iCloud vs. the Web
If Web 2.0 made data more accessible, iCloud takes that same data and…keeps it closed. It’s a step forward on user convenience and a step back on interoperability.
He thinks this is Apple’s plan, that Apple isn’t interested in solving the interoperability problem, and that’s fine. I think it’s a poor long-term strategy for Apple to cede the interesting cloud use cases to Web APIs and other companies.
When Steve Jobs said that Dropbox was but a feature, perhaps he was revealing a blind spot. The cloud, or the Web, is more like a platform. If Apple doesn’t want to provide the APIs, developers will find others to build on. This is probably good for the world at large, but it’s somewhat of a missed opportunity for iCloud.
