Apple, China, Hidden, iPad, Mac, MacBook, Oakland, Tech
I appreciate the wondrous technology that Apple has afforded us tech hungry 21st century folks as much as the next guy. I confess to having an iMac, MacBook, iPod Touch, iPod Shuffle and an iPhone. (Upon writing that it looks a little ridiculous. But hey, it works and more importantly it makes me seem cool.) And here’s the but … BUT lets realize they’re not worth going to jail over or giving up your kidney.
Today I read two stories that described poor souls that have been infected with Applitis. Yes, I just made that up, but it’s real. Symptoms of Applitis include headaches, dizziness, vomiting, jail time, loss of body parts and the uncontrollable urge to do something incredibly stupid to get an Apple product.
The first victim I read about today to suffer from this “disease” is some guy from Oakland, CA. His story was documented because he stole a MacBook that had an app called
Hidden installed on it. Hidden will locate a stolen computer anywhere on the planet, collect photos of the thief and screen shots of the computer in use. So, the real victim, Joshua Kaufman, began
blogging pictures of the thief on Tumblr when the police where not super concerned about retrieving it. Well, Good Morning America heard about the blog and called the Oakland Police. Voilà! They found the guy and arrested him.
The next
story is very unfortunate and next-level stupid. Zheng is a 17-year-old boy in China. He wanted an iPad really bad. So, Zheng did what most anyone would do in that situation. He sold his kidney for 20,000 yuan. 20,000 yuan is about $3,000. This is good news because Zheng could buy multiple iPads and be the envy of all the kids in the neighborhood. If one iPad is good, five iPads must be astounding! This does not have a happy ending though. Zheng regrets giving up his kidney and apparently trading body parts for Apple products is an illegal activity.
Technology is great. It makes life easier. It saves time. It makes you look important … all great things. It should have its appropriate place, though. There are many other people that suffer from milder forms Applitis or Techitis. Tech can bring people closer, but also can distance us. (Especially in the case of Guy from Oakland who will be going to jail.) We can all put down the tablet, iPod or laptop and trade Words With Friends with real quality time with friends. These stories are just exacerbated forms of the “disease.” Tech is really not
that important. People are. People are infinitely more sophisticated and difficult to figure out than Apple’s newest product offering, but the return on investment is priceless.
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About the author
Mark is a marketer and sometimes writer. He's trying to get better at that sometimes thing.
