I have noticed a very interesting reaction recently to the way Apple has been throwing their weight around controlling who and what can be put in the appstore. Until a month or so ago there was a legion of companies and developers in my own circle, figuring out how they would enter the market and what they would develop, but that has changed dramatically in light of Apples series of what I consider large mistakes if not outright blunders. Pulling the storm trooper card on the guys that got the prototype phone, pulling the rug out from under Mono Touch, going to war with Adobe and also seeming to persecute all those that raise a voice in protest has put an enormous chill on most of those that I know that were looking to build applications for the iPhone and iPad. I own an iPhone and have bought an iPad so I am not a hater, just not a blind supplicant. I do not have any products launched or targeted to the AppStore (and have shelved those plans myself for the reasons many others I talk to are), so I really don't see how I can be punished for speaking my mind (Sad that I now believe that if Apple had a way of punishing me, I now fully believe they would use it).

I think this is an example of Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. If you grip power too tightly you lose it and unless the groupies really do outnumber the rest of us this is a dangerous way for Apple to do business. How can we trust developing on a platform where the rules seem to change on a whim and which is controlled by those whose friends are treated no better than enemies...