[NTLK] OT: Pics of the new iPhone

[Ross Deihm]

I don't understand Apple any longer. It's far from the
underdog-rebel-against-the-norm-with-better-products company that I loved
during the late 80's and through the 90's. I'm not sure if it's internal, or
just the influence of Steve Jobs, but the company seems to be quickly
turning into the Empire from Star Wars. Secrets abound around the products
(which I'm sure is another way of marketing in this day in age), all
products seem as if they are intentionally crippled in one form or another
and controlled as much as possible. Even third party software designs now
have to be 'approved' to sell their products via the manufacture. It
shouldn't be news worthy that a different browser was released on the
iPhone, it should be the norm. All this opposed to a company that gave
us Apple Script and HyperCard, two light weight easy to understand
programming environments that were flexible in exactly the same way that the
iPad is not.

Even if those are pictures of the finished version of a new iPhone (which
would need to be tested relentlessly, hence out of the Apple Campus), why is
this news? Why is Apple so uptight about it? Do they not have exclusive
rights to each and every part in the phone? It's no like someone can take it
home, dismantle it and get the exact same (or better) version on the market
in anything less than the actual release date. Even if they did, they have
no way to get the OS.

Maybe those closer to the industry can explain this behavior to me.

Ross