Looking Through A Glass Onion

I know that most of the people who read this blog don't do so for my opinions on computers & technology, but there's been something bugging me lately - Steve Jobs.  See I looove Apple products & their design aesthetic - but, I recently bought Android - powered phones for my wife & I, mostly because AT&T's network is crap in my area.   As such, I've been paying a lot more attention to articles, podcasts, etc., regarding phones in general.  Even the least technology-oriented of you have probably heard about the controversy of the leaked iPhone.  While I definitely didn't approve of the treatment of the journalist (yes, media outlets, some bloggers are legitimate journalists, get over it), what really ticked me off was this interview, where Jobs said the following:

     "I got a lot of advice from people that said, 'you've gotta just let it slide..You shouldn't go after a journalist because they bought stolen property and they tried to extort you'...I ended up concluding that the worst thing that could possibly happen..is if we [Apple] change our core values and start letting it slide. I can't do that; I'd rather quit."

Never mind that not only did they NOT try to "extort you" (actually, they tried to give the phone back first), Let's talk about your "core values".  Apple included freakin' CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS with the Apple IIe.  Now your hardware is locked up ten ways from Sunday.  It's not user servicable.  We can't write our own code or install programs unless you pre-approve it.  We have to use your approved accessories, or resort to buying knock-offs from Chinese sweatshops for pennies on the dollar.  You've bent over backward making concessions to get into bed with the music & book publishing companies.  You deny access to one of the most popular Internet platforms of all time because of a stupid fifteen-year-old grudge.  You ruin people over speculation on a web site.  You're so far away from Apple's "core values" that jack-booted thugs kicking in a harmless tech journalist's door is the least troubling thing in the big picture.

Remember, "If you can't open it, you don't own it".