Joy Unconfined

So… Apple found a way to destroy innovations and hacks that make the phone even more interesting. Or, even… possibly turn your iPhone into a completely non-working brick.

Personally, I like the idea of creating my own ring tones. You know… like you can do on other phones?

Yes, but then Apple doesn’t get my $1.98 for creating a ring tone from the VERY few (and I might add, entirely uninteresting) songs available to be made into ringtones via iTunes.

I also liked being able to make my screen and background look more cool. I liked the fantastic innovation of cleaning up the screen so that it wasn’t cluttered and ugly, and just sliding my finger deftly from the lower right corner to scroll through a rainbow of icon options, then tap when I get to the one I want.

I liked being able to change the generic green battery to a cool gas gauge… change the colors of my little sms chat bubbles to whimsical hues…

And yes, I’m a big dork, and I redid all the sounds on my phone to include the sound of the turbolift doors on the Enterprise, the opening of the classic ST communicator, the ‘doorbell’ sound of ST:TNG, and the hailing whistle that prefaced a shipwide announcement. (I SAID I was a dork. Believe me when I say these things.)

That was fun.

While it lasted.

But then came the update to 1.1.1. Now, we’re all forced (if we choose to update for more Apple created functionality) to conform and be JUST like everyone else. So much for individual preference.

Anyone remember that revolutionary Superbowl ad by Apple so many years ago?

Please, let me refresh your memory…

Let’s see that again, that 1984 Apple commercial…

“Today, we celebrate the first glorious anniversary of the Information Purification Directives. We have created, for the first time in all history, a garden of pure ideology. Where each worker may bloom secure from the pests of contradictory and confusing truths. Our Unification of Thoughts is more powerful a weapon than any fleet or army on earth. We are one people, with one will, one resolve, one cause. Our enemies shall talk themselves to death and we will bury them with their own confusion. We shall prevail!”

And now… ?

Information purification… via Apple.

Conform!

Hey… How about THIS one?

But apparently that’s no longer a good idea, that “think different” thing.

Remember The Power to Be Your Best?

Yeah. Well, all you tech savvy, code-writin’, firmware hackin’, iPhone improvin’ heretics out there… stop it.

And whatever happened to being Open-Minded?

Turn your back on innovation.

We can all be happy little sheep if we’ll just learn to be satisfied with what we’re fed. And pay for it. Through the nose. And not even get the most innovative, useful, and cool possibilities for the technology.

Yeah, because all those people who mod their iPhones to try something different, to personalize it, to improve a cool product into an even MORE cool tool for their lives… they “think different”. They have “the power to be your best”.

Got no room in the Apple Inn for THOSE people.

Yup.

Did you ever think these images would apply to Apple product users, instead of their competition’s?

Way to go Apple.

At least mine still works. For now. It’s just not as sexy and individual anymore.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2007 at 7:35 pm and is filed under iPhone. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.