Amid criticism from advocates for the poor, Apple reversed a policy that saw a disabled woman turned away from an Apple Store while trying to buy an iPad with cash. Apple just never imagined this situation. Cash? Really?

Who would imagine someone without a credit card, trying to buy the latest hot Apple product? What are the odds? Apple VP Ron Johnson told the local ABC station he was taken by surprise:

"About a month ago, we said we'd like you to use a credit card when you buy your iPad, and that was the best way we could think of to make sure that people only bought two per individual," said Johnson. "And then it came to our attention that Diane [Campbell], through your story, was very interested in buying an iPad with cash, and we made a decision today to change that."

See, it's not that Apple hates poor people or disabled ladies on fixed incomes, or that the company was being "heavy handed" as the California Reinvestment Coalition had said of Campbell's case the other day. It just never imagined someone would want to buy a product, with cash. Now you can buy an iPad with cash, your email address, and whatever else is needed to set you up with an "Apple account" (a swab of your DNA off the roof of your mouth and an original copy of your birth certificate, if we recall correctly).