>iTunes Includes "iSpy" Feature ><http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/01/apple_ispy.html> >I personally do not like iTunes. I find it annoying.
Got digital cable TV? Then your cable company knows every channel you watch, and for how long. And most of them match it with actual user data (ie: they know what YOU are watching and when). Nothing in that article says Apple is doing anything other than aggregate data. ie: They know what music is being listened to, but they don't know who is listening to it. However, my guess is, that will change, and they will match it with specific user data (if that isn't already happening) Possibly not with YOU, but with the fact that you are within a certain age group and income level. This is actually far more common than people realize. Digital TV (cable, satellite, TiVo), all those customer discount cards for grocery stores, your bank, your credit card company, your ISP. And most of them tie to specific user data (they know what YOU are doing, not just that customers are doing it or customers within a certain demographic). The reason is it getting paid attention to in the computer world is two fold. 1: The major players that have tried it so far have all screwed up and compromised user security. 2: The applications it has been done with on the computer so far have all been ones where people are worried about being spied on (music, movies, software... all places that many people have technically illegal items on their computers). People don't complain when the grocery store monitors your buying habits because you aren't out stealing groceries (or if you are, they aren't trackable). >Apple ><http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/apple.html> > >"Until recently, iPod owners were in an uproar upon learning that >their little music box had a life span limited by its battery." That's just silly. It is like saying your Palm Pilot life span is limited by the battery. Or your laptop is limited in life by the battery, or your cell phone. Or heck, your flashlight! Batteries die over time, that's reality. When the battery dies, you replace it. Apple offers replacement batteries for the iPod as well as directions on how to replace it. That is a step up from Palm Pilot and most WinCE device makers that don't even offer replacements, much less how to do the replacement yourself. Do people really think that they buy an iPod, and that the battery will last forever? Apple has had a few battery problems, and they even did free replacements for one of the lines that was having premature battery death. Now, to the best of my knowledge, the battery is covered under the 1 yr warranty. So you will get at least a year out of it (which depending on usage, may be all you should expect to get. I believe they use a Lithium Ion battery, which has a finite number of charge/discharge cycles. In the range of 500. So for people that are heavy users, they may only get about 18 months at best). If you don't want to replace the battery yourself, Apple will do it for you (or any authorized repair center) for a charge. And if Apple's price is too high for the battery, there other dealers selling the same (or compatible), or better batteries for less money. They too will do the swap for you if you don't want to do it yourself. There have been 3rd party companies doing this since pretty much day one of the iPod batteries dying (so about 6-12 months after the first iPod was released). Apple has joined in on offering this service more recently. That still puts them ahead of many other portable battery operated device makers (like I said, you can shell out as much or more money for Palm's and PocketPCs and find you can't get new batteries for them either) You know what all this boils down to? People want something for nothing. They use their iPods often, daily, to the point that they become "addicted" as it were (it becomes a part of their life). Next thing they know, a year or two has past, and the battery is no longer holding a charge. Now they find themselves with an iPod crammed full of their music, no backup, and no way to use it any more as a portable device. So they freak out and get angry... not at themselves for being addicted or for not having a backup... but at Apple for not supplying a battery that would last forever. People need to do less crying and blaming of others. -chris <http://www.mythtech.net> ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
