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Ok, I will admit, this is a rant.

I have had people on occasion – in conversation to me, spurt the phrase “I won’t support Apple because of their closed system.”

Typically, I bite my tongue and reply politely that well, that is your choice etc etc… and leave it at that. I am sick of spending my time trying to help them see reason, because I think basically they don’t want to see reason and no matter how many arguements, or examples I show them they don’t want to support Apple because they are no longer the underdog.

As I see it, everything we do in our lives is abided by completely through a closed system, so you really need a new argument.

Admit you don’t like them because they are doing well, or that you don’t like how amazingly designed their products are, or that you prefer to buy a cheaply built, component compromised machine with thousands of viruses available to you. That’s fine I can respect that it is a matter of choice but stop saying it is a closed system…

Think about the following:

Do you use Microsoft products? Write Programs for the platform? Do you use .Net or VB that you have had to pay for? Interesting, can anyone write anything for Microsoft? Of course not, you have to learn .NET or VB, you have to purchase their products to design for their system.

Do you use XBox? PS3? Have you ever made a game for those platforms? You have to use what they provide, and it has to be of a certain basic standard to be on their platforms. It isn’t an “opened system” and thank goodness, it means there is some sort of standard there and that the games I buy will work.

Do you shop at a supermarket for food? Do you actually know how many varieties of apples there actually are? well, there are over 2,000 varieties of apples in the UK alone. Supermarkets have decided that the UK consumer is only interested in a very few varieties – varieties that coincidentally are tough enough to travel long distances to supermarket shelves. That system doesn’t sound very opened to me.

Do you take a course at your local college? What evening classes are on offer? What funding was made availalible and who decided what you wanted to learn?

Have you even gone to a restaurant and booked a table? Been to one that required a black tie for admission? Hmm that’s not terribly a terribly opened system eithor – I can’t hear anyone complaining about it.

Do you drive? Do you have to pay road tax for the right?

Our lives are fuelled by rules and regulations, by all of these closed systems, even the argument of designing for Android and that being an opened system, you are forgetting that you STILL have to know how to program and actually make the apps, so it is a closed system too.

That’s all – closed for comments~