Face it, you're in love—with an overpriced iPad and the feeling of inclusion that comes with it. The 'fanboys' are the zealots that blog about every iWhatever rumor; they'll clap from the front row at every Apple presentation. But the rest are merely wooed and starry-eyed: they'll gladly part with hundreds of dollars every few months, and blissfully swim in the ecosystem.
And, ignore everything else, even the evil stuff.
Like the finest of lovers, the good part is very good, and theApple ecosystem can be a fantastic and comfy place. This lover leads: Apple usually makes incredible products that out-innovate the enemy. They also have the uncanny ability to predict consumer trends, and the rare power to create those trends as well. It's a lover you want to show off, because if an Apple logo's attached, it's often a smashingly good experience.
But some of Apple's behavior is just smashingly bad—and totally evil. And not only do they get away with it, it's almost as if it's not even happening!
Blame the ridiculous tech-fashion love affair. Apple stands for svelte innovation and chic technology, but this adulation almost blinds people to the dirt. It explains why Apple could so easily paper over its sweatshops in China, why they could effectively bully and gag journalists from telling the real, miserable story.
It also explains why people will burn through iPods and iPhones, while ignoring the environmental ramifications of all this disposable gadgetry. And China has a hideous environmental track record, but that's actually part of the reason why so much manufacturing is outsourced to Asia. In fact, many Asians will tell you that cities like Los Angeles are fresh-air paradises compared to their sweatshop hometowns. If Apple is a leader in tech, they're also a leader in this environmental destruction.
And what about these nefarious tracking files discovered in iPhones and iPads? Well, investigators in Japan, Germany, France and South Korea are now asking questions. But Apple is playing stonewaller once again; in fact, we don't even know the extent of the privacy violations or what this file really is. Sure, security researchers discovered latitudinal and longitudinal tracking—and synching back to Macs and PCs—but we have no idea how this information is being stored, shared, or aggregated.
Yet if history is a guide, this will blow over as quickly as it arrived. Apple is smartly managing this one, and it may never make a blip on the mainstream consumer radar.
And the media may be the biggest part of the problem—the endless fawning and worshipping, even though Apple treats them like dirt! It's almost as if missing out on the iPad announcement is death to a blogger or journalist. But in the process, these same blogs and newspapers may be missing the much bigger picture—and perpetuating this ridiculous glow. Because Apple is evil, too.
And, ignore everything else, even the evil stuff.
Like the finest of lovers, the good part is very good, and theApple ecosystem can be a fantastic and comfy place. This lover leads: Apple usually makes incredible products that out-innovate the enemy. They also have the uncanny ability to predict consumer trends, and the rare power to create those trends as well. It's a lover you want to show off, because if an Apple logo's attached, it's often a smashingly good experience.
But some of Apple's behavior is just smashingly bad—and totally evil. And not only do they get away with it, it's almost as if it's not even happening!
Blame the ridiculous tech-fashion love affair. Apple stands for svelte innovation and chic technology, but this adulation almost blinds people to the dirt. It explains why Apple could so easily paper over its sweatshops in China, why they could effectively bully and gag journalists from telling the real, miserable story.
It also explains why people will burn through iPods and iPhones, while ignoring the environmental ramifications of all this disposable gadgetry. And China has a hideous environmental track record, but that's actually part of the reason why so much manufacturing is outsourced to Asia. In fact, many Asians will tell you that cities like Los Angeles are fresh-air paradises compared to their sweatshop hometowns. If Apple is a leader in tech, they're also a leader in this environmental destruction.
And what about these nefarious tracking files discovered in iPhones and iPads? Well, investigators in Japan, Germany, France and South Korea are now asking questions. But Apple is playing stonewaller once again; in fact, we don't even know the extent of the privacy violations or what this file really is. Sure, security researchers discovered latitudinal and longitudinal tracking—and synching back to Macs and PCs—but we have no idea how this information is being stored, shared, or aggregated.
Yet if history is a guide, this will blow over as quickly as it arrived. Apple is smartly managing this one, and it may never make a blip on the mainstream consumer radar.
And the media may be the biggest part of the problem—the endless fawning and worshipping, even though Apple treats them like dirt! It's almost as if missing out on the iPad announcement is death to a blogger or journalist. But in the process, these same blogs and newspapers may be missing the much bigger picture—and perpetuating this ridiculous glow. Because Apple is evil, too.
