Editor’s note: This is the first guest post on rants.org — it was originally an email Winnie Fung sent, but given that, after all, the site’s name is “rants.org”, she graciously allowed it to be posted. I’ve never been an Apple user, so I can’t say this post sums up my feelings, but it certainly sums up my impressions! Apple users out there, any comments? -Karl
I am mad. mad mad mad. …
Apple is trying to control how I do everything, where I do it, on what devices I can do it, where I store it and I HATE IT. I am this close to wiping out my drive and sticking linux on it. icloud my ass. Not only do I have to pay for my .mac address all these years (fair enough I was too lazy to sever my ties), but if I want to keep the stupid address, I must transfer to icloud, oh but you have to upgrade to the newest OS in order to access it which btw will have to pay for.
So basically, I have been living in this address for years, paying the rent, and then one day my landlord comes and tells me that they are renovating the building and they are going to raise my rent and in order to stay in apartment, I must update my interior decoration to match spiffy exterior. No only that, I must buy my furniture from the landlord’s designer stores. And if I want to park my bike and my car at this address, I must also switch my car and bike to my landlord’s brand. Additionally, if I want to lock my bike to the building’s dock, I will need to purchase their special lock which only works for my landlord’s buildings and their company policy is to change the lock socket with every model so I should plan on collecting a pile of obsolete locks… No thank you, I think I will move.
-Winnie Fung
Welcome to the new technology world – how long before the rest of the world realizes they are being ‘ringed’ (as in a nose ring for pulling them around by)…
Klinkenbecker,
I think it won’t happen all at once, but the tipping point may be when some app betrays a large number of users at once — gives personal data about them to the wrong organization, something like that. The recent revelations that people who are detectably browsing from a Macintosh are shown higher-price listings for some products online is a warm-up act for that moment.
Yowzers! So someone who has ever bought any hardware whatever from Apple is surprised that Apple aggressively explores the “maximum pay for minimum value” curve? I type from a MacBook Pro, on a 30″ Apple Cinema display; I once bought three Mac computers, two printers, and two iPods all on one trip, out of my own pocket: I speak from inside the club, believe me, but … what’s the news, here?
🙂 It’s news to the extent that devoted Apple users get fed up with it. I don’t know how many others are starting to feel as Winnie does, though…