As you may already know, as of Fall 2012 I’m a student here at the University of Utah. I would say it’s a peculiar university, but I may be proven wrong (you can use the comment section below the post to do that). The university keeps on shocking me almost on a regular basis. It is not only a university that has the Information Security and Privacy Office doublespeak-named office, that lets the motion picture, music recording, and software corporations keep under surveillance the University of Utah’s computer networks, and thereby invade staff, faculty and students’ security and privacy at the university; it will also provide a special shuttle bus line that will take you from one part of the university campus to the other where you can happily spend money on Apple-disabled devices. These devices are a terrible purchase for a very obvious reason: they’re loaded with proprietary software, and you can’t get rid of all of the anti-features embedded in Apple’s (not Apple) devices. This must be a one-time offer, because it is not only offered with the educational pricing as usual; this time it is tax-free as well! I quote the email message that I received from the University Campus Store, and that was approved for distribution by the university’s Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Interim Vice President for Human Resources:
From: “University Campus Store”
Subject: [UofU] Apple Tax-Free Day is November 20th (7:30 am to 7:00 pm)
Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:03:04 -0700Dear Faculty and Staff:
On Tuesday, November 20th, popular Apple products will be available tax-free at the University Campus Store. This is an opportunity for faculty and staff to save on Apple products for their educational needs.
Limited to:
- iPad Wi-Fi Standard Models
- MacBook Pro 13" Models
- MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Models
- iPods
The tax savings is in addition to the educational discount pricing already provided by Apple to the University of Utah. The offer is limited to product on hand.
Purchases will be eligible for the Campus Store’s Employee Payroll Deduction Program, as well as the new Tech Buyback Program. Information on Tech Buyback is available at: http://utech.refreshedbyencore.com.
For the convenience of faculty and staff located on upper campus, we will be providing shuttle service every 15 minutes (11:00 am to 3:00 pm) between the Moran Eye Center and the Campus Store.
For more information about Apple Tax-Free Day, please call 801-581-4776.
But maybe there is hope. If this waste bin at the campus represents someone’s opinion on what are the best Apple’s products, we have something to look forward to.
