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Re: Here's a new one... [message #350922 is a reply to message #350815] Mon, 15 September 2008 11:20 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
NukeIt15 is currently offline  NukeIt15
Messages: 987
Registered: February 2003
Location: Out to lunch
Karma:
Colonel
It isn't possible to put a positive spin on this. The only attempt that could possibly be made is the "you're not using it right" angle, which everybody already knows is a load of steaming horse shit. Honestly, I like many Apple products. My primary system right now is an Apple notebook, my router is Apple, and I even own an iPod now (don't look at me like that- it was a birthday gift, and it was jailbroken an hour after the box opened).

What I don't like is the bullshit being pushed around to justify tighter and tighter restrictions on what people can do with things that they've already paid for. That goes for anything from music to games to sneakers and more. Apple is hardly the only company to try something like this- car manufacturers are doing it, too, by using proprietary tools and parts that force owners to take their vehicles to dealerships rather than local shops for service (or- perish the thought- fix them at home free of charge).

All of this falls into the category of "protecting future profits." That's the mentality that produces shit like this- the idea that, by introducing such restrictions, they can force consumers to do business with their company in the future rather than shopping around. Or, to put it another way, they're trying to hold the consumer hostage with the threat of causing the products they've spent their hard-earned money on to stop working. As consumers, we know this doesn't work- not only can restrictions like this not be enforced, they tend to backfire and cause problems with the product itself. Let's use the shoe-sensor combination as an example- the sensor pings an RFID tag in the shoe to make sure that it is an "authorized" shoe. Some unknown electronic device- say, a cellphone- causes interference which interrupts contact between the shoe and the sensor for a fraction of a second. The sensor stops working, and its output is rendered useless.

Nevermind that there will be tutorials on the internet before the thing hits market showing the consumer exactly how to locate and remove the RFID tag so that it can be transplanted to a different shoe right along with the sensor. I'd love to see how they plan to stop shoe piracy. I can see it now: FPAA: Footwear Producers' Association of America. A week after buying your shoes, you get a letter in the mail notifying you that you've been named in a lawsuit for wearing Reeboks instead of Nikes. "We know what's best for you," it reads, "so in order to protect you from making a terrible mistake we must- regrettably- ask you to settle for $5000 plus the cost of the shoes you damaged." Holy shit! How'd they know?!

This is not capitalism at work- it is capitalism gone rotten, attempting to stifle competition rather than encourage it. To a single company or partnership, it looks like a good idea- competition, after all, hurts their profit margins. However, competition is what drives innovation, and without innovation the entire system stalls and becomes stagnant.

"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. Horrid mischief would ensue were (the law-abiding) deprived of the use of them." - Thomas Paine

Remember, kids: illiteracy is cool. If you took the time to read this, you are clearly a loser who will never get laid. You've been warned.

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