PlipPlop
Apr 18, 06:19 AM
If they are uninstallable, how'd they get loaded in there?
Jesus did it.
Jesus did it.
getheledout
Apr 6, 01:37 PM
Just got it!
http://www.atpm.com/15.10/images/spacenavigator-front-above.jpg
I use one of those at work. It's an absolute necessity with CAD work, but it tends to 'walk' around my desk.
http://www.atpm.com/15.10/images/spacenavigator-front-above.jpg
I use one of those at work. It's an absolute necessity with CAD work, but it tends to 'walk' around my desk.
gootz
Aug 7, 07:24 PM
I called my local Apple Store and the guy I talked to didn't even know that there were 'new' monitors. So I ordered mine online, pronto!
Yeah, I'm paying cash so I'm calling my local Apple store tonight (Stoneridge Pleasanton) to see if they have the newer ones? I doubt it, they always lag on the new stuff. I've been holding off on buying now for a few weeks... Thank god!
Yeah, I'm paying cash so I'm calling my local Apple store tonight (Stoneridge Pleasanton) to see if they have the newer ones? I doubt it, they always lag on the new stuff. I've been holding off on buying now for a few weeks... Thank god!
quagmire
Jul 27, 12:27 PM
This is why I do not see "electric cars" gaining mainstream popularity any time soon.
Me neither. Anyone hoping the volt would be priced below $30k was on something, IMHO. I was personally hoping for $35-37K due that $7500 tax credit would make the volt a bit more appealing. That lease offering doesn't look bad though. I wonder what are the terms of the lease.
Me neither. Anyone hoping the volt would be priced below $30k was on something, IMHO. I was personally hoping for $35-37K due that $7500 tax credit would make the volt a bit more appealing. That lease offering doesn't look bad though. I wonder what are the terms of the lease.
more...
Clive At Five
Oct 3, 04:57 PM
Not going to happen. You realise that Apple doesn't give a crap about the 100 nerds out there that want to be able to upgrade their graphics cards? [...]
Your arguments contradict each other, specifically this sentence:
Its a small market segment that will cannibalise both iMac and Mac Pro sales if introduced.
If it's a small market segment then "cannibalize" is completely the wrong term to use. More like "nibble into." That's besides the point, because I completely diasgree with your first premise (that it's a small market segment). I think it's a HUGE market segment. I agree with you that it won't happen, though. Why, you might ask?
Read on...
The people I have spoken to who use PC's are not nerds or power users, however, they do have monitors that work perfectly fine and want to use them.
Unfortunately this is EXACTLY why Apple ISN'T producing a headless mid-range Mac. They will lose out tremendously on display sales. They either want to sell you a display within the unit (iMac, MacBooks) or sell you a display with the unit (Mini, Pro). Mini users will buy one because A. they're in the store and B. don't know any better. Pro users will buy one because they are top-of-the line, beautiful screens and they, generally, have money to burn. Mid-range users (and prosumers) know well enough that they can get a cheap, good-enough monitor for $200 from NewEgg or eBay (for the daring). Instead, we prosumers either have to settle for the iMac or splurge on the Mac Pro.
Apple is losing sales because of it.
Just the opposite, my friend, just the opposite. Sometimes by blocking out a certain range of products, a company can make more money.
-Clive
Your arguments contradict each other, specifically this sentence:
Its a small market segment that will cannibalise both iMac and Mac Pro sales if introduced.
If it's a small market segment then "cannibalize" is completely the wrong term to use. More like "nibble into." That's besides the point, because I completely diasgree with your first premise (that it's a small market segment). I think it's a HUGE market segment. I agree with you that it won't happen, though. Why, you might ask?
Read on...
The people I have spoken to who use PC's are not nerds or power users, however, they do have monitors that work perfectly fine and want to use them.
Unfortunately this is EXACTLY why Apple ISN'T producing a headless mid-range Mac. They will lose out tremendously on display sales. They either want to sell you a display within the unit (iMac, MacBooks) or sell you a display with the unit (Mini, Pro). Mini users will buy one because A. they're in the store and B. don't know any better. Pro users will buy one because they are top-of-the line, beautiful screens and they, generally, have money to burn. Mid-range users (and prosumers) know well enough that they can get a cheap, good-enough monitor for $200 from NewEgg or eBay (for the daring). Instead, we prosumers either have to settle for the iMac or splurge on the Mac Pro.
Apple is losing sales because of it.
Just the opposite, my friend, just the opposite. Sometimes by blocking out a certain range of products, a company can make more money.
-Clive
eawmp1
May 6, 10:17 AM
This is a little ridiculous. Is it really a big deal to answer simple questions about firearms?
And that is the problem. Any question about guns to certain segments of the population degenerates into the ridiculous.
And that is the problem. Any question about guns to certain segments of the population degenerates into the ridiculous.
more...
Shannighan
Jan 15, 04:45 PM
SJ announced 4 m iPhones sold. I believe I read some days ago that 5 m have been expected??
Maybe I'm wrong. But if not, we learned today that iPhone and Apple TV aren't doing well. Apple should refocus on their core business before to many Mac customers leave disappointed.
for a single phone to sell 4million, i think thats amazing!
rim only has 20% more smartphone holding and think of all the versions that it has and how many years has the blackberry been around? atleast 5, problaby way more then that.
Maybe I'm wrong. But if not, we learned today that iPhone and Apple TV aren't doing well. Apple should refocus on their core business before to many Mac customers leave disappointed.
for a single phone to sell 4million, i think thats amazing!
rim only has 20% more smartphone holding and think of all the versions that it has and how many years has the blackberry been around? atleast 5, problaby way more then that.
J.Bell
Nov 24, 03:37 PM
I was able to use my state/local government discount, with the sales discount, at the online store. Got a 20� imac with 256MB video card for $1460 total.
more...
ReallyBigFeet
Dec 14, 08:57 PM
What's the chance that something big is coming to Verizon after the holidays but it's coming from Planet Google?
Chundles
Sep 12, 04:17 AM
At about 2am try downloading itunes manually from the itunes page. It will still say 6.x but it may very well be 7. That should keep you occupied for a bit :D Twice i have noticed they upload the new version but keep the previous version number on the page until its announced. I had a play with 5 and 6 about half an hour before they were officially released. :D
Noted.
Also, the Aussie Apple website doesn't slow down nearly as much as the US/UK ones when the products come back on. It's very handy.
Noted.
Also, the Aussie Apple website doesn't slow down nearly as much as the US/UK ones when the products come back on. It's very handy.
more...
diamond.g
Jul 30, 10:53 AM
That's the great thing about a platform like the Volt, or anything like it: you can easily change whatever gives the electricity. Gas not working right? The American public finally getting their asses out of their collective heads about diesel? Just get one the right size, and hook it up to the generator. It works for trains. Small fusion reactors finally a possibility? Bingo!
If GM hadn't ****ed up when they tried bringing diesel cars to the market, it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad. We still have some old M-B diesels kicking around, and probably a good bunch of them run on SVO by now.
Subaru still sells FWD cars, just not in the US or Europe.
Why did you burst my bubble of Subarus awesomeness? :(
Don't forget the dealership markup. Some of the automotive blogs have people complaining that the dealerships are adding a $10k markup to the already expensive vehicle.
If GM hadn't ****ed up when they tried bringing diesel cars to the market, it wouldn't be anywhere near as bad. We still have some old M-B diesels kicking around, and probably a good bunch of them run on SVO by now.
Subaru still sells FWD cars, just not in the US or Europe.
Why did you burst my bubble of Subarus awesomeness? :(
Don't forget the dealership markup. Some of the automotive blogs have people complaining that the dealerships are adding a $10k markup to the already expensive vehicle.
Amazing Iceman
May 5, 01:07 AM
The "Only way" ?
What, you could not use a laptop?
And how would an iPad only owner read the CD in the 1st place?
Yes the iPad made a nice easy to use picture viewer once you had put the images on it from your real computer at home is what you are saying.
You could just of easy taken a laptop which read the CD images off directly onto the screen and no needed this new device whatsoever.
Just place the CD on any PC nearby, open either ReaddleDocs or GoodReader on the iPad and place it in WiFi mode, open your browser on your PC to access the iPad, and upload the images to it.
What, you could not use a laptop?
And how would an iPad only owner read the CD in the 1st place?
Yes the iPad made a nice easy to use picture viewer once you had put the images on it from your real computer at home is what you are saying.
You could just of easy taken a laptop which read the CD images off directly onto the screen and no needed this new device whatsoever.
Just place the CD on any PC nearby, open either ReaddleDocs or GoodReader on the iPad and place it in WiFi mode, open your browser on your PC to access the iPad, and upload the images to it.
more...
Yannick
Oct 17, 09:53 AM
yawn! the disc is dead.
(dying, at least.)
I personnally don't agree. Movies you can buy and download still have poorer resolution, only one language, no bonus. Plus it takes so much room on your hard drive! You end up having to burn them anyway on a disc, or having to buy two huge hard drives for backup/safety purpose in case your hard drive dies. I own something like 150 DVD. That's about 1 TB (2 TB if you backup)� You really can't compare it to the music situation. Movies on DVD are cheaper than music CD. I get brand new DVDs through internet for an average of 7 � ($8.77). For me to buy a movie on iTunes, it would have to sell for 3 or 4 � ($4 or $5) to be worth it.
(dying, at least.)
I personnally don't agree. Movies you can buy and download still have poorer resolution, only one language, no bonus. Plus it takes so much room on your hard drive! You end up having to burn them anyway on a disc, or having to buy two huge hard drives for backup/safety purpose in case your hard drive dies. I own something like 150 DVD. That's about 1 TB (2 TB if you backup)� You really can't compare it to the music situation. Movies on DVD are cheaper than music CD. I get brand new DVDs through internet for an average of 7 � ($8.77). For me to buy a movie on iTunes, it would have to sell for 3 or 4 � ($4 or $5) to be worth it.
dsnort
Aug 1, 11:47 AM
For shawnce, I luv the movies of Bawl-mer
more...
tribalogical
May 4, 05:32 AM
very. powerful. ad.
one of the best I've seen recently.
OK, so I've been using my iPad (v1) since a few weeks after they came out. I use it for business (note-taking, presentations, pages & numbers for document reading/generation, file access via goodreader/dropbox, and so on), for design (sketching, rendering, photo processing, wireframing, etc.), for music performance and production (that's my main gig... I compose, comp, and use some interesting tools for live performance), most of all, the iPad makes a great remote controller for music software (see Omni TR for Spectrasonics' Omnisphere, and TouchAble for controlling Ableton Live as two excellent examples).
And of course, I browse news/web/social media (Flipboard, Zite, Twitter etc.), read books, watch TED talks, learn (e.g. I'm currently studying Russian, and can practice listening in the background while I do other things, which is very cool)...
It becomes a shared reference during conversations... I use a translator, quick google searches, illustrate topics of discussion on the fly.
And of course, the occasional game, my current favorite being Need For Speed, which is tons of fun on this platform...
I use Apple's bluetooth keyboard together with the iPad for extended typing sessions, and it's a great setup. Basically the same functionality I get from a laptop arrangement... in fact, my MacBook Pro rarely leaves the house anymore.
So, is it magical? Nah... ok sometimes, almost... check out the new (free) "Planetary" app for browsing your iTunes library... that's pretty magical! :)
Is it useful? Productive? Entertaining? Yes to all...
Really, what's not to like?
Apple got it right. And this new ad nails it......
my long two cents! :)
one of the best I've seen recently.
OK, so I've been using my iPad (v1) since a few weeks after they came out. I use it for business (note-taking, presentations, pages & numbers for document reading/generation, file access via goodreader/dropbox, and so on), for design (sketching, rendering, photo processing, wireframing, etc.), for music performance and production (that's my main gig... I compose, comp, and use some interesting tools for live performance), most of all, the iPad makes a great remote controller for music software (see Omni TR for Spectrasonics' Omnisphere, and TouchAble for controlling Ableton Live as two excellent examples).
And of course, I browse news/web/social media (Flipboard, Zite, Twitter etc.), read books, watch TED talks, learn (e.g. I'm currently studying Russian, and can practice listening in the background while I do other things, which is very cool)...
It becomes a shared reference during conversations... I use a translator, quick google searches, illustrate topics of discussion on the fly.
And of course, the occasional game, my current favorite being Need For Speed, which is tons of fun on this platform...
I use Apple's bluetooth keyboard together with the iPad for extended typing sessions, and it's a great setup. Basically the same functionality I get from a laptop arrangement... in fact, my MacBook Pro rarely leaves the house anymore.
So, is it magical? Nah... ok sometimes, almost... check out the new (free) "Planetary" app for browsing your iTunes library... that's pretty magical! :)
Is it useful? Productive? Entertaining? Yes to all...
Really, what's not to like?
Apple got it right. And this new ad nails it......
my long two cents! :)
Eduardo1971
Nov 24, 01:30 PM
Oddly enough, from the education store, you can't get the extra discounts. Well at least not on the ipod...but on the government store ... YOU CAN!
I would have save an extra $30 if I went through the gvt store. OOOPS! Hopefully someone else benefits from this post and doesnt make the same mistake! I will probably call apple in the morning and see if I can get the extra savings ... but just a heads up if you are a gvt employee!
:D
Yeah, I tried to see any discounts one their education portal. No discounts.
May you provide the link to Apple's Federal employee portal?
I would have save an extra $30 if I went through the gvt store. OOOPS! Hopefully someone else benefits from this post and doesnt make the same mistake! I will probably call apple in the morning and see if I can get the extra savings ... but just a heads up if you are a gvt employee!
:D
Yeah, I tried to see any discounts one their education portal. No discounts.
May you provide the link to Apple's Federal employee portal?
more...
buffalo
Jan 5, 07:07 PM
Maybe I'm missing something, but doesn't the idea of a spoiler-free experience sort of run completely opposite to the purpose of this site? You sit around all year reading rumors and then don't want to be spoiled three hours before they post the keynote? Huh?
When you spend the whole year waiting for the event you want the moment to be perfect.
When you spend the whole year waiting for the event you want the moment to be perfect.
BBEmployee
Apr 8, 02:42 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.
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.
dalvin200
Sep 12, 05:15 AM
6pm BST, on what channel? :p
BBC TWELVE :P
BBC TWELVE :P
fluidedge
Jan 14, 11:45 AM
what the hell can you do with a 32 GB flash drive?
The OS alone must take up 15GB leaving you with 15GB. 15GB. On a Macbook PRO. People actually do constructive work on these things. 15GB is about 10 photoshop files to some people. No music. No 'movies' nothing else can fit on 15GB. 15GB is about 1/5 the size of my itunes library.
What is the fliping point of a 32GB flash drive in an Apple? I see absolutly no use in putting anything less than a 128GB flash drive in a professional class laptop. And thats not going to happen for a good 3 or 4 years yet.
32GB flash drives would be perfect for the next gen Asus EEE PC though - just to store a bit of music and some documents and few apps.
The OS alone must take up 15GB leaving you with 15GB. 15GB. On a Macbook PRO. People actually do constructive work on these things. 15GB is about 10 photoshop files to some people. No music. No 'movies' nothing else can fit on 15GB. 15GB is about 1/5 the size of my itunes library.
What is the fliping point of a 32GB flash drive in an Apple? I see absolutly no use in putting anything less than a 128GB flash drive in a professional class laptop. And thats not going to happen for a good 3 or 4 years yet.
32GB flash drives would be perfect for the next gen Asus EEE PC though - just to store a bit of music and some documents and few apps.
adouglas2001
Jan 15, 03:03 PM
Just sold my Apple shares.
Genius move, that.
Have you never heard of "sell on the news?" Everyone's already done it.
Apple is down $13.50 as I write this.
It will come back up, provided the economy as a whole doesn't implode.
I got an Apple gift card for the holidays, and was waiting to see what Apple was going to announce. My decision? I'm ordering a refurb MBP to replace my G4 Powerbook this week.
"Old old old?" Not compared to my early-2003 computer. It's dramatically faster, dramatically more efficient, and dramatically more capacious than the machine I've got. Based on the Penryn tests I've seen so far, an MBP update will result in only a marginal improvement. I don't NEED a few extra percent of battery life or performance here and there.
It is always wiser in the long run IMHO to be a late adopter and buy near the end of a product lifecycle than near the beginning. Early adopters are, and have always been, late beta testers.
I dunno...seems that everyone could use just a little less caffeine and stop obsessing over instant gratification and wish fulfillment. Take a deep breath. Leopard WILL be updated. Blu-Ray WILL happen. The MBP WILL get a refresh. And so on. But not today. Big deal. Wait a few months.
Could be that age and decades of experience have given me an appreciation for the long view. I just don't get all torqued up over every tiny move that Apple makes (or fails to make). They still make great products.
Genius move, that.
Have you never heard of "sell on the news?" Everyone's already done it.
Apple is down $13.50 as I write this.
It will come back up, provided the economy as a whole doesn't implode.
I got an Apple gift card for the holidays, and was waiting to see what Apple was going to announce. My decision? I'm ordering a refurb MBP to replace my G4 Powerbook this week.
"Old old old?" Not compared to my early-2003 computer. It's dramatically faster, dramatically more efficient, and dramatically more capacious than the machine I've got. Based on the Penryn tests I've seen so far, an MBP update will result in only a marginal improvement. I don't NEED a few extra percent of battery life or performance here and there.
It is always wiser in the long run IMHO to be a late adopter and buy near the end of a product lifecycle than near the beginning. Early adopters are, and have always been, late beta testers.
I dunno...seems that everyone could use just a little less caffeine and stop obsessing over instant gratification and wish fulfillment. Take a deep breath. Leopard WILL be updated. Blu-Ray WILL happen. The MBP WILL get a refresh. And so on. But not today. Big deal. Wait a few months.
Could be that age and decades of experience have given me an appreciation for the long view. I just don't get all torqued up over every tiny move that Apple makes (or fails to make). They still make great products.
Lord Blackadder
May 5, 09:24 PM
OP or OPer?
Original Post. ;)
Original Post. ;)
gdeusthewhizkid
May 2, 11:51 AM
my iphone 4 doesn't connect to my wifi network anymore.. I hope this update fixes it... damn iphone 4 ..
kdarling
May 2, 06:10 PM
all I am saying is that it is far more likely that this is a bug than intentional.
+1
I am sure that if I asked anybody today if they thought that file size was too large, they would definitely use their 20/20 hindsight to say "of course it is". I would.
Exactly.
Of course, the right thing to do would've been to take some field trips and/or gather sample data over a week's commute. At least take some time to do some serious thinking about the size.
Unfortunately, Apple says they like to operate "like a startup", shuffling engineers from one project to another. That usually doesn't lead to well debugged software, because there isn't continuous daily code ownership nor time to experiment.
(We're seeing the results of this "startup" mode over and over again, from those incorrect status bar signal levels, to not testing the antenna without a case, to all the Daylight Savings bugs. It's like development code is being left in all over the place. It's not just Apple, either. Such is life these days even in big corporations. They're too cheap to hire enough people.)
So a programmer in such a crunch position probably picked a number out of thin air. Perhaps they turned to a coworker and asked, "How big should I make this cache? A megabyte? Less?" and they answered " Better too much cache than too little. Go for it, make it two megabytes just in case."
Happens all the time in real life. When there's so much code to do and worry about, a person has to pick their time focus, and this one must've seemed inconsequential. As you said, hindsight is easy.
+1
I am sure that if I asked anybody today if they thought that file size was too large, they would definitely use their 20/20 hindsight to say "of course it is". I would.
Exactly.
Of course, the right thing to do would've been to take some field trips and/or gather sample data over a week's commute. At least take some time to do some serious thinking about the size.
Unfortunately, Apple says they like to operate "like a startup", shuffling engineers from one project to another. That usually doesn't lead to well debugged software, because there isn't continuous daily code ownership nor time to experiment.
(We're seeing the results of this "startup" mode over and over again, from those incorrect status bar signal levels, to not testing the antenna without a case, to all the Daylight Savings bugs. It's like development code is being left in all over the place. It's not just Apple, either. Such is life these days even in big corporations. They're too cheap to hire enough people.)
So a programmer in such a crunch position probably picked a number out of thin air. Perhaps they turned to a coworker and asked, "How big should I make this cache? A megabyte? Less?" and they answered " Better too much cache than too little. Go for it, make it two megabytes just in case."
Happens all the time in real life. When there's so much code to do and worry about, a person has to pick their time focus, and this one must've seemed inconsequential. As you said, hindsight is easy.