tech industry
12/01/2003, 9:35pm, EST
Monday, December 1st
Reader: Apple iPod ads "branded" with smear message
A MacNN reader reports that disgruntled iPod users have vandalized advertisements for the music player in Manhattan. "Just noticed as I walked down 6th Avenue in Manhattan, only a few blocks from the Apple store [...] all iPod posters have been "branded" with a smear-like message," the reader reports. The branding reads, "iPod's unreplaceable (sic) battery lasts only 18 months.” Last week we reported on a "anti-advertising" Web site launched to highlight this problem with the popular music player. Update: Meanwhile, one reader calls the video "grossly inaccurate" in his iPod retailation video, while another MacNN reader has posted a conversation with the authors that sheds a different light on their "sensationalism" message; however, the Neistat brothers have subsequently updated their page with more (accurate) information.
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It has been documented that those guys who made the movie are dicks who are only interested in smearing Apple-- someone was willing to mirror their little film on the condition that they include links to Apple's battery replacement info, and they refused. Apple should consider going after them for libel, if they insist on continuing the smear campaign.
Last I checked- wild postings are illegal almost everywhere-
But what can you say, everyone wants their 15 minutes of geek fame.
It may be that SOME iPod batteries have died after 18 months, but that has not been my experience. In fact, out of the millions of iPods that have been sold, I have only heard of a small percentage of cases were the batteries have died prematurely.
Also, these vandals claim that it is impossible to replace the iPod batteries. This is, of course, also not true.
I can understand why these guys might be unhappy about their iPod battery experience, but that does not give them the right to vandalize, libel, etc in effort to infict their revenge upon Apple.
Apple's iPod posters were legally posted. They were illegally vandalized.
I strongly disagree with this quasi-news coverage of vandalism. For civil disobedience to have any moral impact, it can't just be anonymous damage.