Lightning is expressly created to lock out manufacturers even of cables who aren't paying Apple a licensing fee for using the dock connector.
The idea they're going to make it easier for anyone to create accessories is laughable.
I haven’t seen the details of Lightning, and must have missed something big. If we know that's the reason for the switch to Lightning, then there must be something that makes it harder to build accessories for the new connector vs. the old one.
What is it that makes Lightning accessories harder to make than before?
Apple had to see this stuff coming. People are already getting fired up about it but wait till the devices are in hand. It's gonna be far worse than the bumper drama with #4.
I find this “scandal” amusing. Almost nobody will care all that much* about the loss of the old dock connector, which we knew about months ago and has very good reasons, some of which benefit consumers. But the ones who DO care (although they won’t in 6 months) will be very loud for a time
Even if they haven’t thought this change through all the way.
The most amusing are the people who feel bad for the "poor struggling accessory makers"... who are in fact going to make money just fine off the new connector, same as the 10-year-old outdated one.
* I care. A little, not a lot. Because I have years-old speakers that will need an adapter. Except they also have regular audio in via headphone jack, and as old as they are, I think I’ll make do with that and not need any adapter. Just charge with the included Lightning cord, and the sound will come out. Someday I’ll buy new speakers, which I would have anyway, and they’ll support Lightning more conveniently. I’ll also buy the new HDMI connector, which (if you own the old one) is a shining example of why the old dock connector is so bad. (It was always best for docks and not for cables, and works poorly on the end of a heavy HDMI cord.)
