Take your iPad, Steve Jobs, and put it where sun don't shine

Apple execs have pissed me off -- and I'm fricking fed up!

First, they've joined some lawsuits against Microsoft on alleged antitrust violations or testified against Microsoft in other immoral lawsuits.

Second, in the last month they've added coding to the iPhone to prevent "jail-breaking," which means that people like me cannot download coding for our phones to get them to do what they already should do, such as having two or more programs up on the phone at one time. That same coding is now on the iPad, which went on sale today in stores, meaning that you can't be checking email and have another browser window open at the same time. This is simply barbaric (so 20th century) and anachronistic that it boggles the mind.

Third, Apple refuses to allow Flash video capability on its iPad, which means that the predominance of videos on the Internet simply can't be played on the iPad.

Fourth, Apple made AT&T its exclusive dealer for the iPhone for three years. This reaped billions of dollars for Apple and forced us consumers to be stuck with the wretched AT&T if we were to have our cherished iPhone.

Fifth, Apple's contract with AT&T allows AT&T to basically charge double for data sending, because you cannot use your iPhone data plan on your iPad. You have to buy another data service. Insane!

Sixth (and this is the most egregious), Apple has used the clout it will inevitably have with the iPad to get book publishers to agree to a new pricing plan for new e-books, increasing the minimum price on e-books to $12.99 from $9.99, which Amazon has amazingly been charging for years. Even Amazon had to buckle to the new competition, which ironically has increased prices instead of decreasing, which usually happens with more competition. The reason for this is that Apple is demanding a bigger profit off the sales (30%). The book publishers will make a tad more, but they like the new price because it's closer to hardback prices, thereby giving e-book readers less incentive to buy the less-profitable e-books. Apple wins; we consumers lose.

So, fuck you, Steve Jobs. And fuck the iPad you rode in on. I'm fed up. You are thankfully free to do as you please with your products, and I'm am miraculously still free to give you the finger and walk away.

Get back to me when you regain your senses, defenestrate pragmatics and put the consumer first.

Making money from you on my blog

I just set up an Amazon Associates membership on my blog, so when I review a book or recommend a product, you, my readers, can buy the item directly from Amazon from my blog post, if you like. I love Amazon and do most of my online purchases through them.

If you decide to do so, I'll make up to 15% off of your purchase.

You, of course, don't have to worry about my integrity when I recommend something -- unless you see me recommending Al (PudgeFascist) Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" for anything other than kindling for your fireplace.

Yours in wealth.

Amazon says "F-you" to Colorado's tax thiefs

We get so few glorious victories in our love affair with capitalism that when one happens, we get a brief smile and a hardy "Yeah, baby!"

Such is the case with Amazon's decision to drop all of its affiliates in Colorado after the fascist leaders of that state imposed sales-tax regulations on online retailers.

The Colorado fascist-in-chief (aka governor) signed a law last month that requires online retailers to either collect sales tax or share information with the state about all the purchases made by residents, so the state could demand booty (aka taxes) from those residents.

In an email to its Colorado retailers, Amazon called the new laws "burdensome ... and clearly intended to increase the compliance burden to a point where online retailers will be induced to 'voluntarily' collect Colorado sales tax -- a course we won't take."

Of course, we capitalists would enjoy a louder "Yeah, baby!" if Amazon had added, "Colorado has decided to join other fascist government entities in their direct and immoral violations of individual rights, so we will cease and desist operations that allow such transgressions against rational humans and their productive endeavors until the fascist dogs publicly reject such immorality and extinguish the offending laws."

That isn't likely to happen from the fascists. Here's what the Colorado fascist-in-chief, Bill Ritter, had to say about Amazon's move: "Amazon has taken a disappointing -- and completely unjustified -- step. Amazon is simply trying to avoid compliance with Colorado law."

You hear that? That's the sound of a frustrated fascist denied his booty by a company that won't play his jackbooting game.

That's worth another "Yeah, baby!"