Crowdsourcing, in turn, flies in the face of that is increasingly being seen as a way not to produce a tremendous load of crap.

OK, look, the Macalope has nothing against crowdsourcing, per se, but both methods can be valuable. Auteurism is Apple's shtick, and the company uses it to great success. Denying that is simply sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling "LA-LA-LA-LA-LA OPEN SOURCE LA-LA-LA-LA-LA CROWDSOURCING!" Which, of course, is shtick.

Patents have apparently become a central part of Apple's strategy, costing the company--and its customers--vast sums of money and inevitably delivering a blow to innovation.

As opposed to Google, maker of Android, which just dumped two years worth of profit on some patents. Keep digging for that pony, Katherine! You know it's somewhere under that pile of manure!

The bottom line here is that no organization can be an island anymore. Apple may still enjoy a religiously devoted fan base...