[ageekyuser]

Pretty much agree on most of the points in that blog post + the one that Paul Allen mentions - the Developer network and APIs will be huge pluses against Facebook. Again it is the same reason that Apple will eventually lose out to Android - closed systems/walled gardens and proprietary stuff will always lose out against open systems that does not restrict users and developers.

[fuzzmeister]

"closed systems/walled gardens and proprietary stuff will always lose out against open systems that does not restrict users and developers."

Do you have evidence for that?

[ageekyuser]

Should have qualified that - with Not always but often enough. Consider : AOL and Microsoft network from the late nineties gave way to the open web; Android is beating iOS globally in market share (~50% vs 20%).

[ap3]

What about linux? depends on what you mean by losing.

then with the qualifier 'that does not restrict users and developers', what restrictions would suffice to push users and developers out vs. the incentives that drew them in in the first place.

open for openness sake is not enough - it's just one more variable in the ecosystem equation. A couple of examples: as a user I do want developers to be restricted from putting malware on my device. And as a dev I would want users restricted from going against the TOS of my app.

[justatech]

Yes, I think once Google+ releases their APIs (what is taking them so long) one can see hundreds of new apps popping up - not just for the web but also for the mobile version. Also the group video chat they have (hangouts) is actually Google+'s killer app - can already imagine many cool apps using it (customer support, training etc).

[jamesteow]

I don't think it's the same at all.

I think one of the advantages that Apple has over every other platform is that designers use Apple for work which builds brand loyalty to its products and platform. Thus, a good portion of the people who are creating will do so for the platform that they care about, especially one that prioritizes industrial and interactive design. And before, I would've just suggested it's just designers but over the past few years years, I've witnessed plenty of SF/NY developers who use Apple computers and iPhones for the same reasons.

The fact that it is a closed-system IS it's advantage: there is quality control across the board from the apps to the phone the user is viewing it on. And quite frankly, I prefer designing for the iPhone and iPad because of the consistency of sizing and proportions.

But there doesn't need to be a clear winner. It's great that there is a choice for people who just want complete freedom and those who just want stuff to work well in a very polished fashion.