I dropped Maggie off at work this morning and was listening to the news on the way back to the ranch. Guess what the top news story was. If you guessed the robo call election scandal, the trial of an accused child murderer currently under way or even the ongoing election coverage in the United States, you’d be wrong.
The leading news story was about people who had lined up since yesterday morning at 9:30 to purchase the new Apple iPad. This wasn’t a phenomenon in my own city, it happened all over North America, Europe and Asia and not for the first time. I confess that I don’t get it.
I have no idea whether or not the new iPad is a major technological advancement but I’m willing to accept that it is. I’m even willing to accept that it is so revolutionary that it not only advances technology but peels vegetables and makes the bed.
So what?
So what?
It’s not like this is the only day it will ever be offered for sale and it’s not like it was a special introductory price. In fact, it will probably be cheaper six months from now, like most technology usually is after it has been around for awhile.
What’s the big deal? Why do so many put themselves through ridiculous hoops and waste so much time waiting to buy something that is going to be widely available for at least the next year and not just at specialty stores. Stores from Best Buy and Future Shop to Wal-Mart and Target will carry the new Apple iPad along with a whole lot of other tech gadgets, some of which people lined up to buy when they were first released and which now gather dust on the sale rack.
In fact, this latest precious icon of Apple technology will be replaced within 18 months by a newer version or something else equally as temporary because that is what all of these products actually are….temporary. They come and go with increasing frequency.
Does all this tech enhancement really change our lives to the extent that it is worth standing in the rain overnight to get it when the store opens in the morning?
I can understand lining up for food during a famine or water during a drought but a new iPad in the middle of a perfectly normal retail/manufacturing environment? Please….give your head a shake.
This is nothing more than an absurd hysteria over nothing.
Are we really that shallow as a society that being the first to buy something is more important than actually purchasing something for its functionality? Like I said, I don’t know if the new iPad will really enhance that functionality for users but assuming it does, so what? If there isn’t one in the store today, there will be in a couple of days. Whose life is so important that they will not be able to survive those few days without the increased functionality Apple is offering.
People worry about government control but are led around by the nose by companies like Apple who create this artificial hype which serves no other purpose than to keep the price high. The people who line up at the store to be ‘first’ are their own worst enemies because they are the ones who pay the most. If you want a new Apple iPad at a reduced price, encourage your friends not to be at the store on launch day or for a week or two after and guess what, the price will drop like a stone.
I've owned a dozen computers since I first started buying them and almost as many mobile phones. I never paid the initial price for any of them or lined to buy any of them. Surprisingly, my life was never diminished for being a few weeks behind the sales curve.
I've owned a dozen computers since I first started buying them and almost as many mobile phones. I never paid the initial price for any of them or lined to buy any of them. Surprisingly, my life was never diminished for being a few weeks behind the sales curve.
Still, I believe that everyone gets to choose for themselves so if the only way that someone can feel fulfilled is by being one of the first to own the latest gadget from Apple, Blackberry or Microsoft, fill your hat.
But….CNN and the rest of you in the media….it ain’t news. It’s just another gadget so let’s move on and try to get back to some semblance of rational reality.
© 2012 Maggie's Bear
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well written, I do agree with the article and I am not a huge fan of the devices nor do I buy in to the hype. If you want a functional tablet, high performance graphics and processor, 18 hours of battery life, an intuitive keyboard dock, upgrade-able memory, USB support, sleek form, fit, and fashion you need to look no further than the similarly priced Asus Transformer series. I've tested them all, and highly recommend this tablet..unless of course you're only buying one for iTunes continuity and a cool apple logo.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to take your word for it. I don't know much about computer technology beyond what I need it to provide which for me means spreadsheets, word documents and Internet access. Beyond that, it's just stuff NASA probably needs but I don't.
DeleteThanks for taking the time to drop by and for leaving a comment. I appreciate it.
Business Week had an article when the last iPad came out in which they revealed that to promote the hype Apple had hired actors to stand in line.I find it distressing that people grovel like good pets waiting for their food.
ReplyDeleteNevine
I find it to be just one more example of how so many who protest to be independent thinkers are so easily led like sheep. I also find it increasingly disturbing that the news media not only report on this nonsense but actually encourage it. So much for free thought and the fourth estate.
DeleteThere is no free thought. Not where Apple is concerned and not much elsewhere. It works like a sect. You admire, you follow, you "obey".
ReplyDeleteThe terrible thing Maggie is how these are made...with the blood and egregious labor practices that Apple condones...in factories in Shen Zen China. That should be the news: again and again: See my post for Technorati: http://technorati.com/technology/article/apples-poisoned-workers-plead-with-americans/
ReplyDeleteReports of Apple workers being poisoned were presented in a radio documentary by Mike Daisey on This American Life. The program has since discovered that much of the documentary was fabricated and Mr. Daisey himself has stated that it was never intended as journalism but rather as entertainment and that some of the material was fiction. Here's the link.
Deletehttp://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2012/03/16/radios_this_american_life_retracts_apple_story/