dalvin200
Sep 12, 07:25 AM
why would they take the uk store down if there were not going to add movies for us here!! woohoo..
JayMysterio
Nov 14, 07:00 PM
In MW2, I got into knifing( commando pro+marathon+ light weight+ light weaponry+tactical knife). Terminal and Rust were my favorite maps to go knife on. I hated Afgan and Estate( I would snipe on those maps).
That is one of the things I am glad is gone from the game ( the combo you are talking about coined by Penny Arcade as the Witchblade combo or as we knew it online the 8itchblade combo ), since it made the game like playing against crack addled Flash wannabes.
http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/725404532_HhdVE-L.jpg
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/11/30/
Between that & Akimbo 1887s just broke the game. As it is now, you can still laughably run through a hail of bullets to stab someone, but you aren't running around the screen like the Assassin from Monday Night Combat.
One other gripe I have is something that I don't think they can fix, and that is what happens in Mercenary games. I play a lot of Mercenary, and inevitably one side is always short handed. Unlike Team DM & other gametypes, the short handed team never seems to get a replacement player. More often than not, my bad luck means I am playing on the side with 4 or 5 vs 6. :mad:
That is one of the things I am glad is gone from the game ( the combo you are talking about coined by Penny Arcade as the Witchblade combo or as we knew it online the 8itchblade combo ), since it made the game like playing against crack addled Flash wannabes.
http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/725404532_HhdVE-L.jpg
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2009/11/30/
Between that & Akimbo 1887s just broke the game. As it is now, you can still laughably run through a hail of bullets to stab someone, but you aren't running around the screen like the Assassin from Monday Night Combat.
One other gripe I have is something that I don't think they can fix, and that is what happens in Mercenary games. I play a lot of Mercenary, and inevitably one side is always short handed. Unlike Team DM & other gametypes, the short handed team never seems to get a replacement player. More often than not, my bad luck means I am playing on the side with 4 or 5 vs 6. :mad:
Piggie
May 4, 01:24 AM
Ummmm incorrect. I have a major surgery coming up and the only way me and my doctor could sit down together and review the CT Scan was with my iPad 2 since all CT Scans are done on digital now instead of film. I simply stopped by the hospital and snagged the cd the night before my appointment and loaded it before I left the next day.
My doctor said this was on his wish list, but he couldn't find anywhere in stock.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d5/audiogodz1/dc1cacec.jpg
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.
My doctor said this was on his wish list, but he couldn't find anywhere in stock.
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d5/audiogodz1/dc1cacec.jpg
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.
samcraig
May 2, 12:07 PM
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).
Oooh. You're a software developer. That makes you an expert.
Except - as someone who is surround by IT professionals - many of which create systems that are governed by strict compliance issues - ALL of them have stated that 2MB is ridiculous for a cache of the intended purpose. And that QA could have missed this - but the fact that they did is really bad.
Look - defend Apple all you want. Don't really care. At the end of the day - a switch that is supposed to turn something off should turn something off. I know it. You know it. And Apple knows it - which is why they are (for WHATEVER reason) making the switch work correctly. End of story.
P.S. - Since Apple does great marketing and pr spin (my profession) - while I don't buy all the conspiracy theories at all - but neither do I "trust" Apple's altruism nor their rhetoric just because "they say so."
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).
Oooh. You're a software developer. That makes you an expert.
Except - as someone who is surround by IT professionals - many of which create systems that are governed by strict compliance issues - ALL of them have stated that 2MB is ridiculous for a cache of the intended purpose. And that QA could have missed this - but the fact that they did is really bad.
Look - defend Apple all you want. Don't really care. At the end of the day - a switch that is supposed to turn something off should turn something off. I know it. You know it. And Apple knows it - which is why they are (for WHATEVER reason) making the switch work correctly. End of story.
P.S. - Since Apple does great marketing and pr spin (my profession) - while I don't buy all the conspiracy theories at all - but neither do I "trust" Apple's altruism nor their rhetoric just because "they say so."
bearbo
Jan 12, 02:29 AM
And only 200 new patents.
please tell me you know about the process of obtaining a patent.
if i have the money, i can come up with 5 things, right now, to be patented. but you don't care, do you.
point being, it's not hard to get patent... as long as you fulfill those 3 requirement (novelty, non-obviousness, usefulness), and after a few yrs, you will be grant a patent.
the lacks of buttons on a phone could ne novel and non-obvious, but is that really THAT exciting? sure it's great and all, but c'mon, it's not revolutionary.
i'm not saying iphone is crap, it's just disappointing from all the hype.
please tell me you know about the process of obtaining a patent.
if i have the money, i can come up with 5 things, right now, to be patented. but you don't care, do you.
point being, it's not hard to get patent... as long as you fulfill those 3 requirement (novelty, non-obviousness, usefulness), and after a few yrs, you will be grant a patent.
the lacks of buttons on a phone could ne novel and non-obvious, but is that really THAT exciting? sure it's great and all, but c'mon, it's not revolutionary.
i'm not saying iphone is crap, it's just disappointing from all the hype.
Jo-Kun
Sep 25, 06:31 PM
hmm I might consider to give it a try afterall...
when it came out my G5 was rejected (only because of the stock graphics card) there was a testing app to see if you could run it before you buy the actual program... and since a new card would set me back some extra � and aperture was at that time at the high price... I passed... now it supports my system, so maybe I'll ge it (first I'll do a testrun at my local shop where I buy my camera's... they told me not to buy V1... and said the latest was very much improved, and now there is another new version ;-))
when it came out my G5 was rejected (only because of the stock graphics card) there was a testing app to see if you could run it before you buy the actual program... and since a new card would set me back some extra � and aperture was at that time at the high price... I passed... now it supports my system, so maybe I'll ge it (first I'll do a testrun at my local shop where I buy my camera's... they told me not to buy V1... and said the latest was very much improved, and now there is another new version ;-))
coder12
May 4, 06:53 AM
:.) It's so beautiful, like a double raaaaiinnboow!!
akwok
Apr 26, 03:00 AM
apple always gives us surprise(?), so we might have
iphone 4 = the one that we have now
iphone 4S = a new one with A5 chip
iphone 4L = a new one with bigger screen but old chip
iphone 4SL = a new one with A5 chip and bigger screen
iphone 4 = the one that we have now
iphone 4S = a new one with A5 chip
iphone 4L = a new one with bigger screen but old chip
iphone 4SL = a new one with A5 chip and bigger screen
PowerFullMac
Jan 13, 02:31 PM
MacBook Air FTW! As long as its a decent price I will be happy! :)
evilgEEk
Jan 15, 12:36 AM
Wow. Are they 14 years old?
Seriously, I remember doing something like this back in junior high school with one of those giant remote control watches.
But that was when I was 14 years old; this is just ridiculous, and not funny in the least. Way to show some professionalism. I truly hope they suffer for this.
I really am baffled that "adults" would find this funny.
Idiots.
Seriously, I remember doing something like this back in junior high school with one of those giant remote control watches.
But that was when I was 14 years old; this is just ridiculous, and not funny in the least. Way to show some professionalism. I truly hope they suffer for this.
I really am baffled that "adults" would find this funny.
Idiots.
geiger167
Sep 12, 06:43 AM
the distribution rights are totally different for movies.
when a tv show comes out in the us the uk channels buy the rights from the us companies and this often means we don't get the shows in the UK for ages. and they don't come to ITunes in uk as it would be for apple to negotiate this with the uk tv company like channel 4.
some films are released internationally at the same time and so are the DVDs thus there is no reason why these films can't be released on an ITMS in the US, UK and wherever else the DVD would be released worldwide on the same date.
my cousin's an itunes lawyer working nr regents street store in london so she was explaining about tv shows to me....i'll try find out about the probs with movies if indeed the ITMS is released today and not in the UK.
sound reasonable?
Yes understand what you are saying but movie distrubution outside USA is only likely to make the situation worse than the current TV show problems. For example a film distrubuted in America will very likely be distrubuted outside by a different Studio, making any foreign rights to show the movie even more complex. Also dvds generally are released much earlier in US than in europe so a movie available in US say tomorrow on a hypothecical US itunes may not be available to release for download for months on a EURO itunes even if there are no problems with the already mentions foreign distrubution rights. The only reason I complain about this situation is I am perfectly free to import region 1 dvds into the UK to watch for my own personal use (which I have done for many years) so why cant I download a movie or show from Itunes, what exactly is the difference using this example ? Also annoying is that in the UK 10 meg internet lines are now very common (and likely to increase in speed in the next 12 months) so the structure is there already for a download service to succeed (also in most EURO contires like Sweden who have led the way with internet connection speeds for years)
I'm still like a crack whore waiting for a fix anticipating the news though lol
when a tv show comes out in the us the uk channels buy the rights from the us companies and this often means we don't get the shows in the UK for ages. and they don't come to ITunes in uk as it would be for apple to negotiate this with the uk tv company like channel 4.
some films are released internationally at the same time and so are the DVDs thus there is no reason why these films can't be released on an ITMS in the US, UK and wherever else the DVD would be released worldwide on the same date.
my cousin's an itunes lawyer working nr regents street store in london so she was explaining about tv shows to me....i'll try find out about the probs with movies if indeed the ITMS is released today and not in the UK.
sound reasonable?
Yes understand what you are saying but movie distrubution outside USA is only likely to make the situation worse than the current TV show problems. For example a film distrubuted in America will very likely be distrubuted outside by a different Studio, making any foreign rights to show the movie even more complex. Also dvds generally are released much earlier in US than in europe so a movie available in US say tomorrow on a hypothecical US itunes may not be available to release for download for months on a EURO itunes even if there are no problems with the already mentions foreign distrubution rights. The only reason I complain about this situation is I am perfectly free to import region 1 dvds into the UK to watch for my own personal use (which I have done for many years) so why cant I download a movie or show from Itunes, what exactly is the difference using this example ? Also annoying is that in the UK 10 meg internet lines are now very common (and likely to increase in speed in the next 12 months) so the structure is there already for a download service to succeed (also in most EURO contires like Sweden who have led the way with internet connection speeds for years)
I'm still like a crack whore waiting for a fix anticipating the news though lol
aristobrat
Oct 6, 12:45 PM
There's a reason for that, less work is required to upgrade a tower from CDMA to EvDO than to upgrade a tower from GSM to UMTS. That's why Verizon and Sprint are ahead in the 3G rollout. But that doesn't change the fact that overall, UMTS is a better technology than EvDO. SIM cards, simultaneous voice and data, global compatibility, etc.
Wonder what Sprint/Verizon's upgrade from EvDO to LTE will be like, compared to AT&T/T-Mo's UMTS to LTE upgrade? :confused:
The ad is very misleading because it leaves out any EDGE coverage..
The ad is just comparing 3G to 3G, so 1x/EDGE doesn't count.
Wonder what Sprint/Verizon's upgrade from EvDO to LTE will be like, compared to AT&T/T-Mo's UMTS to LTE upgrade? :confused:
The ad is very misleading because it leaves out any EDGE coverage..
The ad is just comparing 3G to 3G, so 1x/EDGE doesn't count.
york2600
Oct 28, 07:49 PM
Whenever I hear the OSS crowd scream "Software should be FREE!" I translate that to mean "I refuse to pay someone for their work, thus I will STEAL it"!
A) It's not the OSS community that's trying to crack Apple's DRM. Lets get that straight. These people have nothing to do with that community. These guys are just pirates using the source that is out there.
B) If anyone is trying to get software without paying anyone for it, that would be corporate America. Do you really think Apple could have created OS X on their own. Let us remember the HUGE amount of code in OS X that isn't Apple's and the open standards the have leveraged. Right off the bat we have the Mach kernel project, Apache, and Samba and Webkit (KHTML). Apple's gotten tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of free programming hours from top programmers. They've packaged it together with an amazing API and a slick GUI and made it easy. That's something the OSS community still can't get close to. In return Apple has given a limited amount back. They release source in their own license (as they have a right to), which limits the ability of other projects to incorporate that code. In the end for all this free work they have to deal with a few crackers out there, but really, that's worth it when you look at what they got.
A) It's not the OSS community that's trying to crack Apple's DRM. Lets get that straight. These people have nothing to do with that community. These guys are just pirates using the source that is out there.
B) If anyone is trying to get software without paying anyone for it, that would be corporate America. Do you really think Apple could have created OS X on their own. Let us remember the HUGE amount of code in OS X that isn't Apple's and the open standards the have leveraged. Right off the bat we have the Mach kernel project, Apache, and Samba and Webkit (KHTML). Apple's gotten tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of free programming hours from top programmers. They've packaged it together with an amazing API and a slick GUI and made it easy. That's something the OSS community still can't get close to. In return Apple has given a limited amount back. They release source in their own license (as they have a right to), which limits the ability of other projects to incorporate that code. In the end for all this free work they have to deal with a few crackers out there, but really, that's worth it when you look at what they got.
gnasher729
Oct 2, 05:06 PM
This isn't a consumer-end hack, it is a retailer-end re-implementation of Fairplay (presumably clean room) for interoperability purposes (legal in Europe, I don't know about the USoA since the DMCA etc).
The DMCA would have nothing to do with this. This doesn't remove any copy prevention, it adds it. I just can't see what anyone would want to do with this technology. The only scenario that makes sense: If you are a music band without any record contract, and the iTunes Music Store refuses to sell your music, you could use software like this to add Fairplay DRM to your music, and you could offer the music on your webpage and sell it to anyone who uses iTunes - which would be about 90 percent of all people who are interested in music and computers at all. Of course you could sell the music without any DRM.
The DMCA would have nothing to do with this. This doesn't remove any copy prevention, it adds it. I just can't see what anyone would want to do with this technology. The only scenario that makes sense: If you are a music band without any record contract, and the iTunes Music Store refuses to sell your music, you could use software like this to add Fairplay DRM to your music, and you could offer the music on your webpage and sell it to anyone who uses iTunes - which would be about 90 percent of all people who are interested in music and computers at all. Of course you could sell the music without any DRM.
Nekbeth
Apr 27, 07:49 PM
No, self refers to the instance of the object that is executing the currently running code. It is highly context dependant.
Inside a method of your view controller, yes, self refers to your view controller. Inside a method in your view object, self refers to the view object. Inside the NSTimer object, self refers to the NSTimer.
Yes, that's what I though.. I was asked the meaning of "target", so I gave an example that target:self in NSTimer refer to the timer object (one of my quiz questions), but I can't remember his name.. said that "self" refer to the controller even inside the NSTimer. That's why I said.. interesting, I mean.. all of you should know what your talking about a lot more than me. (specially Master balamw)
About the timer and how it's going... well, I really don't have time to continue to make it work, so I have postpone it for a later update. I just need to learn more about it to fix it. But hey, If you feel like giving the answer, go ahead.
The only thing that I'm missing is to restart the Timer (or use another one). Invalidating my Timer only pauses it, even = nil or releasing it, my Timer just continues where it left.
I have found a tutorial where you can start, stop and reset a timer, I could use that, but I want a datePicker to select time and the tutorial doesn't show that. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jmTQi98vec&feature=related
Please, let me know if you need more code of the timer. I think I have share all of it.
balamw;12474773]By this point I would have expected Nekbeth to have called us "Nazis" instead of "Pros" in order to satisfy Godwin's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law).
B
that is the dumbest thing I've read in a while :p
Inside a method of your view controller, yes, self refers to your view controller. Inside a method in your view object, self refers to the view object. Inside the NSTimer object, self refers to the NSTimer.
Yes, that's what I though.. I was asked the meaning of "target", so I gave an example that target:self in NSTimer refer to the timer object (one of my quiz questions), but I can't remember his name.. said that "self" refer to the controller even inside the NSTimer. That's why I said.. interesting, I mean.. all of you should know what your talking about a lot more than me. (specially Master balamw)
About the timer and how it's going... well, I really don't have time to continue to make it work, so I have postpone it for a later update. I just need to learn more about it to fix it. But hey, If you feel like giving the answer, go ahead.
The only thing that I'm missing is to restart the Timer (or use another one). Invalidating my Timer only pauses it, even = nil or releasing it, my Timer just continues where it left.
I have found a tutorial where you can start, stop and reset a timer, I could use that, but I want a datePicker to select time and the tutorial doesn't show that. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jmTQi98vec&feature=related
Please, let me know if you need more code of the timer. I think I have share all of it.
balamw;12474773]By this point I would have expected Nekbeth to have called us "Nazis" instead of "Pros" in order to satisfy Godwin's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law).
B
that is the dumbest thing I've read in a while :p
jonnysods
Apr 15, 04:39 PM
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8H7)
Suckaz. Closed system works best.
Suckaz. Closed system works best.
ghostlyorb
Dec 13, 08:28 PM
Maybe VZW will bundle their only current 4G device -- the Mi-FI gizmo -- with a 3G CDMA iPhone 4. Would be similar to what they are doing with the iPad.
Before you ask if VZW is stupid enough to do that, remember that VZW ninnies nixed the iPhone way back when.
Interesting idea... sounds practical.. but the CDMA part is what I don't believe.
Before you ask if VZW is stupid enough to do that, remember that VZW ninnies nixed the iPhone way back when.
Interesting idea... sounds practical.. but the CDMA part is what I don't believe.
hob
Jan 9, 04:05 PM
Unfortunately, the keynote itself is on a product page for a new product, so before you watch it, you will know what the new product is.
It's still not up yet though...
It's still not up yet though...
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.
CaoCao
Apr 15, 07:27 PM
From the article ...
After passage in the Democratic-controlled Assembly and singing by Gov. Jerry Brown, both of which seem likely, California would become the first state to make curricula include notable gay Americans along with the contributions of women and various ethnic groups.
Shaun Travers, a San Diego activist, told San Diego 6: "It's very important that we represent all of California and that includes the LGBT community. Our people and our history."
But opponents said the move would add non-essential material to already-short instruction time.
Hmmm ... they don't seem to share that same concern when it comes to teaching Creationism in science class. :rolleyes:
Honestly, there isn't enough time, we are rushing through WWII to know it before the CST. I also don't remember people pushing creationism in California
After passage in the Democratic-controlled Assembly and singing by Gov. Jerry Brown, both of which seem likely, California would become the first state to make curricula include notable gay Americans along with the contributions of women and various ethnic groups.
Shaun Travers, a San Diego activist, told San Diego 6: "It's very important that we represent all of California and that includes the LGBT community. Our people and our history."
But opponents said the move would add non-essential material to already-short instruction time.
Hmmm ... they don't seem to share that same concern when it comes to teaching Creationism in science class. :rolleyes:
Honestly, there isn't enough time, we are rushing through WWII to know it before the CST. I also don't remember people pushing creationism in California
wordoflife
Apr 25, 06:33 PM
http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/full/284725738.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1303773395&Signature=PCxhkNUAUfz2RA%2FbPdbd3vLcc%2Bs%3D
Hmm
Hmm
Tillybug
Mar 17, 12:56 PM
I been a browser of this forum for years, but never posted many threads, Picked up My black 16g wi-fi iPad 2 on launch day at Best Buy. The store was chaos, and it turned out to be a very lucky day. I told the stoner at the register I wanted to pay some of the balance in cash and the rest with my credit card. He counted the cash I gave him which was $230.00 looked dumbfounded for a moment, printed out a receipt and handed me my bag, followed by are we cool? I said yes, walked out and could not believe he never asked for the remaining balance. Walked out with a brand new ipad for 230.00 Wow!! Now normally I'm honest about things in that nature, but I have been screwed by Best Buy so many times I looked at it as being payback. Picked up a green smart cover incase sleeve and a STM micro ipad carry on sling pack, an excellent iPad combo. Yes, there are some minor issues with a little light bleed but no device is perfect, and it's not going to last 5 years. Instead of looking for imperfections and little micro scratches in the aluminum people should have fun and enjoy the device. Hope everyone is enjoying their iPad 2, I know I am
You're a thief.
You're a thief.
benbow
Nov 24, 01:04 AM
I'm ready to order a second iMac 17" 2.0 from the Apple on-line store after midnight.
Besides the estimated US$100 discount on Black Friday the retail stores and the on-line store should provide a coupon giving one access to Apple's low profile recycling program. One can recycle up to 140 pounds (less shipping boxes) of old computer junk by obtaining from Apple two Fed-Ex shipping labels. Drop two boxes off at Fed-Ex and Apple will pay for the shipping to their recycling center. Supposedly good equipment gets directed to worthy organizations and the toxic stuff gets recycled properly. If you buy a Mac elsewhere you can't participate in Apple's recycling program.
My 1989 LaserWriter II still prints fine but will not work with any of my current Macs. A 1994 Sony 17" CRT monitor and a Power Mac 6100 are likewise ready to recycle. Where I live it would cost me $75 at the dump and over $100 to ship them to a responsible computer recycler.
Besides the estimated US$100 discount on Black Friday the retail stores and the on-line store should provide a coupon giving one access to Apple's low profile recycling program. One can recycle up to 140 pounds (less shipping boxes) of old computer junk by obtaining from Apple two Fed-Ex shipping labels. Drop two boxes off at Fed-Ex and Apple will pay for the shipping to their recycling center. Supposedly good equipment gets directed to worthy organizations and the toxic stuff gets recycled properly. If you buy a Mac elsewhere you can't participate in Apple's recycling program.
My 1989 LaserWriter II still prints fine but will not work with any of my current Macs. A 1994 Sony 17" CRT monitor and a Power Mac 6100 are likewise ready to recycle. Where I live it would cost me $75 at the dump and over $100 to ship them to a responsible computer recycler.
Jerry Spoon
Sep 12, 07:31 AM
I can't imagine why Apple would have an event like this if there was going to be only Disney content available.
Remember that when tv shows were first made available, there weren't many to choose from.
Even if it is just Disney right now, that along with new iPods is enough for this much hype, especially when they want the press before the holiday season.
Remember that when tv shows were first made available, there weren't many to choose from.
Even if it is just Disney right now, that along with new iPods is enough for this much hype, especially when they want the press before the holiday season.
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