Why Does Stigmutha Keep Fucking With Me?

The Moment of Zen email this morning:

> iPod and Apple Bashing - Just like Mom used to make.
>
> The cult of the white wires....(unfortunately this
> is true)
> http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com/
> (I'd have to say that if they expect me to pay
> 300-400 dollars, the fucking
> battery should be replaceable and not for a 250
> dollar fee)
>
> Robotussin and Redbull (submitted by Apple cult
> member A. Bryan Guthrie, AKA
> "I've got an Apple Vibrator!")
> http://www.gizmodo.com/images/bizzaro_ipod.mov
>
> Dissenting Opinion - '...they'd better think
> different. Oh, wait, that's
> their slogan, isn't it? Maybe they'd better think
> different differently. "
> http://www.bythom.com/apple.htm

It was his second Apple-bashing email in as many days. I wrote him an email, but I figured I'd post it here instead because that's the sort of guy I am. Here it goes:

Dear Sean,

I just wanted to respond to some of the inaccuracies and FUD in your email this morning.

1. You can replace your iPod's battery for $30:
   
   http://www.ipodbattery.com/
   
   And installation, while tricky, is not difficult:
   
   http://www.ipodbattery.com/slimipodinstall.htm
   
   I agree that Apple should make this easier instead of requiring owners to buy new iPods every two years. However, I, for one, know that in about a year-and-a-half, I will wish to matriculate from my current 15GB to 60 or 80 GB, so whatever.
   
   
2. Apple's DRM, while I agree is DRM which is always an issue for which I err on the side of user's rights, will allow you to put that song on up to five computers. It's more fair and less invasive than any DRM Microsoft has embedded into Windows Media Player.
   
   Don't like their DRM? Then don't buy songs from the iTunes Music Store; it's your money. Buy CDs, then, and rip them to MP3s (which iTunes will happily do). Or steal your music from the internet or from friends; I won't judge you...
   
   
3. Can't use your iPod to move music from one computer to another? Uh, wrong:
   
   http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173
   
   The long and short of it, though, is that the iPod is a portable hard drive. Copy some music to it, carry it to a friend's computer, done. The point of the link is to show you that even Apple is willing to tell you how to do it.
   
   
4. Apple's DRM is the only one of two things truly closed about the iPod. AAC is an open format (it's also used by Real), anyone can sync with the iPod if they want (WinAmp can, for example with the ml-iPod plug in), and many manufacturers provide plug-ins for iTunes that will allow you to use a device other than an iPod, plug-ins created using an SDK supplied by Apple.
   
   Sure, Apple's protecting their market share and their investment, and protecting such intellectual property always infringes on user rights to information. However, nothing Apple has done even comes close to the sorts of user infringement inflicted by companies like Quark and Macromedia (draconian product activation schemes) and Microsoft (where do I begin?).
   
   I'm not defending Apple for everything they do. The other completely closed thing on the iPod is the operating system, and I think developers should be able to write applications for it. However, what seems like a closed architecture to so many people is actually closed just enough to make it less confusing for consumers and is plenty open for more advanced users.
   
   
5. It's called the iBrator:
   
   http://www.flamingmailbox.com/maccomedy/movies/ibrator.html
   
   

I know you're just having fun. I know I'm taking this too seriously. I also know how you would come down on me if I started extolling the virtues of the GameCube over the Xbox, but I wouldn't do that because I wouldn't know what I'm talking about.

There are plenty of things you can criticize Apple for that I'll agree with (overpriced RAM, the annual "Mac Tax" on incremental operating system updates, the bait-and-switch on iLife which used to be free). But don't spread lies, even if it is only about iPods; it's not good for either of us.

And finally, I'd just like to say that there's a reason many of of us who use Apple products are obsessed with them, especially those of us who spent years using Windows machines. I didn't choose to be obsessed with Apple products; if anything, I simply woke up.

Sorry to interrupt your morning. Please return to your virus-infected, spyware-ridden, poorly designed, non-intuitive Windows machine forced upon you through monopolistic practices.

-Arlo ;->