This is a “WTF?” story if I’ve ever heard one:

Apple has refused to fix two registered AppleCare (Apple’s protection plan) users’ computers because they are smokers.

No shit.

Apple claims that the machines’ exposure to tar from the cigarettes makes them both uneconomical to fix, and a health hazard to handle in accordance with OSHA regulations.

Both excuses are clearly a crock of poo.

Either Apple is looking to save some money by cutting a few corners, or they are trying to social engineer their users’ health choices. Neither option is good.

I can’t stand smoking. I’m an asthmatic, I don’t understand the practice, I think it’s a waste of money, it smells dreadful, and it is a generally poor health choice. That being said, it’s a personal choice. Leave smokers alone, and fix their damn computers if they paid for the AppleCare protection plan.

Source: The Consumerist

A Microsoft official admitted that Windows 7 is inspired by Apple’s operating system (Microsoft official admits Windows 7 design inspired by Mac OS X).

In other news, the Droid is inspired by the iPhone, cigarettes lead to cancer, consuming alcohol will get you drunk, and the Pope poops (when he’s having a good day).

Reading that post gave me the urge to state the obscenely obvious.

About a month ago I wrote about a bug in Apple’s Snow Leopard OS that has the potential to delete everything on your computer if you use the “Guest” account.

Got Snow Leopard? Don’t Use Your “Guest” Account

I’m pleased to inform you that the latest patch fixes that (Mac OS X 10.6.2). So update you Mac to inoculate your computer.

Practice safe computer by installing software updates.

If you are reading this site on a computer running Windows XP, Vista, or something unspeakably older, you are probably trying to decide what computer and/or operating system you are going to buy over the coming months.

With the launch of Windows 7 on 10/22, and the already available Snow Leopard, there are actually two competitive operating systems to choose from.

Windows is a solid choice

Let’s get this taken care of immediately. If you are a dyed in the wool Microsoft or Mac person, just stop reading. Your mind was made up a long time ago.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on.

CNET did a review of the two platforms benchmarks which you can read in great detail.

Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version:

Snow Leopard performed a better in the study than Windows 7. It also has better battery life.

However, Windows 7 had better benchmarks for gaming… which is good since damn near any serious PC gamer is running a souped up monster PC anyway.

Your decision should be based on four criteria:

1. What can I afford? If you are broke, don’t get a Mac. They are expensive.
2. What will I use it for? If you are thinking about getting a Mac, make sure that the current software meets all of your needs (This really isn’t a big issue anymore, but it was a few years ago).
3. Do you have any crazy peripheral devices that you need and are platform specific? This isn’t too common anymore, but if you do, compatibility will dictate your choice.
4. Do you game a lot? If yes, you already had your answer.

Personally, I will stick with Apple for now, and run Windows 7 on Parallels, not because I need it, but because I can.

That’s about it.

In a week or so we will be posting a Windows 7 PCs buyer’s guide that will list a variety of PC’s in all price ranges that are worth purchasing.

~ syndicated by TheGeekWhisperer.com

The first real challenger to the iPhone looks like it will be Droid. I haven’t read anything but great stuff coming from the people who have seen the über smart.

It has an iPhone look complete with touch screen, but it also has a slide out QWERTY keyboard (WIN)

The device is made by Motorola; powered by Google’s mobile operating system, Android; and it will be sold through Verizon, thus it will be on Verizon’s awesome network.

Droid will run the latest version of Android, which looks incredible (see The Boy Genius’s write-up).

If the hardware reports are true, then Droid will have the same processor core as the iPhone, making it far more powerful than previous Android phones (Engadget).

Google CEO Eric Schmidt is decrying Android’s imminent explosion in the marketplace, while analysts’ are talking about Android’s potential for market domination by 2012.

Verizon is also going all out with their marketing. In the lead up to the announcement of Droid, they have been bashing AT&T’s flimsy network with their cleaver, “There’s a map for that” ads.

Then their Droid announcement ad launched a flurry of attacks on the iPhone’s limitations.

“The Droid poses a different and more significant challenge to the iPhone than any other phone to date. The Palm Pre could have been that challenger, but it lacked the Verizon network, and users were unimpressed with the hardware. According to people who’ve handled the device, the Droid is the most sophisticated mobile device to hit the market to date from a hardware standpoint. When you combine that with the Verizon network, you’ve got something that is most definitely a challenger to the Jesus phone” (TechCrunch).

If Droid is everything that Motorola, Google, Verizon, and the tech writers are claiming it should be incredibly exciting (The claims are pretty much confirmed). Better still, Droid should be available within a few weeks.

Pay close attention to the oddly placed umlaut under the "r"

It’s clear to me that Droid means business because it has an unnecessary umlaut in its name.

~ syndicated by TheGeekWhisperer.com

If you have Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system installed on your Mac, don’t log onto your “guest” account!

If you use a guest account in Snow Leopard, there is a small chance that your computer could suffer a massive data loss (you lose a lot, if not all, of the data in your regular accounts).

Apple has acknowledged the problem and is working to fix it… but it took them more time than it should have to admit the problem.

(Now back to my Jets game… 17 seconds left and it’s a nail-bitter)

There’s too much going on today to just cover one topic…

• Happy birthday to TGW contributer Jason (TheLisnakFactor). He is now the official TGW tech question responder guy, so send him some questions!
• Happy 10th birthday Dreamcast; the defunct Sega gaming console. Oh Dreamcast… your graphics were so good, controller was freaking odd, and your games were unfathomably easy to pirate. Thems were the good ole days.

The wire coming out of the back of the controller was never a good idea.

• Steve Jobs and the folks at Apple announced a lot of iPod related things that didn’t excite me enough to write something original.
• DC Comics is going through some drastic changes… really it’s a corporate enema.

Regular readers here know that I am really angry about some of Apple’s business practices regarding the iPhone App Store.

However, it does look like Apple is paying attention, not to me, but the wider Internet community.

Hopefully, “we’re listening to your feedback,” will turn into action.

You didn’t just have a seizure (probably), and you aren’t tripping (probably), you read that headline correctly.

Apple has rejected a dictionary app because it contained the definitions of vulgar words like “fuck” and “shit.”

The story is more complicated than that, and honestly makes Apple’s insane App application process look even worse. For more on that you can find the whole story on Daring Fireball.

Why I Don’t Have an iPhone

This ladies and gentlemen is why I don’t own an iPhone. As long as Apple is going is going censor things like dictionaries, I won’t be using their phone. I’ve taken a stand and proudly say…

“Fuck you Apple. You are a bunch of ‘C words.’”

And by “C word” I mean censors. That’s truly vulgar.

The Nature of Obscenity

The definition of obscenity is arbitrary at best. There are no words in English, or any other language that are inherently obscene or evil. By that I mean that there is no sound a human can utter that is evil on it’s own. We apply meaning to words on our own. It’s a personal and cultural choice, not something for a computer company can dictate.

You disagree??? You think that the words “fuck,” or perhaps nearly every American’s least favorite word “cunt (that’s right, I went there),” are inherently obscene?

If that were the case, the words would be obscene in any language, in every culture, throughout all of human history. They aren’t and weren’t. We made the words, and we gave them meaning. In 100 years, they probably won’t have the same meaning.

Why So Stupid?

This kind of crap happens so regularly that it would be funny if it wasn’t so pathetic. Apple will end up approving this dictionary app, and all will be well… except for the fact that Apple is still stifling innovation over arbitrary rules… and I’m not even talking about the Google Voice scandal.

Three years ago I would have gotten a good laugh out of that headline, but it’s true (This in depth and interesting article details the market shift).

Apple has completely conquered the high-end computer market, while PC makers have been producing weak machines with lower profit margins.

PC manufacturers fell victim to one of the classic blunder, (“The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia” The Princess Bride) got themselves caught up in an unwinnable battle over price.

Back in March, Microsoft began running the “Laptop Hunters” ad campaign. I had a particularly negative response to the whole thing.

Here’s part of what I argued:

The second problem with this section of the ad is the price-point. Microsoft doesn’t sell PCs but their partners do. The profit margin on a $700 laptop isn’t usually amazing. They set Lauren’s budget at $1000, why not have her spend $950? or $990? The ad lowers the expectation for what consumers will expect to pay. If Lauren could get a “great” computer for $699.99 then that’s what a PC should cost.

This ad also degrades the value of a PC. Apple is now officially the gold-standard… Microsoft said so in its own ad. Microsoft has made Apple the BMW of computer makers (if they weren’t considered that already, there is no debate now). PCs are the computer you buy when times are rough… like now. But in the future, the economy won’t be in the dumps (hopefully sooner than later). Then people will have money again. When they replace the cheap POS of a PC they bought during the recession, they are going to want to replace it with something better. Something top of the line… and now we all know that PCs are the cheap computer.

I guess I learned something in those brand management and consumer behavior courses I took in grad school.

Couple Apple’s market share victory with Microsoft’s first annual sales decline, and you can imagine that a lot of folks in Redmond are having a pretty crappy week.

High-end computers are where the money is, and Microsoft (and PC makers) can’t possible afford to concede that turf to Apple… That’s like agreeing to split an apple with a friend and agreeing to eat the core; there isn’t much to eat, and the seeds contains trace amount of cyanide. They need to win back consumer confidence (good luck with that), and they need to do it fast (seriously, now is the time to throw money at the problem). If Microsoft doesn’t change their product’s image problem before the economy recovers, there will be a mass exodus from cheap PCs to the high-end Apples.

It’s become abundantly clear that if the average consumer is going spend a lot of money to buy a good computer, they prefer to purchase it from the fruit company.