"And which freedoms? The freedom to break Apple’s DRM? The freedom for Palm to violate the USB spec by identifying the Pre with a different vendor ID?"
Palm wasn't actually breaking any DRM, and changing the vendor id was the only way they could make their software inter-operate well. I understand that Palm and Apple are huge competitors, but very rarely do people defend such blatant attempts at platform lock-in. I wouldn't call him a apologist, but it definitely feels reactionary to Calacanis's points.
More drivel. Maybe you can show us two huge competitors, where one has started using the other software? You can not, because it hasn't happened before. Palm have a lot of options, there are lots of free music organisers they can use, they have chosen to use iTunes, which they know they are not allowed to do.
I think it's important to note that the major reason for Palm to use iTunes is not because Palm didn't want to build their own music organizer, but because most people already use iTunes to organize their music, and it's a huge pain in the ass to switch or worse use multiple organizers.
Why is it "important to note that"? Palm obviously have their reasons for preferring iTunes, but that doesn't make faking the vendor ID any more legitimate.
Who are Palm harming and how? Pre end users don't see the vendor ID, so aren't being deceived. iPhone end users keep working. Apple aren't under pressure to support Palm, they can simply say the device is unsupported and to contact Palm for issues.
He seems to be unaware of Apple's pricing scheme in every country other than the USA. In every country in Europe and Asia they're significantly dearer than their competitors for lower spec hardware.
