“The rise of gadgets like the iPhone, Blackberry and Xbox threatens to unravel the decades of innovation that helped to build the Internet, a leading academic has warned in a new book,” Peter Griffiths reports via Reuters.
“Professor Jonathan Zittrain says the latest must-have devices are sealed, ‘sterile’ boxes that stifle creativity and turn consumers into passive users of technology,” Griffiths reports. “Unlike home computers, new Internet-enabled gadgets don’t lend themselves to the sort of tinkering and collaboration that leads to technological advances, he says.”
“Zittrain contrasts one of the first mass-produced home computers, the Apple II from the 1970s, with Apple’s latest gadget, the iPhone. He says the iPhone is typical of what he calls ‘tethered appliances,'” Griffiths reports. “‘They are appliances in that they are easy to use, while not easy to tinker with,’ he writes. ‘They are tethered because it is easy to for their vendors to change them from afar, long after the devices have left warehouses and showrooms.'”
“They are a world away from the ‘generative Internet,’ a term Zittrain uses to describe the open, creative, innovative approach that helped build the Internet,” Griffiths reports.
Full article here.
If Zittrain’s so smart, why hasn’t he changed his name?
The answer to the headline is an emphatic “No.”
“For me, the iPhone is a sophisticated tool that exceeded my expectations. “
Which just goes to show that stupid people are easily satisfied.
That’s probably why you’re still dating your left hand.
“That’s probably why you’re still dating your left hand.”
I heard your left hand turned you down so you went with a microscope and tweezers instead.
Your 11th birthday is going to be so special.
@However
While I love apple products I don’t want to be a sheep either. The real tragedy is that Apple has no real competitor. For the most part the computer industry…..desktops,laptops,cell phone/pda makers are a bunch of unimaginative closed minded drones.
Steve Jobs is taking advantage of this and is ACTUALLY innovating when he has his company produce their products.
Yes, he deserves his growing empire. But I would MUCH rather there be several Steve Jobs running out there that would bring some much needed balance to the industry. And to have their innovative products be truly open.
But I guess thats on some fantasy planet. 🙁
“Another IT Guy…
This “theory” overlooks the simple fact that the preponderance of users have little or no interest in tinkering or modifying, and that for those users that do, there are any number of platforms and options available.”
we have a winner, everyone can go home now….
The Internet isnt knowledge, its a source of knowledge.
the Internet isnt an activity, its a source of possible activity.
the Internet isnt political, its a source of political info.
The iPhone isnt the Internet, its a way of accessing the internet.
The computer isnt clever, its a potentially cleverly-used tool.
This Zittman guy is a tool, too, but he isnt a very good tool.
@ Olternaut
I want more ice cream.
I want an iPhone with a 23″ screen.
I want nine Steve Jobses, precious.
I want.
Whats it like to want, Olternaut?
BTW, tragedy is war in Iraq; no competition for Apple is simply a business condition.
@Silliest thread ever – this could be it.
Don’t belittle sacrifices being made by brave people and please don’t turn this into political thing. Yes its tragedy but no with Apple its not simply a “business condition”.
With Apple (and with the rest of the industry if they don’t wake up) its a tragedy for the future.
It will be even scarier than the 20 year microsoft tragedy. Because this time around people will be complacent and satisfied with their apple products to the point where innovation will again slow down.
My wanting Steve jobses (plural) running around is not a want to be dismissed. Once Steve Jobs achieves true dominance there will be a couple of kids somewhere in a garage inventing something that shock the world and have Steve Jobs truly clueless and utterly astonished.
It’s fun to follow these spots. MDN is the best site for mac news but isn’t the best for objective commentary.
When Apple was in partnership with IBM/Motorola, MDN called clone manufacturers well, ‘cloners’ un-innovative.
So here we are with Intel… nary a negative comment.
Steve Jobs saved us from Microsoft, I’m excitedly waiting for the next guy who’ll stick it to Apple In the end I benefit.
Before anyone starts on me, I’ve used all Macs from the Mac Plus.
Since we’ve gone down this road I’ll reset my course too and say what I’ve always said, the way the world works, commercially speaking, is competition – almost everyone has finally come to grips with this – China, Russia, etc. (not necessarily in the best possible way, but the way none the less). To compare Apple side by side with MS is not entirely accurate. MS did not invent much of anything – if anything. Apple, on the other hand, is dominant in a market niche that they arguably created – okay first there was Palm, but… I think the organic way in which Apple evolves and adapts would have lead them and us to the iPhone and the iTouch even without Palm. It’s time for handheld computing and Apple figured a way to fill the bill with a useful and marketable device. Palm could’a, would’a, should’a, done it – but they didn’t – bottom line.
Right now I don’t think that Apple’s dominance is self destructive like MS’s is, but indeed, I believe that it is only a matter of time, and the only real possible competitor right now is Palm, but they just don’t seem to want to get off of their collective asses and do something.
Longer story shorter, the sooner that a real competitor comes along in the handheld computing arena then the better for Apple and the potential competitor, and ultimately for us.
Of course the real starting point of this thread was based on some ridiculous premise that not having to constantly fix and repair and make my computing devices work was going to be the ruin of modern civilization, but the ultimate direction of the thread has become a question well worth pondering.
Steve Jobs is not the demon here. Dogs are dogs, cats are cats, oranges are oranges, and Apples are Apples. Steve and Apple Inc. are just doing what they are here to do, (i.e., what they’re good at), the fact that competition is a required element for capitalism to succeed over time is a reality that Apple itself has been no small example of, and in the best possible way. They have market dominance in a very small niche, and for that niche to work it’s got to be platform transparent, which it is over the two most used platforms. Competition is good and will be good for Apple, but somebody has got to come to the plate, and not in the name of yet another corporate world domination a la Microsoft (what an ugly twisted paradigm MS created for big business to try and follow).
Here’s another way to look at it: I think that MS really is/was trying to literally take over the world (and holy crap have they come close), in contrast I think that Steve Jobs is out to create excellent product for the purpose of creating excellent product and to reminding the industry and us that quality does matter, and to bring an above average return on his time/money investments for himself, his company, and his investors.
Mr. Peabody
Since we’ve gone down this road I’ll reset my course too and say what I’ve always said, the way the world works, commercially speaking, is competition
Hear Hear!
Well written. Good job.
OMG. Like for sure, this iPhone is like very, very radtageous. Just think: all those fingers on the screens (and who knows where they’ve all been!) leaving like little oil spots and dirt like such as that will go into the tubes of the internets and clog up like for sure everything. We’re gonna need like a ginormous bottle of like such as Drano.
Old school web guys were saying the same thing about CSS when it was really gaining steam; I used worked on websites at the time, and any project that required us to collaborate with a 1990’s HTML crusty the project was invariably delayed due to their unwillingness/inability to embrace emerging standards. It’s just paranoia, people. The content for these devices has to be made by someone, and very little content is actually created on the end use device in any medium.
Actually Ampar for my 11th birthday I did Jane (your mom) and your sister at the same time. They both were terrible! At least your sister sw@llowed
1) MDN take hilarious. Zittrain. Haha.
2) Doh! Tinker? Didn’t we have a whole bunch of guys tinker with the iPhone to jail break it?
3) And the Intel Macs to boot Windows? (Before Boot Camp).
4) And what about all this tinkering I’ve personally been with with the SDK thang that I just downloaded?
Huh…
5) About the only thing that has NOT received tinkering has been (drum roll) the ZUNE. Reason? None of the five people who have a Zune are programmers. (Well, maybe Gates, a while back. Not sure about Ballmer and the other three.)