Please forgive any incoherence, it's 4:00am.

I recall watching Pirates of Silicon Valley a number of years ago which told the story of the inception and evolution of Apple Computers and of Microsoft.  I'm sure there was an ample amount of creative license taken in creating the film, but I seem to recall, most vividly, two main scenes.  The "truth" of the scenes is something about which I've always wondered.

The first, involved the character of Bill Gates, played by Michael Anthony Hall, where "Bill" is shown typing away on a computer with a couple other characters in the background.   "Bill's" monologue (paraphrasing) is as follows:

You know how you survive? (pause) You make people need you... and once they do, they have nowhere else to go.

The second culminates with "Steve Jobs," played by Noah Wilie, standing in front of a massive video screen unveiling the now infamous "Big Brother" short film shot by Apple.  To provide a little context, the Steve Jobs character spends an inordinate amount of time in the prior to this moment rallying against "Big Brother," the Orweillian construct that represents world domination and control.  There is no dialogue in the scene, but "Bill Gates" is standing off stage during the "crowning moment of Apple" and it becomes immediately obvious that "Bill" has made a move to put Microsoft at the forefront of the computer world as boxes of computers from Japan are arriving behind them, all with the Microsoft OS installed.  "Steve" glances between the video screen offstage where one of the Apple characters is standing behind "Bill", points to the "Big Brother" movie, and then points to "Bill."  "Steve" looks utterly bewildered as "Bill" stands with a slight gloating smirk.

This post isn't a movie review, although I did enjoy the film.  This post is directed towards the recent "unveiling" of the new iPhone SDK EULA which, in essence, bars third-party technologies from running on Apple mobile devices like the iPhone.  I speak of the movie because I feel it important to talk about these two scenes and the "lessons" they contain.  The first lesson is that regardless of how popular a company might seem, hubris and isolationist methods can flip a company on its head.  Remember how popular Apple was in the late 80's and early 90's?  Remember the YEARS where Apple traded between $6 and $10 per share?  Granted the iPhone, iPod and MacIntosh devices have substantially improved Apple's valuation of late, but it's a short fall back to the days of devaluation.  IMHO, this move by Apple does not lend itself to advancement of technology as a whole, but rather places Steve Jobs and Apple in EXACTLY the role so feared by the character in the movie... Big Brother.  It is said that absolute power corrupts... Absolutely.  Rather than working towards the advancement of creative self-expression, the move to isolate Apple devices could have an unexpected and deeply felt backlash for Apple.  

Not to take an alarmist position, but I feel that some measure of consolation / cooperation is important, especially among the technology powerhouses.  I am all for capatalist maneuvering and business strategy.  I believe in a free market, but I also understand "people."  We, the people, all have our "favorites" when it comes to technology.  We all are working to make a living, create cool new shit, and provide for ourselves and our future, but more-so we are all working for the advancement of technology.  "Constantly improving, learning, challenging" could be a mantra for all of us.  As the lines of "specialty" continue to blur, web devs now build mobile, system devs now build for web, etc., I feel it paramount to note that no single company, or technology is an island.  There is only so much, even with massive amounts of wealth at your disposal any single entity is able to accomplish.  They say that "necessity is the mother of all invention" and alternatives will continue to become available in the marketplace especially when the need arises.  History shows that "isolationist" methods simply do not work.  As a whole, they do not lead to sustained prosperity, but rather eventual collapse as resources dwindle, consumed from within.  What seems wildly popular today, is tomorrow's "pet rock."  And it happens just that quickly.

It takes a village has never been more true than right now in history.  Technology REQUIRES community!  Rise and fall of entire countries can be witnessed by the gaining or removal of key support structures, what chance does a company or a technology have without it?  Regardless of your "side," we are all trying to "create," and by whatever means necessary, we will do so.  Whether we create with MacBook Pros and iPhones, with Android and a Linux boxes, a Windows machine and Windows mobile, or even just charcoal and paper... we will continue to move forward.  Our goal is to reach the greatest number of devices, and users as easily and as quickly as possible.  We choose to use a specific product or products because they increase our chances of communicating our visions.  However, "popular" swings both ways.  In this writers opinion, if you press us to only use YOUR brand of charcoal, you might find out that we, as a whole, no longer desire to use charcoal altogether... that other mediums are more conducive to our efforts of creation.