The New Apple Walled Garden
Geeks and enthusiasts wearing Wordpress t-shirts, using laptops covered in Data Portability, Microformats and RSS stickers lined up enthusiastically on Friday to purchase a device that is completely proprietary, controlled and wrapped in DRM.
Context & Ripple Effects
The tension was already visible in 2007, when Apple's iPhone enclosure was framed as an opening for competitors. Yet the device's launch draws enthusiasts identified with Data Portability, Microformats and RSS—technologies associated in the corpus with sharing and syndication.
That audience response matters because DRM barriers in recorded music were described as weakening while RSS depended on publishers and software makers loosening lock-in. The purchase behavior described here tests whether those open-web preferences carry over to consumer devices.
First-order effects
- Apple gains immediate validation that a proprietary, DRM-controlled device can attract technically engaged early adopters alongside mainstream buyers.
- Data Portability, RSS and Microformats advocates confront a visible gap between support for open standards and willingness to buy into a controlled device experience.
Second-order effects
- Competitors get a sharper differentiation opening: they can make portability and openness part of the product proposition rather than treating them as technical ideals, as the earlier competitor opportunity around the iPhone's walled garden suggested.
- Publishers and software makers that use RSS face pressure to preserve easy syndication and export as device platforms become a more important route to users.
Third-order effects
- If consumer demand continues to reward tightly controlled devices, open standards may remain essential for the web while becoming less decisive in the hardware platforms through which users reach it.
- The resulting contest is over whether openness is a feature competitors can turn into a credible alternative or merely a principle users accept trading away for a preferred device.
The trend: Consumer technology is separating open-web values from device purchasing, giving platform owners leverage when integrated products outweigh portability concerns.