For the record…I like Apple and I use Mac’s quite a bit and generally enjoy my experiences with them; however, I must point out a few of my personal gripes with Apple, none of which will be news to anyone that has been breathing over the past century…
- Closed source operating system prevents many software developers from designing useful software to function on the Apple platform, which gives rise to the inability for many sites to function with it’s browser and many useful softwares to function on it’s OS.
- Forces users to pay for operating system upgrades when the OS is not a new OS, but ratherr a mere service pack (e.g. you musy pay $125 to go from version 10.3.9 to version 10.4.1 in order to simply access network storage)
- Forces users to purchase Apple’s own hardware (an Apple computer) in order to use it’s software (the Apple OS) – shunning the abilities of so many other hardware manufacturers. If Microsoft pulled a similar move, it would be disallowed through anti-competitive lawsuits as a result of the impact that it would put a number of companies out of business including Dell, HP, Gateway and hinder the profitability of every company that derives any significant portion of its revenues from PC and PC peripheral sales (IBM, Sony, Panasonic, etc.).
- Generally pricier for the same performance
After a easy setup and configuration of the new Apple Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS), the device pooped out when I tried setting up network storage and after much reseach online, it turns out that everyone that bought this device had the same issues. I promptly returned the Jobso’s over promising wireless router and I am back looking for a new brand.
Why pay more for car insurance? Why pay anything for an FTP program? Beats me. For years now people have been shelling out between 15 and 30 bucks or so for FTP program licenses. It’s time to stop. Filezilla is one of the best FTP programs out there and it costs zero, zip, nada. In addition, Filezilla works with both PC and Mac. Don’t be fooled into paying for Transmit, AbsoluteFTP, Fetch, or anything else…Use Filezilla for free and don’t look back…go spend the 30 bucks you saved on four Pinkberries.
I really liked Pinkberry ever since my first had back in the spring of 2007. As much as I really wanted to hate this stuff when I first heard about it, it’s really good, and you can’t knock the hustle when something tastes good. Everytime I go to a Pinkberry I keep thinking to myself how badly I really want to invest in this company as the next local to regional to national food play – the easy retail / food stock run up that always works as long as you get out before it gets to the national level. Anyways, I’m reading some VC news today and look what pops into my browser…this article. And read this one too from the NY Times. I really need to get in on the series B. It’s easy money, and as every article on the company likes to point out, the celebrities love it too. Now this place is going to blow up even more. It would be so nice to ride this money wave. Maybe I should go get a job in the finance department there for a few years just for the options. They have plenty of cash to burn and people to hire with the $27.5M they just raised. This one will be really fun to watch over the next 2 to 5 years.
After moving to LA from NYC, I needed a car and of course, car insurance. I shopped around with esurance, Progressive, Farmers, Wawanesa, and even a personal contact that quoted me a discounted rate on car insurance. The commercials are right…Geico has the best rates out there and offerred me a rate that’s more than $200 per year less than the competition. I look at car insurance as a commodity and I really don’t understand how the other hacks can get away with offering so much more for the exact same goods as I get from Geico. Geico even offers some perks when you sign up with them, including $50 deductibles on windsheild repairs (front, rear, and all side glass included) if you have a new car. What’s going on in the world? Why would anyone ever pay more for car insurance? I can understand health insurance where the plans and doctors and networks can very significantly as well as the prices, but not car insurance where the limits and plans can be easily compared across the board. Go Lizard!
