attributed to a temper tantrum Jobs had during the earning call over Google referring to iOS as a "closed" platform and Android as an "open" platform. Jobs went on to say,
We are very committed to the integrated approach, no matter how many times Google tries to characterize it as closed. And we are confident that it will triumph over Google's fragmented approach, no matter how many times Google tries to characterize it as open.
Before reading on I want you to let this marinate. OK? Since Jobs didn't understand what was happening, I'm going to pretend that you don't and explain it just to make sure we're on the same page. First, Google has been making claims that Android is "open" and iOS is "closed". Next, Jobs responds with a claim that Android is a "fragmented" OS because they have more than one App store and those app stores are confusing to use. Finally, everyone is confused because that response has nothing to do with anything.
Google defines themselves as "open" because developers and the community at large decide what is useful and how it can be useful. In many cases Google is just the instigator, such is the case with Google Wave which was recently handed over to developers. Apple, on the other hand, tells its consumers what they like and how they like it, adopting the mentality that Papa Jobs always knows best. It's bad enough that Jobs' response doesn't make any sense but even his reasoning for that doesn't really hit the mark. The real reason why Android is "fragmented" is because there are so many different versions and those versions have unique iterations of the OS for specific carriers. Therefore, the user experience is seldom similar.
It's clear there is a breakdown of communication here and we know it's coming from the Apple orchard if you catch my drift. I wish I was surprised at this type of behavior and ignorance but since Jobs blasted netbooks for being useless then making a new MacBook Air and then blaming the antennagate problems on the mobile industry, I'm just not.
