Are iPhone OS and Chrome OS both walled gardens?
I find it very amusing when I read the latest iPad and Apple critics talking about Apple and their “limiting” iPhone OS, and how it keeps the user trapped within a walled garden. It is very difficult to hold back my laughter when they in the next sentence endorse Chrome OS as if you have full freedom when accessing it.
Let me give you a very brief non-technical example.
When I got my iPod Touch (G1) I could take it out of the box and start using it right away. I did not have to connect it to the Internet or login. I turned it on and I was using it.
Lizzie had the same experience with her iPhone 3G. She started using it the second we exited the store. Did not have to login to some fancy web site or anything. Turned it on and started using it right away.
Sounds too good to be true, right?
As far as we know now, to login to Chrome OS you need a Google account; which probably means you need access to the internet, right? Hang on, how is this more freedom compared to the iPhone OS?
Sure, it might be easier to get root access if you are running Chrome OS, but they are forcing you to have a Google account? I am not so sure I like that.
Of course you need an iTMS account to access the App Store, but that is only when you are downloading applications. You do not have to login to Apple to access your iPhone or iPod Touch.
I would love to see how people would react if you had to have a certain Microsoft account to access windows; now that would make a few people see red, right?
In the end, it does not matter how you look at it, both might be “limited” to certain users, but in the end if some users do not care about these limits, let them use it for fudge sake. Stop whinging and moaning about the competitor. I am actually more interested in hearing why you like what you use, not why you hate what you do not use.
I am also playing the devil’s advocate here, but please leave your opinion at the bottom.
