ctdonath
Oct 1, 02:06 PM
I live in one of fairly many Grade II Listed (http://www.heritage.co.uk/apavilions/glstb.html) buildings in the United Kingdom, much older but not quite as large as old Steve's, and there is no surprise when purchasing such a building that you are significantly restricted in what you can do to it.
England has a very long history of common people being subject to the will & whim of the rich & powerful & connected.
The USA exists precisely because some of those common people got tired of such treatment and made it clear they would do with their land what they saw fit.
What is it about the past that you don't like, Jobs?
How it gets in the way of the present & future.
When people stop shelling out good money, time & resources of their own (not confiscated-at-gunpoint taxpayer funds) for old things, maybe it's time to stop preserving what people don't actually want and start replacing it. Remember, Apple does not maintain a "museum of past Apple products" because those products no longer sold are, by current standards, failures - they may have been great then, but nobody wants to put up their own money for them today.
Yes, there is a valid argument and sociopolitical expenditure to preserve things which may not be of sustained current value. Question is where to draw the line. AFAIK, nobody actually wanted that house, and few are truly enamored by Spanish Revival architecture to a degree worth the substantial cost of preservation of such an example, and fewer still are truly enamored by the decedent who built it. The argument, IMHO, centers more around those wanting to either criticize Jobs at any opportunity, or whose relevance hinges on ability to find old homes they can spin as "historic".
Suitable acreage is costly in that region. The cost of preserving the "interesting creation" far exceeds the cost of replacing it with another interesting creation; as none are interested in putting up the money to preserve the former, those interested in putting up the money to create the latter win.
And yes, the old gives way to the new. Physical things are not important of themselves. It's not about wanton destruction for sake of destruction, it's about moving forward and removing obstacles thereto.
England has a very long history of common people being subject to the will & whim of the rich & powerful & connected.
The USA exists precisely because some of those common people got tired of such treatment and made it clear they would do with their land what they saw fit.
What is it about the past that you don't like, Jobs?
How it gets in the way of the present & future.
When people stop shelling out good money, time & resources of their own (not confiscated-at-gunpoint taxpayer funds) for old things, maybe it's time to stop preserving what people don't actually want and start replacing it. Remember, Apple does not maintain a "museum of past Apple products" because those products no longer sold are, by current standards, failures - they may have been great then, but nobody wants to put up their own money for them today.
Yes, there is a valid argument and sociopolitical expenditure to preserve things which may not be of sustained current value. Question is where to draw the line. AFAIK, nobody actually wanted that house, and few are truly enamored by Spanish Revival architecture to a degree worth the substantial cost of preservation of such an example, and fewer still are truly enamored by the decedent who built it. The argument, IMHO, centers more around those wanting to either criticize Jobs at any opportunity, or whose relevance hinges on ability to find old homes they can spin as "historic".
Suitable acreage is costly in that region. The cost of preserving the "interesting creation" far exceeds the cost of replacing it with another interesting creation; as none are interested in putting up the money to preserve the former, those interested in putting up the money to create the latter win.
And yes, the old gives way to the new. Physical things are not important of themselves. It's not about wanton destruction for sake of destruction, it's about moving forward and removing obstacles thereto.
.jpg "Kareena Kapoor")
BC2009
May 2, 11:56 AM
Oh the conspiracies!!!!
As a software developer, the explanation that Apple gave seems far more plausible than "they are tracking your every move".
It makes total sense to keep a cache of cell tower positions to speed up positioning through trilateration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilateration). It also makes sense for Apple to maintain this as a crowd-sourced database and download part of it to your phone. Further, it makes sense for a developer to make an arbitrary decision to say "let's make the cache size 2MB -- that's smaller than a single song". Finally, it makes sense for QA to miss this since the file is not readily visible through the user interface. A very good article on this is here (http://www.macworld.com/article/159528/2011/04/how_iphone_location_works.html).
I for one cannot remember a single iAd ever popping that was more appropriate based on my location (e.g.: a restaurant ad showing up when I was near a location for that restaurant chain). I seriously doubt that Apple cares where I have been for the past year -- especially with the huge degree of error that trilateration offers. But they definitely care about the crowd-sourced data to understand what regions iPhones are being used most heavily.
Certainly, if Apple wanted to record my personal position it would make MUCH MUCH MUCH more sense for their servers to simply record the query my phone makes to obtain the portion of the crowd-sourced database that my phone wants to cache. That query could easily include a more exact GPS position (i.e.: give me the part of the cache near this location). It could also include a phone identifier. Of course, a timestamp could be associated with the query. They could keep the information on their own servers where I would NEVER EVER see it and they could easily access it. Keeping it on my phone simply does not make sense if Apple really wanted this information -- it makes it easy for me to find and it is of less use to Apple that way.
I wonder if Google records my Wifi/GPS location on Google Maps or what locations I searched when using Google Maps. Hopefully, my identity is anonymized before the query is sent to Google for what part of the Maps database to pull down and cache. But again, it would be really easy for anybody to do this on the server side.
As a software developer, the explanation that Apple gave seems far more plausible than "they are tracking your every move".
It makes total sense to keep a cache of cell tower positions to speed up positioning through trilateration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilateration). It also makes sense for Apple to maintain this as a crowd-sourced database and download part of it to your phone. Further, it makes sense for a developer to make an arbitrary decision to say "let's make the cache size 2MB -- that's smaller than a single song". Finally, it makes sense for QA to miss this since the file is not readily visible through the user interface. A very good article on this is here (http://www.macworld.com/article/159528/2011/04/how_iphone_location_works.html).
I for one cannot remember a single iAd ever popping that was more appropriate based on my location (e.g.: a restaurant ad showing up when I was near a location for that restaurant chain). I seriously doubt that Apple cares where I have been for the past year -- especially with the huge degree of error that trilateration offers. But they definitely care about the crowd-sourced data to understand what regions iPhones are being used most heavily.
Certainly, if Apple wanted to record my personal position it would make MUCH MUCH MUCH more sense for their servers to simply record the query my phone makes to obtain the portion of the crowd-sourced database that my phone wants to cache. That query could easily include a more exact GPS position (i.e.: give me the part of the cache near this location). It could also include a phone identifier. Of course, a timestamp could be associated with the query. They could keep the information on their own servers where I would NEVER EVER see it and they could easily access it. Keeping it on my phone simply does not make sense if Apple really wanted this information -- it makes it easy for me to find and it is of less use to Apple that way.
I wonder if Google records my Wifi/GPS location on Google Maps or what locations I searched when using Google Maps. Hopefully, my identity is anonymized before the query is sent to Google for what part of the Maps database to pull down and cache. But again, it would be really easy for anybody to do this on the server side.
229dan229
Sep 9, 10:50 AM
i thought it was pretty good tbh.
Rodimus Prime
Mar 7, 11:10 AM
Also, because of the tight competition, companies are afraid to take risks. Remember when the USB por had just been introduced? This was a real chicken and egg situation for PC makers. No PC maker wants to be the first to switch to all USB ports because (a) it will cost more money to put the new ports into the board, and (b) they know it will annoy customers who will have to buy all peripherals. Customers will simply buy the competing brand because it's cheaper. Now, someone eventually sells a PC with both USB and PS/2 ports so you can slowly start the upgrade trend, but it's slow for all the above reasons.
Same for the floppy drive: nobody wants to be the first to ship without one. It would be seen as being "too different" and cause lost sales to the competition.
Like Knight said Apple did not lead the charge for USB nor floppy drive.
I will argue that Apple dump the floppy drive WAY WAY to soon as there was no suitable replacement out for it yet. With out a floppy drive there was no way to move small files between computers. Hell those first mac that dump the floppy did not even have a CD burner not that CD were good idea to move small files between computers.
At the time they dump the floppy blank CD were a few dollars a piece, Email was text only and if you could send an attachment your inbox size was limited to 2 megs at most.
What kill the floppy was flash drivers becoming cheap and larger insize, being able to email larger attachments and hi speed internet. It required all of those factors to really kill off the floppy drive. I have a old USB floppy drive I have from 2001 that I will hold on to for the just incase. My desktop I built in 2004 I put in a floppy drive. I call it my 10 buck insurance plan. Sadly I have used it several times over the years. Hell I had a teacher in 2007 that required me to turn in a project on a floppy drive. Let me tell you it felt weird going to Office Depot and asking for a floppy drive but oh well. 10 buck insurance plan that paid off multiple times over.
Same for the floppy drive: nobody wants to be the first to ship without one. It would be seen as being "too different" and cause lost sales to the competition.
Like Knight said Apple did not lead the charge for USB nor floppy drive.
I will argue that Apple dump the floppy drive WAY WAY to soon as there was no suitable replacement out for it yet. With out a floppy drive there was no way to move small files between computers. Hell those first mac that dump the floppy did not even have a CD burner not that CD were good idea to move small files between computers.
At the time they dump the floppy blank CD were a few dollars a piece, Email was text only and if you could send an attachment your inbox size was limited to 2 megs at most.
What kill the floppy was flash drivers becoming cheap and larger insize, being able to email larger attachments and hi speed internet. It required all of those factors to really kill off the floppy drive. I have a old USB floppy drive I have from 2001 that I will hold on to for the just incase. My desktop I built in 2004 I put in a floppy drive. I call it my 10 buck insurance plan. Sadly I have used it several times over the years. Hell I had a teacher in 2007 that required me to turn in a project on a floppy drive. Let me tell you it felt weird going to Office Depot and asking for a floppy drive but oh well. 10 buck insurance plan that paid off multiple times over.
yetanotherdave
Apr 29, 02:19 PM
iCal still looks terrible.
Much quicker update than the last one for me.
I think the realistic minimal RAM requirements will move to 4GB with Lion. Installing on an older MacBook with 2GB of RAM has proven that Lion loves RAM and Beachballs :) .
It is fairly stable for a "Beta/Preview" build though and seems to be closer to being ready to ship.
The macbook air's ship with 2gig standard. They wont leave a computer that new behind.
Much quicker update than the last one for me.
I think the realistic minimal RAM requirements will move to 4GB with Lion. Installing on an older MacBook with 2GB of RAM has proven that Lion loves RAM and Beachballs :) .
It is fairly stable for a "Beta/Preview" build though and seems to be closer to being ready to ship.
The macbook air's ship with 2gig standard. They wont leave a computer that new behind.
juanster
Jul 21, 10:47 AM
Apple should spend the money spent on pointing fingers at others and no a bumper is not a fix. It only happens to 1% of the users? Greeeeat. That's 1% more than it should. So get to work and stop trying to look at others failures that are similar to yours.
What's apple trying to say? That they are failing At fixing something just better?
What's apple trying to say? That they are failing At fixing something just better?
ufkdo
May 4, 06:15 AM
A great commercial. Congrats Apple !
wmmk
Aug 13, 10:59 PM
The 20" is still way over-priced.
yeah, but it has an apple logo and is made of brushed metal. if you don't like to pay for design, run unix on a homebuilt PC in a square plastic case.
yeah, but it has an apple logo and is made of brushed metal. if you don't like to pay for design, run unix on a homebuilt PC in a square plastic case.
iMeowbot
Oct 28, 06:59 PM
Interesting. So does Apple just put their stuff up under ASPL and let the FreeBSD commiters sift through it?
Yeah. This is the same situation that caused some strife between the WebKit and KHTML projects, although in the BSD world it's not such a hot button issue.
Okay. Everyone's got their own morals, but if a few people are putting OS X on their PCs, I don't see it as a huge issue. Given how complicated it is it's not really a *problem*. But if a rich company like Apple takes a free thing and makes money off of it and only gives some of it back to the community that created it and gave it away, that seems less moral (this is my opinion) regardless of what the legal documents say.
Thing is, the BSD community as a whole want the proprietary option open. They avoid taking code from places like the Linux kernel in order to keep GPL terms from coming into play; GPL stuff is segregated into separate packages. Apple aren't getting away with some technicality, the ability to keep source closed is one of the touted features of BSD.
Yeah. This is the same situation that caused some strife between the WebKit and KHTML projects, although in the BSD world it's not such a hot button issue.
Okay. Everyone's got their own morals, but if a few people are putting OS X on their PCs, I don't see it as a huge issue. Given how complicated it is it's not really a *problem*. But if a rich company like Apple takes a free thing and makes money off of it and only gives some of it back to the community that created it and gave it away, that seems less moral (this is my opinion) regardless of what the legal documents say.
Thing is, the BSD community as a whole want the proprietary option open. They avoid taking code from places like the Linux kernel in order to keep GPL terms from coming into play; GPL stuff is segregated into separate packages. Apple aren't getting away with some technicality, the ability to keep source closed is one of the touted features of BSD.
Mattie Num Nums
Apr 8, 02:49 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.
As a former BBY employee I can tell you a few things that are flawed.
#1 no former or current Best Buy employee would call themselves BBemployee, BBYEmployee would seem more likely. I know its stupid but it is the culture of Best Buy to shorten it to BBY.
#2 You would have no clue if Best Buy was in trouble. As a simple Blue Shirt or even a Black Shirt you would not have this information passed down to you.
#3 Your rant show that you either hate Best Buy for personal reasons or possibly a former employee who has a huge vendetta against the company.
#4 Your rant does nothing to support this discussion.
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.
As a former BBY employee I can tell you a few things that are flawed.
#1 no former or current Best Buy employee would call themselves BBemployee, BBYEmployee would seem more likely. I know its stupid but it is the culture of Best Buy to shorten it to BBY.
#2 You would have no clue if Best Buy was in trouble. As a simple Blue Shirt or even a Black Shirt you would not have this information passed down to you.
#3 Your rant show that you either hate Best Buy for personal reasons or possibly a former employee who has a huge vendetta against the company.
#4 Your rant does nothing to support this discussion.
Rooskibar03
Apr 6, 12:36 PM
Grill Top Smoker from William Sonoma:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/wsimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201105/0014/img3m.jpg
I've been wanting to get a smoker but just cannot justify the cost and time needed to make it happen. I'm hoping this gets me the fix I need.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/wsimgs/rk/images/dp/wcm/201105/0014/img3m.jpg
I've been wanting to get a smoker but just cannot justify the cost and time needed to make it happen. I'm hoping this gets me the fix I need.
.jpg "+hot+ikini+wallpaper")
jbuck777
Apr 16, 03:00 AM
iPhone did nothing new. It just took some popular features and combined them. It was more of a game changer due to it being made by apple.
I think you should go watch the keynote of 2007... the iPhone's introduction. I watched it the other day cause I had a little too much time to kill and felt like seeing where we came from.
You don't realize just how incredible the iPhone is until you look back at what we came from.... go ahead, watch it.
I think you should go watch the keynote of 2007... the iPhone's introduction. I watched it the other day cause I had a little too much time to kill and felt like seeing where we came from.
You don't realize just how incredible the iPhone is until you look back at what we came from.... go ahead, watch it.
MacRumors
Apr 29, 03:43 PM
http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-tweaks-mac-os-x-lion-ui-in-response-to-criticism/)
With Apple having pushed out a new update (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-seeds-new-version-of-mac-os-x-lion-11a444d-to-developers/) to the Mac OS X Lion developer preview program, those with access to the new build have been looking for changes in an attempt to see what Apple has been working on over the past few weeks.
One minor point that caught our eye is a change in the user interface elements for selecting subpanes within System Preferences. In this latest build, the active subpane is denoted by a sunken, darker button that appears as if it has been pushed, as shown in the Expos� & Spaces preference pane.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_button_new_500.jpg
Current "button" style subpane selector with Expos� active
Earlier builds of Mac OS X Lion had used a sort of slider animation where the active subpane was represented by a lighter colored button that confused many users when simply glancing at the pane without attempting to move the slider and thus having the animation to key on.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_slider_old_500.jpg
Earlier "slider" style subpane selector with Spaces active
In the face of that criticism, Apple appears to have rethought its mechanism for switching between subpanes and reverted back to a button style that appears more intuitive.
A similar change has been made in iCal, where an earlier slider-style navigator (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/31/mac-os-x-lion-developer-preview-2-brings-new-look-for-ical/) was rolled out to select among day/week/month/year views but has now been replaced by more traditional button-style selectors.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/163551-lion_ical_button_style_selector.jpg
iCal selector buttons in latest Mac OS X Lion build
Article Link: Apple Tweaks Mac OS X Lion UI In Response to Criticism (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-tweaks-mac-os-x-lion-ui-in-response-to-criticism/)
With Apple having pushed out a new update (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-seeds-new-version-of-mac-os-x-lion-11a444d-to-developers/) to the Mac OS X Lion developer preview program, those with access to the new build have been looking for changes in an attempt to see what Apple has been working on over the past few weeks.
One minor point that caught our eye is a change in the user interface elements for selecting subpanes within System Preferences. In this latest build, the active subpane is denoted by a sunken, darker button that appears as if it has been pushed, as shown in the Expos� & Spaces preference pane.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_button_new_500.jpg
Current "button" style subpane selector with Expos� active
Earlier builds of Mac OS X Lion had used a sort of slider animation where the active subpane was represented by a lighter colored button that confused many users when simply glancing at the pane without attempting to move the slider and thus having the animation to key on.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_slider_old_500.jpg
Earlier "slider" style subpane selector with Spaces active
In the face of that criticism, Apple appears to have rethought its mechanism for switching between subpanes and reverted back to a button style that appears more intuitive.
A similar change has been made in iCal, where an earlier slider-style navigator (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/31/mac-os-x-lion-developer-preview-2-brings-new-look-for-ical/) was rolled out to select among day/week/month/year views but has now been replaced by more traditional button-style selectors.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/163551-lion_ical_button_style_selector.jpg
iCal selector buttons in latest Mac OS X Lion build
Article Link: Apple Tweaks Mac OS X Lion UI In Response to Criticism (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-tweaks-mac-os-x-lion-ui-in-response-to-criticism/)
quagmire
Jul 27, 11:25 AM
Chevrolet announced the Volt will be priced at $41,000 before tax credits. You can choose to lease it for $350/month.
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/its-official-chevrolet-volt-41-000-chevrolet-begins-taking-orders-94080/
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/its-official-chevrolet-volt-41-000-chevrolet-begins-taking-orders-94080/
KnightWRX
Mar 7, 10:45 AM
Perhaps. You may well be right. But the point was that Apple was the first to seriously use USB and the first to remove floppy drives -- so they get to take the credit for "being innovative", and when everyone else follows suit, whether they were actually being copycats or for whatever other reason, they get credit for "being the leader" and "everyone copies them".
USB was an Intel initiative, not an Apple one. It was all over the tech news if you read PC rags back then, way before the Bondi blue plastic was a pipe dream at Apple.
And adopting someone else's interconnect and removing an internal floppy drive is innovative how ? Especially the removing part...
USB was an Intel initiative, not an Apple one. It was all over the tech news if you read PC rags back then, way before the Bondi blue plastic was a pipe dream at Apple.
And adopting someone else's interconnect and removing an internal floppy drive is innovative how ? Especially the removing part...
.jpg "Kareena Kapoor Hot wallpaper")
porcupine8
May 4, 09:27 PM
You're getting negative votes on your post just because people here know that Apple will never do that, but I think I have to agree with you. I mean I own the iPad 1 now and love it, but I'd love it even more if I could write on it with a pen. It would be amazing for taking notes. I can't take notes by typing on the thing, I still have to bring a notebook (as in an actual notebook, made of paper lol) or my MacBook.
Have you actually tried any of the styli out there with the notetaking apps? I balked at first because it looks like no way could it work, but now I love writing in Notes Plus with my Targus stylus (same as the boxwave). It's surprisingly fluid, and I've heard that other apps do an even better job.
Have you actually tried any of the styli out there with the notetaking apps? I balked at first because it looks like no way could it work, but now I love writing in Notes Plus with my Targus stylus (same as the boxwave). It's surprisingly fluid, and I've heard that other apps do an even better job.
croooow
Apr 6, 01:26 PM
With respect, you clearly don't work in advertising...
You say that like it's a good thing to work in advertising. Follow Bill Hicks' advice. :cool:
You say that like it's a good thing to work in advertising. Follow Bill Hicks' advice. :cool:
iMeowbot
Sep 12, 12:30 AM
Maybe, but to impact the market, you need a critical mass. Didn't iTMS have 200,000-300,000 songs when it opened?
Yes, but there was hardly any content at all when they started offering videos.
Yes, but there was hardly any content at all when they started offering videos.
Polardude
Jan 5, 08:14 PM
Can someone mirror the qt stream and post it along the official link when it becomes live? I remember I had to wait at least 2 days before I was able to stream the keynote from last year's MWSF.
Imagine holding off the urge to check apple.com / macrumors.com and stopping people short from talking about the new products for 2 days... *sighs*
Imagine holding off the urge to check apple.com / macrumors.com and stopping people short from talking about the new products for 2 days... *sighs*
Yamcha
May 2, 09:40 AM
I find it hilarious that Steve Jobs claimed Apple was not tracking users, but now all of a sudden we find Location tracking being completely removed from this version of iOS, that is honestly something that annoyes me..
Nekbeth
Apr 27, 06:33 PM
The "quiz questions" are necessary because we don't know what it is you know or think you know. We can't read your mind. This is how information is exchanged and we can come to the appropriate level or explanation to be able to help you. It can also help you find the answer yourself by talking through it.
talking through it ?? thats funny, as soon as someone mentions "what's a pointer"..everyone shoots to kill here, and they tell you to step out or go deep yourself in books. The last thing you'll get is a simple answer, which 1 out 20 developers give you without asking you "Have you even read the objective-C manual?? cause if not you should leave the Real Coding and go study now"
For someone seeking our help, you sure are quick to dismiss it. Again, everyone in this thread has been trying to help you. A little cooperation on your part would be appreciated.
Help us help you. If we have questions, it's because we don't quite understand what you are seeking help on.
Knight, just go to page 2 and look at the problem. It's very clear what I'm looking for and many developers have try to solve it. dejo describes it step by step. If you don't understand ask me, because many others understand it.
(I think 2/3 pages in this thread are not related to the code itself, instead everybody is giving his point of view about why or why not Pro developers should help new ones.)
talking through it ?? thats funny, as soon as someone mentions "what's a pointer"..everyone shoots to kill here, and they tell you to step out or go deep yourself in books. The last thing you'll get is a simple answer, which 1 out 20 developers give you without asking you "Have you even read the objective-C manual?? cause if not you should leave the Real Coding and go study now"
For someone seeking our help, you sure are quick to dismiss it. Again, everyone in this thread has been trying to help you. A little cooperation on your part would be appreciated.
Help us help you. If we have questions, it's because we don't quite understand what you are seeking help on.
Knight, just go to page 2 and look at the problem. It's very clear what I'm looking for and many developers have try to solve it. dejo describes it step by step. If you don't understand ask me, because many others understand it.
(I think 2/3 pages in this thread are not related to the code itself, instead everybody is giving his point of view about why or why not Pro developers should help new ones.)
peharri
Oct 3, 01:33 PM
iTV has already been announced, of course they'll demo it.
Video iPod... possible. I think "true video iPod" is a misnomer, there already are video iPods, it just might get better over time.
No Apple Phone, for obvious reasons. The Apple Phone will only appear if they can't persuade the rest of the market to license iTunes, or if they're totally, completely, and utterly stupid.
iLife/iWork - well, of course!
More Leopard Features - ditto.
More Movie Studios - hard to believe that wouldn't be the case.
Steve Jobs retiring - possible, but why would it be announced at this MacWorld as opposed to any other time?
Video iPod... possible. I think "true video iPod" is a misnomer, there already are video iPods, it just might get better over time.
No Apple Phone, for obvious reasons. The Apple Phone will only appear if they can't persuade the rest of the market to license iTunes, or if they're totally, completely, and utterly stupid.
iLife/iWork - well, of course!
More Leopard Features - ditto.
More Movie Studios - hard to believe that wouldn't be the case.
Steve Jobs retiring - possible, but why would it be announced at this MacWorld as opposed to any other time?
DetroitDrillSGT
Mar 17, 08:53 AM
:rolleyes:
MattSepeta
Apr 27, 12:58 PM
Nah- you did that all on your own. We can't take credit for that one.
I'll admit defeat on the following condition: Show me one quote of where I spoke ill of, demanded different rules for, or generally disparaged transgendered people.
I'll admit defeat on the following condition: Show me one quote of where I spoke ill of, demanded different rules for, or generally disparaged transgendered people.
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