What Do South Park and Apple Have in Common?

Normally you wouldn't think of South Park and Apple as being associated with one another. The season première of South Park, however, made fun of a rather serious subject, the main theme being Apple's tactics as a company, the high cost of their products, and some of the recent problems that Apple has faced.

One of the interesting things about South Park's criticisms of Apple is that even though they might be exaggerating the Apple situation, there is a foundation in truth. The episode comes on the heels of the latest Apple controversy.

The main issue of the South Park episode was the recent news that the iPhone and iPad tracked locations of where these devices have been, and stores that information. This episode, which is called, "HumancentiPad ," is a prime example of irreverent treatment of a serious subject. You might say that South Park took a bite out of Apple.

Many Apple fans will certainly be outraged with how this episode portrays both Apple products and their customers. In the opening scenes of the episode you see Eric Cartman on the playground with what he says is an iPad. Cartman is accused of lying, andi is told to prove that his iPad is not a fake. He rushes home to coerce his mother into taking him to buy the real deal.

As Cartman and his mother are in Best Buy looking at the iPads, Mom wants to know why they can't buy a cheaper product. The one that the Cartman character chooses costs $900. Makes you kind of scratch your head and say, "You know, you're right. Why is the iPad so expensive?"

Technolog on MSNBC.com mentions in a post that Apple responded to allegations about the iPhone and iPad devices stating, "The iPhone is not logging your location. Rather, it's maintaining a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers around your current location." When this information came to public attention, it caused a stir. The tracking problem is also something that the South Park episode highlights.

Do you blindly click okay to terms of agreements with out reading them? South Park depicts what happens to those who don't know what they are agreeing to. It's really funny although outrageous.

Yet the real life Apple situation is not so funny. South Park may poke fun at Apple, but many people wonder why it is that Apple charges so much for their products? If you can get away with it, more power to you. South Park and Apple really don't have much in common other than both can make you shake your head in disbelief at what goes on.

Personally I couldn't watch the whole South Park episode. South Park is not something I would normally watch. Most of the time I find them to be just to raunchy and tasteless. I don't know what possessed me to watch part of this episode, but I did.