Again, that closed strategy just isn't going to be sustainable over time.

Extreme Lock-In

Apple's "black box" strategy also flies in the face of the trend that's increasingly being used by companies and organizations to elicit consumers' participation in key decisions and the early stages of product design.

For business users, the company's extreme vertical integration has not only created a daunting case of , but has worked against the compatibility and interoperability that are most needed in this global and collaborative world.

Then, of course, there's the matter of the software patents Apple currently uses to protect its "black box" technologies so aggressively. 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.