Hastings101
Apr 10, 12:17 AM
Your point? Do you deny General Lee surrendered on this date in 1865?
This was an important victory for the US.
Actually it looks like you are being sarcastic. LOL
Technically the Confederacy wasn't defeated until a month later, and even then forces still fought because of how slow news traveled :p, but yea, Lee's surrender was basically the end.
This was an important victory for the US.
Actually it looks like you are being sarcastic. LOL
Technically the Confederacy wasn't defeated until a month later, and even then forces still fought because of how slow news traveled :p, but yea, Lee's surrender was basically the end.
Anuba
Jan 12, 07:44 PM
Welcome to America. We're just now getting 3G (in regards to GSM networks, anyhow).
So I'm told, but A) 3G phones are backwards compatible with old GSM networks. Mine switches between 3G/regular GSM constantly when I'm at home, as I live very close to a base station but far from the nearest 3G mast. Hence they should just stick a 3G 'sleeper cell' in there for (near) future use... and B) I respect that Apple is an American company, but they peddle their stuff all across the globe. Every little itty bitty iPod has 21 languages built in. When Apple Store closes down for maintenance it happens simultaneously all across the globe, and when it pops back online again the new products are available in all countries. Never in Apple's history have I seen them do something as US-centric as this - heck, we're not getting it until 2008! Strange, pretty damn alienating, and it had better not become a habit.
So I'm told, but A) 3G phones are backwards compatible with old GSM networks. Mine switches between 3G/regular GSM constantly when I'm at home, as I live very close to a base station but far from the nearest 3G mast. Hence they should just stick a 3G 'sleeper cell' in there for (near) future use... and B) I respect that Apple is an American company, but they peddle their stuff all across the globe. Every little itty bitty iPod has 21 languages built in. When Apple Store closes down for maintenance it happens simultaneously all across the globe, and when it pops back online again the new products are available in all countries. Never in Apple's history have I seen them do something as US-centric as this - heck, we're not getting it until 2008! Strange, pretty damn alienating, and it had better not become a habit.
ghostlines
Apr 6, 04:37 AM
My experience with iAds has been good, you sometimes see interesting stuff. But what I like about them most is that somehow they don't seem intrusive or annoying. They're just a a record in tableview that we can just easily flick pass.
Normal ads on website stick on the banner or sidebar if you don't have any adblock plugins installed, and that makes those so annoying.
Normal ads on website stick on the banner or sidebar if you don't have any adblock plugins installed, and that makes those so annoying.
jimbo999
Oct 3, 12:01 AM
The DMCA changed that, and until it's tested in court anything where encryption is used or even potentially used is not "safe" to reverse engineer in the US.
B
Not "anything where encryption is used." But if something is encrypted, it can only be reverse engineered under 1201(f):
(f) Reverse Engineering. -
%IMG_DESC_5%
%IMG_DESC_6%
%IMG_DESC_7%
%IMG_DESC_8%
%IMG_DESC_9%
%IMG_DESC_10%
%IMG_DESC_11%
%IMG_DESC_12%
%IMG_DESC_13%
%IMG_DESC_14%
%IMG_DESC_15%
%IMG_DESC_16%
%IMG_DESC_17%
%IMG_DESC_18%
%IMG_DESC_19%
B
Not "anything where encryption is used." But if something is encrypted, it can only be reverse engineered under 1201(f):
(f) Reverse Engineering. -
Aeolius
Oct 19, 06:07 PM
I am the first person to coin this term: iHome
Ummmm.....
http://regmedia.co.uk/2006/11/13/ihome_ih26_1.jpg
Ummmm.....
http://regmedia.co.uk/2006/11/13/ihome_ih26_1.jpg
Full of Win
Oct 23, 05:11 PM
i grew up in woodside, and it seems like this house would be very out of place. i'm not saying i have anything against his simple house or anything, just that it doesnt fit in with the area.
hope he enjoys getting no signal out there...everytime i go back there my iphone drains it's battery in about an hour searching for signal
That is what Microcells and Sat Phones are for. That, or a Verizon iPhone.
hope he enjoys getting no signal out there...everytime i go back there my iphone drains it's battery in about an hour searching for signal
That is what Microcells and Sat Phones are for. That, or a Verizon iPhone.
Aniej
Jan 5, 11:24 AM
And there you go!
Eidorian
Oct 2, 02:55 PM
*cough*
1. It's GigaOM.
2. I suggest that more people read GigaOM. Om Malik is great.
1. It's GigaOM.
2. I suggest that more people read GigaOM. Om Malik is great.
irmatt
Apr 25, 02:06 PM
Is it just me or did Apple keep a tighter lid on this stuff in the past?
i just don't think people cared as much
i just don't think people cared as much
breadesign
Jan 15, 05:05 PM
Still. No. Flash. On. My. Iphone.
W. T. F??!
... oh yes forgot that... another strike!
W. T. F??!
... oh yes forgot that... another strike!
Joshuarocks
Apr 8, 07:36 PM
I'm a current employee at Best Buy and thought I'd offer my two cents on a few issues.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
The only "Worst Buy" I am against is the one in Owings Mills, MD where they discriminated against me just because of a small disability. Pending a court case with corporate on this matter.. and I used to work for them back in 2005 and left them on a great note. Eligible for re-hire.. then tried to go back to them(Owings Mills) and the manager was very disrespectful and also discriminatory.
I plan to have that store shut down permanently.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
The only "Worst Buy" I am against is the one in Owings Mills, MD where they discriminated against me just because of a small disability. Pending a court case with corporate on this matter.. and I used to work for them back in 2005 and left them on a great note. Eligible for re-hire.. then tried to go back to them(Owings Mills) and the manager was very disrespectful and also discriminatory.
I plan to have that store shut down permanently.
Whistleway
Nov 24, 01:34 PM
oh btw..a hint...if you go to an apple store and buy a giftcard for the amount you need online...then you can use the gift card..get free shipping...plus get your 100 bucks off on a macbook w/ educatoinal discount and have no tax...
so you really end up saving 200 bucks....thats what im doing just a heads up
Could you explain?
Thanks.
so you really end up saving 200 bucks....thats what im doing just a heads up
Could you explain?
Thanks.
triceretops
Mar 24, 11:01 PM
Wish this post would have gone up earlier. We could have had a cake.:mad:
Jakerz
Apr 6, 10:02 AM
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/ProductImageCompressAll300/20-167-050-03.jpg
Bought it yesterday.
Bought it yesterday.
nagromme
Oct 4, 09:17 PM
In fact, OS X is behind on being a full 64 bit OS as well.
Meanwhile Vista will be behind Leopard in 64-bit support :) An optional install no less! :confused:
Meanwhile Vista will be behind Leopard in 64-bit support :) An optional install no less! :confused:
slackpacker
Apr 29, 04:06 PM
This is good the slider metaphor was very annoying and slow to use.
krestfallen
Oct 17, 09:55 AM
So why not just use an external HD?
because this can die easily. should we buy 5 external hd's to backup the backup disk of the backup disk? no. 3 or 4 hd's i owned died since the last 10 years or so. i think it's too risky.
because this can die easily. should we buy 5 external hd's to backup the backup disk of the backup disk? no. 3 or 4 hd's i owned died since the last 10 years or so. i think it's too risky.
Dunepilot
Nov 17, 08:09 AM
It's the Brit pronunciation - like that extra syllable that they throw into aluminum...
Or rather that we haven't removed a letter 'i' from that word.
http://www.world-aluminium.org/history/language.html
Or rather that we haven't removed a letter 'i' from that word.
http://www.world-aluminium.org/history/language.html
michaelflynn
Apr 5, 03:40 PM
Hahahahahaha what a joke
dethmaShine
Apr 29, 04:01 PM
283509
EDIT: How do I make this look bigger? ^ this?
EDIT: How do I make this look bigger? ^ this?
countrydweller
Jul 21, 09:28 AM
Why are Apple on a witch hunt?
Apple should concentrate on fixing their problem instead of finger pointing and deflecting the issue onto other companies. We already know the problem isn't as severe on other devices as the iPhone 4.
We do? You've tested them all?
Apple should concentrate on fixing their problem instead of finger pointing and deflecting the issue onto other companies. We already know the problem isn't as severe on other devices as the iPhone 4.
We do? You've tested them all?
seek3r
Mar 24, 06:18 PM
Yay! Now, where's the cake...
The cake is a lie :p
The cake is a lie :p
flopticalcube
Nov 24, 02:16 PM
MB 2G 120G + Canon MP460 for CAD$1800.00 Sweet! Early crimbo prezzy for Daddy! :D
Shh! Don't tell SWMBO!
Shh! Don't tell SWMBO!
DoFoT9
May 15, 11:52 PM
ok. i might try and set it up next weekend. we'll see. only 2 more weeks here though! thank goodness!
haha yay! lucky :D let me know how it goes!
haha yay! lucky :D let me know how it goes!
No comments:
Post a Comment