Examples:

1. You can’t download Quicktime without iTunes (force feeding).
2. You can’t use the iTunes Music Store without the VERY latest version of iTunes, which get’s updated constantly.
3. You can’t easily move your own (paid for) music on and off your iPod.
4. Forget moving music off the iPod, if you have 2 computers (Computer 1 at home, Computer 2 at work), you can’t even add a goddamned song to your iPod via computer 2, without totally eradicating all the data that was put on by computer 1.

Now… why is this the case? Are these things that Apple has overlooked? Are they bugs or usability problems that the God of the GUI simply hasn’t addressed yet? No. The 4 irritating issues listed above are ALL the result of greed. Apple has had some success (particularly with iPod) and they want more. They want to “protect” it. They want to grow it. They want to make sure their users are “locked in”. They want to make it hard to get out. Sound familiar?

Not being able to download Quicktime without iTunes is a GREAT example… this is a signature Microsoft move. This is why people hate MS, they do this constantly and we all hate them for it. This is Apple trying to use the success of one product, to FORCE FEED you another product.

Apple in effect is saying this: “Oh… you like beer? Well.. guess what! We’ve created a technology that FORCES you to eat Pigs Feet while you drink beer. From now on if you try to drink beer without simultaneously eating Pigs Feet, the beer will explode in your stomach and kill you! So… from now on, Enjoy Beer! AND Pigs Feet Together! NOW AND FOREVER!!!! What??? Don’t like Pigs Feet??? Tough Fucking SHIT!!!!”

Personally, I hate iTunes. I think it sucks. It’s pig slow and it’s crippled. I don’t want it. But Apple wants me to have it. In fact they insist, and they’re going to make it hard on me if I don’t like it.

Sony could have owned the MP3 player market. They could have dominated it just like they dominated the portable tape and CD player market. But they didn’t. Why? The answer is once again greed. Sony is also a music company… which prevented them from making a good MP3 player. Because of GREEEED. Sony has publicly admitted this now, even apologized for it. Their myopic desire to protect their music business crippled their design capability and made their players SUCK!!! This incestual corporate greed… makes companies fuck themselves… retarded products are the result. Now Apple is lining up right behind Sony, and Microsoft. Lining up to fuck itself.

They funny part about all of this is that it’s all unnecessary. What the companies don’t get is that they only hurt themselves. They don’t stop the bad guys. I can easily circumvent all 4 of the issues I mentioned above. I can break the system and use the technology the way I want. I have that ability regardless of how hard they try to make it, how much they sacrifice to lock it down. They’ll ruin their products to force their corporate vision on the masses. But in the end, those who want to deviate still will, and those who simply wanted a good, usable product will eventually buy something else that isn’t as retarded.

Bottom line.. this is the begining of the end for Apple. To continue down this path means the end of the type of innovation the company has built itself on.

I just tried to buy a new album from the iTunes Music Store, this would be my first, but it tells me that I need iTunes 6.0, and after I just loaded 5.something 2 weeks ago… and you know what? Fuck ‘em. I don’t want it. They can keep their 6.0 and their electronic delivery. I’ll go someplace else, where features and functionality come before greed… at least for the time being.

Anyone want to buy an iPod?

-i believe i can see the future, cause i repeat the same routine…[NIN]

btw.. people are always saying that they can’t get good uptime with NetBSD on their Cobalt Qube.. well as I’m shutting down the Gigaqube right now I see that it’s been up solid and quite busy for 218 days. No uptime problems here.

-Adios

If a mouse is presented with a button, that when pressed both dispenses food, and gives him a small but painful electric shock, the mouse will have to press the button to survive and therefore will endure the pain for as long as necessary. However, if after being conditioned to use the shock button for food, the mouse is suddenly presented with a second choice, a new button that sits next to the shock button and is perhaps of a different shape or color, what will the mouse do? The mouse will try the new button. Why? Because it knows that it must press a button to receive food and therefore survive. But it also knows that the shock button, while dispensing food, gives a painful electric shock, therefore it makes sense to try the new button because with the new button comes the chance at a better life.

In short, the mouse will try the new button because it knows that the status quo sucks, and there’s a chance that the new button will dispense food without administering a shock and therefore it represents the possibility for a better life for the mouse.

Surely the American public is smarter than a common mouse… right?

The U.S. press secretary claims that Democracy is taking root, and that Iraq “wants us there to finish the job”. Wow… what a ridiculous statement, even for a professional liar. Americans were killed, mutilated and dragged through the streets today while Iraqi’s cheered and jumped for joy. Wake the fuck up people! These are NOT people that are happy to see us! They don’t see us as allies, they see us as the enemy.

So let’s recap…

Since we invaded Iraq, imprisoned their leader, spent billions of dollars and got hundreds of our own people killed, what’s been the upside?

Q: Is life better in the U.S.A. as a result of this?
A: No.

Q: Is life better in Iraq?
A: Based on the events of the day… unless they have a very different way of saying “thank you”, I’d have to say no.

Q: Is the U.S.A. a safer place to live since we found and destroyed all of Iraq’s Nukes and Bio-Weapons?
A: Uh… no. In fact if Iraq did have WMD’s then they are probably safe and sound in the hands of people who hate us and are likely being aimed at us now more than ever.

Q: Did the war on Iraq create new jobs?
A: Even if it had that would be a shitty, maniacal reason to have a war, but no, it did not.

Q: Did the war on Iraq help us cure any diseases, improve education, or foster an environment of worldwide tolerance for other races and cultures?
A: Nope…

Q: So what the hell good did it do? And why are we still there, being killed and mutiliated in the streets?
A: Somebody please tell me…