Mr. Hill...
I'm getting plenty p!ssed at reading (and now being told by people who have absolutely NO CONCEPT of life in the real world) about HOW I should spend my hard-earned cash on something that I theoretically shouldn't have to save for in the first place.
I obviously can't speak for yourself - and would not even begin to - but I refuse to be dictated to by companies like Apple who decide that it would be "...a good time to bury bad news...", so to speak, regarding their decision to unleash this unpopular (and yes, if you read the large number of threads associated with this topic, you'll realise it IS unpopular to a great deal of us) money-making scheme onto us during what we believe to be an exciting time for Apple Mac fans, namely the Expo Keynote.
And you're absolutely right - I don't have to use it if I don't want it.
I would rather therefore get myself a personalised web address - with personalised email (which STILL works out cheaper!), and watch Apple try and backpedal out of this still smiling, when they realise in the end subscriptions to their service have been seriously lower than predicted by their so-called "research" department.
I truly feel sorry for you that you'd rather sit there and accept the fact that Apple are taking a great liberty by just forking out money wantonly, without thinking about the future. What IS stopping them from raising the price, or even removing certain features that you've come to expect?
They've now set the precedence, and you've accepted it. It's not that I don't like Apple - I LOVE their products. But I don't expect to be treated this way after spending a small fortune with them.
And that is why they can't get away with it - we're talking PRINCIPLES here.