Fear of Apple is about losing control over the software on our computers. Fear of Google is about losing control over our privacy.
I think Gruber nailed this one right on the head.
There’s an element of irony here, though. In 1984, Apple painted IBM as Big Brother, the all-knowing, all-powerful overlord that turned citizen into mindless drones.
Today, IBM is a shadow of the empire it once was. Instead, Google now holds that position of power, with all of our data being used to serve ads. A quick scan of my Address Book shows that over 75% of my contacts have a Gmail account listed.[1. In reality, more of them probably do, as I have a lot of corporate contacts in there.] To say that Google is an Internet powerhouse is a massive understatement.
I’d much rather use Apple’s “closed” services than see ads based on keywords in my email.
If Apple were to remake that ad, I don’t think IBM would be who that sledgehammer was hurled at.