The iPod family and the iPhone are amongst the most sought after gadgets these days, not surprisingly with the younger generation. So for kids to be deprived the chance of having one of these devices could be seen as unfair by most. This is definitely the case when it comes to the Gates children, Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe.

     Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft, has reportedly banned his offspring from getting their hands on any device from Apple. Surely the kids should have a say in which digital music player they have or which mobile phone they can talk on? I mean it certainly isn't about the cost, as is the case for nearly every other parent on the planet who has their child chomping at the bit, asking over and over, "Please Mummy can i have an iPod/iPhone."

     Apparently in a recent article about Mrs. Gates, Vogue quotes Melinda as saying "There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household, but iPods and iPhones are two things that we don't get for our kids."

     It is easy to see why the Gates' have this stance with their kids, as harsh as it may seem, it is hard to walk around sporting merchandise produced by your fathers most famous competitor.

     In the same article, Melinda is conflicted when she goes on to say, "Every now and then I look at my friends and say, 'ooh I wouldn't mind having that iPhone." Bill has also been known to compliment Apple in the past by saying, "If there's anything good about the iPhone, it's software" in an interview with BusinessWeek.

     Come on Bill, if I owned a large fashion chain, I certainly wouldn't restrict my wardrobe to only wearing clothing sold at my store, and I certainly wouldn't deprive my kids the choice of shopping elsewhere, it's just petty.

     It is inevitable, however, that at some point (if not already) the Gates children will sneak an iPod nano into the family home, and keep it secretly hidden away. After all is said and done, kids will be kids, regardless of who their parents are.