Resistance is futile

Apple aims to replace Microsoft and Adobe. According to The Guardian:

Last week's announcement by Apple that the UK launch of the iPad will be delayed by a month was the headline news for consumers, but for geeks a more significant development came on Thursday with some changes in the 21,000-word "agreement" that you have to sign if you are going to develop applications for Apple's iDevices.

Section 3.3.1 of the document stipulates that "Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++ and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the documented APIs (eg, applications that link to documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited)."

Incomprehensible, eh? An API is an application programming interface — ie the protocol that programmers must follow if their software is to work with the iDevice. The really interesting clause, though, is the one enclosed in brackets. Translated into English it reads: screw you, Adobe!

The gambit also takes aim at Microsoft, which, as we know, controls the PC desktop. How so? Apple's iGizmos are returning to Job's company the edge it lost in the mid-1980s. Personal computing has become a mature market; the markets for handheld devices should grow in size as the technology develops. Apple, not Microsoft, is the market leader in the handheld device market segment.

If Microsoft were to drop a notch or two, would this not seem to be a pure good any aware person would appreciate? Not really. Consider the arrogance contained in this famous advertisement! Does not the ad say: Humanize yourself by purchasing an information appliance? Take a rebel stand against mass conformism by conforming to the cultural imperatives provided by Apple and its products? Appear distinct among the barely human horde?

If any company can make Microsoft look warm and cuddly that company would be Apple.