Hold the phone!! Uhhh... not so much...

I'm one of those people who has been sinfully envious of those who own iPhones. Yes, I admit it. I would love one. A tad out of my price range right now, with other, bigger priorities and desires to meet, but it has always been my intention to get one eventually.

...until today.

What has changed my mind, you ask? Well, let me tell you!

It's all over the American and British news today that the iPhone 4 and iPad 3 both have the means of tracking everywhere you go, all day, every day, and storing that information for up to a year. Not only where you go, but the exact location and the time and date you were there.

What the HELL is going on?????

This ability for the iPhones to store this information is not something that the user can switch off. iPhone owners have no control over this. It will track you and document you whether you want it to or not.

What has happened, or what is happening, to an individual's rights and freedoms? It's getting to the point that I don't even want to watch the news anymore, because it seems that every day, the world is becoming exactly like what Aldous Huxley wrote about in "1984", that Big Brother is watching, and we're not even aware of it.

REALLY!!! That book should be required reading for everyone prior to earning the right to vote.

What was Apple thinking when they programmed the iPhones and iPads to have this ability? What were they thinking when they chose not to advise consumers of this invasive technology? And, why are they refusing to make a statement concerning it?

See, now the problem is this, for me anyway... Apple will come out and say any number of things, including maybe something like, "Bring your iPhone or iPad to your local retailer, and this accidental, unintentional 'glitch' will be deactivated." Uhhh... sorry, Apple. The fact that it was installed in the first place, and not disclosed, does not inspire me to believe that there is any truth to your assertions (should they happen), that the application is indeed disarmed, or that it will not be included in any future generations of iPhones or iPads.

They've made upwards of $5 billion (...yes, that's 9 zeroes) on sales of iPhones / iPads this year, so far. All I can say is I am glad that my few measly hundreds of dollars are not in their coffers tonight, and never will be.

That's a guarantee.

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