Doctorow on iPod lockin

Friday, February 23, 2007 by Dave Winer.

Cory Doctorow: "I think that it's reasonable to assume that Apple won't always make the world's best music player. I'd like to keep my options open. But the longer you own an iPod, the more likely it is you'll buy more iTunes music, and the fewer options you'll have." 

The iPod is the best of a not very good field of MP3 players. To lock into the iPod now is a mistake for everyone.  

And don't miss that lockin doesn't just come from format lockin, it's also a closed box, only the manufacturer can add featues. Jobs said the reason the iPhone isn't an open platform because it's a phone, but that doesn't explain the iPod's closedness. 

Doctorow is right not to believe Apple, which is a big deal for him, because he's always been a strong defender of Apple. Me, I use their products, but I don't buy the religion, and I had enough tech industry lockin for a lifetime.