Is there a more unfriendly experience than the Apple Store ?

I quickly dashed in to Norwich this afternoon after work to get a few things I needed, and suddenly aware that I was next to the Apple Store, I decided to pop in and ask an iPhone related question. Big mistake.

Now I've never been to an Apple Store before and obviously I simply do not understand the rules or know the code.

Nowhere in the shop is there a desk stating the simple words "We're here to help" or "Customer Services", nor does there seem to be any clear or organised system for getting help. At the back of the store is something that resembles a bar with lots of stools and very few staff, with people sat looking bored staring in to space presumably waiting for a member of staff to help them. Having wandered round the store for a good ten minutes trying to catch the eye of a member of staff to no avail, I saw a stand marked "iPhone Connection point". So I waited next to it as some staff went back and forth, again ignoring me. Now having wasted 20 minutes, having no idea who to ask, how to get to speak to someone, where to queue, indeed whether you even have to queue, I left none the wiser and at a loss as to the answer to my question.

Would I go there again ? Not if I could possibly avoid it.

The iPad review Apple fans won't want to read

A great summary of the iPad HERE.

The are many millions who will buy it because it is an Apple product. Those people would also buy a dog turn if it was prefixed with the letter "i" and was carrying an Apple badge.

And before people ask, I do own 4th generation ipod Nano, so I know Apple do make some good stuff.

Going against my better judgment and being proved right and wrong at the same time

I have always been a but reluctant to follow the crowd. This is probably why I am a Lib Dem and an Everton supporter too (my support for Norwich is a local thing, much like supporting England, but Everton are my first team). So when MP3 players started to become the ideal replacement for older music players, I was somewhat reluctant to follow, sheep like, all the way to Apple and their iPod. My wife was also less than keen on their rather box like simplicity and instead opted for another brand, and in an attempt to avoid lots of competing cables and chargers, I later bought the same as her.

Now, nearly 5 years later, our MP3 players were on their last legs and my wife decided she wanted a new one for her birthday. Somewhat inspired by seeing someone elses new iPod Nano in a flashy colour, my wife decided that the Apple iPod was the way to go, and again to avoid clashes between competing cables and pc based media players, I too have bitten the bullet and bought an iPod Nano.

Now for me, this is a big step. I have always slightly resented that fact that any one company can have so much of the market in the way Apple do. On top of this I react strongly to those who would buy anything with an Apple logo on it. There are some people I know who would buy cat shit if apple sold it as iCatShit.

So how am I getting on with it ? Well, sort of okay. The gadget itself is a simple and fairly straight forward device. My problem is the iTunes software. I am at a loss as to why some parts of it are counter intuitive ? Why did it refuse to recognise my iPod all afternoon until I went through several lengthy procedures in order to reset parts of the system until it again recognised my iPod ? It's not a great problem overall for me to work out a way around some of the problems. But for anyone not PC savvy, it would have been a nightmare and Apple's support both in terms of printed instructions and web support is not that impressive.

In truth, I am getting on with the iPod fine, but it is always somehow slightly satisfying to find that something you were resistant too (in this case the software) actually does justify why you have been against it for so long.

Another example of biased reporting towards Apple

I am not an Apple fan. The company's obsession with seemingly making their technology not work with other manufacturers equipment is something that I find hard to fathom in the modern digital world whilst those who would buy a dog turn if it had an Apple badge on it also turn me off their range. And to prove just how biased the world is in favour of Apple, look at THIS article on the BBC website which hails the new Ipod shuffle which "tells you what song is playing". Every MP3 player I have had since 2004 has told me what song is being played via the built in screen, so the fact that Apple have failed to add screens to the Shuffle in the past and are now finding away around the absense of a screen should hardly be sold as a feature, but its a sign of the massive bias towards Apple from the press.

When will Apple become the new Microsoft ?

In some techies minds, Microsoft is a swear word. Using Vista is giving on to the dark side whilst using Internet Explorer "only perpetuates Microsofts dominance of the market". Microsoft are scorned for having to "patch" their software frequently whilst people ask why it is that Microsoft sells us software that is essentially broken and need repairing straight away.

But mention the company name Apple, and nobody bats an eyelid. Why ? Apple, after all, do exactly what Microsoft do, but worse. They use software for their iPods that really does not like working with other media players, they use file formats that do not work on all devices, they launch
- iPod Nanos where the screen scratches or cracks (which they replace a few weeks later). Oh, and it's not an urban myth. Read HERE, HERE & HERE .
- iPod Mini's where the battery dies very quickly (which they eventually agree to replace some months later.
- iPod Nanos which replace the old ones where the battery overheats to a dangerous level.
- iPhone 3Gs that are launched with major faults that require a patch just a few days later.

And all this in an MP3 player market that has become dominated by Apple. yet do people speak out against Apple ? No, because they are "cute and cuddly".

Actually, Apple and Microsoft are very very similar. The only difference is that Microsoft are getting better (could they have got any worse ?) whilst Apple are getting worse.

Update : The number of sad "anonymous" comments from Mac users, nearly all American, using phrases akin to "The Shermanator" in the film American Pie, sending torrents of abuse because I dared to liken Apple to MS is hilarious. What a sad bunch of techie geeks Apple users can be. Oh, by the way, cut out the abuse and I'll publish the comments, keep being abusive and I'll delete it. After all, it takes me less time to click on delete than it does for you to write the comment.

A great piece of satire about Iraq (or the Apple iRack)

Well worth a look.

The Emperor's new clothes syndrome - Old technology in the Apple iPhone

The Apple iphone was launched yesterday to a cavalcade of press publicity and the usual Apple junkies queueing all night in order to be the first to get one, but aside from a touch screen, what does the apple I phone offer that is new ?


I have had an MP3 player on my mobile phone for about three years now, so I am at a loss as to why Apple think they are the first people who have eliminated the need to carry both. As far as I can tell Sony Ericsson's Walkman phones have been around for years.


Then there is the iPhone's camera. 2 Mega Pixels is old technology. Apple putting in a camera from a phone that you could have picked up two years ago hardly set the pulse racing. Oh, and it has no flash either. With 7 mega pixel phone cameras expected in the new year, and 5 mega pixel camera phones being the norm now, Apple's technology is very dated.


What about the web browser. Apple have a funky browser that you can tilt and view from different angles. This is great, apart from ther fact that the phone relies on 2G technology. This means it's downloads are torturously slow, so unless you are in range of a wireless hotspot (and not just any hotspot, it must be from a specific company), your downloads will take an eternity. 2G technology is the technology introduced in 1995, so it says much for Apple that their "new" hardware makes use of a system 12 years old.


But the iphone has a touch screen ! Yes, that sound great, of course, that is as long as it does not have the fault that the American iPhones had where the portion of the screen you had to press to answer a call goes dead, meaning your phone rings but you cannot answer it. Of course if you want a touch screen that works and won't break, but a Nintendo DS, which can also do web browsing from any Wireless hotspot.


And finally, Apple tie you in to paying a higher rate with O2 for your phone, try to stop you going to a different network by blocking your phone and also charge you £269 for a phone that is essentially out of date already by some years.


So what has the iPhone got that attracts people to it in massive numbers ? See below.

So expect the new Apple product next year to be prefixed with the letter "i" and have an Apple badge on it which will ensure it sells in massive numbers. Yes, I can reveal the next product from Apple is the Apple iDog Turd.

Are Apple the the unacceptable face of capitalism ?

Apple have tried to foster an image of being something different, something special and innovative all at the same time in recent years. The I-Mac, the I-Pod, in fact anyone number of "I" related products seem to have become market leaders and turned what was once an ailing company in to a success story.

However, all is not what it seems at Apple. Yes, they are making lots of money, but is it all style of substance ?

Actually, what Apple is about is what every company is about. Making money and caring little for the consumer or the planet. Yes, corporate greed is alive and well at Apple inc.

When the I-Pod mini first came out there were major battery faults. They denied it in the UK, but in the US were issuing replacements. They treated UK and non American customers with disdain. So, they made a mistake ? No problem, except when the I-Pod Nano was launched, it too had a major fault. Its screen would scratch and break easily, and again, Apple denied there was a problem before reluctantly agreeing to issue replacements.

So is this all ? Well no. Only yesterday the EU decided to investigate why Apple charges different prices for its I-Tunes downloads in UK as compared to the rest of Europe. This has been an ongoing problem, raised by MP's , the press and just about everyone else, but did Apple take note ? No, they just wanted the money to keep rolling in and to hell with the customer.

Today, Apple inc have been shown to be top of the league again. Unfortunately, they are top of the league when it comes to making the most polluting computers. Again, Apple care little about anything other than making lots of money. Whatever your views on global warming, we are all agreed that we have limited resources on this planet and the environment should matter to companies as well as us.

What about an advertising campaign for the company entitled "Apple: I-Suck"