Rotten Apple
I have many fond childhood memories of Apple computers. My first exposure to a computer was a Macintosh Classic II. The first time I saw it I was afraid to touch the mouse out of fear I would break something. I loved playing The Oregon Trail on that old computer. It was a great little machine.
Back then Apple was a bit of a minor player in the consumer electronics world. Things have drastically changed. Today Apple is a super power in the industry. Their products are nothing short of spectacular and amazing. An iPhone is one of the few things you’ll hear a man call sexy that isn’t a woman or an exotic sports car.
Despite that sexiness that most all Apple devices have, I can not bring myself to buy anything the company produces. Why? Well… there are actually a few good reasons not to buy Apple products.
One, once you buy an Apple product, you’re handcuffed. In the world of Apple, you do things the way they want you to do them. While their interface is generally simple, elegant and easy to use, I like having the opportunity to do things differently if I wish. Still, I realize that for most people, the imposed simplicity is welcomed.
Two, Apple behaves like a totalitarian monopoly, plain and simple. They do everything they can to lock out virtually any form of competition. In reality, lots of companies try to act like this, and it’s actually not illegal (in the USA) to do so, until you in fact become a monopoly. So I can’t be too angry at them for that either, regardless of how much I despise it. In fact, I have bought many products from companies that behave just as badly. Still, it’s worth mentioning.
My reason for not buying Apple products and urging all of you to do the same is a little more fundamental. I call for a boycott for a much more serious offense.
Three, Apple is guilty of blatant censorship. Apple wants to decide what we full grown adults can and can not see on our Apple devices that we paid HUNDREDS of dollars for. Just a few months ago Apple decided iPhone and iPod Touch owners were not allowed to see hot girls on their devices and they also work to pull anything else they deem as ‘adult’ content from their stores. But now they have gone yet another step further and decided you are not allowed to use a dictionary that features certain four letter words like Shit or Fuck either!
What’s next Apple? Will Websense be included in your next firmware update, or will you simply contract the Chinese government to bring the Great Firewall of China to your wonderful little devices?! I say you go for it! Apple obviously thinks all full grown adults need a rock solid proxy imposed on them to keep their moral compass centered.
Forget that they block you from using many great third party applications like Google voice. Forget that they make ridiculous claims like saying people with jailbroken iPhones could crash cell phone towers or worse! Boycott them for treating all us full grown, tax paying Americans who spent shit loads of money on their devices, like little children.
Hey Apple, if I wanted this kind of treatment, I’d join a religious cult!