Rant of the Day

Technological ignorance is killing us.

People are friggin' morons about technology and I don't get it. It's 2010, people! How can most people use a computer every damn day, and not have a clue how it works? I worked at Best Buy for almost 2 years, and the kind of idiocy I had to deal with was incredible. (Things like explaining why a "wireless" router needs to be plugged into the wall, or the difference between a computer tower and a hard drive, or why a "wireless" printer doesn't just magically work without a router, or a dozen other things)

The bottom line is this. If you don't understand how technology works, you can't use it effectively. And you make things a royal PAIN IN THE ASS for those of us who DO know what we're doing. If you don't understand how to keep your computer clean, it will get fucked up. If you call me and ask me to help, I'll be pissed, because it doesn't take a genius to avoid that problem.

Apple exists for this reason. They know EXACTLY how stupid their customers are. They fully understand that the most important thing to the mouthbreathing masses is that their latest widget be pretty, trendy and require no intelligence at all to use. Apple customers don't care about functionality because they wouldn't know what to do with it. They wouldn't care about upgradeability because they'd just buy a new one. They don't care about compatibility with other products because they are happy to keep bending over to take it from Apple so that they never have to step outside the little universe of ignorance Apple products create. You think when you buy Apple you get a superior product? HA! What you're getting is artfully crafted cynicism. The assumption that you are a moron, wrapped in glossy black plastic and brushed aluminum.

And you know what? You're going to pay too much for that product. And keep paying. And paying. And paying. Look at the iPad. That is a device designed for ONE purpose, to get money out of you. If you wanted a tablet, they've been on the market for years by every PC maker EXCEPT Apple. You could even have bought one and put OSX on it. But that wouldn't make you look trendy trying to impress the other yuppies at Starbucks. And it would require a modicum of technical knowledge, which you can't be bothered to comprehend. And as a result, you'll be saddled with a device that can't do many things other computers can, that requires you to pay for everything you do with it, and which Apple can remotely disable and control if they decide they don't like you.

What's it like to be a sheep?