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In the wake of the sad passing of Steve Jobs, there has been some debating and talk about wether the Apple products and the ecosystem around them constitute a jail or not. Having given this topic quite a lot of thought, I would just like to toss my contribution into the ring.

If this is what some people define as a jail, I'm quite impressed by these facilities! You can come and go as you please, something I sure wasn't aware of was standard for jails. There are also a large number of tools available to enable you to do all kinds of things, from sprucing up photos to writing or perhaps just play a game for a while. Then we have the aesthetics, which in my opinion are some of the best available on the market, both in terms of hardware and software.

So basically the Apple jail is something along the lines of this:

• You can come and go as you please

• You have a very large choice of things to do

• It looks good on the outside as well as the inside

• Your information can be taken to other places without too much trouble

• The jailers apparently want you to be able to do what you want while you are there

While I can understand it from some perspectives, it puzzles me that people define the whole experience as a jail. It's far too free to be a jail, since I'm allowed to do what I please when I please to do so, and using any tool I desire. Sure, the tools available (the apps, in this metaphor) are limited to what Apple selects, but that is not too much more different than what stores to all the time. Yet, we do not call stores for prisons or jails.

Quite the opposite of a jail, if you ask me. I may not be able to see the source code, that which makes all the programs in the whole system, nor do I get the hardware specifications along with design diagrams for how to build my own. But on the other hand, how many people of all those who buy any kind of a computing device would really need, want or understand how to use such things?

I keep burping the same thing over and over, but it's just a fact we cannot escape: nerds are not the ones computers are built for anymore! These days they are designed for anyone to be able to use, not just those who have an interest in them. Should we fundamentally deny people this for the sake of having everything available to everyone? I'm not saying it's a bad idea necessarily, but if we just face some realistic facts; there are some people who just don't give a darn.

It's not like we are without alternatives either. There has never been as much free software available as there is now and there are some truly great tools out there so that you never ever have to touch anything that would even remotely remind you of a jail. Instead of whining about how closed Apple is and how secretive their products are, why not go out there and build something that so far exceeds what Apple does and beat them at it? Making something that just works so much better in every single aspect, with all the source code completely available for all the magic behind the scenes. And it would be nice if it was an aesthetic experience where you can do what you want while enjoying the experience as a whole. But maybe it's more fun to use wget to download websites and stare at them in lynx? You can do that if you want, I sure won't call you anything and I won't say you are in any kind of institution, but just don't expect other people to enjoy it as much as you do.

If some people still want to call what Apple builds a jail, then fine by me, I won't stop you. I merely want to invite some reflection on the term itself and what it means in comparison to the real life institution, and how that refers to Apple services and products. By the same definition you are in a jail whenever you choose any product by any manufacturer, be it milk or a car. Only remember that just because something doesn't conform to your personal view of the world or your opinions of how it should work, doesn't make it a jail that cripples the imagination and enslaves millions of people all over the world.

Author

Robert Falck

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