I remember not too long ago when people realized that Apple was putting 802.11n functionality into the latest MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. Back then I thought it was a decent idea; at this point, the 802.11n draft spec should be relatively stable, so it’s a gamble with good odds. Today, I’m not so sure it’s all that great of an idea. Thanks to the interpretation of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, Apple is planning to charge a nominal fee of $4.99 to activate the faster wireless speeds.
While I can respect Apple wanting to follow the law; I just wonder if $4.99 is the lowest fee that would satisfy it. I would have rather seen a more modest fee to technically satisfy the rules; if they can charge $0.99 for a song on iTunes, maybe a buck would be enough to activate a product feature that you already own. What’s even worse in my mind: will other companies use the same interpretation to start charging for firmware upgrades that add functionality to existing devices? This is a precedent I’d rather not see….
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2007\/01\/16\/want_80211n_in_\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_759ac355b3ac1782a02ff276b6874750","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}