How does Apple manage to get away with the same tactics Microsoft is known for using, but without all the brow-beating? I wanted to watch the new King Kong trailer which requires Quicktime 7. No problem, Quicktime is a solid product, I have no qualms about upgrading. I clicked to upgrade the software, and the installation began. The installation for iTunes, that is. I didn't want to install iTunes, but I had no choice. It seems to be required, there's no custom installation option to install ONLY Quicktime.
Turns out there is a link buried on the page for installing only Quicktime, but there is no warning on the regular download telling you iTunes is bundled, so by the time you begin to install it and attempt to get around it, you feel like it's too late to go back to the download page and start over.
I swear, if Microsoft had done this with Windows Media Player there would be lawsuits and people screaming from rooftops and all manner of disorderly conduct in the streets in order to paint Microsoft as a bully yet again.
On an unrelated note, I purchased my first iPod recently. I'm liking it a lot, it's pretty damn sweet. I think it might be one of those technologies, like TiVo, that sounds okay when you hear about it, but you don't fully appreciate it until you start using it yourself.
What does the Iraq war mean to you?
crocoPuffs Feature: Perspective
Okay, this is soooo last month, I know. But these are awesome anyway!
West Side Story as a horror film:
http://www.ps260.com/Trailer/westsidestorytrailer_small.mov
The Shining as a feel good comedy:
http://www.ps260.com/molly/SHINING%20FINAL.mov
While on hold with my local DirecTV provider, the "on hold" music was the worst fucking music I've ever heard. I think they play horrible music on purpose. They want me to hang up in disgust so they don't have to take my call. This one song in particular (must have been titled "Tears of Joy", since that was the main thrust of the chorus, with all the cheesiness that implies) sounded like it was written by a 3rd grader and sung by a wolverine. The song was intended to be inspirational, but the only thing it inspired me to do was write this entry about how awful it was.
How come when you're on hold they don't give you a menu to choose the music you want to listen to? They have all this crazy technology now with voice recognition and confusing, number punching, brainwave reading, menu trees. Once you get through that mess and are actually on hold, you'd think they'd let you "press 1 for reggae" and "press 2 for showtunes" and "press 3 for music your ears can bleed to." At least that way I wouldn't feel like the bad music was being forced upon me, it would be my choice to listen to it and then complain about it on the Internets. As it is, I have no choice. I'm forced to complain about it because I was forced to listen to it.
TV reviews, next-gen console war, and bad boyfriend.
crocoPuffs Advice: Ask crocoPuffs: November 9, 2005
"It only takes one guy to fumble the ball, but the whole team loses."
Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you! You will become the recognized authority on everything!
Served crocoKid dinner tonight. Chicken with catsup for dipping. And some strawberries on the side.
Does it go without saying that she dipped the strawberries in the catsup and ate them? Well she did. And she loved it.
Barf.
This article from the Sheboygan Press says it all:
"Oil companies tried their best to get us to feel sorry for them in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
...
But then came the third-quarter earnings reports from companies such as ExxonMobil, BP and Conoco-Phillips.
ExxonMobil said its profit rose by 75 percent. Conoco-Phillips was up 89 percent. BP was the piker among the three with only a 34 percent increase in profits.
So much for sympathy."
Motherfucking oil companies. And to me, it's not even about the oil. I only drive a car twice a week for 5 minutes each way. It's the principle. Companies should not be allowed to get away with this shit!
Where are the reduced gasoline prices to make it up to the consumers? Where are the money-hungry lawyers' class action lawsuits? The article states, "Politicians from both sides of the aisle are calling for investigations into the huge profits." Which is just the government's way of looking like they care, when really all they want is to give the appearance of outrage, but I'll bet nothing comes of it. Why do we - the consumers - not seem to care about this?
Because we're sheeple! We simply pay the price and bend over to take it the ass. That's the American way!
Truthfully, it's because we feel like there's nothing we can do. Our system is set up in such a way that we have elected officials that are supposed to take care of the "people." But they don't. We can't trust politicians to take care of us, and we have no other effective means to affect change (key word is "effective"). Sure you can set up a protest, or an internet site, but those tactics are simply not effective.
What are we to do, then?
The revolution will not be televised.
