Consumers take another hit

Do you love your iPod? Did you know that when its rechargeable battery wears out, it can't be replaced? Well, not until recently. This story at washingtonpost.com: Battery And Assault explains that now you can send your iPod to Apple and get the battery replaced for only—ahem—$99! Wouldn't you expect a battery that expensive to last more than, say, 18 months?

"Since you didn't mind spending $X in the first place, we just knew you wouldn't mind spending $X+Y, even though we didn't tell you ahead of time how much Y would be." So many companies seem to have this feeling of entitlement toward your money that I figure it probably gets taught in business school.