You can only buy it from stores that don't stock it

Is Apple the most arrogant company on the planet? Sorry, rhetorical question.

The Apple TV is starting to interest me, but not for reasons that Apple would prefer. I have no intention of buying content from Apple, but it seems to be a nice way to get high-resolution photos on my Hi-Def TV and watch video podcasts.

I found the nearest Apple retailer and called to ensure they had one in stock so I could view it and buy it if I liked what I saw. The retailer told me that only stores that sell televisions are allowed to sell the Apple TV. Huh?!

We discussed the stupidity of Apple for awhile; him from the retailer's perspective, me from the consumer's perspective.

Being a persistent S.O.B., I checked Apple's web site to find other retailers and the only ones were Future Shop and Best Buy (two companies owned by the same parent company to give consumers the illusion of competition, but that's for another rant).

Their web sites allow you to check store stock. Neither store at any of their locations even carry the Apple TV. You have to order it from their web site. The problem with that is that you can't see it in person, ask questions about it, and maybe even see it in action. Plus there's the hassle of being home for delivery. The price was identical to Apple's web store because, as is typical of the world's biggest control freak, Apple, they tightly control retail pricing to give you the illusion that their products are in high demand and there's no need for price competition.

The end result? No sale of the Apple TV that day and the impulse to buy has faded away. Nice job Jobs. Your marketing policies result in a lost sale. At least I wasn't getting the shaft on the higher Canadian price than the U.S. price even though the Canadian dollar is stronger than the U.S. dollar (see this site for gouging details).

Now I hear that the third generation Apple TV (although the second generation was just a software upgrade) will also be a DVR. So I guess I'll wait and see what Apple will do. Now that lost sale on a particular day is translating into a lost sale for months(?).