Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 19th Jan 2012 17:41 UTC

Thread beginning with comment 504131
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
I have a question for everyone who think that Apple are doing the right thing : what would you do if Bic suddenly stated that everything written using their ballpoint pens is their property and cannot be sold without their permission and involvement ?
I agree with your underlying point, but that's a horrible analogy. Exactly how many books do you know of that were written by hand with a ballpoint pen? If Bic did this, no one would care since nothing written with a pen is sold professionally. Even if the original text were written with one, it would most certainly be printed professionally at the time of publishing and Bic would have no idea of it one way or the other. Let me reitorate that I agree with your point about vendor lock-in, and I for one think it should be avoided at all costs not only to avoid censorship, but also to make certain we can still read our media in a hundred years. Apple isn't going to last forever, and what happens to all the content locked up in their formats after that?
Well, I am not in the publishing business so I don't know which brands of printing machines are to this business what Bic is to everyday writing. Besides, much less people would get the analogy. So I think some logical shortcuts had to be taken.
My problem in the end is that everyone would find it revolting that manufacturers of physical content creation tools impose conditions on the usage of these tools, yet somehow some can close their eyes when it comes to software-based content creation tools. In my opinion, the artificial boundary which the software world sets between personal and professional use should not exist, since the software costs the same price to manufacture for everyone.
Member since:
2010-03-08
I have a question for everyone who think that Apple are doing the right thing : what would you do if Bic suddenly stated that everything written using their ballpoint pens is their property and cannot be sold without their permission and involvement ?
Edited 2012-01-21 13:32 UTC