Want To Merge More Than One Apple ID? Cupertino Says 'Fat Chance'

When Apple introduced MobileMe, they really created a cluster$@#! of a situation with Apple IDs because they forced you to make a new one when you signed up. That means that millions of MobileMe users have two Apple IDs: the one they've used forever to buy songs, movies and apps, and another Apple ID forced upon you for MobileMe.

Well, now iCloud is here and MobileMe accounts have been ported and almost all of MobileMe's services are now free. Wouldn't it be nice to frickin' be able to merge those two IDs into one so you don't have to worry about this crap anymore?

Don't hold your breath. Apple's not playing.

Here's what the official Apple support article says on the matter:

Can I merge multiple Apple IDs into one? 
You cannot merge two or more Apple IDs into a single one. You can, however, use one Apple ID for iCloud services and another Apple ID for store purchases (including iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match). See "Using one Apple ID for iCloud and a different Apple ID for Store Purchases" above for details.

It's not a huge deal, because Apple does allow you to sign in with a separate store ID, but it just seems stupid and arbitrary that Apple can't fix this and simplify things for millions of users who didn't want a separate MobileMe Apple ID anyway.