Resistance is Futile - Apple's close resemblance to The Borg

My sister's HTC blah blah blah ignorant phone (as opposed to smart phone) died on her again today.  My niece had to group text the immediate family group to let us know; just in case we tried phoning her mom.  Funny story about group texting...my sister can't participate in any of it with her stupid phone either; even when it's "working".

I tell you all of this because the only reason she refuses to get an iPhone is because she doesn't like the idea of cell phone companies forcing more advance technology on her in the form of the iPhone.  She'd rather deal with a lousy phone out of principle.  She is resisting and fighting against the machine that of which I sometimes lovingly refer to as my pimp daddy; namely Apple Inc.  

There are people out there who swear by their non-iPhone smartphones, but it is my hypothesis that what they're really trying to do is resist Apple. More power to you people!!!  But I'm sorry, you will lose because Apple is the Borg and just like they used to drone on..."Resistance is Futile"...

OK so a quick primer for all of you people that have NO IDEA what I'm blabbering on about (side-eye to all the non-trekkies for 1. mistaking the Borg for the Klingons [like my daughter just did five minutes ago]  2. making me use the term "Trekkies").  I found a pretty decent description of the Borg who in my opinion were the most formidable antagonists in ALL of the Star Trek franchises (with the exception of Khan Nooien Singh who appeared in three if my memory serves me correctly).  Wikipedia, believe it or not has a great description of The Borg.
I've highlighted in red, the eerie similarities:

"Borg is a collective proper noun for a fictional alien race that appears as recurring antagonists in various incarnations of the Star Trek franchise. The Borg are a collection of species that have been turned into cybernetic organisms functioning as drones of the Collective, or the hive. A pseudo-race, dwelling in the Star Trek universe, the Borg force other species into their collective and connect them to "the hive mind"; the act is called assimilation and entails violence, abductions, and injections of microscopic machines called nanoprobes. The Borg's ultimate goal is "achieving perfection".

The Borg manifest as cybernetically enhanced humanoid drones of multiple species, organized as an interconnected collective, the decisions of which are made by a hive mind, linked by subspace radio. The Borg inhabit a vast region of space in the Delta Quadrant of the galaxy, possessing thousands of vessels. They operate toward the fulfillment of one purpose: to "add the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species to [their] own... [in pursuit of] perfection". The concept of perfection is the unifying idea at the core of the Borg. The pursuit of an unemotional, mechanical perfection is the Borg's only motivation. This is achieved through forced assimilation, a process which takes individuals and technology, enhancing and controlling them.  

In their introduction (TNG's "Q Who"), little information is given about the Borg, their origins or intentions. In nearly all their encounters, they exhibit no desire for negotiation or reason, only assimilation. Exhibiting a rapid adaptability to any situation or threat, the Borg become one of the greatest threats to Starfleet and the Federation. Major characters that have escaped the Collective after having been assimilated include Jean-Luc Picard and Seven of Nine."

Now if this doesn't sound like Apple, then I don't know what does.  My sister and lots of other folks are our current day Jean-Luc Picards (played by one of the sexiest old white bald-headed men out there btw).  GOOD FOR THEM!!  Keep up the good work and Aluta Continua to you all.

And while I'm only partially assimilated (very much like Jean-Luc pictured above), I went shopping for an iPad mini yesterday and as soon as I can learn to work that damn Mac keyboard (apple + shift does what again?), I too will be one with the "hive mind".  And I'll be happy because resistance is hard work and I just want to be perfect...too.

Live long and prosper...
TheKatalist

P.S. - Stay tuned for my next techno-conspiratorial entry "Google - Creating a Universe of Dummies"...Just Kidding

Music Piracy - Are you buying this??

Quite a few new stories have been poppin up lately about file sharing/music piracy and that has prompted me to start obsessing over this issue again and again.

A long long long time ago I was a heavy user of Napster; back in it’s big bad taboo days and even before I owned an mp3 player. And because I was this strange hybrid of early adaptor geek and former thug princess, I didn't care that I was stickin it to the man cuz quite frankly stealing content by sneaking into the movies, buying bootleg VHS movies and CDs, and downloading songs to my computer was part of the culture I lived in and cherished. I used to make a running joke that if any industry including the government, wanted to test the security of systems or processes, they'd be wise to hire people from the hood as test hackers or rule breakers cuz we could always find a way around obstacles that stand in our way of getting something for nothing.

It wasn’t until a life change occurred, that I started to feel guilty about stealing (notice I didn’t put this word in quotes). Two significant events coincided around the same time:

1. My kids became young adults with burgeoning and unique music tastes.
2. I began friendships with hard working independent artists who were on their grind trying to sell their projects.

So on a morality level, I felt I needed to set an example for the kiddies and support my friends. But on an economic level, I was feeling the pain! My daughter said it plainly when I got my new iPod with 80 gigs (equivalent to 20,000 songs); “Ma, you mean to tell me you’re gonna buy $20,000 worth of music to put on there”? I nodded “yes”, but in my head I was like “What the hell am I gonna do”?

I started looking for music clubs to join like emusic.com, but my searches came up empty most of the time and for some, you had to use their proprietary players. I started to get really fed up and had a back-slide moment and decided to try my hand at Limewire. Somehow I justified its use…

• I’m just sharing a file with someone. You give some, you take some. It’s all so innocent.
• Everybody is doing it…C’MON!!!
• I can’t afford 20,000 songs!

The loading began. The kids were in on it. I was ashamed. Then one day my iPod crashed and I went to visit the folks at Apple. Here’s how the conversation went:
Me: My iPod’s not working
Apple Dude: Did it drop or did you bang it on something?
Me: Nope
Apple Dude: Did you load it with downloaded music?
Me: Nope (with a smile)
Apple Dude: You sure?
Me: Yep, I’m sure
Apple Dude: Uh because sometimes when people use files from Limewire or other file shares, the files can be corrupt and mess with the iPods with wheels.
Me: Word?
Apple Dude: Word
Me: That’s good to know (smile again)

Apple Dude tinkers with the player, shows me how to reset it if something happened again and sends me off on my merry way. And what do I do? I start lecturing my kid on the way home about and reprimanding her for installing the damn program on our computer! I felt like a serious hypocrite who became born-again at the Church of God in the Apple Store Apostolic Life Center.

Two years have passed and I’m living a clean and sober life; with only 1,000 songs on my iPod, but guilt-free nonetheless. I’m proud to tell my musician friends that I only buy my music. It wasn’t until recently that I began to notice that when I would make this statement, some of them would either change the subject or give me a half-hearted look of approval.
That’s when it became increasingly and evidently clear to me that some of these folks were probably pirating music. The clues?? Obscure Facebook comments and offhand references to their extensive music libraries were the first to tip me off.

And now I am at a crossroad…To Pirate or Not to Pirate...that is the question...

Remember all of my earlier reasoning? Well it all came flooding back to me and the “everybody’s doing it” excuse is even more appealing and relevant now that I know the “everybody” includes the same independent artists I thought I was supporting in the first place.

One of these indie friends blogged about her take on the issue. Before I read it, I was hoping that it would stop me from committing the act, but those hopes would soon be dashed (sorry gurl).

What’s the outlook for the future? How will the industry survive? Well to be honest, I don’t care about the majors. I care about the independents. Music sales and publishing are their bread and butter, but if they too are pirating music how can we combat the problem or should we?

One more take and I’m done; this one from a working expert among the majors whose visualization about the future of this business actually came in the form of a side comment he made in a vlog* about making hits. Take note of what he says about how he wants people to get his music.

And me? I love music. Any kind of music. I’ve made a decision. I know what I’m about to do. See yall on the B-side.

Ciao Ciao Ciao
The Katalist

* - this video is currently hosted via Facebook. If you have trouble accessing this link, please let me know by leaving a comment.