You know me. When I read an article about Apple that doesn’t make any sense to me, my fingers begin to itch and I just have to write about it. There’s a lot of people out there that don’t understand Apple as clearly as they could. Understandable; Apple is one of the most mysterious companies in the world. Secrecy is part of their culture and there are times at which one can’t really grasp the big picture.

There’s a blogger over at CNET that suffers from Apple confusion, it seems. Either that, or he doesn’t like them. Mr. Reisinger wonders if Apple is about to enter dark times; an age when fans turn their back on this wonderful company. He’s talking about corporate monopoly and speculates about Apple’s infamous transition into a Microsoft-like, commercial and corrupt entity.

Why would he say such a thing about a company that does everything to make life easier for us, the end users? He seems to share Bill Thompson’s vision of Apple, that they’re locking their users into an Apple-centered world. Slowly, his vision has transcended, from seeing Apple as a cultural phenomenon, to now a powerful technology giant. Apple’s warning to iPhone unlockers finally pulled the trigger.

He calls it the iPhone nightmare. Hacking the iPhone is not a crime, he says, and tells us that he has done so himself. And if Apple should decide to brick his unlocked iPhone, it would be questionable practice based on greed and nothing else. On can tell Mr. Reisinger is upset when he threatens Apple, stating that it’s a battle they don’t want to fight, and that he won’t stand back and take the punches without throwing a few back.

I understand why he calls it the iPhone nightmare; because it’s a dream and it’s time to wake up. Think about it, who really threw the first punch? The iPhone is bundled with service plans from AT&T, everyone knows it and Apple has been incredibly clear on that point. I’m sure that Mr. Reisinger and all other unlockers knew that when they bought their phones. They were the ones that chose to disregard rules and contracts to modify Apple’s software. They threw the first punch.

If Apple decides to brick unlocked iPhones, it will be an act of self-defense. If they don’t, then we should be thankful instead of taking it for granted. Tolerating modifications of their software and workarounds of the rules they’ve set for their product would be an act of kindness. If a police officer gave you a warning for driving a few miles too fast, you’d be thankful. Apple gave you a warning for unlocking your phone. Don’t bust their ass about it; the cards were on the table from the very beginning.

But let’s leave the iPhone incident behind us, Apple won’t brick them anyway. Mr. Reisinger also talk about Amazon’s new music store that is sells some songs for a whole 10 cents cheaper than iTunes Music Store. And the songs DRM-free too, that’s great. This is a free world (for the most part) and it’s nice to have options. But what’s Apple thinking, really, selling protected music and all?

Let’s look at it from my own point of view. I’m a Mac user; I explicitly use iPod, Mac and iTunes for all my computing and portable music needs. Apple offers me an integrated solution for all this and it works amazing, to say the very least. Apple love their users and offers a world of simplicity and integration that no oother company can beat. But they have built this wonderful world by designing services for their products, and products for their services.

You see, the people at Apple love their products and truly believe that they are the best things in the world. They naturally want you to use their products. This is not greed at all, it’s in their culture to spread the use of them. Some of their tactics are somewhat aggressive, I’ll agree to that, but their products are so great that I really don’t care. And the whole thing with DRM-protection is also based on piracy, a controversial subject which I for obvious reasons don’t want to get into. Let’s just say I’m not a supporter, nor a follower in the matter.

But will this widespread confusion turn Apple’s happy days into dark times? I don’t think so. Apple’s popularity may go slightly up and down but their culture will always stay the same. There will always be conflicts and misunderstandings but sometimes we just have to look at the products and disregard all outside noise and clutter. Take a look at the iPod, the Mac or the iPhone. Use it for a few minutes and take in the experience. They are beautiful, simple and absolutely amazing.

Apple is the greatest company in the world and as long as they continue making the best things in the world, we’ll follow.

CNET, Is Apple in danger of losing it’s following?