Why the iPhone Matters - Walt Mossberg

What is the point of having a general purpose OS when it does not work like a general purpose OS. E.g. (No general purpose cut/paste functionality)

It is pointless, just like this lecture from Walt Mossberg. Him and his point suffer from a military described condition known as FOS. Full of...you get the picture.

History is written by the victors...

MossBerg's point is that the iPhone is really a computer running a general purpose OS, and that's a good thing. I agree. However, along with that statement comes expectations about how independent development occurs and the breath and depth of applications that become available as a result.

The issue is how Apple treats the iPhone: as an appliance with an embedded OS where development and applications are strictly controlled. It's ironic that Windows Mobile, with its roots as an embedded system, today is a more open platform.

But will care if Apple dominates the marketplace.

No...hardware/software matching doesn't matter....Duh!

Hey Walt, try running Office 2007 on an XP workstation with 128 MB of RAM, a 500 Mhz processor, a Pre-ATA 100 HDD spinning at less than 5200 RPM and a 16bit ISA VGA card.

Let me know how that works out for ya!

Guess we now need to start a list of Waltisms to complement the list of Bushisms. lol

I normally think Walt Mossberg is a genius, and have been saying that I want to *be* Walt when I grow up...but oh man is he off the mark with these comments.

The apps available in the Apple store are still 95% games - productivity tools are still conspicuously absent, although we know some developers are hard at work on them. Obviously it's not as simple as Walt seems to think it is.

So the Mac kernel has no basic copy/paste? I find that difficult to believe considering Mac is primarily a graphics system.

C'mon Walt. Time to go back to honest research and get your head out of the Apple "cloud."

It amazes me how many "Technical Experts" in the media know so little about the technology they speak of, and amazes me even more that they go in front of people and talk about what little they know.

btw brat1475, it's not just your opinion, it's technically accurate.

He doesn't seem to fully understand his subject matter... but... to those listening, who know even less, they must think what he says is true...

My question is what defines a PC grade OS? Could it be functions traditionally done on a computer now being done on a mobile platform? Could it be apps that work on your computer, working on your mobile device? Don't get me wrong, Iphone is very inovative and it has kicked things up a notch, especially with App store concept, but to call the Iphone and Android OS's a PC grade OS is flat wrong. WM still has more features and is probably closer still to a PC, even if the UI isn't as pretty. Just my opinion.

Good ol Walt Mossberg....