MacQueasy

We're a Mac family. I freely admit it. This is all due to my hubby, who loves them. Earlier this week my Powerbook fried. It was no longer charging, and finally, I looked at the power cord and noticed where it was leading into the back of the laptop was pratically frayed open and you could see sparks within the cord. Not good for computers. So now I'm working off of our PC desktop, and I really shouldn't complain. It is a nice system that many people would love to have in their homes....it's just not a Mac. We even discussed buying one of these. Everytime I use a PC, in my mind I hear over and over....."The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations".., and I feel like I'm using a rotary phone again. However, no matter how much you might like a company's products, that company can still really, really screw up. If this story is true, I am sick to my stomach. With everything wrong with the world and our over taxed court system, this is unforgivable:

Last week, Apple filed suit against ThinkSecret for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets following a report about a $500 monitor-less iMac and new iWork software, a productivity suite to rival Microsoft's Office.

Albert Muniz, a marketing professor at DePaul University and an expert in brand communities, said Apple should likely have waited until after Macworld to file suit, but rushed to court to purposely fuel the rumors.

"It's about generating more publicity," he said. "They have legitimate concerns about plugging leaks, but they're trying to generate more publicity. To quote P.T. Barnum, 'There's no such thing as bad press, as long as they spell your name right.'"

Muniz doubted Apple planted the rumor -- as some in the Mac community have suggested -- "but they figured since it's out there, let's louden it up a bit."

Gary Allen Fine, a sociologist at Northwestern University who specializes in rumor, gossip and contemporary legend, also said it's likely Apple timed the lawsuit to generate news.

"If (the story) gets into the broader media, and you get them reporting as news a $500 computer, that's a lot of free advertising," he said. "You're telling the whole country about a new product."

But like Muniz, Fine said the strategy was risky if it alienates the customer base.

You're damn straight it will alienate the customer base. Apple needs to get it together and stop this publicity seeking misuse of our courts. Members of their 'base' are not necessarily the demographic that don't pay attention to the world around them. This is stupid, stupid, stupid of Mac. I will not be forgetting about this anytime soon. I hope they drop this silliness and get back to making the sexiest, smartest computers around.

UPDATE: Jay Reding has a different take on this issue, that Mac really is trying to plug the holes in the R&D department. I hope that he is right.