Subsidized MacBooks!?!

When I hear about subsidized products and services, I usually want to kill someone. Don't get me wrong, I am a very peaceful person for most of the time, but subsidies make me go crazy. Why? Simply because you take a product, you sell it for half the price or even less, but you pay at least 3-4 times the price in the long run, that's the idea.

Considering the above, should you get a subsidized MacBook? Well, according to The Register, "Orange is reportedly in talks to add a MacBook to the range of subsidized hardware network operators are handing over these days, equipping the mobile executive for only a small monthly commitment."


I always hated the sound of this word - "commitment," and this time it's the same. I hate it! As the same report claims, "Orange is prepared to hand over the £350 Toshiba L300 to those prepared to sign up to a £35-a-month contract for a couple of years. That would put a basic MacBook at £369."

At last, here's the worst part of the story - speculations go as far as saying that Apple may embed a GSM module and SIM slot into the MacBook, making it an Orange-exclusive. Come on, I like to consider this a joke and a paranoid rumor. How would you take such an aberration?