Dear Governer Culver,
As you’re surely aware by now, your reaction to the Iowa Atheists bus advertisement has made waves far outside of your state. I certainly understand that the comments and actions of politicians are often taken out of context and I hope that such is the case in this situation. It’s hard to imagine any educated person being disturbed by the thought that there are people who don’t believe in something they can’t see.

I hope you’ll reconsider your position and understand that it affects Americans in every state of this country, whether directly or indirectly.

Thank you for your time.

Frank Payne
Chicago, IL

The key aspect Apple needs to weigh is they inevitably will lose cash stream/flow, or the potential thereof, by denying others (any party) access to iTunes ~ where the consumer may purchase music via this network!!! That’s MAJOR money, for both, Apple and the Artists they represent. All because of EGO and a very stupid pissin’ contest. It’s true, sometimes ya just can’t fix STUPID… but ignorance IS NOT bliss!

Hence, my suggestion for Apple to be careful how they treat this… there are other accessible sources for us to purchase and gain the works Artists produce and make their living too. C’mon Apple, wise up!

Before commenting further I want to point out that I have no intent of Apple bashing and I hope my post did not come across that way. I don’t want to see Apple “die” or anything like that. I do not consider myself a fan boy. Before the Palm Pre I never owned a Palm device and honestly I really disliked the PalmOS interface that powered previous Palm devices. I don’t feel brand loyalty is ever justified… I feel I must constantly re-evaluate my perception of various brands as new products arrive. Companies do reinvent themselves and having brand loyalty means buying into marketing hype. This hype often blinds consumers from the reality of various products and serves only to stand in the way of rationally selecting the best solutions for your needs.

A decade ago I hated Apple. I was far younger then and didn’t yet realize the fallacy of brand bias. At the time I also had some very good talking points I could use whenever the subject of Apple products came up. MacOS 9 and below simply sucked… its hard to argue otherwise. Apple hardware was obscenely overpriced compared to PC counterparts. And, in many usage scenarios the G3/G4/G5 RISC CPU architectures lagged far behind their much less expensive PC counterparts in performance.

Times have changed though. MacOS X ushered in a slick user interface based on the BSD kernel which offered much more robust resource and memory management in addition to a slick and beautiful user interface. Where it was hard to argue Mac OS 9 and below wasn’t seriously flawed it became similarly hard to argue that OSX was anything but brilliant. Next, Apple solved the issue of performance short-comings by adopting Intel based processors, giving Macs equal hardware specs to their PC counterparts. This move also caused the price premium for Apple hardware to shrink. I still have yet to purchase a Mac but I respect their user experience and build quality. As an open source advocate I prefer a more open platform, but I have respect for those who chose Apple products and I believe they are the best solution for certain customers.

I mention all this simply to provide insight into my position. I don’t feel Apple is a shitty company, I simply feel they are taking wrong and potentially unethical positions against consumers and their own customers. Apple may make good products but in the last several years they have become an increasingly secretive, protective, and paranoid corporation. The results of this paranoia are policies that hurt and alienate their customers, even the loyal ones like yourself.

Palm has had similar issues in their past. A decade ago I also disliked Palm products. I felt Palm Pilots were overpriced (HandSpring devices were cheaper and ran the same OS) and underpowered (WindowsCE devices offered much more power). Palm has reinvented itself though and the result seems to be a company offering a fantastic user experience and policies that foster creative use of their products. They even make an effort to support efforts to hack the Palm Pre, which is both extremely rare and extremely right.

Apple has great products but could learn a thing or two from their newly re-invigorated competitor.

I am and have been an avid Apple/Macintosh user since 1983. I have in my collection, an iPod Mini, 5th generation classic and an iPod Touch. In addition, an Apple 12\" G4 Laptop and current iMac Desk Top (6 months old). This embattlement involves me as I\’ve just purchased a PalmPre ~ having waited long to find a device WITH a keyboard instead of a touch screen method. Liked the T-Moble G1 ~ but no interface capability ~ ruled out also, as I dis~like T`Moble for personal reasons.

I just am not getting the dispute and hubbub between the two… intellectual properties or, otherwise. The contradiction and rub here lays in, the fact, Apple for the longest time was providing to the open market \"free iTune\" downloads to all platforms in the past. Hence, the 70% controlling share of the marketplace of which you speak. Now this? I\’m just not getting it ~ other then, with the engineer of the iPod itself, has assisted in collaboration with the design of the PalmPre for Sprint, thereby, an eminent threat to Apple itself and market~share. (I think it\’s a personal thing with Steve Jobs here) I guess it may also come down to sheer greed and nothing more ~ shameful regardless. This, after Apple struggled for years to \"integrate\" it\’s product(s) with a \"universal\" interface is a contradiction of intent. Ultimately, leaving a very bad taste in my mouth on the part of Apple… enough so, I may rid myself of the entire lot I have. What\’s the difference, now that they\’re \"Intel Core 2\" powered these days. The G5 had to go this way as they reach a point where they couldn\’t control the heat the CPU\’s were producing. The engineering hit the wall!

Good ethical business is increasingly important here. I truly enjoy my new PalmPre. For Apple to be resistant to, not just competition, but free enterprise, is contrary to our capitalistic and global economies and structure. I wonder if Apples\’ unhappy with their $8.7 Billion (US) made here recently ~ and wants for nothing less ~ then it ALL! If so, they\’ll never receive another nickel of mine ~ wooden or otherwise!!! Apple, don\’t cut your nose off to spite your face…

I really enjoy the PalmPre… like the iPod in the beginning and all ~ even with the few bugaboos ~ and developmental growing pains and all. Still hearing the primary complaint, \"We want more applications\"! Apple had very few apps in the beginning as well ~ be patient. I returned my 1st generation iPod because it simply didn\’t work as claimed or, touted in their representation. After all this time, I also still hear numerous complaints in the grapevine ~ AT&T does not serve Apple iPhone well… another reason going to a different product. Happy with the choice made here… looking to seeing its fullest potentials in due course. SO, Apple, be VERY careful in your manner of conduct here ~ you CANNOT have it all!!!