Friday 21 January 2011

Poisoned Apple

As you may know, I've been a fan of Apple's computers for many years now. They don't (often) break, they're secure and they don't need upgrading. They're also very easy to use. And they look good.

However, I'm not a member of the Cult of Mac, though people often assume I am. When I first got one (from a skip), Apple seemed to be on the verge of bankruptcy and closure. Apple users were die-hards, insisting that their machines were better. Back then, the technology was far superior, as was the OS: it wasn't a matter of style, as Macs weren't much better looking than anything else. Gradually though, the Cult grew, ignoring the evidence - underpowered machines with obsolete tech - until St. Steve returned, and transformed everything with his golden touch.

I knew differently. The products got better and better, and I doubt I'll ever stop using a Mac. But I always knew that beneath the punchy, chippy underdog was a grasping corporate capitalist monster dying to get out. So the reports of low pay and mistreatment at their contractors' factories in China didn't surprise me at all. Imagine: an American corporation outsourcing its social and environmental responsibilities along with its manufacturing! Heavens above, whatever next. My take is: find me a computer that isn't made in Chinese slave conditions and I'll buy it. Meanwhile, let's pressure everyone to work greener and fairer.

Apple's latest little trick is a beautiful example of corporate greed and contempt for its customers. Simply by changing the screws on your iPods and computers to a version widely unavailable, they're able to stop you getting into your machine yourself, or taking it to an independent repair shop. Apparently, if you take your existing gadget to them, they replace the old Philips screws with the new ones, guaranteeing that you'll depend on them for ever.

Despicable. But also very cunning.

4 comments:

neal said...

I dunno, whenever I mention any problem I'm having with my laptop you always seem quite proud to say that I wouldn't be having that problem if I had a Mac.

Anyway, I just read in your favourite local rag that Jermaine Pennant was so excited about his move to Stoke that he drove his £98,000 Porsche 911 to Zaragoza Airport and just left it there with the keys on the dashboard and managed to forget he'd even bought it. As a nice touch it even had a personal number plate P33NNT.

The Plashing Vole said...

That's just fact.

What a brilliant story. Either it was sheer excitement or he's thick as two short planks.

The Plashing Vole said...

I think the real story isn't that footballers are rich and thick (Dog Bites Man), it's that a footballer took a train. Very democratic of him. Perhaps abandoning the Porsche for a train (and my beloved Stoke) signified a new, humbler approach to life.

neal said...

Interesting take on it Voley. Maybe he'll now auction it off and give the proceeds to a Stoke based charity, then start riding the bus to the stadium every match day with all the fans.

Or maybe these were just the actions of a man with more money than he knows what to do with.