July/August 2008 Issue

Consumer Retorts: Apple Computer

Why is it easier to watch Netflix movies on a PC than a Mac?

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CONSUMER RETORTS

Consumer Retorts

APPLE COMPUTER

so you’re about to use Netflix’s “instant watching” feature on your MacBook, when suddenly an error message pops up: “Sorry, blame Steve Jobs.” Huh? Wasn’t the whole point of getting a Mac to escape Microsoft’s monopolistic tentacles and have the freedom to do stuff like stream movies? The problem is that Apple won’t license its copyright-protection software to third parties like Netflix. Predictably, Apple wouldn’t emerge from behind its titanium curtain to answer our questions about why it won’t let consumers use whatever video service they choose. John Sullivan of the Free Software Foundation suspects that Apple wants you to buy movies only from iTunes. That may keep Steve Jobs in black turtlenecks, but it ticks off dedicated Mac users, many of whom have no doubt noticed that Netflix movies play perfectly fine on a stodgy PC.

Have a problem? Oh yes, you do. Go to motherjones.com/consumer-retorts to vent about annoying products and corporate policies. Selected entries will get MoJo swag.

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GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

Yet, we just came up pretty short on our first big fundraising campaign since Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting joined forces.

So, two things:

1) If you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in over the last few months, please consider doing so now—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground.

2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

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