Benjy91
Apr 7, 11:38 AM
According to Wikipedia, Windows 8 will be NT version 6.2, not 7.0 - just in case you were wondering.
Thats what I said.. I didnt say it would be NT 7.0
Thats what I said.. I didnt say it would be NT 7.0
zephxiii
Jan 8, 11:04 AM
Interesting that the original post in this thread states that it is indeed an LTE Verizon iPhone. That seems to coincide with the video of the parts that were leaked on youtube a couple days ago, showing a sim card slot on the new phone. I think I read somewhere that LTE phones require a sim card, and also, LTE is capable of simultaneous voice/data. The stars seem to be aligning.
The sim slot doesn't prove LTE, if anything it proves international GSM/HSPA roaming.
The sim slot doesn't prove LTE, if anything it proves international GSM/HSPA roaming.
demallien
Oct 4, 02:11 AM
I actually work as a programmer for a DRM provider. Here's what our legal wonks have told us with regards to the DCMA:
1) If we want our player to be able to read files protected by a competitor's DRM, we are entitled to do so. This means that if we had a new iPod-killing mp3 player, we would be legally within our rights to reverse engineer iTunes to crack the DRM, and then re-implement the same algorithm in our own player (it would have to be cleanroom reverse engineering of course, but that's for IP reasons, not the DCMA)
2) However, our player must not give the user more rights than the original player. So, we can't provide an option to rip to mp3 for example. All we can really offer is another player, or, at the absolute limit, a convertor that removes FairPlay DRM, and replaces it with ours (or another provider's). The new DRM should provide exactly the same restrictions on copying/transferring of files as the original. The legal eagles tell us that this last bit is really a bit too grey at the moment to be safe, so we would be better off restricting ourselves to just a player.
This of course makes liars of all those people that spread FUD about the DCMA and DRM in general. All DRM is crackable, and the provisions in the DCMA make it legal to do so, if the reason for doing so does not infringe fair-use....
1) If we want our player to be able to read files protected by a competitor's DRM, we are entitled to do so. This means that if we had a new iPod-killing mp3 player, we would be legally within our rights to reverse engineer iTunes to crack the DRM, and then re-implement the same algorithm in our own player (it would have to be cleanroom reverse engineering of course, but that's for IP reasons, not the DCMA)
2) However, our player must not give the user more rights than the original player. So, we can't provide an option to rip to mp3 for example. All we can really offer is another player, or, at the absolute limit, a convertor that removes FairPlay DRM, and replaces it with ours (or another provider's). The new DRM should provide exactly the same restrictions on copying/transferring of files as the original. The legal eagles tell us that this last bit is really a bit too grey at the moment to be safe, so we would be better off restricting ourselves to just a player.
This of course makes liars of all those people that spread FUD about the DCMA and DRM in general. All DRM is crackable, and the provisions in the DCMA make it legal to do so, if the reason for doing so does not infringe fair-use....
ThE.MeSsEnGeR
Apr 25, 11:54 AM
I don't know but I have a feeling that after all those crazy rumors we ARE gonna see the iPhone 5/4S getting introduced in WWDC in 42 days! it's just too many iPhone-related rumors for a supposedly "september" release... I mean, we don't start hearing about next-gen iPod touch/nano rumors until mid-summer... and April/May has always been the peak of the iPhone-rumor-mill!
it might be just me, but I think I'll be reviving this thread in 42 days to prove that I'm right :D
it might be just me, but I think I'll be reviving this thread in 42 days to prove that I'm right :D
BenRoethig
Aug 14, 08:01 PM
Hey guys, when did we stop talking about displays and start the communism discussion?
Mac'nCheese
Apr 28, 09:59 AM
In a dreamland, sure, it works out great.
Reality: Guy and a woman in adjacent stalls. Man drops his phone on the ground. Picks it up. woman assumes he is taking photos of her under the stall. Etc.
I guess they will have to think of a way to get the stall walls to go all the way to the ground. If we could put a man on the moon....
Personally, I like the setup at this Nyc market I went to. All bathrooms were one toilet/urinal/sink. One at a time or a family would go in. Problem solved.
Reality: Guy and a woman in adjacent stalls. Man drops his phone on the ground. Picks it up. woman assumes he is taking photos of her under the stall. Etc.
I guess they will have to think of a way to get the stall walls to go all the way to the ground. If we could put a man on the moon....
Personally, I like the setup at this Nyc market I went to. All bathrooms were one toilet/urinal/sink. One at a time or a family would go in. Problem solved.
z4n3
Mar 25, 05:13 AM
To complement my earlier screen shots from 2001 and I just found my original upgrade CD! from 10.0 to 10.1 love the way it states "Requires Mac OS X" quite a funny comparison when you look at in just 10 years OS X has gone from a 650Mb CD to a 8Gb Apple USB Drive :eek:
Calidude
Apr 16, 04:36 PM
Why?
Because the promotion of homosexuality is detrimental to a society and the people who promote it know this. For example, the mere announcement of a gay history curriculum causes conflicts such as the one in this thread and especially moreso in the real world. Instead of fighting about such stupid things as this, our school system should be heavily decentralized so that you can decide whether or not your child learns about homosexual history by simply selecting a non-political, non-psychologically damaging school in your area and everything would be fine and kept separate, but no, the people who run everything love to just mash everybody into one big public school system and slowly change the rules to cause people to fight all because of what is essentially 4% of the population.
Because the promotion of homosexuality is detrimental to a society and the people who promote it know this. For example, the mere announcement of a gay history curriculum causes conflicts such as the one in this thread and especially moreso in the real world. Instead of fighting about such stupid things as this, our school system should be heavily decentralized so that you can decide whether or not your child learns about homosexual history by simply selecting a non-political, non-psychologically damaging school in your area and everything would be fine and kept separate, but no, the people who run everything love to just mash everybody into one big public school system and slowly change the rules to cause people to fight all because of what is essentially 4% of the population.
rerelease
Apr 25, 02:57 PM
I actually really dislike the borderless look. I hope they don't do this. A larger screen is one thing I really don't need. If I want a big screen, I'll get an iPad.
Same here. It's completely unwarranted, there's virtually no space to be gained and it looks aesthetically weaker compared to the iPhone 4.
Same here. It's completely unwarranted, there's virtually no space to be gained and it looks aesthetically weaker compared to the iPhone 4.
steve_hill4
Oct 3, 02:53 PM
They might get laughed at but apple will be the ones laughing when their the first to debut santa rosa with 800mhz fsb and nand flash. Hopefully this is whats going to happen
I hope that does happen, but I also hope for a revision before that.
Would love to see a revision of the iMacs around the time of MWSF to the above too, pre-installed with Leopard. I'd be all over that around March time.
I hope that does happen, but I also hope for a revision before that.
Would love to see a revision of the iMacs around the time of MWSF to the above too, pre-installed with Leopard. I'd be all over that around March time.
MacSA
Sep 12, 08:05 AM
You can't even check on orders already placed at Apple.com. The store is down.
thats what happened last wednesday before the iMacs/Minis were released. New hardware must be coming out today.
thats what happened last wednesday before the iMacs/Minis were released. New hardware must be coming out today.
mmcc
Mar 29, 08:46 AM
Yes, the App Store can give you exposure, but you still have to market and sell your solution for people to find you or want you. Plus, the AppStore is one outlet and your other outlets should never be abandoned.
Yes, but you can't have it both ways. A successful Mac App Store from your perspective means more Apple customers use it to find apps. In my experience to date, this means those other "outlets" become less and less profitable. Marketing is a numbers game and a major disruption like the Mac App Store can quickly shift those numbers to the negative. In my case it is no longer profitable to maintain some of those "other outlets".
Here's a specific example: Google AdWords. Before the Mac App Store opened, many customers gravitated first to Google search to find an app. I would pay for AdWords placement and if I got a click-through I could be assured that my website exclusively captured the attention. Yes, my app still had to be good enough to capture a sale but at least there were no other competitors there -- and no freebie alternatives (except for demos/trials).
The same strategy no longer works with the Mac App Store. First, the traffic in Google search is reduced as more Apple customers gravitate to the Mac App Store first. My conversions costs showed a clear trend upward as soon as the Mac App Store opened (other competitors in my app space have also dropped away from AdWords indicating similar escalating conversion costs). Furthermore, if I try to drive customers to the Mac App Store to buy, to increase my exposure therein, I incur the AdWord conversion costs, plus the 30% to Apple and a reduced price in the Mac App Store to compete in the race to the bottom. Clearly AdWords is a losing strategy in this case.
However... you're point on price is one to be considered. If you want to get impulse buys, you have to be impulsed priced.
That's fine if the volume was worthwhile. What I am saying is that impulse buy volume is NOT there at any price to even approach what I was making in my market space before. I've been in the #1 spot for my category and it was not a windfall.
I say again, the Mac App Store has depressed the sales volume and gross in my category for everyone. This is not a success in the sense of encouraging a vibrant and growing Mac software market. I felt that before the Mac App Store opened that the Mac software market was reaching a critical mass and that developers found it increasingly attractive. The Mac App Store has crushed that IMO and I am not sure it will return unless Apple makes huge percentage gains in the traditional PC market (and recent trends show it is leveling off).
Please don't take me wrong... I'm not saying you're wrong... just pointing out that the AppStore does not guarantee anything if you don't have good sales and marketing behind it. Also, you have to have software people want.
How exactly would you suggest to market in the Mac App Store? I can't buy ad placement. Lowering my price to 99 cents hasn't given me exposure. I need some (ethical) ideas. :p
Yes, but you can't have it both ways. A successful Mac App Store from your perspective means more Apple customers use it to find apps. In my experience to date, this means those other "outlets" become less and less profitable. Marketing is a numbers game and a major disruption like the Mac App Store can quickly shift those numbers to the negative. In my case it is no longer profitable to maintain some of those "other outlets".
Here's a specific example: Google AdWords. Before the Mac App Store opened, many customers gravitated first to Google search to find an app. I would pay for AdWords placement and if I got a click-through I could be assured that my website exclusively captured the attention. Yes, my app still had to be good enough to capture a sale but at least there were no other competitors there -- and no freebie alternatives (except for demos/trials).
The same strategy no longer works with the Mac App Store. First, the traffic in Google search is reduced as more Apple customers gravitate to the Mac App Store first. My conversions costs showed a clear trend upward as soon as the Mac App Store opened (other competitors in my app space have also dropped away from AdWords indicating similar escalating conversion costs). Furthermore, if I try to drive customers to the Mac App Store to buy, to increase my exposure therein, I incur the AdWord conversion costs, plus the 30% to Apple and a reduced price in the Mac App Store to compete in the race to the bottom. Clearly AdWords is a losing strategy in this case.
However... you're point on price is one to be considered. If you want to get impulse buys, you have to be impulsed priced.
That's fine if the volume was worthwhile. What I am saying is that impulse buy volume is NOT there at any price to even approach what I was making in my market space before. I've been in the #1 spot for my category and it was not a windfall.
I say again, the Mac App Store has depressed the sales volume and gross in my category for everyone. This is not a success in the sense of encouraging a vibrant and growing Mac software market. I felt that before the Mac App Store opened that the Mac software market was reaching a critical mass and that developers found it increasingly attractive. The Mac App Store has crushed that IMO and I am not sure it will return unless Apple makes huge percentage gains in the traditional PC market (and recent trends show it is leveling off).
Please don't take me wrong... I'm not saying you're wrong... just pointing out that the AppStore does not guarantee anything if you don't have good sales and marketing behind it. Also, you have to have software people want.
How exactly would you suggest to market in the Mac App Store? I can't buy ad placement. Lowering my price to 99 cents hasn't given me exposure. I need some (ethical) ideas. :p
gugy
Sep 26, 11:45 AM
Ignore me if you wish, but I'm pretty sad about not getting the machine promised by the rumour mill. I'm happy for y'all with your updated photo software, but wouldn't you have liked it to be true that we'd get a nice new C2D MBP to use it on?
That's the whole point.
people just expect too much. Since they announced Photokina I was just being realistic and expecting things relate to photography. Maybe I am the only one.
The problem is that everybody starts making these crazy predictions and they get all pissed after.
We still have 17 minutes before 10am PT so hope exists for a Tuesday MBP update. if not there is always another Tuesday coming up the following week.:rolleyes:
That's the whole point.
people just expect too much. Since they announced Photokina I was just being realistic and expecting things relate to photography. Maybe I am the only one.
The problem is that everybody starts making these crazy predictions and they get all pissed after.
We still have 17 minutes before 10am PT so hope exists for a Tuesday MBP update. if not there is always another Tuesday coming up the following week.:rolleyes:
Mord
Apr 27, 12:28 PM
Female (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female) (♀) is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova (egg cells).
Looks to me like science begs to differ; a woman is a female human. A female produces ova. Last I checked, M->F can NOT produce OVA.
Sure, they deserve the same rights and respect as anyone else, I dont care if you choose to attach a penis to your forehead, it does not give anyone the right to assault you.
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Looks to me like science begs to differ; a woman is a female human. A female produces ova. Last I checked, M->F can NOT produce OVA.
Sure, they deserve the same rights and respect as anyone else, I dont care if you choose to attach a penis to your forehead, it does not give anyone the right to assault you.
richard4339
Sep 12, 08:43 AM
So who is going to watch Snow White?
No... Bambi?
Or what about Lady and the Tramp?
:D
I would. However, would this be a bad time to mention I've worked for Disney before?
No... Bambi?
Or what about Lady and the Tramp?
:D
I would. However, would this be a bad time to mention I've worked for Disney before?
lostngone
Oct 29, 04:17 AM
The Free Software movement has nothing to do with "free-as-in-free-beer" software. Freeware is not Free Software. Free Software can cost ten thousand dollars. It's Free as in freedom.
Thats wrong, its not free as is freedom. If that was the case I should be able to do as I please with the code and that is not the case. If I use the free(GPL) software as a baseline for a project I then have to turn around and release all the changes I made for free as well. This may be hundreds of hours of work and I don't know anyone that works for free.
Thats wrong, its not free as is freedom. If that was the case I should be able to do as I please with the code and that is not the case. If I use the free(GPL) software as a baseline for a project I then have to turn around and release all the changes I made for free as well. This may be hundreds of hours of work and I don't know anyone that works for free.
thatisme
Jul 21, 09:36 AM
I find it great that they are doing this... in so far as it illustrates what their testing shows, that the iPhone 4 is not the only phone to have "antenna issues"
I don't see Apple as using this in an advertising campaign, just that they are backing up their claims and research with true visual evidence
If they were acting immaturely, they would have just left it at "well, everyone else has the problems like this too" and not offer up any data, evidence, etc to back up their claim.... It is very similar to a vocal majority on this site saying "Apple's antenna design is defective" and "All iPhone 4's are defective" as well as "Every iPhone 4 loses reception just by touching it"... no hard data showing that ALL phones are defective or that the antenna doesn't work...
I don't see Apple as using this in an advertising campaign, just that they are backing up their claims and research with true visual evidence
If they were acting immaturely, they would have just left it at "well, everyone else has the problems like this too" and not offer up any data, evidence, etc to back up their claim.... It is very similar to a vocal majority on this site saying "Apple's antenna design is defective" and "All iPhone 4's are defective" as well as "Every iPhone 4 loses reception just by touching it"... no hard data showing that ALL phones are defective or that the antenna doesn't work...
Sined
Apr 10, 06:17 PM
Are keri and LTD married or do they share a room in an asylum? I'm confused.
Lyra
Aug 1, 03:02 PM
I live in The Netherlands, and I don't have any TV shows either, so it's not only in Denmark, etc. which you can't get them. And as far as I can you can only get them in the US (maybe there are other countries where they are awailable, but there aren't many).
The issue is that ITMS needs to get distribution rights in each and every country where they want to distribute anything, which can be a pain, and for europe the networks might not be interested in making a TV Show available via ITMS before it have been air'ed as they then will loose ad money.
It is not just a simple matter...
As for DRM, one of the reasons for this is going on is that when you download something from ITMS it will only play in either iTunes or on a iPod which is locking the user to a single device.
We where all laughing when the EU fined MS - issue is that Apple is not much better in this case....
I'm a Mac head, but I do not like the DRM Apple is forcing me to live with....
Casper
I see what you mean and I agree to some extend...
But no disrespect when I say, you really are not forced to live with the DRM... No one is, and that is the main point here...
If people really are that bothered by it, then all they need to do is to stop using the Apple iPod and iTunes.
I for one, really don't feel affected by this, not even a little bit...
And you are right, it is only the American version of the iTunes that offer TV shows... At the moment...
The issue is that ITMS needs to get distribution rights in each and every country where they want to distribute anything, which can be a pain, and for europe the networks might not be interested in making a TV Show available via ITMS before it have been air'ed as they then will loose ad money.
It is not just a simple matter...
As for DRM, one of the reasons for this is going on is that when you download something from ITMS it will only play in either iTunes or on a iPod which is locking the user to a single device.
We where all laughing when the EU fined MS - issue is that Apple is not much better in this case....
I'm a Mac head, but I do not like the DRM Apple is forcing me to live with....
Casper
I see what you mean and I agree to some extend...
But no disrespect when I say, you really are not forced to live with the DRM... No one is, and that is the main point here...
If people really are that bothered by it, then all they need to do is to stop using the Apple iPod and iTunes.
I for one, really don't feel affected by this, not even a little bit...
And you are right, it is only the American version of the iTunes that offer TV shows... At the moment...
ariel
Sep 25, 11:19 AM
Actually neither Lightroom or Aperture can do watermarks (other than EXIF data.).
Aperture can indeed do watermarks on export.
Aperture can indeed do watermarks on export.
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.
byeehaaw
Jan 15, 02:19 PM
where is 10.5.2!? that was the main thing i was looking for lol
jimthorn
Jan 9, 05:08 PM
No, I mean a link to the actual file, not the streaming version. Some people know how to figure that out. Then it can be watched without choppy streaming when millions of us are watching at the same time.
dscuber9000
Mar 24, 07:34 PM
Downhill since Tiger.
Says a Windows user. :rolleyes:
Says a Windows user. :rolleyes: