No need to apologise, Mat. I thought the article would be provocative and I understand you shooting from the hip in your response. I am glad we are both on the same wave length with respect to ethical business practices. Merv
On 17/09/12 8:52 PM, Martin Hill wrote: > 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> > -- 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>
