apple idiocy

two examples coming so close to each other... what's going on?

(1) http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2008/09/apple_declares.php

Quote: "Some people," the patent application observes, "have taken it upon themselves to remove the sensor from the special pocket of the [iPod-linked] Nike+ shoe and place it at inappropriate locations (shoelaces, for example) or place it on non-Nike+ model shoes." Oh my God: Geeks are ripping the sensors out of their sneakers and sticking them on their shoelaces! Unleash the shoe nazis!

This is the kind of guy they're targeting with this monumental stupidity: http://podophile.com/2006/07/14/shoe-hacker-nikeipod-sport-kit-shoe-mod/

I like the last line of this blog post, just before the comments: "It used to be cool to be an Apple fanboy. Now it's starting to be embarrassing."

On the slashdot thread about this (at http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/13/2114214 ), I particularly liked these two comments:

http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=963229&cid=24996107 and
http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=963229&cid=24996553

(2) For those of you who like the iPhone, here's an example of how much of a stranglehold Apple has on what you can do with it (apart from all the things you cannot do, as in http://www.michaelrobertson.com/archive.php?minute_id=242 and elsewhere):

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/13/1924215

The slashdot summary is pretty brief:

DaveyJJ sends news of yet another rejection of an iPhone app by Apple, with perhaps a chilling twist for potential developers of productivity or utility apps. John Gruber of Daring Fireball writes: "Let's be clear: forbidding 'duplication of functionality' is forbidding competition. The point of competition is to do the same thing, but better." Paul Kafasis (co-founder of Rogue Amoeba Software) makes the point that this action by Apple will scare talented developers away from the iPhone platform. And Dave Weiner argues that the iPhone isn't a "platform" at all: "The idea that it's a platform should mean no individual or company has the power to turn you off."