Prosecutors in France have charged Apple with deliberately slowing down older iphones when new models come on the market. The strategy, they claim, is to pressure users to upgrade to a new version. In France, it’s illegal for a manufacturer to deliberately decrease the lifespan of a product.
Apple admits to slowing down older iphones “to protect battery life.” They claim the problem can be solved if the user shells out another $30 for a new battery. Consumer advocates the new batteries should be free, as buyers weren’t advised of this additional cost at the time of purchase.
French iphone users are extremely angry. It would seem French consumers are quicker than those of us in the English-speaking world to recognize when they’re being ripped off.
This new scandal comes on the heels of a $13 billion fine the EU has slapped on Apple for tax evasion: Paradise Papers Expose Tax Cheats
And growing evidence about the health dangers of wireless technology The Dark Side of Wireless Technology
Al Jazeera examines the controversy on their current affairs program* Inside Story
*For younger readers, “current affairs” refers to a type of mainstream media in the late 20th century in which government issues affecting people’s daily lives were objectively examined and critiqued.
The Most Revolutionary Act 
Any other nation of people in the world would be quicker to discover when they’re being hoodwinked, bamboozled, overcharged and price gouged over Americans. Americans will never spearhead a movement to do a damn thing but line up and purchase the so-called latest technology to come down the pike without ever realizing that the manufacturer deliberately did something to the device they are replacing so that they will continuously shop, shop, shop until their credit cards are maxed out.
The same can be said for every product that is sold today because back in the day, products lasted and lasted and lasted to the point when they became obsolete. For example, my mother still has an eight track tape player and it is in excellent condition and she still has eight track tapes to play in it. She has a stereo system that came with the eight track tape player that is approximately 5 miles long, has a record player and AM/FM radio and the sound is like nothing you’ve ever heard. She has box fans that were made of metal, even the blades and they still work. Today, you give a fan, a dirty look and it’s broken. Back in the day, something could fall 100 times and still work. Not today and it is because of the inferior quality of the materials used today and the fact that corporations are more greedy than ever and consumers are to continuously remain on a speeding treadmill from their homes to a store.
Oh, what I wouldn’t give to see consuming grounded to a halt! What a glorious day that would be!
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I’m with you there all the way, Shelby. I long for the old days when you could find people to sharpen your knives and scissors and repair your shoes and appliances – instead of being constantly told it’s cheaper to replace it than repair it. At the moment, it seems most people have to be on the verge of being homeless before they give up the habit about borrowing on their credit card to accumulate yet more stuff. Here in New Zealand, this seems to be changing with a lot of younger people committing to resolve their debt-based spending before it destroys their lives. Thanks, once again, for your extremely insightful comment.
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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