I totally agree with CoA, Apple has been one continous flow of innovation, defiance of standards and continued success since the 1997 Think Different campaign.

With their success they’ve had to deal more and more with the “traditional corporate” machinery (RIAA, AT&T) and this has affected the way Apple operates and its image to hardcore fans, I agree. The whole iPhone affair has been completely breaking the rules of traditional dealings between cell phone makers and carriers, on both sides. The few details that have come to light are that Apple may be taking a cut of monthly subscriptions from AT&T, something unheard of, but then again AT&T must have asked for something in return, i.e. a minimal guarantee that they would make every effort to disallow the use of the iPhone in other networks. We don’t know if the contract calls for some serious lawsuits if Apple doesn’t comply, so they really have to now that they’re playing with “the big boys”.

I’m not saying this whole thing is not slightly rotten, I actually am very upset that Apple has snubbed in particular Ambrosia Software with their iToner, as Ambrosia has been one of the prominent mid-size developers loyal to the Mac even during the “dark ages” in the 1990s. Then again it doesn’t mean Apple was particularly trying to block these apps, more likely trying to stop the iPhone from being used in other networks per their contractual agreements.