Apple Thoughts: Paul Thurrott is Arbitrarily A Moron

"First, existing iPhone 3G customers cannot upgrade to a 3G S for $199 or $299. Those prices are for new customers only. You will pay $599 or $699. Yeah, really. Amazingly, several software features Apple showed off yesterday will arbitrarily not be made available to other iPhone users. These include Voice Control and Compass. What?? Also... Tethering, a feature of iPhone Software Update 3.0, will not be made available in the US. (Thanks AT&T.) If it happens later, it will be after AT&T adds a more expensive data plan. MMS, another feature of iPhone Software Update 3.0, will also not be made available in the US."

In those few words he managed to squeeze so much stupidity in it has to be a new world's record. Time to play "Drop the Stupid Windows Fanboi On His Head:"

1. The compass isn't available in prior iPhones because they don't have a magnetometer chip like the 3GS does. You can still get a compass app (like the one in the commercial) but in order to determine your direction, you have to walk in a straight line and it calculates the direction you're facing using GPS.

2. The upgrade price for the 3GS isn't automatically $599 and $699. I paid $499 for my 32 Gig 3GS. While the process by which AT&T determines your price isn't clear, what is clear is that you don't automatically end up paying those quoted prices. (Although, his assertion is that those prices are out of line which is also laughable considering how much some Windows Mobile devices go for from Sprint and Verizon).

3. MMS will be available in the US, just not at launch. As dumb as that is, it's not permanent; another assertion Thurrott seems to be making.

4. According to John Gruber who has a much better record on knowing what's going on with Apple hardware than Windows zealot Thurrott, the Voice Control is based on a DSP that isn't in the 3G. Arbitrarily indeed, stupid.

Am I taking out a lot on this dope? Sure I am, but for years I've heard "Apple Fanboi" bandied about to describe anyone who doesn't think they should be ashamed to be a Mac user and should "know their place." Most of those same morons who use the word "fanboi" get their information from sources such as Thurrott or whatever other hive-mind of dopes that spews forth without information, or with information that is easily disprovable.