But without workipping them how can you justify being locked into AT&T for two years while literally _the rest of the entire world_ does nothing of the sort? And paying $600 off the bat for mediocre hardware that's so locked down you can't even change the battery, or install programs not paying a billon dollars to Apple for signing, without feeling like a criminal from all the DMCA filth spewed by Apple? Because you are making an invalid comparison.
My choices are not: * Buy iPhone from AT&T in the USA OR * Move to Europe and get some other cell phone there.
My choices ARE: * Buy iPhone from AT&T in the USA OR * Buy much crappier smartphone, also with 2 year contract with some carrier I may or may not like OR * Buy utilitarian phone, also with a 2 year contract so that the phone is subsidized.
I bought an iPhone for $399 (you know; what they *actually* cost, not $600). I don't see the big deal. My previous phone cost $150 for a "dumb" phone thru Verizon with 2 year contract, and Verizon is the devil.
Unlike most Americans, though, I'm not used to contracts because in the past I bought unlocked GSM phones from eBay and used them sans contract on Cingular (so I was actually happy to have the iPhone excuse to ditch Verizon and their crappy call quality and dropped calls at busy times). Back when the Ericsson T39 was hot, I bought it new on eBay from the UK, I think i paid $299. My next phone (4 years later) was a Samsung D50 slider that was just a little under $400. So $400 for the iPhone was no issue. I don't particularly like being stuck with a contract, but I've used AT&T before and am more than happy to stay with them for 2 years. Frankly, compared to the rest of the market, what I get for $400 is so much more than I've gotten in the past. Both my previous expensive phones were very nice and everything, but they weren't above and beyond different from the competition like the iPhone. And I've used Windows Mobile, for 2 weeks, before I got rid of the phone out of utter frustration.
Pot does ruin lives. It makes people paranoid and stupid and is linked to paranoid schizophrenia. It should not be legalized. HA. Wow, I hope you're not a doctor. Wait, we already know the answer to that one..
Although I do agree with you when you say drug legalization or decriminalization or whatever is not even close to the biggest issue out there. However, I think lots of people use it as an example of government restricting freedom of choice in an arbitrary (why is alcohol legal?) way.
The economy, for one, is a far, far greater worry, and drug prohibition probably doesn't even make it onto a top-20 list of "human rights" problems in the US alone.
Worst thing about the UI is that there seems to be some inconsistency on behavior -- sometimes I tap a phone number expecting to edit contact info and it makes an unexpected call. I can't remember exactly. It could be user error, but I'm feeling like the behavior is different in different context sometimes. Also, the back/forward arrows that sometimes appear near the top of the screen also seem inconsistent. Sometimes you click "done" or "save" in the upper right, sometimes you need to look to the upper left for a 'back' button, and so on.
Second, Apple arranged this partnership so they could get the concessions THEY needed from the phone company, namely for Visual Voicemail. So there's a good reason for a consumer to WANT to accept it -- added functionality. Now you can argue that visual voicemail was a pointless feature and just a cover for Apple being greedy and wanting a share of the profits. I'm just telling you there IS a reason.
Why are EU laws inherently better than American laws (or lack thereof)?
It seems to me that a problem needs to be pretty substantial in order to justify legislative action. I know our government doesn't feel the same way, but I want to be damn sure there is a real issue before they break the world trying to fix one minor issue.
I prefer not to patronize companies that make shit products or have shit policies towards customers. Apparently you feel the same way, we just have different definitions of shit.
Why do you want your opinion forced on me by restrictive laws? Maybe the iPhone would have been better without this situation we have now. Maybe it would have been worse, or would never have existed at all. Do you even understand incentives?
Your rant is a bit hard to follow, but I assume what you're saying is that you need a credit card in order to setup an account on the iTunes music store, before you can redeem the gift card?
Interesting. Makes sense, I guess -- I mean, I know this is how they make sure you're not buying tunes (even when paying for them) from an iTMS in a foreign country. I've had an Apple account for a long time, which I guess has a CC linked to it; as I've used it for maybe $30-$40 in purchases over the years. I guess the Coca-Cola giveaways needed you to already have a valid account, too?
I've never had anything malicious happen to my credit card as a result of being used on the Apple store, but I certainly understand people wanting to be able to buy tunes without having an online account with yet another company. Damn website accounts for the most trivial things are the bane of my existence.
My iBook 600 lasted me 5 years, including all thru college, so when I had the means, I bought a Mac Pro with a 24" Dell. I love it. But you're absolutely right, the power is way more than most of us need. I justified it because I know if I could last 5 years on a non-upgradeable system, it will be no problem to go that long on this one.
I really don't understand Apple's justification for not selling a computer for the rest of us.
I had the same problem at work; how to justify a Mac Pro, or buy a Mini with a huge widescreen. Fortunately my boss traded up to a Mac Pro so I inherited his dual 2.0 G5 PowerMac.
Apple computers tend to have high resale values so they're not exactly a bargain on the used market, but I bet you could easily buy a high-end G5 for barely over $1000. It'll be quite awhile before nobody makes PPC software.
Personally, I don't even notice the difference switching between PPC and Intel at work and home.
God damn, we can't have a single article on this site that some whiner doesn't complain is "America-centric." And if the article IS about a non-American country, then y'all bitch about how we don't understand your country and the article is crap.
Here's a hint: If it's from wired.com or any other AMERICAN news source, expect it to be America-centric.
Christ, Brits would throw a fit if I commented on every news.bbc.co.uk article and said it was slanted with a pro-UK angle. Fortunately, I'm not stupid, so I don't do that.
The third thing is many people feel it is time for a woman to lead the country. If you have a woman with the intellectual, administrative and political background to do it, and she doesn't get the chance to put her case to the people, it would say something about our country that we don't want to believe, namely that personal qualifications aren't enough to succeed. This may be the weakest argument in her favor, yet I believe many of her early supporters were more excited by the idea of Hillary than Hillary herself. You're right, this is the weakest argument in her favor. If you want a minority to win, vote for a left-handed black man. Women aren't even a minority in this country. Hillary is like Bill, but without the charisma, and with a nasty protectionist streak.
Nice, so, all the people that spent $$$$ on some HD-DVD player or Xbox attachment are going to be mighty pissed off, as they have once again, fallen into what I call the High-Def money pit, where you have to constantly buy some new gizmo because the holders of the DRM willy nilly decide to change things.
How many TVs were sold as HD-ready, only to not be? How many 720p sets or even 1080i sets still don't have an HDMI connection? And let's not even get into Vista Media Center, or any of the other depricated formats that have lead to technological dead-ends and/or having to re-buy the same media all over again (MLB, anyone?)...
If I had been stupid enough to even join in the HD revolution, I'd be pissed off enough to start suing every company that dropped the ball. I'd start with demanding my money back, and when they refused, I'd start throwing lawyers into the mix. Man, bitter, are we?
I waited a few years and bought a top-end 1080p LCD for a little over 2k because I felt that was the right pricepoint for me, and I felt that 1080p was relatively future proof.
Maybe now I wish I had a 120hz set but I can tell you I'll just keep this for many years to come.
I waited for Blu-Ray to win and prices come down; I don't mind paying 300-500 for a player if its the RIGHT player. That seeems reasonable. $1000 is not. Nor is $200 if I think the format will die tomorrow.
So now I'll pick up a Blu-Ray player for 200-300 in the next few months. I will make sure to get a 24fps/60fps unit so when I eventually get a 120hz tv I'll bet set for Blu-Ray films.
Also, I bought my iPhone the day after the price drop.
Am I the only one making rational purchasing decisions based on my estimation of technology, what I can afford, and where it falls into my list of priorities? And then doesn't want to sue everyone involved if I make a bad decision?
Good on ya. Don't let anyone tell you you wasted your money; you didn't. At that price you couldn't lose. There will be quite a bit of HD-only content for at least a year. Pick up a BR player in 6-12 months for $200 and you're golden.
I have been hoping BR wins and I always figured once BR players got to the 200-300 mark I'd buy one. I'm willing to pay that much for a high-def player and gamble; if it ended up losing in a year, I'd buy the new format players for $150 and it wouldn't break the bank. Buy what you want, when you want it, at a price you find reasonable, and you can never lose. I don't mind throwing away a few hundred on a player that might be obsolete very soon, but then again I might be in the minority. I sure as hell know I don't want to spend $1000 for a player that might be obsolete very soon, and this is what both HD and Blu-Ray were contending with a year or two ago.
Seems that the future is Blu. I'll have to pick a good one up in a couple of months. I'm pretty sure as sales go up, prices will drop, and the cost of the player is nothing if you essentially know it will win; anything under 500$ for a format that should be good for years to come is fine by me. Hell, the TV was close to $2500, and I figure it'll last at least 5 years (46" LCD 1080p).
If you're determined to pay too much for a calling plan and an overpriced phone, this is what's going to happen. Sure, it looks cool, but it's locked down enough to make Microsoft blush. I mean, come on. Verizon 900 minutes + unlimited data = $105ish after taxes. I know, I had a Moto Q just before the iPhone price drop, when I bought mine. AT&T iPhone 900 minutes + unlimited data + rollover minutes = $85ish after taxes.
As for the 3rd party apps, I'll reserve judgment until after the SDK comes out. Like any half intelligent consumer, I bought the iPhone because I was happy with what it did, out of the box, at the price they charged. I did install the jailbreak + some third party apps on the original OS, but none of them were that useful. When the software update came out I knew it would trash my 3rd party apps but didn't care, so I installed it.
To be honest, I didn't need any of the apps and am not really missing any functionality. I didn't even know there were ways to install 3rd party apps on the newer firmwares, that's how little I care.
Once the SDK comes out and apps are "officially" available I'll take another look and see if there's anything I can't live without.
Fear not, for those who care about listening to music in more proper manners, there are plenty of options available, from an arguably limited selection of SACDs of some great Jazz, Classical and Pop, to fantastic vinyl playback systems, or ways to re-process those CDs that are too loud and give them back some form of dynamic range, which will involve spending time re-mastering them with specific analog//tube//tape-machine type equipment, and is obviously not a recommended activity for what seems to make the most of today's impatient 'click-click' listeners, the Attention-Deficit-Disorder-addled set. Clearly all of those potheads sitting around in basements in the 70s, damaging their hard-rock vinyl on shit equipment with worn needles, blasting music at absurd levels thru the marginal consumer speaker technology of the day were connoisseurs.
Does Amazon have any operations in Utah? If not, order from them. It took me awhile after moving from WA to CA to realize that, since Amazon has no operations, I can get stuff tax-free (and shipping-free, most of the time). Now that's the only place I order my electronics from. I bought a TV from them for $2300. No tax OR shipping fees -- it was delivered to my living room in under a week. Now compare that to Best Buy 5 miles away, where it was $3000, would have cost me another $250ish in sales tax, and you KNOW they'd want to charge me to deliver it too...
I've never really bought any hardware from an Apple store so I can't speak to stock, but the lines have gone really fast the few times I've been there picking up something small.
Sony's share price has done marginally okay; gone up from just over 40 five years ago, to 54 today. But I don't have to tell you what Apple's done over the past 5 years.
And oh yeah, Apple's market cap is over 3x Sony's.
When I go into an Apple store, the people there look like... everyone else.
Hipsters. Kids. Old people. Fat people. Bald people. People bragging about their Macs. People saying "man, I could never buy a Mac, they're just so weird."
You seem to be projecting. It's like whenever someone who is too alternative for the rest of the world starts talking about Starbucks, they say "have you ever tried to walk into a Starbucks and just order a cup of drip coffee? They look at you like you're an ALIEN!" Whereas, those of us who live in reality, notice that in virtually every line at Starbucks, even in Seattle or Silicon Valley, there is someone ordering drip coffee. And they get treated like every other effing customer.
See: Onion, The. "Man constantly bringing up the fact that he doesn't own a Television."
People are losing what little respect they once had for each other and for themselves, such respect being the foundation of law and order and societal stability; and they are now more and more turning to (and bowing to) the use of force instead, where in more civilized times their respect for each other or for themselves would have prevented them from turning to (or bowing to) such shows of force. You forgot "get off my lawn."
I swear I am going to go crazy if I keep hearing people say industrial design when referring to every single product (especially Apple products) under the sun.
What ever happened to the word 'design?' Do you catch the ghey if you just say something has a nice design? Do you have to say 'industrial' before 'design' so you sound all high-tech? Is it like 'design' is a homosexual concept to men, so you have to say 'industrial' to make it sound manly?
I mean, I get it. I have a Mac Pro at home and a Power Mac G5 at work. Industrial design is probably the best way to describe them. It is NOT the best way to describe other products which are simply well-designed. I have an iPhone, nice design. The Dell XPSOne looks very well designed. But what the hell is industrial about it? It was bad enough when every review of an Apple product that in some way incorporated metal had to say it had great industrial design. But now we're applying it to plastic Dells, too?
What's next, man, I really like the industrial design of your tie?
Que? I've only bought things in real Apple stores a couple of times, but it's about the quickest transaction you can make. Hell they even email you your receipt.
It's a sad world when a company making its first foray into a new market, releases a product that has features already found in that market, and which more-or-less just performs the way it's supposed to, is considered a star.
However, that is the sad world we live in. The mobile handset market in the US is such a disaster that the iPhone, despite not really having any specifically killer new features, is astounding. It simply works so much better than the other products already on the market that it doesn't need new features.
Then again, that's Apple's killer app -- making things that actually work the way everyone else merely SAYS their products do.
The Economist is good on virtually everything but technology. Their technology articles are usually well-researched and written, but ultimately the product of people who simply don't get it.
But then again, these tech predictions don't seem well-researched OR well-written. I guess those people are on vacation.
Why do CCTV cameras bother you, then? Nothing they catch will be ever used against you if you're not breaking the law.
At the risk of Godwining this thread (oops, too late), are you seriously not aware of this poem? It gets quoted on Slashdot all of the time when it comes to any slippery slope argument. Your post is so ridiculous I'd almost have to assume it's satire, but it doesn't read like it.
In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
So can we burn both speed cameras AND chavs? Seriously, both would have a pretty high level of support. You seem to be falsely assuming that civil disobedience is inherently bad. If 99% of British citizens were in favor of torching speed cameras, would you still equate them to useless pissant chavs throwing rocks at firefighters?
They should round up all of those kids and send em to Texas to get a proper ass-whoopin when they're caught misbehaving.
Slashdot Mirror
My choices are not:
* Buy iPhone from AT&T in the USA
OR
* Move to Europe and get some other cell phone there.
My choices ARE:
* Buy iPhone from AT&T in the USA
OR
* Buy much crappier smartphone, also with 2 year contract with some carrier I may or may not like
OR
* Buy utilitarian phone, also with a 2 year contract so that the phone is subsidized.
I bought an iPhone for $399 (you know; what they *actually* cost, not $600). I don't see the big deal. My previous phone cost $150 for a "dumb" phone thru Verizon with 2 year contract, and Verizon is the devil.
Unlike most Americans, though, I'm not used to contracts because in the past I bought unlocked GSM phones from eBay and used them sans contract on Cingular (so I was actually happy to have the iPhone excuse to ditch Verizon and their crappy call quality and dropped calls at busy times). Back when the Ericsson T39 was hot, I bought it new on eBay from the UK, I think i paid $299. My next phone (4 years later) was a Samsung D50 slider that was just a little under $400. So $400 for the iPhone was no issue. I don't particularly like being stuck with a contract, but I've used AT&T before and am more than happy to stay with them for 2 years. Frankly, compared to the rest of the market, what I get for $400 is so much more than I've gotten in the past. Both my previous expensive phones were very nice and everything, but they weren't above and beyond different from the competition like the iPhone. And I've used Windows Mobile, for 2 weeks, before I got rid of the phone out of utter frustration.
Although I do agree with you when you say drug legalization or decriminalization or whatever is not even close to the biggest issue out there. However, I think lots of people use it as an example of government restricting freedom of choice in an arbitrary (why is alcohol legal?) way.
The economy, for one, is a far, far greater worry, and drug prohibition probably doesn't even make it onto a top-20 list of "human rights" problems in the US alone.
Worst thing about the UI is that there seems to be some inconsistency on behavior -- sometimes I tap a phone number expecting to edit contact info and it makes an unexpected call. I can't remember exactly. It could be user error, but I'm feeling like the behavior is different in different context sometimes. Also, the back/forward arrows that sometimes appear near the top of the screen also seem inconsistent. Sometimes you click "done" or "save" in the upper right, sometimes you need to look to the upper left for a 'back' button, and so on.
Overall, I really like it though.
I assume you mean Apple ATT.
First off, customers don't have to accept it.
Second, Apple arranged this partnership so they could get the concessions THEY needed from the phone company, namely for Visual Voicemail. So there's a good reason for a consumer to WANT to accept it -- added functionality. Now you can argue that visual voicemail was a pointless feature and just a cover for Apple being greedy and wanting a share of the profits. I'm just telling you there IS a reason.
Why are EU laws inherently better than American laws (or lack thereof)?
It seems to me that a problem needs to be pretty substantial in order to justify legislative action. I know our government doesn't feel the same way, but I want to be damn sure there is a real issue before they break the world trying to fix one minor issue.
I prefer not to patronize companies that make shit products or have shit policies towards customers. Apparently you feel the same way, we just have different definitions of shit.
Why do you want your opinion forced on me by restrictive laws? Maybe the iPhone would have been better without this situation we have now. Maybe it would have been worse, or would never have existed at all. Do you even understand incentives?
I prefer choice.
Your French spelling is really the least of your worries.
Your rant is a bit hard to follow, but I assume what you're saying is that you need a credit card in order to setup an account on the iTunes music store, before you can redeem the gift card?
Interesting. Makes sense, I guess -- I mean, I know this is how they make sure you're not buying tunes (even when paying for them) from an iTMS in a foreign country. I've had an Apple account for a long time, which I guess has a CC linked to it; as I've used it for maybe $30-$40 in purchases over the years. I guess the Coca-Cola giveaways needed you to already have a valid account, too?
I've never had anything malicious happen to my credit card as a result of being used on the Apple store, but I certainly understand people wanting to be able to buy tunes without having an online account with yet another company. Damn website accounts for the most trivial things are the bane of my existence.
Buy used.
My iBook 600 lasted me 5 years, including all thru college, so when I had the means, I bought a Mac Pro with a 24" Dell. I love it. But you're absolutely right, the power is way more than most of us need. I justified it because I know if I could last 5 years on a non-upgradeable system, it will be no problem to go that long on this one.
I really don't understand Apple's justification for not selling a computer for the rest of us.
I had the same problem at work; how to justify a Mac Pro, or buy a Mini with a huge widescreen. Fortunately my boss traded up to a Mac Pro so I inherited his dual 2.0 G5 PowerMac.
Apple computers tend to have high resale values so they're not exactly a bargain on the used market, but I bet you could easily buy a high-end G5 for barely over $1000. It'll be quite awhile before nobody makes PPC software.
Personally, I don't even notice the difference switching between PPC and Intel at work and home.
Using Windows is the #1 symptom of not really caring how, when, or why things happen on a computer.
Dude, you must work in tech support... Mac hatred is so 1997 among computer folk.
God damn, we can't have a single article on this site that some whiner doesn't complain is "America-centric." And if the article IS about a non-American country, then y'all bitch about how we don't understand your country and the article is crap.
Here's a hint: If it's from wired.com or any other AMERICAN news source, expect it to be America-centric.
Christ, Brits would throw a fit if I commented on every news.bbc.co.uk article and said it was slanted with a pro-UK angle. Fortunately, I'm not stupid, so I don't do that.
How many TVs were sold as HD-ready, only to not be? How many 720p sets or even 1080i sets still don't have an HDMI connection? And let's not even get into Vista Media Center, or any of the other depricated formats that have lead to technological dead-ends and/or having to re-buy the same media all over again (MLB, anyone?)...
If I had been stupid enough to even join in the HD revolution, I'd be pissed off enough to start suing every company that dropped the ball. I'd start with demanding my money back, and when they refused, I'd start throwing lawyers into the mix. Man, bitter, are we?
I waited a few years and bought a top-end 1080p LCD for a little over 2k because I felt that was the right pricepoint for me, and I felt that 1080p was relatively future proof.
Maybe now I wish I had a 120hz set but I can tell you I'll just keep this for many years to come.
I waited for Blu-Ray to win and prices come down; I don't mind paying 300-500 for a player if its the RIGHT player. That seeems reasonable. $1000 is not. Nor is $200 if I think the format will die tomorrow.
So now I'll pick up a Blu-Ray player for 200-300 in the next few months. I will make sure to get a 24fps/60fps unit so when I eventually get a 120hz tv I'll bet set for Blu-Ray films.
Also, I bought my iPhone the day after the price drop.
Am I the only one making rational purchasing decisions based on my estimation of technology, what I can afford, and where it falls into my list of priorities? And then doesn't want to sue everyone involved if I make a bad decision?
Get a life.
Good on ya. Don't let anyone tell you you wasted your money; you didn't. At that price you couldn't lose. There will be quite a bit of HD-only content for at least a year. Pick up a BR player in 6-12 months for $200 and you're golden.
I have been hoping BR wins and I always figured once BR players got to the 200-300 mark I'd buy one. I'm willing to pay that much for a high-def player and gamble; if it ended up losing in a year, I'd buy the new format players for $150 and it wouldn't break the bank. Buy what you want, when you want it, at a price you find reasonable, and you can never lose. I don't mind throwing away a few hundred on a player that might be obsolete very soon, but then again I might be in the minority. I sure as hell know I don't want to spend $1000 for a player that might be obsolete very soon, and this is what both HD and Blu-Ray were contending with a year or two ago.
Seems that the future is Blu. I'll have to pick a good one up in a couple of months. I'm pretty sure as sales go up, prices will drop, and the cost of the player is nothing if you essentially know it will win; anything under 500$ for a format that should be good for years to come is fine by me. Hell, the TV was close to $2500, and I figure it'll last at least 5 years (46" LCD 1080p).
AT&T iPhone 900 minutes + unlimited data + rollover minutes = $85ish after taxes.
As for the 3rd party apps, I'll reserve judgment until after the SDK comes out. Like any half intelligent consumer, I bought the iPhone because I was happy with what it did, out of the box, at the price they charged. I did install the jailbreak + some third party apps on the original OS, but none of them were that useful. When the software update came out I knew it would trash my 3rd party apps but didn't care, so I installed it.
To be honest, I didn't need any of the apps and am not really missing any functionality. I didn't even know there were ways to install 3rd party apps on the newer firmwares, that's how little I care.
Once the SDK comes out and apps are "officially" available I'll take another look and see if there's anything I can't live without.
of SACDs of some great Jazz, Classical and Pop, to fantastic vinyl playback systems, or ways to re-process those CDs that are too loud and give them
back some form of dynamic range, which will involve spending time re-mastering them with specific analog//tube//tape-machine type equipment, and is
obviously not a recommended activity for what seems to make the most of today's impatient 'click-click' listeners, the Attention-Deficit-Disorder-addled set. Clearly all of those potheads sitting around in basements in the 70s, damaging their hard-rock vinyl on shit equipment with worn needles, blasting music at absurd levels thru the marginal consumer speaker technology of the day were connoisseurs.
Does Amazon have any operations in Utah? If not, order from them. It took me awhile after moving from WA to CA to realize that, since Amazon has no operations, I can get stuff tax-free (and shipping-free, most of the time). Now that's the only place I order my electronics from. I bought a TV from them for $2300. No tax OR shipping fees -- it was delivered to my living room in under a week. Now compare that to Best Buy 5 miles away, where it was $3000, would have cost me another $250ish in sales tax, and you KNOW they'd want to charge me to deliver it too...
I've never really bought any hardware from an Apple store so I can't speak to stock, but the lines have gone really fast the few times I've been there picking up something small.
Sony's share price has done marginally okay; gone up from just over 40 five years ago, to 54 today. But I don't have to tell you what Apple's done over the past 5 years.
And oh yeah, Apple's market cap is over 3x Sony's.
When I go into an Apple store, the people there look like... everyone else.
Hipsters. Kids. Old people. Fat people. Bald people. People bragging about their Macs. People saying "man, I could never buy a Mac, they're just so weird."
You seem to be projecting. It's like whenever someone who is too alternative for the rest of the world starts talking about Starbucks, they say "have you ever tried to walk into a Starbucks and just order a cup of drip coffee? They look at you like you're an ALIEN!" Whereas, those of us who live in reality, notice that in virtually every line at Starbucks, even in Seattle or Silicon Valley, there is someone ordering drip coffee. And they get treated like every other effing customer.
See: Onion, The. "Man constantly bringing up the fact that he doesn't own a Television."
I swear I am going to go crazy if I keep hearing people say industrial design when referring to every single product (especially Apple products) under the sun.
What ever happened to the word 'design?' Do you catch the ghey if you just say something has a nice design? Do you have to say 'industrial' before 'design' so you sound all high-tech? Is it like 'design' is a homosexual concept to men, so you have to say 'industrial' to make it sound manly?
I mean, I get it. I have a Mac Pro at home and a Power Mac G5 at work. Industrial design is probably the best way to describe them. It is NOT the best way to describe other products which are simply well-designed. I have an iPhone, nice design. The Dell XPSOne looks very well designed. But what the hell is industrial about it? It was bad enough when every review of an Apple product that in some way incorporated metal had to say it had great industrial design. But now we're applying it to plastic Dells, too?
What's next, man, I really like the industrial design of your tie?
arrrrgh!!!!
Que? I've only bought things in real Apple stores a couple of times, but it's about the quickest transaction you can make. Hell they even email you your receipt.
It's a sad world when a company making its first foray into a new market, releases a product that has features already found in that market, and which more-or-less just performs the way it's supposed to, is considered a star.
However, that is the sad world we live in. The mobile handset market in the US is such a disaster that the iPhone, despite not really having any specifically killer new features, is astounding. It simply works so much better than the other products already on the market that it doesn't need new features.
Then again, that's Apple's killer app -- making things that actually work the way everyone else merely SAYS their products do.
The Economist is good on virtually everything but technology. Their technology articles are usually well-researched and written, but ultimately the product of people who simply don't get it.
But then again, these tech predictions don't seem well-researched OR well-written. I guess those people are on vacation.
Why do CCTV cameras bother you, then? Nothing they catch will be ever used against you if you're not breaking the law.
At the risk of Godwining this thread (oops, too late), are you seriously not aware of this poem? It gets quoted on Slashdot all of the time when it comes to any slippery slope argument. Your post is so ridiculous I'd almost have to assume it's satire, but it doesn't read like it.
In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
So can we burn both speed cameras AND chavs? Seriously, both would have a pretty high level of support. You seem to be falsely assuming that civil disobedience is inherently bad. If 99% of British citizens were in favor of torching speed cameras, would you still equate them to useless pissant chavs throwing rocks at firefighters?
They should round up all of those kids and send em to Texas to get a proper ass-whoopin when they're caught misbehaving.