The article makes a similar premise to one that I read some days ago about old vs new world computing. I'll say my response to this piece like I've said to others here before:

There are more users than developers. There always has been.

The writer of the article while correctly assessing the approach that Apple is doing, has missed the approach that Nokia is doing. I'd belabor the point, but it pretty much amounts to making things system (organically and better able to respond to environmental and market forces, versus the previous siloed approach)-driven rather than company-vision driven (organic, but more profitable to the state of the market to be if it can be predicted). This is why it helps Nokia to have an ecosystem where anyone can have their hands into the car. This doesn't help Apple because while its true that most don't want control over the "magic" they don't understand, they do want control over the outcome of that magic.

Not trying to hold Nokia up on some moral soapbox, but to think like Maemo brings accountability; to think like iTunes offloads it. There will be room for both to be significant platforms for users.

The person's final point about likening Maemo/Nokia to going to MIT says a lot. While its true that a lot of folks don't go/get into MIT, they sure do invest a whole lot into what those persons learn - with and without the buggyness of getting under the hood