shanen's Journal: Talking to Apple like a brick wall?

Wasn't my intention to spend any time on this, but since I can't communicate with Apple I am reduced to this rant. Looks like another once-good company in the process of sinking to irrelevance...

Context: I have a "vintage" MacBook Pro. That label actually means Apple wants it to die, though it would be hard for me to say it ever had much of a life. So some of my questions relate to how to "terminate" it gracefully, mostly in terms of making sure I've extracted any data I put there and forgot about. (I know about at least one important file and have copied it elsewhere.) If I could talk with Apple I was willing to consider a possible upgrade path--but no talk possible so far.

As a secondary issue I want to escape from Google Maps. The main problem there is what I regard as abuse of my "contributions". Seriously annoying to the point where I am considering systematic deletion of everything. So maybe Apple offers an alternative I should consider? Again, unable to get any information from Apple. Especially interested in comparisons with the Yelp and Tabelog options. Maybe someone around here can say something?

Calling it a tertiary issue, even though there are others, but iCloud is a concern because of the authentication topic. Right now it frequently (and often intrusively) wants to authenticate through that vintage box I already mentioned--but what happens if I terminate it? Perhaps a minor issue since I've never used it much--but I think that's largely because of the communication-with-Apple problems I started with.

So going for the joke? My latest (perhaps last?) communication attempt was via the Apple website and at one stage it triggered a post-visit survey. I might have mentioned one or more of these concerns as I was leaving but it turned out to be another "We aren't listening" bit of fluff.

Meta-conclusion: It's not only Apple that wants only the most profitable customers. I actually think Amazon may be the top company that is destroying the invisible hand and I wonder what Adam Smith (or his GAIvator) would say about post-capitalism.