Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 149 Editor's Choice: 9
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@Lestat1
[Read the article: My son is almost 30 and won't leave home]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There's a difference between the very un-useful terminology of "mental problems" and the useful terminology of "worth going to therapy." I don't think most people are asking the mother to excuse his behavior, any more than you'd ask someone to excuse a murderer for being psychopathic. I do think that pretty much any adult who can't leave his or her parent's house would benefit from talking to a therapist about where those feelings, anxieties, fears, etc. come from and how to deal with them. Telling someone they're just lazy and need to get off their ass is an adversarial tactic that may work but just as likely could make things worse. We're looking for results either way; one of them is just more constructive.
And hey, if the fellow is so offended at the suggestion of therapy that he moves out on principle? Problem solved!
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Phones are different...
[Read the article: Please stop whining, iPhone early adopters]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The iPhone isn't like the iPod, iMac, iBook, or anything else starting with that letter. It's in an extremely crowded marketplace where it does not hold any kind of a majority and probably never will. Prior to its release, many experts wondered aloud if it could ever be successful at all -- and while I think it's done well enough so far to silence most of those people, it still runs the risk of being just another one of those phones that was way cool for a while until people realized it was too expensive for what it did (for clarification, see "every other fancy smartphone ever made").
It's not unusual for other phone manufacturers and/or service providers to slash prices on hot models this way. One day the hip new Motorola phone costs $200 with a 2-year service extension; the next day you can wangle a free one with no strings. That's how the cell phone business works, and Apple is just playing the game as aggressively as it needs to in order to stay competitive.
As for the first-day buyers who now complain that they got ripped off: of course they did. And if they didn't know that full well as they were forking over $600 for an 8 gig video iPod, then hopefully they've learned their lesson by now. Although I imagine many of them will still be first in line to buy the next exciting, overpriced first-generation iGadget.
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Distribution model
[Read the article: $1, $2 or $5 -- how much would you pay to watch TV?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In order for iTunes TV downloads to really make a dent in the marketplace, the path from iTunes to home televisions is going to have to become seamless. Even with the advent of the AppleTV, I don't think it quite is. You still have to buy shows on iTunes on your computer, wait for them to download, then either transfer them to the AppleTV box or leave your computer on to stream the show to the box. 99-cent shows will make more people willing to put up with the hassle, but still, we're talking about a $300 box that only works with HDTVs. To really deliver the death blow to the traditional TV model, Apple is going to have to get in bed with a major cable or satellite provider -- just like they had to get in bed with Cingular to make their iPhone dreams come true.
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Clearly this will not do much business in Los Angeles...
[Read the article: Jugheads]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...where a visit to any trendy bar on Friday night will guarantee at least 100 jiggling plastic boob sightings.
(Alternate joke: If I wanted to see jiggling plastic boobs, I'd turn on MTV.)