Speakeasy forum: Apple, iPhone, privacy and the waning use of cash

Apple walks on water! They can do no wrong!

Everything Apple does is for your good. They just want to know who their customers are, and how they can better serve them. Apple is GOOD! Others, such as the evil empire (MICROSOFT) is BAD!

Be good. Drink your Apple juice. Don't raise embarrassing questions.

of the coming 'cashless' society.

a plastic card paper trail that would reduce much of the underground economy to the barter system.

there will always be outlaws so it is not foolproof.


plus the government saves money by not making it. it is steadily creeping into acceptance. with wi-fi and satellite (e.g. Mobil gas easy pass) you will be able to buy a newspaper at the corner sidewalk stand.

expect the price of lemonade at kid's stands to increase.

iPhones went on sale the last of June.

It didn't take long for "resellers" to start gobbling them up like ticket reseller did Hannah Montana concert tickets, unlocking them, and selling them at a profit to hungry hordes. Apple also started limiting sales to only 2 per person.

I'd love to have one. neatest things! But cell phone usage costs are way beyond my budget, AT&T or not.

Personally, I wouldn't have bought anything that cost as much as they did without the protection offered by a credit card.

The only "track" I can see that can be used by Apple is for proof of original purchase.

Not being an attorney, I am not versed in the legalities of it otherwise. But there was "proof" that the W95 on my Gateway was licensed to me , and the WMe on my Dell was licensed to me , just as the Mac OSX on my iMac is my machine, and I don't see the difference for wanting proof of purchase for an iPhone other than a bill of sale which can be altered.

Angeline
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I'm no lawyer.

They can insist on ID if they wish, but if I wanted to pay cash, they should take it.

Heck, only a few years ago, at my last job, when they insisted we go to direct deposit whether we wanted it or not (I did actually), there were a few people there that had to open accounts at the bank/credit union to get their money. They lived on a cash base, not even using checking.

As you pointed out, our currency is by law legal tender, so how can they refuse it? Of course, that's true for mail orders for years. It was either check or COD for a while, then became check or credit card.

Still, while perhaps it's the simplest way for Apple to try to keep a tight rein on their users, I think it's wrong. ID yes, credit card demanded, no.

Roger