At least as a method of increasing knowledge...

Steve Jobs is wrong. Now that the Apple fanboys have gone apoplectic... The reason Steve is wrong is not that he hasn't made what appears to be a sound business decision for Apple. Its that the purported reasons for doing so on behalf of customers is assuming that there are only two choices: Apple-provided toolkits and high quality, and third-party toolkits and low-quality. This is wrong. To me it's a classic tying argument, pulling together what you want (lock-in) with what you need (high-quality) and claiming they are inseparable. If you want the apps to be high quality, have a certification program which software vendors may submit to. Ensure this certification program only lets through the high quality apps you desire. Reject the rest. Then it doesn't matter which toolkit is used for which platform. Quality problem solved, and no draconian restrictions on development methods are introduced. Concerns are once again separate and honest. But, as has already been pointed out, Apple is not interested in being honest with their customers. Steve is out for his business (as he should be). But no one should be under any illusions that this decision represents the only one which achieves high quality applications for his customers.

All those employees who file their taxes with IBM's EID, compare to historical growth rates and IBMs hiring trends versus the current state of the economy, and I bet you could estimate it well enough for public policy purposes. Anyone want to start a data-mining operation contracting to the government to find this information for them? :)

Actually the XBox is also very easy to develop (XNA anyone?) The only real restrictions there are that if you want your game to go out to everyone as a full game on Live, you have to pass a certification process to ensure you abide by the rules for how apps are supposed to behave. But the tools are all there and MS does a good job of encouraging their use.

Whoever was shooting that video, please... put down the camera and walk away. You clearly don't know what you are doing, and it sickens us to watch you. Either that or take your anti-spasmodics. I don't know how you managed to do it, but the most interesting bits - the stopping and starting - you managed to effectively miss. Did you even know what your subject was or why it would be interesting? Apparently not. Go home, please.

Until you solve the problem of ubiquitous, seamless radio coverage in the car, your ideas will be relegated to your small, poorly lit IT office where they belong. Solve the real problems, not your pet ones.

Legal distinctions are important. Politicians use our reluctance to hold the line on the Constitution to proceed down the slippery slope of increased power at our expense. Keep in mind that today we use those enhanced "powers" against accused terrorists, tomorrow it might be against those who speak out against the government.

We don't have a declared war. We have an administration that plays fast and loose with executive power, and a Congress which is largely complicit. We see daily blatant violations of the Constitution - such as wiretapping, holding people without due process, etc. - yet remain largely ambivalent as if it isn't our problem. But it *is* our problem, one which *will* come back and bite us in the ass hard.

I'm sorry your great uncle spent three years in a Chinese prison camp, and I'm sorry John McCain was tortured. But they were out there to defend the Constitution which forms the fabric of our society. Wouldn't it be a spit in their faces to say that we can now just ignore that same document because it is politically convenient? Remember, our soldiers aren't out there dying simply to preserve our land or our property. They are out there defending our way of life. Don't throw that away over a few accused terrorists.