One of the more interesting arguments I have heard lately comes from Charles Arthur at the Guardian where he suggests that the closed system typified by Apple and its recently released iPad is the way that the web should be going. His reasoning of course is because of all the badness that the openness of the Windows platform has caused us.
In short, closed proprietary systems are good. Open inexpensive systems are bad. The iPad is the answer to our security concerns. Windows is to blame for everything that is going wrong (never mind the people using it).
WTF?
Look I agree that Windows has been a major weakness with web security but that has to be looked at with the understanding that the Windows platform has the largest user base in the world. Anything with the kind of attention that Windows has is bound to be attacked.
But to suggest that we should all give up the openness that comes with that platform in favor of using computers and other electronic gadgets from Apple just because it is ruled with an iron fist is … well .. brain dead and to suggest it as a viable alternative is just plain stupid.
The scary part about this in light of things like ACTA and Britain’s Digital Economy Bill I can see increasingly invasive and repressive corporate and government agencies seeing benefits with this kind of idea. After all it is much easy to control a network if you control not only the access but also the equipment used. By assuring the corporations and government that encouraging the use of things like Apple products would be of a benefit to their needs the open platform of the PC becomes an enemy.
Of course we are hearing all the fear words like organized crime, online identity theft, botnet attacks and any number of scary terms that the majority of people have no clue about – or care one iota about. Then there is his other argument that since the majority of people never even come close to using all that processing power or abilities of their computers there is no harm in selling them restricted use computer wannabes.
So using the tactics of fear and we know better what you need attitude Arthur becomes an advocate for restrictive hardware and controlled access of which the Apple iPad is the perfect example and the answer to all our prayers.
It’s interesting to note as well that Charles Arthur is also a believer in the Digital Economy Bill in England to the point he doesn’t think it goes far enough primarily when it comes to ISP cutting off machines (your connection to the Net) is they say the machine is infected in some way or another.
Obviously there is no free choice or personal responsibility in Charles Arthur’s world. Personally I wouldn’t want to live there.
