I’m oozing with all sorts of gadget love, so while it’s true that I spend a great deal of time dealing with Windows-based devices (Vista PCs, Pocket PCs, Windows Mobile Smartphones, etc.), I’m also a fan of Apple’s offerings.  I own an iPod - two actually - and there are many things I like about the Mac OS and the iPhone. 

ATTN: Apple fanboys: I’ll soon be criticizing Apple, so take a deep breath and save your snarky comments for those who find them witty.

Okay, where was I… oh yes.  I am a fan of Apple.  My newest iPod, the iPod touch, lacks many of the PIM features found on the iPhone, a fact which I accepted when I forked over my $400 in September.  I was willing to live with the lack of an e-mail client or a maps app because, as much as I disagreed with the decision, the touch wasn’t being being sold as a device to address these needs; that was the iPhone’s domain - or at least so said Apple at the time.  I made peace with this self-imposed limitation and went about the business of enjoying my iPod - until yesterday.  During his Macworld 2008 keynote speech, Steve Jobs announced a software update to the iPod touch, one consisting of… wait for it… an e-mail client, a mapping utility, a notepad, and weather and stocks apps.  Hurray!  I couldn’t wait to start using the new software. 

Then Mr. Jobs announced that iPod touch units sold after his keynote would include the updated applications right out of the box and would be sold at the same price.  Still smiling. 

Then the final point: oh, by the way, if you already own an iPod touch, this added software will cost $20.

I laughed out loud (literally), thinking this was a joke.  I was mistaken. 

Essentially Mr. Jobs announced was this: those who purchased the touch when it was untested and new (a.k.a. those who helped finance current production) would be forced to pay a fee to use the updated version of the software, but new buyers would have these applications free of charge.  If the price of the iPod touch went up by $20 after the speech, and we current users were asked to pay to play, I’d have no complaint, but why should two people who buy the same generation of a product at two different times for the same price be expected to enjoy different software unless one pays more as a fee?  If the new software is worth $20, why hasn’t the price of the touch increased? 

This makes little sense unless you account for rank arrogance, the only part of the Apple equation that keeps me, by and large, a Microsoft user.

As I said before, I’m a gadget lover, so I was very tempted to shell out the additional $20 for the new software.  I was one click away from making the purchase, actually.  But I couldn’t.  I won’t.  I’m saying no. I can’t reward this short-sighted arrogance.  

The $20 isn’t the point; I’m sure the software is worth that, and perhaps more - but if I’m expected to pay extra for a now-standard feature, I’ll never know.