在網路上看到了蘋果(Apple Inc.)恣意改變規則，讓軟體開發商必須要使用Apple Inc.的開發工具，如開發商不從，其軟體將無法在蘋果的網路平台iTunes Store上販售。
當蘋果電腦以顏色鮮豔與透明塑膠外殼的電腦 iMac 振興以來，iBook, powerbook, Cube, ... 等電腦產品，到跨足音樂隨身聽市場的ipod，並將電腦從公司名稱中移除，成為蘋果公司。蘋果的產品一再引領風潮，創造話題，銷售成績更是斐然。
對於蘋果在市場上節節勝利，許多人心中有一股快意，因為邪惡的微軟(Microsoft)帝國終於有了競爭對手了！受夠了 Microsoft 每次要我們付費來(升級)改善其產品 (Windows OS等) 的缺陷，現在終於有其他選擇了！而且是集美麗、優雅與時尚於一身的競爭者－－真是大快人心。當時我也是這麼想的！
但是沒多久，我就發現這種樂觀的想法，與心中自以為是苦悶發洩並不切實際。一方面是Apple的產品雖然美麗，但是美麗的代價也實在太高了。雖然不至於高不可攀，但是把它買回來使用後，不得不承認其中有不少虛榮的成分。好吧！這就是品味！我只能以這種布爾喬雅的態度來面對。
看看這部電腦，心理估算著製造成本，蘋果還真的賺不少！身為蘋果的供應商，我承認蘋果願意付出的價格通常比較好，但是蘋果迷願意付出的價格更好！要成為 Apple User 的門檻真的不低，畢竟 Apple 不只賣產品，也賣「時尚品味」與「創新」。但就如同大多數標榜「時尚品味」的東西一樣，「華而不實」是其中一項重要的成分。
我們或許能逃離邪惡微軟(Microsoft)帝國的掌控，但是我們也只能選擇另一個魔鬼。當時我是這麼想的；另外我也反思：是不是「華而不實」就要被我妖魔化呢？
一次在客戶實驗室裡，我們在解一個在蘋果系統上的問題，一位老經驗的大哥告訴我：「雖然我們對微軟很不滿，但是相對於蘋果，微軟是一個較為開放的架構，它開發規則的訂定有一定的約束力，微軟就算再不喜歡，也不能說改就改。就算他要改，為數眾多的軟硬體開發商也不許。」大哥言盡於此，我當然理解，我們所遭遇的問題，可能是因為蘋果自己做了修改而沒有告訴我們。
蘋果應該不是惡意的，但是它覺得「你不必知道」，所以我們要花許多時間與人力來分析這些問題；結果是長時間工作，絞盡腦汁提出種種假設，做過各種模擬，得到的只有疲倦、壓力與沮喪。「蘋果要試試我們的能耐！」聽大哥這麼說，我不禁覺得沮喪。沮喪的原因不是「要試試我們的能耐」背後可能的「質疑」與「不信任」，而是蘋果可能是故(惡)意的。－－蘋果這個封閉的系統，只要它稍微修改規格、程式，所有供應商的產品(軟、硬體)就會有問題。就如同賈伯斯的專斷，蘋果可能想改就改，它也未必會公告或通知。這是七年前一次與工程師們共事時的領悟。對蘋果迷而言，蘋果的產品或許是有大量時尚元素的酷炫產品；但如果微軟 (Microsoft) 是巨人歌利亞，蘋果(Apple Inc.)絕不是牧羊人大衛！應該是比較接近事實的比喻。
這次 Apple 抵制 Adobe, 只是為了阻卻其它軟體開發商為 iPhone 以外的智慧型手機開發軟體，這的確可以說是魔鬼的行為，也就是這種蠻橫，蘋果才能一直讓消費者付出大筆錢購買「時尚品味」外的「創新」。賈伯斯的專斷是出名的，我想就像許多政治上高壓的獨裁者一般，賈伯斯很清楚－－「自由開放」不僅僅會多幾個夢想家，還會製造更多的敵人。
Adobe 回應蘋果抵制 Flash：還很難講
ZDNet記者曠文溱 ／台北報導 2010/04/13 20:03:01
Adobe認為，蘋果要抵制第三方的開發工具，沒那麼簡單。
Adobe今（13）日在台灣舉辦新一代多媒體工具套裝軟體Creative Suite 5（CS5）的上市發表會，唯媒體的提問焦點都放在蘋果在日前宣布禁止採用第三方應用程式設計介面(API)的軟體上架到蘋果的Apps Store對Adobe的衝擊。對此Adobe解決方案顧問李彥璋表示，蘋果的禁令不限於 Flash，還包括了.Net和Java等，Adobe仍會持續投資Flash對蘋果裝置的支援，就待市場機制決定最後的結果。
他強調，包括了Android 陣營、Palm、Nokia、Motorola、微軟都宣布支援 Flash，蘋果如果只是唯一不買單的業者，開發者和內容供應商勢必會和蘋果爭取。
「市場機制最終會找到平衡點，」李彥璋說。
除了市場力量外，還有另外一點蘋果很難拒人於千里之外的原因，在於執行層面。
李彥璋表示，開發者基本上不太可能會把採用第三方開發工具的細節，詳述在上架審核書上。再者，應用程式最終是以組合語言（assemble code）呈現，蘋果也不大可能花費時間和人力成本來逐一檢查。
「沒有一個廠商不想鞏固自己的陣營，蘋果是訂出了這個規範，但是未來的發展還很難講，我們可以看看半年之後的情況，」李彥璋說。
於此同時，Adobe將不會陷入這場混戰。李彥璋指出，Adobe想要做的就是標準化，不偏袒任何一個技術，讓開發者用同一套工具，就能製作出在不同裝置上的內容：例如網頁設計軟體Dreamweaver已經支援HTML，以及兩年前Adobe推出的「Open Screen Project」：讓Flash Player能夠被內建在各種裝置，包含手機、電視、機上盒等消費性電子產品。
http://www.zdnet.com.tw/news/software/0,2000085678,20145040,00.htm
Adobe Flash主管：「去你的蘋果！」
ZDNet新聞專區：Josh Lowensohn 2010/04/12 13:14:04
蘋果公司的行動裝置排斥支援Adobe公司的Flash技術，雙方因而交惡，而日前AdobeFlash平台科技推廣師Lee Brimelow發表部落格文章，更讓這場爭執火上加油。
Brimelow在這篇部落格文章裡凸顯兩家公司作風的差別，並且說蘋果最近決定禁止某個開發中的西洋棋遊戲軟體採用第三方應用程式設計介面(API)，有如蘋果發動一場「對抗 Adobe 的聖戰」，而軟體開發者被當作「人質」。他還表示，除非蘋果公司換人掌舵，否則自己不打算再買蘋果的產品。
Brimelow指出，Adobe與蘋果過去關係密切，但從蘋果改變軟體開發套件(SDK)協議，可看出雙方對使用自家工具的開發者看法不同。
他寫道：「Adobe與蘋果有長期的關係，彼此曾經互相幫助，才各自擁有今天的地位。而蘋果之所以會做出這種有敵意(hostile)而且卑鄙 (despicable)的舉動，顯然顯示我們兩家公司之間的差異。我們想要的只是提供創意人員一種方法，讓他們能在儘可能多的裝置上部署自己的作品，我們的用意並不是毀了任何東西或任何人。那種作法好比在自家的SDK裡放某種東西，讓[Flash開發工具]這類的第三方編輯器無法與自家的平台相容。我可以告訴你，這樣的作法是我們絕對不會想到或考慮去做的。」
Brimelow並平息外界的疑慮。有些人擔心，蘋果的舉動可能導致Adobe停止開發某些軟體，包括預定下周推出的CS5，但他說：「我們不會為了企圖傷害另一家公司，而利用我們的忠實使用者，讓他們淪為兩軍交戰中的人質。」
這篇部落格貼文還說：「去你的蘋果!」不過，Brimelow謹慎的加了一句，他並不代表Adobe發言。
過去幾個月來，蘋果執行長Steve Jobs曾數度公開批評Adobe的Flash，主要是抨擊Flash的執行效能。
尤其是上周四在iPhone OS 4.0發表會上，Jobs介紹用HTML5呈現動畫的iAd平台時，更多次抨擊Flash。不久之後，部落客John Gruber發現，iPhone SDK協議裡的條文已更動，如今禁止開發者用未受核准的API(包括Adobe的Flash Compiler)開發支援iPhone的應用程式。(唐慧文譯)
http://www.zdnet.com.tw/news/web/0,2000085679,20145010,00.htm
Venture Capital
Apple Places New Limits on App Developers
April 13, 2010, 5:06 am
Apple is tightening its already firm grip on what software can run on the iPhone and its other mobile devices, as shown by its recent changes to the rules that outside programmers must follow, The New York Times’s Jenna Wortham reported.
The company is locked in a battle with other cellphone makers, particularly those using Google’s Android operating system, for the latest and best applications that add functions to a phone.
The new rules, released last week, say in part that app developers may only use Apple’s programming tools. That is a problem for Adobe Systems, which announced a new package of tools on Monday that were meant to let developers create apps once and then automatically generate versions for the iPhone and other companies’ devices.
Developers will also no longer be permitted to use outside services to measure how their applications are performing. The company says it will refuse to distribute any apps in the iTunes store that violate the new agreement.
“Apple is doing everything to encourage app development, as long as it’s on their platform,” said Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray. “The risk Apple runs is ticking off developers and causing them to want to develop on other platforms,” he said.
But until competing mobile platforms gain more traction, he said, “there’s no other place for developers to go, so Apple can call the terms however they want.”
The changes leave many start-ups and apps developers in limbo, waiting to find out whether their businesses, many of which have built a substantial clientele and taken money from venture capitalists, can still operate under the new rules.
“The truth is that right now, we don’t know a lot,” said Peter Farago, vice president of Flurry, an analytics company with offices in New York and San Francisco. “We have a list of questions.”
Flurry’s software tracks how smartphone applications are used. It has become a popular tool among developers, who have access to details like how long it takes to complete a game or to finish reading a chapter of an electronic book.
Mr. Farago said his company had asked Apple for clarification, but had not heard back.
“We think we can be compliant by doing some modifications,” he said. “We’ll do what we need to do to get that to happen.” Even so, the company is aware that it may have to rethink its business model, Mr. Farago said.
Henry Balanon, lead developer at an iPhone development company called BickBot, said he had no immediate plans to remove Flurry’s software from his applications.
“We’d have to roll our own analytics into the software, which is just a pain,” Mr. Balanon said. “But if we start getting rejections because of the analytics, we may have to reconsider.”
Industry experts like Al Hilwa, an analyst with the research firm IDC, say that Apple is tightening its grip on applications in an attempt to keep rivals at bay.
“There will be a big fistfight for developers and applications over the next few years,” he said. “This is just the early stages of the battle for mobile telephony. Apple’s financial radar is up, and they are trying to close all the holes.”
Mr. Munster, the Piper Jaffray analyst, said that the broader shift in Apple’s core revenue streams, to mobile from desktop computing, was a chief reason for the company to pressure developers. “It’s not about making money on the apps,” he said. “It’s about making money off the hardware.” Mobile devices with more apps, he said, are more attractive to buyers.
By the end of 2011, Mr. Munster said, nearly 50 percent of Apple’s total revenue will come from sales of the iPhone and iPod Touch. In 2001, 80 percent of Apple’s revenue was from its line of Mac laptops and desktop computers. That figure will slip to about 27 percent in 2011, he said.
Apple did not respond to requests for comment. But an iPhone developer named Greg Slepak sent an e-mail message to Apple’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, saying that the new rules were “limiting creativity.”
“We’ve been there before,” Mr. Jobs wrote in reply. “Intermediate layers between the platform and the developer ultimately produces substandard apps and hinders the progress of the platform.”
The prohibition on the use of non-Apple programming tools prompted a sharp response from an Adobe employee.
Lee Brimelow, an Adobe evangelist, wrote on his blog last week: “This is a frightening move that has no rational defense other than wanting tyrannical control over developers and more importantly, wanting to use developers as pawns in their crusade against Adobe.”
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/apple-places-new-limits-on-app-developers/?scp=2&sq=apple%20adobe&st=cse
The above stories were taken from the websites of ZDnet and The New York Times, the photo from apple.com. The copyright remain with their original owners. The authors of the stories, ZDnet and The New York Times Company are not involved with, nor endorse the production of this blog. 
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