[rgcarr]

The point is, no iPhones are in the hands of the users. And yet Webster seems to have no qualms about singling it out for the same potential problems inherent in ANY network device, whether handheld or desktop.
The way the article is written (and the construction of the article is poor to boot), Webster comes off as inciting the potential iPhone-curious consumer to be afraid of the product because there are all these unanswered questions.
Why not, y'know, wait 'til these questions can be answered? It's not as if he was out there when SJ showed off the appleTV last fall, screaming, "Could iTV's wireless waves cause tumors if you sit too close to it? Might your neighbors be able to see if you're streaming porn to your TV set?" The product wasn't released yet.
So it is with iPhone. Anything that can be said about it, beyond the experiences of the media types who got all of 10 minutes with it at MWSF, is speculation. When you put questions like Webster's to it ("But what could happen to you as an owner of the iPhone if it winds up, even momentarily, in the palm of the wrong person?") then yeah, I call it alarmist fearmongering.

[thgd]

The iPhone is about to put a PC in the palm of your hand.
Who in their right mind would want a 5 oz. device when a 5 lb. device is obviously better...and more secure.
Those dastardly upstarts in Cupertino need to realize that average people can't be trusted to responsibly use such things. Businesses may very well be harmed by average people having the freedom to use this technology for frivolous pursuits.
And certainly making a phone convenient, easy and fun to use is not a proper business attitude, so why should Apple be allowed to get away with doing that....five years ahead of everyone else.

[doglesby]

It's like you guys see a Computerworld piece and assume it's an attack.
The iPhone is the PC in the DEC analogy.
I admit, I thought he was going to say Jobs is being like Olsen in restricted 3rd party apps, but he didn't. He didn't say anything about that.
If anything this is a counterpoint to the "Jobs screwed up the keynote" and other FUD. He's saying that smart people have legitimate questions about the iPhone, but it is wrong to presume it will fail because of those concerns (especially when we are assuming answers to those questions).
Every technology has it's downsides. Ropes are great for rigging; they also make nooses. Candlesticks securely hold your candles to light a room; they can also be used to bludgeon someone. Even the paperweight has it's nefarious uses. Focusing on the downside of technologies can be a fatal error (see Olsen).

[wardoggie]

Quote:

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It's an open question, one that we probably won't have the answer to until we actually have the iPhone in our hands.
Anyway, as the article's title makes clear, this is an opinion piece -- just fodder for your imagination, something to ruminate upon.

---

At this point, there are a lot more open questions than closed. But what I can't understand is why we don't see many positive iPhone opinion pieces? Are tech journalists so afraid of being branded Mac/Apple zealots that they won't write them? Even with the tag "Opinion" glued to the headline?
Personally, I feel the iPhone was aimed squarely at someone like me, because:
1) I would love better contact integration/syncing between my cell phone and computer.
2) I hate carrying around multiple devices (cell phone, digital camera, iPod, etc.) and often find myself planning what to carry based on what I am going to do that day.
3) I'm not looking to replace my iPod or my MacBook Pro (I like my cell phone, but it's replacable), but I would love to be able to listen to a few tunes, surf the web and access my email for brief amounts of time while I'm working out, waiting for a train, or before meetings, etc. I could bring my MacBook Pro everywhere, but that's overkill for these apps. And it's not practical to use at the gym /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The common response to this line of reasoning is, "there are other devices out there that do all that -- and more -- for less money." Well, when the iPhone is released, I'll do a little comparison. I just have a feeling they will all come up short when it comes to integration/syncing with iCal, Address Book, Mail, Safari bookmarks, iTunes, and possibly iPhoto.

[NuclearPizza]

John Webster is also waiting patiently at the mailbox for his weekly check from Microsoft for his ongoing FUD efforts its behalf.

[darkelf]

i don't even know if that's fud.

[Maclectic]

C'mon people, this is FUD in it's most essential form. Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.
Fear = Risk of an iPhone exposing you personal data (although, I'm not sure how on a closed system compared to WinCE device).
Uncertainty = How well will the iPhone protect your data? We can't know cuz its not out yet... Oh my!
Doubt = Well since they won't let ME (John Webster, Computerworld) use one, I doubt it will be as good as they say.
This sort of thing disgusts me and Macworld should feel somewhat ashamed for re-printing it.

- Maclectic

[barakthecat]

Quote:

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Im not saying that Jobs & Co. dont have answers to these questions. The question I have is this: Do you as an iPhone user know the answer to these questions? Ken would want you to know.

---

Well, you're going to have to wait 6 months far any iPhone user to know since, like, there are no iPhone users yet. Because, like, the iPhone hasn't been released yet. Like, you know?
But somehow I think we may already know the answer to this. See before there was a iPhone, there was a device called the iPod. And although this iPod does have limited contact and calendar capabilities, it's primary purpose is playing media such as music and photos. I feel pretty confident that while losing or having my iPod stolen would suck, I doubt anyone could cause me any significant harm with the data on that iPod. And yet the iPod has this feature that I'd like to describe for you. No, wait, I'll let Apple describe it for you.

Quote:

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Spin the Click Wheel to choose a four-digit combination and protect your iPod from prying eyes.

---

.
So the iPod does have a security mechanism, and while it's no guarantee, I would feel pretty confident saying the iPhone will too. Most cell phones do. They are easy to lose and the last thing you want is someone picking up your phone and making calls across the world before you know what's happened.
But hey, let's not let logic get in the way of a good hit count.

[Bregalad]

Ken was right. The PC has made many people less productive than they would be on a terminal based system. Purchasers were tricked into believing that the PC would improve productivity and thus pay for itself. Once users, a totally different group than purchasers or managers, got their hands on PCs they refused to touch anything else.The PC is successful is because it provides distractions. Users are not robots and do not want to be treated as robots. The iPhone will be wildly successful because it can be used as a tool or a toy and appears equally good at being both.

[Morale]

How secure is anything? Unproductive things?
Nothing but FUD.
Has it occured to those illuminated ones that perhaps the level of productivity is so great using a personal computer that we can chill-out from time to time. Imagine describing what you do today without a the use of a personal computer ... sound productive?
I think changing jwebsters domain to 'headinthesand.com' would be more appropriate, or perhaps 'headupmya@@.com'.

[Nobody]

Quote:

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I realize you've been trying to run articles from Computerworld as sort of a counterpoint to the Cult o' Mac that often seems to exist around here, but this OpEd piece contributes little more than alarmist fearmongering.

---

If you think this was fearmongering, you obviously don't recall the days when John Dvorak had the inside back cover of MacUser all to himself. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Even if such was the case (it's an opinion piece, that's all -- he could be saying this about any similar revolutionary technology about to come to market), I'd still find it interesting reading, relating to things Apple. Who can recall a time when Mac publications didn't include references to the full range of Apple products and services within their pages?
I vote this trend continues, if only for the increased awareness I'm given with regard to the current environment Apple finds itself in with its various technologies. I'm sure some of the extra cash garnered from iPod sales, along with that of future iPhone sales, will help seed some R&D for future Mac and OS X development, thus finding relevance for you in the end after all.

[Nobody]

I think you raise a valid point, but I also think the article raises one. From my perspective, you're both right. Here's why I think so:
It's an extremely relative matter, entirely based upon the individual involved; i.e., what holds the interest of any one particular person; what content the technology is capable of utilizing in order to hold and captivate the interest of the individuals involved; the proclivity of each individual to be distracted by any one or multiple facets of content hosted by the technology, the amount of focus the individual has for the work he or she is supposed to be doing...the variables being as diverse as the people on earth with access to such things.
I think the author rather deftly raised the issue and, in the end, left it up for the type of discussion we are having now.