Can you be a little more specific? It's am MP3 or one of Apple's encrypted music files. What about the "new features" would suddenly render that kind of file dragging from one folder to another null?
You missed the point. The changes in IOS7 and iTunes 11.1 don't have to do with dragging a folder (which, by the way, is NOT how music is transferred) but with other functionality of iTunes. What caught you out was the fact that because Apple didn't spend the time and effort to make the new version of iTunes compatible with OSX 10.5 it simply won't run on your old equipment at all. It was a financial decision, to be sure. Apple estimated how many people still run that old equipment and decided the investment of their developer time into that very small population wasn't worth it. Microsoft had made the opposite decision when it first came out with Windows. They decided to continue to support the old 8-bit DOS environment, which led to endless hours of programmer time as they tried to sustain that compatibility into the 64 bit world. Eventually they gave up and abandoned old equipment and software. Apple chooses to abandon old technology faster, which makes them more flexible in adopting new technologies. They changed to Intel, changed the approach to OSX and basically moved into the 21st century. You haven't, so you are being left behind. It's a choice you get to make in a free society, but you then have no basis for complaint when the new stuff doesn't work on your old system.
I was referring to the laptops, which have a multitude of different kind of connectors, none of which are saving space over another. Otherwise, in general I would buy the idea that technology tends smaller. Oh, p.s. because OS 10.7+ is not compatible with my MacBook Pro, there is indeed an "after that" beyond $20. Look, if simple tasks weren't suddenly neutered in so many of these updates, I might buy the whole "technology is progressing" idea. Yes, it's progressing, but there's so many other signs that the progression contains deliberate caveats to attach you to a certain company. This is basic profit-seeking motivation. I could go on about sim cards, adapters, etc... But thanks for the tips about archaic pin plugs - that I might believe.
With regard to laptop power cables, just about every laptop has different power requirements, so the cables are deliberately different to prevent naive or careless end users from plugging in the wrong power supply. Now one might try making an argument that all of the laptops should have the same power requirements, but that would lead to every machine having to be packaged with a power supply designed for the most powerful and power hungry laptop, which would drive up the cost of the low end machines. That approach would also prevent any laptop maker from going beyond the power requirement of the existing power supply parameter, limiting future technologies to fit into that power environment. It's like arguing that every car air filter should be the same size and shape so that I don't have to work so hard to get the right one. But that would mean that even small cars would have to have a filter that is designed for the largest car in the market, and that no larger car than then largest filter could ever be built. That's nonsense. So vendors choose to customize the power supply to the laptop and prevent burnouts from wrong power supplies with unique plugs. No mad conspiracy, just simple technology.
And, no, for your equipment there is no "after that." To move forward you need to abandon the G4 and get something more modern that supports the latest OSX, or at least a version that supports the iTunes version required to support the IOS7 iPhone. A smart use of money would be to step up the latest and best technology now, given your apparent propensity to hold on to technology well beyond its "normal" life. If you buy something older and used, it will become obsolete sooner than a brand new system.
Finally, nothing in the free market attaches me to any company, other than my willingness to spend the money it costs to change platforms. I used to have all Windows systems, including hardware and software, but decided of my own free will to change to Apple and its environment. It cost me money to make that change, but again, it was MY decision. I believe I am getting better value for money with that decision. Does Apple want me to stay in their environment? Absolutely! But then again so does Ford, Toyota, Sony, GE, LG and just about every company in the world. But I still have the freedom to choose which products to buy and when to buy them. I may choose to leave Apple for some other product if I think I get better value for money with that new product, but for now Apple wins.
And with that, I'm done. Nice chatting with you.