ccrandall77
Aug 1, 10:07 AM
I seriously don't understand why people and countries have a problems with Apple's DRM???? You don't have to buy from iTunes and if you do, you know the limitations of that download. If you don't like it, buy elsewhere... iTunes is hardly a monopoly... besides, wouldn't you rather have the CD so you can rip it into a lossless format, have the CD sleeve, etc.???
I've purchased a lot off of iTunes and then I bought an Archos PMP. Ya it sucked that I couldn't play my iTunes music on there without burning it to CD and re-ripping it, but so what! I knew what I was getting when I downloaded from iTunes so I have no right to bitch.
I've purchased a lot off of iTunes and then I bought an Archos PMP. Ya it sucked that I couldn't play my iTunes music on there without burning it to CD and re-ripping it, but so what! I knew what I was getting when I downloaded from iTunes so I have no right to bitch.
mkrishnan
Sep 7, 08:23 PM
Kanye West is one of the most amazing things to happen to hip-hop in the past several years.
Anyone get his new album yet? I haven't ... I need to pick up a copy.
Anyone get his new album yet? I haven't ... I need to pick up a copy.
BenRoethig
Aug 14, 08:01 PM
Hey guys, when did we stop talking about displays and start the communism discussion?
Veri
Oct 1, 01:23 PM
You should realize that everything we have in the physical world deteriorates eventually and that things are not really what is important.
Historical preservation is precisely about determining the difference between one of 1 million "things" of plastic and an object which conveys information about some period's culture, identity, art, technology, etc. I live in one of fairly many Grade II Listed (http://www.heritage.co.uk/apavilions/glstb.html) buildings in the United Kingdom, much older but not quite as large as old Steve's, and there is no surprise when purchasing such a building that you are significantly restricted in what you can do to it. If you are found to have made a modification which is not permitted, it will be your money which pays to have it restored to its original state.
It is absurd to suggest that historical preservation is about envy just because others have the means to destroy historically valuable objects. Indeed, those who want to destroy an interesting creation to make way for their own concern me far more. What is it about the past that you don't like, Jobs? Your firm makes a habit of claiming to innovate where it does not; surely this is not a projection of how you live your private life?
Historical preservation is precisely about determining the difference between one of 1 million "things" of plastic and an object which conveys information about some period's culture, identity, art, technology, etc. I live in one of fairly many Grade II Listed (http://www.heritage.co.uk/apavilions/glstb.html) buildings in the United Kingdom, much older but not quite as large as old Steve's, and there is no surprise when purchasing such a building that you are significantly restricted in what you can do to it. If you are found to have made a modification which is not permitted, it will be your money which pays to have it restored to its original state.
It is absurd to suggest that historical preservation is about envy just because others have the means to destroy historically valuable objects. Indeed, those who want to destroy an interesting creation to make way for their own concern me far more. What is it about the past that you don't like, Jobs? Your firm makes a habit of claiming to innovate where it does not; surely this is not a projection of how you live your private life?
DoFoT9
May 15, 05:47 PM
thanks. are you sure it will work from the login screen?
oh you have a login screen. only logmein.com will work with that. the others will being on logon.
maybe implement a two-tier system? :D
oh you have a login screen. only logmein.com will work with that. the others will being on logon.
maybe implement a two-tier system? :D
charliex5
Sep 28, 01:25 PM
In an age where architect and design firms are just starting to apply to Apple's design principles to the building of homes, Steve Jobs has gone and designed the iPhone of houses.
WTH? Whoever wrote this clearly doesn't have any idea about what has been going on in architecture in, oh, the past 150 years. I met Peter Bohlin last year and we got to talking about his design strategies. He's been doing similar work throughout his career, even before BCJ (then Bohlin Powell) was founded in 1965. Check out Japanese architecture from the past 1,500 years.
As an architecture major and architectural history minor I find this comment to be Jobs-worship. Thinking that nobody else could come up with the concept of a simple and sophisticated design is just asinine.
My rant aside, I love the floor plan and can't wait to see some elevations/perspectives. Go BCJ!
Also, on a side note, BCJ is the firm that designed Bill Gates' house...
WTH? Whoever wrote this clearly doesn't have any idea about what has been going on in architecture in, oh, the past 150 years. I met Peter Bohlin last year and we got to talking about his design strategies. He's been doing similar work throughout his career, even before BCJ (then Bohlin Powell) was founded in 1965. Check out Japanese architecture from the past 1,500 years.
As an architecture major and architectural history minor I find this comment to be Jobs-worship. Thinking that nobody else could come up with the concept of a simple and sophisticated design is just asinine.
My rant aside, I love the floor plan and can't wait to see some elevations/perspectives. Go BCJ!
Also, on a side note, BCJ is the firm that designed Bill Gates' house...
tribalogical
Nov 23, 05:00 PM
It's interesting that the email ad I received from Apple sort of implies savings across the board (since they show silhouetted images of virtually everything in their product line).
"one day shopping event", "Joy to the wallet", and images of ipods, macs, mice, etc.... the works, basically.
I'll be well disappointed if there are no discounts to the Mac Pro, since it too is among that group of images... ;)
That said, I bought my G5 at a similar event early last year, and used a scratch-off ticket I got at the door giving me 10% off my purchases that day... perhaps this year will offer something like that?
And, I just got lucky, I guess.......
peace,
tribalogical
"one day shopping event", "Joy to the wallet", and images of ipods, macs, mice, etc.... the works, basically.
I'll be well disappointed if there are no discounts to the Mac Pro, since it too is among that group of images... ;)
That said, I bought my G5 at a similar event early last year, and used a scratch-off ticket I got at the door giving me 10% off my purchases that day... perhaps this year will offer something like that?
And, I just got lucky, I guess.......
peace,
tribalogical
AP_piano295
Apr 25, 02:36 PM
my question is what would you have McDonalds employees do.
You are asking teenagers to get involved in a fight and try to break it up.
Not really something you expect the average person of the street to do why should teenagers working and McDonalds be any different.
Heck most of the time betting/ fights are over before the brain finishes processing "Is that really happening?" followed by "Should I do anything?" Most of the time they get stuck in an endless loop of not sure what to do and the fight or flight responses takes over.
While the people doing the beating deserve to rot in jail at the same time I would not expect the employees to do anything other than really call the cops. This is one would you expect a person of the street to do something other than really call the cops and it is still over by the time the above loop is completed.
Well I don't know about you but if I saw someone beating the **** out of someone else while I'm working I would certainly get involved. And I would expect the same consideration from others.
If your employed somewhere part of your job is keeping the peace.
You are asking teenagers to get involved in a fight and try to break it up.
Not really something you expect the average person of the street to do why should teenagers working and McDonalds be any different.
Heck most of the time betting/ fights are over before the brain finishes processing "Is that really happening?" followed by "Should I do anything?" Most of the time they get stuck in an endless loop of not sure what to do and the fight or flight responses takes over.
While the people doing the beating deserve to rot in jail at the same time I would not expect the employees to do anything other than really call the cops. This is one would you expect a person of the street to do something other than really call the cops and it is still over by the time the above loop is completed.
Well I don't know about you but if I saw someone beating the **** out of someone else while I'm working I would certainly get involved. And I would expect the same consideration from others.
If your employed somewhere part of your job is keeping the peace.
DoFoT9
Aug 11, 06:53 PM
^^ is 200mhz really that important :p
MacRumors
Apr 29, 03:43 PM
http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-tweaks-mac-os-x-lion-ui-in-response-to-criticism/)
With Apple having pushed out a new update (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-seeds-new-version-of-mac-os-x-lion-11a444d-to-developers/) to the Mac OS X Lion developer preview program, those with access to the new build have been looking for changes in an attempt to see what Apple has been working on over the past few weeks.
One minor point that caught our eye is a change in the user interface elements for selecting subpanes within System Preferences. In this latest build, the active subpane is denoted by a sunken, darker button that appears as if it has been pushed, as shown in the Expos� & Spaces preference pane.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_button_new_500.jpg
Current "button" style subpane selector with Expos� active
Earlier builds of Mac OS X Lion had used a sort of slider animation where the active subpane was represented by a lighter colored button that confused many users when simply glancing at the pane without attempting to move the slider and thus having the animation to key on.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_slider_old_500.jpg
Earlier "slider" style subpane selector with Spaces active
In the face of that criticism, Apple appears to have rethought its mechanism for switching between subpanes and reverted back to a button style that appears more intuitive.
A similar change has been made in iCal, where an earlier slider-style navigator (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/31/mac-os-x-lion-developer-preview-2-brings-new-look-for-ical/) was rolled out to select among day/week/month/year views but has now been replaced by more traditional button-style selectors.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/163551-lion_ical_button_style_selector.jpg
iCal selector buttons in latest Mac OS X Lion build
Article Link: Apple Tweaks Mac OS X Lion UI In Response to Criticism (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-tweaks-mac-os-x-lion-ui-in-response-to-criticism/)
With Apple having pushed out a new update (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-seeds-new-version-of-mac-os-x-lion-11a444d-to-developers/) to the Mac OS X Lion developer preview program, those with access to the new build have been looking for changes in an attempt to see what Apple has been working on over the past few weeks.
One minor point that caught our eye is a change in the user interface elements for selecting subpanes within System Preferences. In this latest build, the active subpane is denoted by a sunken, darker button that appears as if it has been pushed, as shown in the Expos� & Spaces preference pane.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_button_new_500.jpg
Current "button" style subpane selector with Expos� active
Earlier builds of Mac OS X Lion had used a sort of slider animation where the active subpane was represented by a lighter colored button that confused many users when simply glancing at the pane without attempting to move the slider and thus having the animation to key on.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/162642-lion_subpane_slider_old_500.jpg
Earlier "slider" style subpane selector with Spaces active
In the face of that criticism, Apple appears to have rethought its mechanism for switching between subpanes and reverted back to a button style that appears more intuitive.
A similar change has been made in iCal, where an earlier slider-style navigator (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/03/31/mac-os-x-lion-developer-preview-2-brings-new-look-for-ical/) was rolled out to select among day/week/month/year views but has now been replaced by more traditional button-style selectors.
http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/163551-lion_ical_button_style_selector.jpg
iCal selector buttons in latest Mac OS X Lion build
Article Link: Apple Tweaks Mac OS X Lion UI In Response to Criticism (http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/29/apple-tweaks-mac-os-x-lion-ui-in-response-to-criticism/)
triceretops
Mar 24, 11:01 PM
Wish this post would have gone up earlier. We could have had a cake.:mad:
iShater
Jul 28, 01:02 PM
True on the economies of scale bit - although the batteries are always going to be pricey.
I keep hammering the same point here, but the Volt would see a quite significant fuel economy boost by switching to a diesel engine to charge the batteries and run the motors. Sort it out, US car companies...it's not like we don't sell diesel here.
That is true. I'm surprised nobody has brought even diesel based hybrids here yet. I recall hearing VW was planning on it, but I don't remember where I read that.
I keep hammering the same point here, but the Volt would see a quite significant fuel economy boost by switching to a diesel engine to charge the batteries and run the motors. Sort it out, US car companies...it's not like we don't sell diesel here.
That is true. I'm surprised nobody has brought even diesel based hybrids here yet. I recall hearing VW was planning on it, but I don't remember where I read that.
Nekbeth
Apr 27, 06:33 PM
The "quiz questions" are necessary because we don't know what it is you know or think you know. We can't read your mind. This is how information is exchanged and we can come to the appropriate level or explanation to be able to help you. It can also help you find the answer yourself by talking through it.
talking through it ?? thats funny, as soon as someone mentions "what's a pointer"..everyone shoots to kill here, and they tell you to step out or go deep yourself in books. The last thing you'll get is a simple answer, which 1 out 20 developers give you without asking you "Have you even read the objective-C manual?? cause if not you should leave the Real Coding and go study now"
For someone seeking our help, you sure are quick to dismiss it. Again, everyone in this thread has been trying to help you. A little cooperation on your part would be appreciated.
Help us help you. If we have questions, it's because we don't quite understand what you are seeking help on.
Knight, just go to page 2 and look at the problem. It's very clear what I'm looking for and many developers have try to solve it. dejo describes it step by step. If you don't understand ask me, because many others understand it.
(I think 2/3 pages in this thread are not related to the code itself, instead everybody is giving his point of view about why or why not Pro developers should help new ones.)
talking through it ?? thats funny, as soon as someone mentions "what's a pointer"..everyone shoots to kill here, and they tell you to step out or go deep yourself in books. The last thing you'll get is a simple answer, which 1 out 20 developers give you without asking you "Have you even read the objective-C manual?? cause if not you should leave the Real Coding and go study now"
For someone seeking our help, you sure are quick to dismiss it. Again, everyone in this thread has been trying to help you. A little cooperation on your part would be appreciated.
Help us help you. If we have questions, it's because we don't quite understand what you are seeking help on.
Knight, just go to page 2 and look at the problem. It's very clear what I'm looking for and many developers have try to solve it. dejo describes it step by step. If you don't understand ask me, because many others understand it.
(I think 2/3 pages in this thread are not related to the code itself, instead everybody is giving his point of view about why or why not Pro developers should help new ones.)
peeInMyPantz
Sep 12, 08:18 AM
damn..
since they haven't take down apple store for update, does that mean no new product? just new service? i'm waiting for a MB/MBP update
since they haven't take down apple store for update, does that mean no new product? just new service? i'm waiting for a MB/MBP update
__THISRES__77202.jpg "AMINE AND MANGA: May 15, 2010")
bruinsrme
Oct 6, 12:07 PM
The iPhone to Verizon won't happen, especially with the announcement today that Verizon is teaming up with Google and their Android phone. I at first thought the commercial was just a leverage ploy on Verizons part, working on Apple and their negotiations. Now I think it's just the first shot over the bow.
Time to look at unlocking and bailing to T-Mo again and get out of this crap-shoot called AT$T.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091006-709550.html
i have been waiting for that announcement.
The iphone is great but the jailbreaking thing and the efforts made by apple to prevent jailbreaking is wearing.
It will be interesting to see if the jailbreaking community starts to move over to a more open platform (if its more open of course)
Time to look at unlocking and bailing to T-Mo again and get out of this crap-shoot called AT$T.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091006-709550.html
i have been waiting for that announcement.
The iphone is great but the jailbreaking thing and the efforts made by apple to prevent jailbreaking is wearing.
It will be interesting to see if the jailbreaking community starts to move over to a more open platform (if its more open of course)
Huntn
Mar 4, 08:54 AM
The bill establishes fines and jail time for those who participate in strikes. Unionized workers could negotiate wages, hours and certain work conditions - but not health care, sick time or pension benefits.
Strikes would be illegal? This is why the Republican Party can never be allowed to lead this country. Land Of The Free my arse. Unions are made up of people who want some control over their professions (whatever it is) and their lives. Conservatives/Republican's will never be happy if lowly workers have some control. They can take what we give them and they'd better be happy with it or else.
Strikes would be illegal? This is why the Republican Party can never be allowed to lead this country. Land Of The Free my arse. Unions are made up of people who want some control over their professions (whatever it is) and their lives. Conservatives/Republican's will never be happy if lowly workers have some control. They can take what we give them and they'd better be happy with it or else.
Mr. Gates
Apr 26, 07:13 AM
Such a small difference !
Who cares ? :confused:
Gimmie a 4 inch screen, then we'll talk !
Who cares ? :confused:
Gimmie a 4 inch screen, then we'll talk !
bytethese
Mar 24, 03:10 PM
Happy Birthday OS X!
Neodym
Oct 3, 05:01 PM
This will be the first time ever, regular people will stop waiting for their computer to work, even when using multiple applications.
Umm - sorry to destroy your illusion here, but Amiga made that possible already in 1985! This was thanks to true preemptive multitasking (while Classic MacOS sported cooperative multitasking only, up to OS9). No matter how big the workload and with several applications open at the same time an Amiga would react instantly to any user action!
Even today a 50MHz Amiga with 128Mb of Ram often feels a lot more responsive than a 2.000+MHz beast with 1GB of Ram in a "modern" computer. Granted - todays GUIs are more complex as well, but still...
So with the new era of multi-core machines the "rest of the (home)computerworld" will finally have come on par with what Amiga could offer more than 20 years ago already!
Regards
Neodym
Umm - sorry to destroy your illusion here, but Amiga made that possible already in 1985! This was thanks to true preemptive multitasking (while Classic MacOS sported cooperative multitasking only, up to OS9). No matter how big the workload and with several applications open at the same time an Amiga would react instantly to any user action!
Even today a 50MHz Amiga with 128Mb of Ram often feels a lot more responsive than a 2.000+MHz beast with 1GB of Ram in a "modern" computer. Granted - todays GUIs are more complex as well, but still...
So with the new era of multi-core machines the "rest of the (home)computerworld" will finally have come on par with what Amiga could offer more than 20 years ago already!
Regards
Neodym
Broojo02
May 2, 09:23 AM
Kinda glad about this, the new sliders did look awesome and very iOSy but the slight delay in seeing a switch between two different states with the animation, especially between two areas far away could be a bit annoying and time consuming. We are only talking like 1/2 a second max probably but that is still something compared to the instant response of having a simple button.
Baadshah
Apr 16, 09:29 AM
I think this is original case of the forthcoming iphone, if you guys look at all apple products, they all are aluminum. And i strongly believe that the new iphone will also be aluminum. This one looks sexy.........
Kapangas
Apr 25, 01:48 PM
Did anyone else notice the apparent lack of a search icon next to the homescreen page indicator?
It does kinda remind me of this: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/19/video-of-64-gb-white-iphone-4-running-old-test-ios-4-build-with-expose/
This was proven to be an older build of iOS4 though, so I'm not sure what to make out of it. :/
I noticed it too! Maybe it's true and they're testing that new multitasking for iOS 5? :confused:
It does kinda remind me of this: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/04/19/video-of-64-gb-white-iphone-4-running-old-test-ios-4-build-with-expose/
This was proven to be an older build of iOS4 though, so I'm not sure what to make out of it. :/
I noticed it too! Maybe it's true and they're testing that new multitasking for iOS 5? :confused:
Joshuarocks
Apr 8, 07:36 PM
I'm a current employee at Best Buy and thought I'd offer my two cents on a few issues.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
The only "Worst Buy" I am against is the one in Owings Mills, MD where they discriminated against me just because of a small disability. Pending a court case with corporate on this matter.. and I used to work for them back in 2005 and left them on a great note. Eligible for re-hire.. then tried to go back to them(Owings Mills) and the manager was very disrespectful and also discriminatory.
I plan to have that store shut down permanently.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
The only "Worst Buy" I am against is the one in Owings Mills, MD where they discriminated against me just because of a small disability. Pending a court case with corporate on this matter.. and I used to work for them back in 2005 and left them on a great note. Eligible for re-hire.. then tried to go back to them(Owings Mills) and the manager was very disrespectful and also discriminatory.
I plan to have that store shut down permanently.
Eidorian
Sep 25, 11:20 AM
The reasons people HATE this new version so much:
1. It adds a lot of features and answers requests.
2. It's a free update.
3. This is a photography event, and people were caught off guard when Apple showed their photography product, despite the Aperture image right on the invitation.
4. Apple never releases hardware on Tuesdays, so there is no hope for any MacBook Pro updates tomorrow.
5. There will never be another chance for new MacBook Pros. We now know that the current models will be sold forever and ever, even after Apple goes out of business, which will happen by the end of the year.
:pWhy it's obvious why people hate this update so much. In fact I'm almost tempted to get Aperture to manage my photos (Academic discount, 3,000 images, 500 photos <3)
Now I just wish my earlier comments were still here. Tomorrow is Tuesday.
1. It adds a lot of features and answers requests.
2. It's a free update.
3. This is a photography event, and people were caught off guard when Apple showed their photography product, despite the Aperture image right on the invitation.
4. Apple never releases hardware on Tuesdays, so there is no hope for any MacBook Pro updates tomorrow.
5. There will never be another chance for new MacBook Pros. We now know that the current models will be sold forever and ever, even after Apple goes out of business, which will happen by the end of the year.
:pWhy it's obvious why people hate this update so much. In fact I'm almost tempted to get Aperture to manage my photos (Academic discount, 3,000 images, 500 photos <3)
Now I just wish my earlier comments were still here. Tomorrow is Tuesday.
