Things I am against: Part 1

Hello, all! Don't worry, I'm very aware that I haven't posted very much on this blog for months. Back then the fad was to do this 30 day picture blog post challenge. Needless to say, I didn't finish. I think taking photos just isn't really my thing. That brings me to something that I think will keep my interest more: My very first installment of a new blog-series I'm going to do entitled THINGS I AM AGAINST.

Note: This, as with any possible future installment of THINGS I AM AGAINST doesn't have the purpose of convincing anyone of anything. It is merely me ranting; meant mostly for entertainment purposes. I mean, if you want to side with me all the better, but I won't push you into anything. You read the following of your own free will and choice, and are welcome to stop reading whenever you want.

First item that I am against: APPLE.

I know that if you're like a majority of Americans, you own or use and probably find yourself loyal to Macintosh and its own efforts. My fiancee, in fact, is a proud owner and user of Apple Products. I love her and would never do anything to stop her from having her own opinions and choices. I won't say that any of you are WRONG, just that I don't agree. So no feelings hurt, right? Good! Now you can keep reading.

Now first of all, I am convinced that Macintosh Is trying to take over the world. 

Does that seem crazy to you?  Let me ask another question before you even bother to answer the previous question: Would you mind reaching into your backpack and showing me your CD player? Wait, what's that- you don't have one? Left it at home? Haven't touched it for years?

You may want to sit down before reading the following: CD PLAYERS ARE NOW OBSOLETE. That's right- CDs and CD players are fading. They are now just simply taking up space. Don't believe me? People are now suggesting that you take those "old CDs" that you spent weeks saving up for to buy and listen to, and turn them into coasters.

Now the big thing is .mp3 players. No, that is not a bad thing; not at all. Being able to carry all the music I own in my pocket is never anything that I will complain about. The bad thing about it is simply that Macintosh is convincing you that a device that only plays music is simply not enough. No, it also must have GPS on it, a camera, make phone calls, play games, connect to the internet, and many other things they brag about.

Do you see what they're doing? They're taking what we already had, adding a bunch of crazy stuff we can't afford, and giving it back to us convincing us that it's all just as necessary as it was before!

The fact is, everything the iPhone can do, I already have something that does it. Camera? Got it. Actual Cell phone? Got it. .mp3 player? Got it. Gaming device? I have a Nintendo DS. Google Maps? My laptop connects to the internet just fine, thank you.

You see? They aren't giving you anything new, just putting it all together and charging you more for what you already have! "Well, it's nice to have it all together", you say. Well, think of it this way: if my cell phone battery dies, I can still take out my camera and take pictures and even play my gameboy if I get bored. Keep in mind I'll be doing it with a cell phone, camera, AND gameboy that all cost less put together than one iPhone. 

"Yeah, but it's not just Apple! Other companies are making phones that do all that, too!" Yes, I know. And unfortunately, they have to in order to keep up! Apple is taking advantage of people, and making a lot of money because of it. If they were to succeed in getting everyone in the world an iphone, cell phone, camera, gps, and many other industries would go bankrupt. In order to keep up, other companies have been forced to   play the same dirty game.

Also, it's never enough. Everyone I know who had an iPhone 1 wanted an iPhone 2 as soon as they could get it.

...and Steve Jobs knows this. He is feeding on the gullibility of the consumers.

And now a very personal note, probably the biggest reason why I refuse to buy Apple products: THEY OWE ME $16. 

When I was a freshman in BYU, I thought I would join the cool kid's club and download iTunes. I had just deleted/destroyed all of my illegally downloaded music from the Napster days, and I was ready to get my music the clean way. You know- the way this guy would do it:

So I come to iTunes. I give them my credit card information, and buy some songs I was excited about at the time. I download it all for $16, and proceed to upload it to the .mp3 player I got for Christmas the year before. Wait, what's this; an ERROR? I have a .mp3 player, but the music isn't in .mp3 format! Well, that's kind of annoying. I kept looking on the internet for a file that could change the iTunes music into .mp3 files, but actually stumbled upon more research. People had been creating programs that would do exactly what I needed, but every time Apple learned of people using iTunes songs on their own .mp3 players, they would invent a NEW file type that the programs couldn't understand. In other words, there was a cyber war between really smart computer people and Apple. One wanted the music that they bought to be able to be used on their own .mp3 player. Apple, on the other hand, wanted the music they made you pay for ONLY available on iPod. Of course I immediately put myself on the side of the smart computer people. Are you kidding me? I JUST stopped illegally downloading music, and had to convince myself to pay for the songs themselves- and I can't use them unless I spend $100 + on YOUR product? Did you ever see any CDs that would only work in one brand of CD player? That would be ridiculous, so how was this any better?

At the end of that school year, I had to return the computer that I had rented from BYU. The songs I bought were stuck on that computer, and forced to be formatted with the computer, or in other words lost forever.

I then left on a mission, and I have since learned that iTunes has started to play nice after rival music download stores allowed people to use songs on whatever .mp3 player they wanted. I still don't touch iAnything, and I still think Steve Jobs owes me $16.

And don't get me started on their computers. Basically, I'll just say that their computers make me feel stupid.

(The part I want you to hear is near the end, although the whole thing is pretty funny)