“Apple’s stylish stores and computers, all of which feature unrestricted Internet access, have become such the hang-out and gathering place for MySpace junkies that the powers that be have elected to block the popular social networking site from its systems,” Think Secret reports.
Full article here.
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Serves em right…I have to block myspace when people are over so they just dont sit on it the whole time.
i can hear the chorus now…..
hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! hallelujah! hall–e–lujah!
how do u block a website?
Praises!
I was in SF a few months ago, and mentioned here how all the Macs were being used at the SF Apple Store for MySpace bullshit. The little bastards were like a bunch of crack head, leeches addicted to MySpace, and stuck to the Macs.
Why is this latest social networking fad still around?!!!!!! Apple should ban teenagers who arrive in gaggles, from their stores too
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MySpace is there worst website ever made. Apple made the BEST decision when they blocked it off their computers. What once (maybe) was a website designed to “keep in touch”, it’s now full of skanky, vulgar, slutty, and inappropriate CRAP… anyway… good for Apple.
This makes perfect sense from a business standpoint. When the store becomes a place to hang out and use the computers for free with no intention of buying anything, you are inviting unprofitable people to crowd the stores and interfere with the sales process. This is a very good way of making sure the customer experience in their stores is good so someone can go in, get access easily to the computers, and decide what to buy. Apple simply will not put up with any BS in their stores – they strive to control the experience. A smart retailing strategy.
and on the other hand, what also makes perfect sense from a business standpoint is that all those kids killing time on MySpace are using Macs – even if it’s just using Photo Booth to take a smary picture and Safari to upload it to MySpace. But what, pray tell, do you think those kids will ask for when Mommy asks them what kind of computer they want? Much like OneToOne/ProCare, it’s a fantastic loss leader.
I’ve always thought Apple’s refusal to block MySpace, and its pointed directives to its stores NOT to, was very keen business strategy. They might not be buying anything right this minute, but oh, someday, they will. Get ’em hooked young!
This is something, say, CompUSA would do. Not Apple.
how do u block a website?
On a Mac, edit your /etc/hosts file, set the address for the domain in question to 0.0.0.0 I think there are also utilities that cna do it for you – anyone have suggestions?
At the network level, it’s done in a firewall box – that’s probably what Apple is doing in their stores.
@jjr
Most firewalls and routers have the ability to block URLs. Any packets addressed to a particular domain get tossed in the bit bucket rather than routed to their destination.
This is just going to hurt their cool image. Those teens are the ones going start college soon and will need a laptop. There goes Dell to the rescue!
Myspace is so lame…….
ummm..when I was working @ the Apple store it was a HUGE problem….and that was some 2 years ago…and at that time, Apple was have a open policy..it’s good to see Apple is going to block MYSPACE…too many kids just want to hang out and hog the machines and many times they scare off potential customers.
great job Apple!
JayRec, you are stupid and are full of crap. Get a life!
I agree with both “skeeter” and “”JayRec” that this is a mistake. I’ve worked at an Apple Store for almost 2 years, and I admit that the MySpace kids are annoying, but by and large, there’s still free computers to show to potential customers. All the kids in the mall flocked to the Apple Store, to use Apples, not to the Dell kiosk just a few yards away.
If corporate does deem this enough of a problem, I think that maybe they should block MySpace on certain computers so that the place isn’t overcrowded with MySpace users. That’s what my Store did unofficially – and it worked very nicely. It kept the entrance clear, enough computers free, and future generation of Mac-users happy.
Why were they using the Mac’s at the Apple store for MySpace?
Probably because they’re band from using it at home.
My daughters friends were coming over every morning before school to use our computers. They were caught and confessed that they weren’t allowed to use MySpace at home.
My wife and I put a stop to that and now they don’t use our Mac’s anymore.
Stupid decision. Those kids will go back to Pee-See.
Any argument that this will hack little Jr. highers and the like off to the point they won’t buy Macs, it holds no water.
1. They probably have a cheap PC at home, and could care less if they used a Mac, PC or any type of computer, they just know they go to the mall and usurp their parents authroity, and go to MySpace.
2. Perhaps they can go to Dell mall kiosks and do the MySpace thing there.
3. Some guys that enter the Apple stores that get onto Macs and go to MySpace to toll are seriously creepy.
In every way, this is a great move.
Here’s something to think about…. if there’s a gaggle of loud teenagers using the Macs to play around on MySpace, that may keep someone who is in the store to buy a Mac from having the chance to play around with the machine themselves. And if the potential buyer can’t play around with the machine, that’s a lost sale. So, I can see why Apple would do this.
Also, they may have had some complaints from other customers about teens and young adults lingering over the computers and displaying inappropriate MySpace pages. If that were the case, Apple has the right and(possible) obligation to block the site.
There is a lot of “questionable” material on MySpace, and Apple most likely doesn’t want it displayed in a public environment. It’s just another crazy lawsuit waiting to happen – “Sex offender meets teen on MySpace through Apple store – story at 11”, or “Child sees MySpace porn at Apple store, parents preparing to file billion dollar lawsuit”. I think Apple is making a good preemtive call here.
“why, you ask?” has it down pat. everyone loves to sue apple. it would happen. forget suing myspace, right? even though they’re the problem??
myspace is absolute garbage. kudos to apple for doing the right thing.
Apple is not blocking anything using any kind of technology. The staff are just going to monitor the use of the machines and see if kids are on myspace, and if so, then they are going to kick them off the macs.
That’s the last straw! From now on, I’m carrying my Cisco VPN client with me on my thumbdrive, just so I can go to an Apple store and access MySpace via my offices’s network!
Uhm… yeah!
Macs are availble in stores for shoppers, not surfers. That’s the reason public libraries, coffee shops, book stores, etc exist to provide general public access.
I doubt that these kids have the cash to buy their own computer and, should they have a Mac or PC at home, ought to use their machine at home.
It’s an Apple Store, not a child care center.
Hmmm another non story from a rumor site.
MW: Didnt as in this really didn’t happen to go down