In two minds ...
If I build something, supply my software and my hardware to support it and, perhaps a third party has an idea for an extension they want to produce and I agree to sell it to my customers for a cut subject to conditions a,b and c. After all, it's my product, I want to control it and if I make little money as a company that's apparently fine. At what point does my company become big enough that I can no longer control my product in that way - at what point does 'normal' behaviour become monopolistic? After all, in this case, Apple cutomers could go elsewhere and buy a Windows or Linux or whatever box instead and developers could develop for other platforms so it's not a monopoly in the overall computer market, it is a seller of it's own specific product with its own product control ... I'm not agreeing with Apple's actions, just curious to know when you are forced to lose control of your product because it's too popular ...?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
