
Thanks for the reminder at the bottom. By the time I read through the sad missive I'd forgotten what it was all about.
Apple will appeal against the fine imposed by the Italian regulator for failing to respect the legal warranty requirements, and (astonishingly) we know this because Apple told us. The fruitchomp firm reckons that despite the regulator's ruling it is complying with Italian law, and will be appealing against the decision by the …
'Twas before my time, but I do recall a previous article on this subject, wherein it was speculated that El Reg's mocking of the way Jobs pronounced "Jaguar" (something like "Jag-wire") was the final insult.
If that's the case, maybe (as some have already suggested below) the rest of One Infinite Loop were just waiting until the coast was clear to have a good chortle themselves. If this is a portent of a tad more humility and less ego-driven politics down Cupertino way, then I welcome it.
In Moscow or Kiev you guys most probably would be just driven off the city and buried alive for that or strangled to death and then buried, as Kuchma did with Gongadze, so you can count yourselves lucky. I hate to say it but most probably SJ didn't behave much better than Kuchma when he was _personally_ abused by your mocking of his pronunciation of "Jaguar".
And Apple is probably just recognizing that. Besides, in the last year, the only thing that the Reg has brown nosed more than Apple and itoys was the fugly WP7. I haven't seen the much touted el Reg criticism in the itoy reviews for a long, long time. It was conspicuously absent now that Apple reaffirms itself as evil, appealing a low fine for a situation in which they were clearly guilty. And you guys waste such a golden chance of criticizing them for their lack of morals and absolute disrespect for European governments and laws? Sincerely, what a sad, sad article. All that drivel because some junior manning the PR at Cupertino during the holidays called you?
A corporate lack of morals doesn't mean product reviews should suck though. Reg are fair with reviews generally, and yet freely and fairly highlight the company's failings... sometimes to unfair levels.
And no: I don't own anything Apple, nor do I admire the company for anything except slick marketing.
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if El Reg wasn't the way it is, then what would be the point in reading it? you can go to any tech website and read their reviews and articles that pander to the big corporations. But here, you can be sure that if a product/company/individual deserves slating and mockery, El Reg will deliver it. And if not, then the commentards will most certain step up to the plate.
Exactly, jai.
That's the reason I read El Reg. Reading some 'journalist' regurgitating some company's press releases doesn't give you much of the story. I've always been a cynical bastard, and I want to see both sides of the story, whether it's about Apple, MS, Google, HP, Dell, RIM, governments, etc. etc.
Of course, I only read articles about companies I already don't like and would happily apply the shoe, plus all the bootnotes which I think the reg should set itself the task of writing more of, and kick Simon into weekly bofh's while you're at it. Fridays are very dull without a new episode. Very dull indeed.
Apple should live up to the image it has built for itself and "do the right" thing by the Italians. Throwing them an extra "bone" in terms of charity would not hurt either.
This just makes them look like "just another crass corporation". Of course that's what they really are but they should not be running around making that more obvious to people that might not have figured that out yet.
There are a million websites covering Apple. If I want to read Apple PR I go there.
To be honest, the fact that Apple is appealing is hardly news and the fact that they spoke to you is probably down to the fact that the office junior is covering the PR phone during the holiday season.
Reg: stick to what you're good at (Apple bashing) and quit moaning that they don't like it (of course they don't).
Let me guess ..your hack, err, sorry, *journalist* got the information from a talking horse ... it whispered in his ear ... it was able to do this, and your journo was able to detect the horse was Italian because it's head was detached and lying in the bed next to him?
I'll get my coat, its the one with the lump of Parmesan in the pocket.
"only by reading a breadth of The Register does our equal-opportunities approach become clear."
Reminds me of Messrs Stone and Parker, creators of South Park. They said they were "equal opportunities offenders". It doesn't matter who it was they were lampooning. Everybody was up for it.
I bought a netbook and after registering it I was informed by Toshiba that my warranty will last only one year. I need to read up on Italian law to see if a foreigner can complain here and get these guys before a judge... Hopefully these thugs will be handled a larger fine on appeal, to dissuade further behaviour from them and other corporate a**holes.
IIRC that's now enshrined in European law, along with the two years, courtesy of the British.
Again IIRC, the continentals were looking at making the standard practice that which was more common over here, where the manufacturer supports the warranty and the retailer's involvement ends with handing over their phone number.
Best description of that approach on the odd occasion I've had to deal with it was; "worse than fucking useless".
...the human capacity for dumbness, at an individual or collective scale. Witness the creationist movement; steadfastly sticking to the 6000 year line, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
I'm prepared to give Apple the benefit of the doubt, and say it was a cock-up, rather than an intentional strategy to deceive. However, the fact it continued for so long reeks of "Oops, look what we're doing. We should fix this....at some point. Once somebody *important* notices" (ie not you, the mere customer).
I never thought you were particularly anti-apple (as you said, you're anti-everybody).
But after several years of getting used to read you stating how Apple doesn't talk to you, the thought that I might have to spend the next several years hearing how you're shocked that Apple did talk to you is rather depressing.