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[Thad]

Yeah, this has all been part of some brilliant PR strategy on Apple's part.  They WANTED to get raked across the coals in the press and come across looking like a bunch of incompetent, litigious assholes.

[Brentai]

I'm still pretty fucking mystified how an information security fuckup of that magnitude could have ever occurred, but yeah I'm with Thad that most of the followup does not seem to be after all.

Then again, it isn't entirely out of the question that the whole charade may have just been orchestrated by an insane dying prick.

[Shinra]

Look - I'd honestly have believed that this was an accident the first time, and that it getting out was a massive failure on the part of someone in Apple's engineering department, but two prototypes getting out within weeks of each other is kind of hard for me to swallow. Jobs has proven himself, time and time again, to be completely morally bankrupt. I really don't put it past him to push the weight of his legal team to give the "accidental leak" story credibility. Sure, he might be committing fraud, but he has to have one of the best legal teams in the business, considering how close Apple is to dealing with an anti-trust case. Apple's name might be getting shit on, but for the most part that's being completely overshadowed by the huge amounts of free press and hype they're getting for the new iphone.

[TA]

I also believe that Steve Jobs has an ego so massive, and so constantly fed by yes-men, that he is really beyond the comprehension of criticism.  Like Prince.  He simply does not understand when people disagree with him or disapprove of him - they're just so obviously wrong.

It's worth keeping in mind that people have been talking about this phone for a month, and it hasn't cost Apple a dime.  And even assuming you like iPhones in the first place, it's just not an impressive phone.  It's a pretty lackluster improvement over the 3GS for hardware, and they already blew their wad on iPhone OS 4.  If they announced it as per usual the discussion would have focused on that, instead of how wronged Apple was.

[Brentai]

I guess I can see that.  Personally the punchline of "And Gizmodo then goes on to admit it's not that impressive." is my favorite part but I can see how most people would lose that detail in the entire spectacle.  And if you can blow that spectacle up bigger while making life miserable for the guys who said it sucks, eh, bonus.

This shit is just way too Xanatos for a real life evil scheme.  The most likely scenario is that Apple is trying to turn a bad situation to their advantage, and it's not working that well.

[TA]

Once again, though, I am flummoxed for an explanation for why the engineer who let Steve Wozniak play with a 3g iPad for two minutes during the iPad launch got fired, but Gray Powell is still employed.  Except for "he did nothing he wasn't told to do".

[Thad]

Already covered: it weakens Apple's theft case.

As for flummoxed: I'm flummoxed that you guys think Apple thought it was in need of a new advertising machine that got it the most negative media coverage it's gotten since...well, ever.

Apple needs help getting free media coverage of iPhones?  Really?  Fucking REALLY?  And, you know, figures that that media coverage should revolve around what a bunch of pricks they are?

Guys, come ON now.  I'm right there with you on the "Steve Jobs is a prick" bus.  But what you're suggesting is he is a complete fucking idiot on the subject of advertising.  Which is sort of like saying Jack the Ripper didn't know anything about killing prostitutes.

[Brentai]

To be fair, Apple is one of those odd companies that kinda benefit from being thrashed on.  The more the core customer base sees them as being attacked by mainstream, the more they'll show their support by buying whatever redundant crap is coming out this month.

[TA]

And you can hardly say that this whole debacle hasn't dramatically polarized the blogosphere.  Between Gizmodo and Adobe, "Us v. Them" sentiments are very high, which directly fuels Apple's counterculture rhetoric.  Shit, Apple's worth roughly a hundred times Adobe, and they're still constantly portrayed as an underdog against the all-consuming monstrosity of Flash.

[Thad]

Eeeeyeah, if Apple's marketing strategy for the past ten years had been to appeal to people who already loved Apple, we'd still be hearing bankruptcy rumors every six months.

Counterculture heroes don't send the cops to knock down people's doors.  The only people who can maintain that kind of cognitive dissonance are a market Apple doesn't have to worry about.

[Mongrel]

Well there's an important difference between marketing yourself as a rebel and actually rebelling. No cognitive dissonance is required to explain that.

But I also agree that "rebel company" isn't the only tool in Jobs' marketing shed by any means.

[Spaco]

Apple Won't Take Cash for iPad


I was under the impression that it was illegal for a vendor to not take US currency as payment for goods, but I guess that's a myth.

[SCD]

So today I got an email from apple advertising Adobe CS5. 

I thought you might want to know that.

[Detonator]

Apple Won't Take Cash for iPad


I was under the impression that it was illegal for a vendor to not take US currency as payment for goods, but I guess that's a myth.

I know some stores won't take bills larger than $50... I think there's a difference between "I won't sell this to you if you pay with cash" and "You owe me money, but I won't accept cash payment".  Stores aren't legally obligated to sell you anything, and if you haven't been sold anything, there's no debt to settle in which they would have to accept your cash.

That's just my guess, though.

[Spaco]

It's a pretty stupid policy if it's only a purchase of one unit. Either the woman is stupid or they hyped up the inconvenience factor, though, as she could have easily found someone who was willing to charge it and help her out in exchange for the cash, I'd imagine.

[TA]

Probably not, Spaco.  There's a lifetime limit of two iPad purchases per customer.

[Mongrel]

Lifetime? That seems amazingly counterproductive. Especially if someone wants to outfit their staff or make gift purchases or any of a thousand other scenarios that would involve buying, oh, more than two. I can't see how that "cure" isn't vastly worse than whatever "disease" it is they think they're fighting.

Oh and I guess she could have just asked an Apple-hater who isn't pathological to buy it? But I don't know dick abut these... maybe you need to buy it in your own name because there's some kind of registration issue?

Which neatly brings us to the spectre of an actual physical product being sold on the Steam and/or doctrine-of-first-sale-can-go-fuck-itself models.

[Spaco]

HAPPY ENDING

[Dooly]

Didn't she say she wanted an iPad for its internet capability?  Can she also afford internet service and a wireless router?

[teg]

So, my mp3 player just died yesterday and now I want to replace it with something top of the line. Though I have never really liked iPods, the Touch is vastly different and actually looks right up my alley. Recommended or no?