Steve

Monday, May 24 2010

[14:21:34] matt [wronka.org]/tkabber Lyons notes that when he talked with an "Apple spokesbot" about the recent NPD report that claimed Android phones were now out-selling iPhones in the US, he was "shocked" when he was told that the numbers were misleading because of Apple's larger installed base.

"I was shocked because it's a familiar line, one that I've heard countless times in my 20-plus years covering technology. But I've only ever heard it from companies that are doomed and in total denial about it."

Lyons appears to have come to the same conclusion that many users — and, perhaps more important, developers — with whom The Reg has spoken have arrived at: that Apple under Steve Jobs has morphed from a imaginative company focused on creativity and dialog into a condescending, selfish dictatorship.

"As sick as I am of my iPhone's dropped calls," Lyon writes, "I'm even more sick of Apple treating us all like a bunch of idiots, stonewalling and bullying and feeding us ridiculous explanations for the shortcomings of its products — expecting us to believe, basically, that its flaws are not flaws, but strengths. Steve Jobs has created his own precious little walled garden."