Merv, my apologies if I expressed myself a bit too strongly in my comment. I do in fact agree absolutely about the importance of ethical business practices but feel the examples given in the article were just so inaccurate as to damage the author's cause.
I have been frustrated in recent years at the amount of unbalanced commentary in much of the media about things like this. The continual tendency to tear down those who do well that is such a feature of the Australian psyche is unfortunately all too evident on the Internet as well. In the case of Apple it almost seems to be an orchestrated campaign for many elements of the media to fixate on some manufactured negative issue with each product release and blow it out of all proportion. Examples include the lack of a keyboard on the original iPhone, the non-removable battery, the supposedly *hot* iPad which was cooler than most other tablets, the Aussie 4G issue and now this $35 adapter. Where was the outcry when Samsung changed their adapter from their 30-pin dock connector (which they copied from Apple) in the Galaxy S2 to the Galaxy S3 without a free adapter for S2 owners? What's wrong with buying a cheaper third party adapter than Apple's for the new iPhone 5 - they're already being advertised. Why should Apple give it away free? Apple already gives lots of free or cheap stuff out - far cheaper OS update prices than Microsoft, far cheaper app prices than desktop software, free iCloud services, the cheap cloud-hosted iTunes Match service even for pirated music, free iOS system updates, free Find My iPhone and Find my Friends apps, free Maps GPS navigation app, free iTunes Remote app, etc etc. How many gestures of goodwill does Apple have to make? What's the big deal about this adapter? What other company has stuck with the same adapter and port on their devices for a decade? Why is there no outcry over the ridiculous number of different USB port sizes and shapes out there that you have to buy different cables and adapters for each different device? Why did I have to pay $400 for a new remote key fob for my Landrover(!!!!). ;-( It is this unbalanced commentary that just gets my goat! -Mart On 17/09/2012, at 5:53 PM, Merv Bond <m...@iinet.net.au> wrote: > It is a common ploy to defend oneself by saying that everybody else is > doing it. Throw in some adjectives such as silly, ridiculous and tall > poppy syndrome to add to the mix. The issue of ethics in business is the > sub-text of the article. At the more literal reading the author of the > article was suggesting that a $35 adapter was a small amount for a > company at the top of profit list in the world and would have been a > gesture of goodwill to its "devoted" customers. > Merv > > On 17/09/12 5:25 PM, Stephen Chape wrote: >> Well done Martin ! >> >> On 17/09/2012, at 2:31 PM, Martin Hill wrote: >> >>> This is the reply I posted to the article below: >>> >>> I'm sorry, but complaining about a $35 adapter is frankly silly. Why don't >>> you go complain about car manufacturers charging an atrocious $400 for a >>> replacement key remote instead - a far more nefarious example of corporate >>> greed than Apple's little adapter. >>> >>> NFC has been termed "Not For Commerce" because it has been dead in the >>> water as it requires huge changes by retailers. Apple only supports these >>> sorts of standards once they become widespread enough to be useful - >>> witness the time Apple took introducing 3G and 4G in their devices - they >>> waited until there was enough 3G and 4G coverage to be useful for consumers >>> saving them the terrible battery life impact inherent with jumping in too >>> soon on early chipsets. >>> >>> Likewise, the ACCC's crusade against Apple re 4G was ridiculous as the >>> International Telecommunications Union classes Telstra's HSPA+ dual carrier >>> NextG network as 4G even if Telstra doesn't advertise it as such locally. >>> >>> It gives up to 42mbps speeds which is far faster than Vivid Wireless's 4G >>> WiMax network here in Australia which tops out at a pathetic 5mbps. In >>> contrast, Apple's iPad 4G has demonstrated real-world speeds of 20mbps on >>> NextG in Australia. Now you tell me who is putting one over the consumer >>> in that context? >>> >>> @David, this continued witch-hunt against Apple over Chinese working >>> conditions is unfortunately based on a lot of untruth exacerbated by the >>> infamous Mike Daisy. For example the topic that started the media frenzy >>> originally was the supposed suicide cluster at Foxconn, Apple's major >>> Chinese assembler. The reality which still very few media outlets mention >>> is that only 17 suicides were verified over a 5 year period. >>> >>> This may sound like a lot until you realise that if Foxconn had the same >>> suicide rate as the rest of China, they would have had 1,320 suicides over >>> that same timeframe out of their 1.2 million workers. >>> >>> Make no mistake about it, these sorts of complaints are nothing but >>> tall-poppy syndrome and sour grapes >>> >>> >>> On 17/09/2012, at 1:03 PM, Merv Bond <m...@iinet.net.au> wrote: >>> >>>> http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=33211 >>>> Merv >>>> -- >>>> The whole psychology of modern disquiet is linked with the sudden >>>> confrontation with space-time. (Teilhard de Chardin, 'The Phenomenon of >>>> Man') >>>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- >>>> Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> >>>> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> >>>> Settings & Unsubscribe - >>>> <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> >>> >>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- >>> Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> >>> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> >>> Settings & Unsubscribe - >>> <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> >> >> >> Regards, >> Stephen Chape >> >> -------------- next part -------------- >> An HTML attachment was scrubbed... >> URL: >> http://lists.wamug.org.au/pipermail/wamug.org.au-wamug/attachments/20120917/b0d12097/attachment.htm >> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- >> Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> >> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> >> Settings & Unsubscribe - >> <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> >> > > -- > The whole psychology of modern disquiet is linked with the sudden > confrontation with space-time. (Teilhard de Chardin, 'The Phenomenon of > Man') > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Settings & Unsubscribe - <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
