The Fine Line

A little more than a year and a half ago I made the switch from Microsoft to Apple and have been happy with that choice ever since. I did not change because of some grand philosophy that Microsoft was evil and that Apple would show me the way. At the end of the day I simply preferred the user experience and was willing to pay the premium for it. Do not get me started however on the incompetent Microsoft "Laptop Hunter" ads though....

Does this make me a fanboy? As much as I detest that term, I very well may be. However, as much as I am a fan of Apple they have made some really bone headed decisions over the years. Most recent of which was the choice to reject the "Google Voice" application. The iPhone is, or possibly was, poised to take a nearly insurmountable lead in the smart phone market. And then Apple may have stumbled.

Many great products have been over taken not necessarily based upon the skill of the pursuer but by their own foolishness. For example did "Microsoft Office" eventually overtake "Word Perfect" because it was a superior product? Or did it do so because "Word Perfect" took it's eye off the ball and then Novell put it out its misery? One could argue that Corel has not done a much better job either, but worlds better than Novell's efforts.

Now, I have an iPhone and do not believe that it is going anywhere, anytime soon. Yet, with a few adjustments I think Apple could silence Android, the scrappy up and comer for some time. Everyone is in love with Android at the moment to a degree that makes me a bit queasy. Tech journalism on the Internet is a fickle beast and prone to turn on a product at a moments notice. I have to wonder if all of the righteous indignation over the "Google Voice" rejection was true or simply done for the headlines.

Apple is King of the mountain at the moment, but they have to realize how much people enjoy to see the King fall after his ascension.

Anyway, as I was saying I think Apple could do a few small things to keep a sure footing:

• Make the App Store approval process completely transparent. Give those companies who do not have the capital to risk a hefty investment in a project which might be arbitrarily turned down.
• Open up the store. Wide open. I mean come on it is almost that way to begin with but there is such a perception of a walled garden that it taints it. It is important that Apple scan the applications for those that are malicious in nature but aside from that and a few other small points EVERYTHING else should be accepted.

None of this new and has not been said a hundred times already. This blog, this post is a means of venting. Well I think a lot of blogs are a means of venting actually. I really enjoy using the iPhone and am disappointment when it is set back due to inane foolishness.

Now if you do not mind I need to get back to playing "Field Runners".