dunk321
Mar 17, 01:38 AM
I just told a story and everybody is entitled to their personal opinion, what's done is done, I wasn't look for any congrats for this posting, but I Thank you all for the laughs
arn
Jan 5, 10:31 PM
I am not sure whether or not this has been suggested, but is it not possible for someone in the audience (macrumors.com) to set up a video or audio feed?
It's been discussed in this thread:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=265739
It's best summed up here:
It would be nice, but there are significant hurdles with streaming when you scale up to the volumes that a public keynote stream would attract. There are very few organisations with the infrastructure to serve large numbers of simultaneous streams, and even with donated bandwidth you then have the logistical problem of sending the feed from the source to multiple distribution points.
......
Oh it's definitely possible, but really there's only one company that could realistically cope with the traffic - Akamai - and even they would likely have problems. 150,000 people streaming 300kbit video would be about 44 Gbit/sec, which would be about 10-15% of Akamai's entire global bandwidth usage and 50% of their streams. Even audio would be 10 Gbit/sec for a 64 kbit stream.
Basically, serving up simultanous traffic for a live feed is very resource intensive. It's a very different thing to serve 100,000 people in a day vs 100,000 at the same time.
We're incorporating near-real time photos in this year's MacRumors coverage... so it shuold be pretty enjoyable.... barring any unforseen circumstances. :)
arn
It's been discussed in this thread:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=265739
It's best summed up here:
It would be nice, but there are significant hurdles with streaming when you scale up to the volumes that a public keynote stream would attract. There are very few organisations with the infrastructure to serve large numbers of simultaneous streams, and even with donated bandwidth you then have the logistical problem of sending the feed from the source to multiple distribution points.
......
Oh it's definitely possible, but really there's only one company that could realistically cope with the traffic - Akamai - and even they would likely have problems. 150,000 people streaming 300kbit video would be about 44 Gbit/sec, which would be about 10-15% of Akamai's entire global bandwidth usage and 50% of their streams. Even audio would be 10 Gbit/sec for a 64 kbit stream.
Basically, serving up simultanous traffic for a live feed is very resource intensive. It's a very different thing to serve 100,000 people in a day vs 100,000 at the same time.
We're incorporating near-real time photos in this year's MacRumors coverage... so it shuold be pretty enjoyable.... barring any unforseen circumstances. :)
arn
Rodimus Prime
Apr 15, 06:39 PM
Is the difference that Apple is more willing to talk to and play ball with the content providers? Is it that Google has "changing its demands"? Is it about technical concerns? Are the content provides trying to guess who the winning horse will be?
Or (my guess) is it all about the revenue sharing model?
If I had to guess Apple can force a better deal and force the record company to bend more to what they want and with Google the record companies have more power to force what they want onto google.
Or (my guess) is it all about the revenue sharing model?
If I had to guess Apple can force a better deal and force the record company to bend more to what they want and with Google the record companies have more power to force what they want onto google.
2 Replies
Jul 21, 01:44 PM
Oh my god...
did Apple seriously just make pointing fingers apart of their campaign?
I thought they were above that!
I understand that it's unfair that the other companies do that and all, but Apple really doesn't need to stoop to their level, do they?
Above that? HA!
Looks like someone forgot about the Mac vs PC ads. ;)
It would be nice if Apple actually ACTED like an adult and not like it's own fanboi. :-\
did Apple seriously just make pointing fingers apart of their campaign?
I thought they were above that!
I understand that it's unfair that the other companies do that and all, but Apple really doesn't need to stoop to their level, do they?
Above that? HA!
Looks like someone forgot about the Mac vs PC ads. ;)
It would be nice if Apple actually ACTED like an adult and not like it's own fanboi. :-\
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Apr 5, 02:59 PM
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aristobrat
Jan 12, 05:20 PM
who are you kidding? what part of iphone is not previously existed in technology?
IMO, what's revolutionary is the combination of existing technology into a single device. Is there something on the market that does everything the iPhone does as well as it appears to do it?
if he want to call it revolutionary, i was hoping for something revolutionary.
Someone asked you what you were hoping for, and that's it? You call it not revolutionary, but you can't give a single idea of what you think revolutionary is? :confused:
Seriously people, is it so bad to question things?
And the two things you question are the capacity and the price-point? It seemed pretty obvious to me that regarding capacity, for battery reasons, they'd be using flash (like the nano) instead of a hard drive like the iPod. It's quite simple with 5 minutes worth of Smart Playlists to keep a regular stream of good music flowing to a device that has less storage space than your 60GB iPod.
does the iphone sync with outlook ? if not: say good bye to the business market
Did I miss the part of the keynote where Steve said this was aimed at the business market? :eek:
the iphone not being out makes it even worse
especially for the european market where it's still 1 year away and you can get UMTS phones _today_ .etc
Think Nokia or SE will have something similar on the market in a year? :)
IMO, what's revolutionary is the combination of existing technology into a single device. Is there something on the market that does everything the iPhone does as well as it appears to do it?
if he want to call it revolutionary, i was hoping for something revolutionary.
Someone asked you what you were hoping for, and that's it? You call it not revolutionary, but you can't give a single idea of what you think revolutionary is? :confused:
Seriously people, is it so bad to question things?
And the two things you question are the capacity and the price-point? It seemed pretty obvious to me that regarding capacity, for battery reasons, they'd be using flash (like the nano) instead of a hard drive like the iPod. It's quite simple with 5 minutes worth of Smart Playlists to keep a regular stream of good music flowing to a device that has less storage space than your 60GB iPod.
does the iphone sync with outlook ? if not: say good bye to the business market
Did I miss the part of the keynote where Steve said this was aimed at the business market? :eek:
the iphone not being out makes it even worse
especially for the european market where it's still 1 year away and you can get UMTS phones _today_ .etc
Think Nokia or SE will have something similar on the market in a year? :)
Adidas Addict
Apr 25, 01:36 PM
I don't understand people who think the next iPhone should be called 4S (and some think 4GS, wth?)
I think the reason why Apple called the current generation iPhone 4 because it's the 4th iPhone. Just because they tacked on an 'S' at the end of 3G doesn't mean the next should be 4S.
And even if they DID call it the 4S, the iPhone after that would be iPhone 6, not 5...
Don't you agree?
If it keeps the same design/form factor it will be named the 4*/4** if it's a totally new design it will be iPhone 5.
I think the reason why Apple called the current generation iPhone 4 because it's the 4th iPhone. Just because they tacked on an 'S' at the end of 3G doesn't mean the next should be 4S.
And even if they DID call it the 4S, the iPhone after that would be iPhone 6, not 5...
Don't you agree?
If it keeps the same design/form factor it will be named the 4*/4** if it's a totally new design it will be iPhone 5.
jamieg
Sep 12, 04:50 AM
I think you'll find movie distrubution rights outside of USA have the same problems as TV SHOW downloads outside of USA. In other words we wont get any lol, in much the same way as we cant download from the new Amazon movie download servers in the UK. I dont know who actually runs the european side of Apple but they want sacking lol, over a year and no new content outside of USA lol. I'll still follow the feeds though lol cos I'm sad like that :)
What I mean is that TV channel companies buy exclusive rights to show shows, you will find (in the UK anyway) shows like lost don't go on sale on DVD till after they have been shown on TV. Highstreet shops can't buy the rights to sell DVD movies exclusively. However, I am sure there are plenty of legal issues Apple will have to work around.
Jamie
What I mean is that TV channel companies buy exclusive rights to show shows, you will find (in the UK anyway) shows like lost don't go on sale on DVD till after they have been shown on TV. Highstreet shops can't buy the rights to sell DVD movies exclusively. However, I am sure there are plenty of legal issues Apple will have to work around.
Jamie
jessica.
Jan 10, 07:24 PM
Should they be banned? Yes.
notjustjay
Apr 21, 12:02 PM
I think I'd prefer a system where only upvotes ("likes") are allowed (e.g. Engadget). That way you can still see who's got the most positive/popular posts while not opening it up quite so much to abuse or the negative connotations associated with a negative score.
Another forum I visit (RedFlagDeals) has a similar system where people can be "thanked" for particular posts, and then their user profile shows how many times in total people have thanked them. It helps show who is the most helpful or who has a good reputation for providing useful advice.
Another forum I visit (RedFlagDeals) has a similar system where people can be "thanked" for particular posts, and then their user profile shows how many times in total people have thanked them. It helps show who is the most helpful or who has a good reputation for providing useful advice.
fivepoint
Mar 4, 03:01 PM
Not only that, the "hand up vs. hand out" crap is truly mesmerizing. How can anyone that even utters that phrase take themselves seriously? :confused:
Really? You don't believe in that whole 'teach a man to fish' crap?
I suppose you also think the solution to African starvation is sending them bags of rice, corn, wheat w/out teaching them to plant some?
Really? You don't believe in that whole 'teach a man to fish' crap?
I suppose you also think the solution to African starvation is sending them bags of rice, corn, wheat w/out teaching them to plant some?
Ommid
Apr 25, 12:45 PM
If that is a guy holding that phone he needs to cut those nails...Damn hippy!
He forgot to get his morning manicure
He forgot to get his morning manicure
mrgreen4242
Jan 11, 02:42 PM
New AppleTV with a more powerful CPU/GPU combo to handle 1080i60 @ 15+mbps (alternatively, they'll add a dedicated media decoder chip capable of that level of video decoding), bigger drives (120gb and 200gb), lower price ($249/$299), out of the box support for USB TV tuners.
12" MBP, super thin, no optical drive, optional flash harddrive.
USB BluRay drive for $199. Works with all existing Macs, but specially designed for use with the new sub-portable, optical drive-less laptop and the new AppleTV (which was why they upped the power).
iTunes/AppleTV/iPod will support the Blu Ray Managed Copy system, allowing you to "check out" copies of Blu Ray movies you own onto your iPod and/or AppleTV. Resolution will be limited to 640x480@1.5mbps h264 (max iPod quality). (This will work because if Apple is going to have timed movie rentals, they're going to have to have a system to time out DRM's protected file in iTunes/on iPods, which is essentially how managed copies work).
Also, some DVDs with pre-encoded, DRM'd iPod versions of the movie on them.
1.1.3 firmware for iPod touch and iPhone released - will have the required framework to run apps written with the new SDK. SDK details discussed, sample software demoed.
iTMS movie rentals. It'll suck, in terms of pricing, availability, and selection. No fault of Apple's, but the studios will tank it by being greedy. I'm guessing at least $3.99 for 24 hours, but you'll get a discount of $1.99 if you buy the movie through iTMS within 14 days of renting it (and still have it stored locally on your computer or iPod, so no redownloading required).
Displays revamped. Prices changed, integrated iSights. The 20" will get really cheap, but the panel will get replaced by the "crappy" 20" iMac LCD. The 23 and 30" will stay expensive and aimed at "creative professionals".
And some standard bumps to the other lines of computers, here and there. Bigger HDDs, more RAM, faster CPUs, price chamges, etc.
12" MBP, super thin, no optical drive, optional flash harddrive.
USB BluRay drive for $199. Works with all existing Macs, but specially designed for use with the new sub-portable, optical drive-less laptop and the new AppleTV (which was why they upped the power).
iTunes/AppleTV/iPod will support the Blu Ray Managed Copy system, allowing you to "check out" copies of Blu Ray movies you own onto your iPod and/or AppleTV. Resolution will be limited to 640x480@1.5mbps h264 (max iPod quality). (This will work because if Apple is going to have timed movie rentals, they're going to have to have a system to time out DRM's protected file in iTunes/on iPods, which is essentially how managed copies work).
Also, some DVDs with pre-encoded, DRM'd iPod versions of the movie on them.
1.1.3 firmware for iPod touch and iPhone released - will have the required framework to run apps written with the new SDK. SDK details discussed, sample software demoed.
iTMS movie rentals. It'll suck, in terms of pricing, availability, and selection. No fault of Apple's, but the studios will tank it by being greedy. I'm guessing at least $3.99 for 24 hours, but you'll get a discount of $1.99 if you buy the movie through iTMS within 14 days of renting it (and still have it stored locally on your computer or iPod, so no redownloading required).
Displays revamped. Prices changed, integrated iSights. The 20" will get really cheap, but the panel will get replaced by the "crappy" 20" iMac LCD. The 23 and 30" will stay expensive and aimed at "creative professionals".
And some standard bumps to the other lines of computers, here and there. Bigger HDDs, more RAM, faster CPUs, price chamges, etc.
Claerion
Mar 17, 10:57 AM
What's up with all the [morality] in this thread?
It's the employees responsibility to know how to use a register and collect the full payment. If the employee is too stupid to actually count the money handed to him then he should be fired. Dumb ass kid.
I'd be ****ing thrilled if my iPad cost about half price!
This^
And cpucrash0 what do you think this is a movie? 21? Haha they don't have the resources to watch every single person that walks into the door all the time...
Gratz on the iPad and enjoy it!
It's the employees responsibility to know how to use a register and collect the full payment. If the employee is too stupid to actually count the money handed to him then he should be fired. Dumb ass kid.
I'd be ****ing thrilled if my iPad cost about half price!
This^
And cpucrash0 what do you think this is a movie? 21? Haha they don't have the resources to watch every single person that walks into the door all the time...
Gratz on the iPad and enjoy it!
dgree03
May 3, 04:00 PM
They are offering you more bandwidth to use a higher bandwidth service like tethering.
The consideration is very clear. Thanks for quoting the premise for contract law, but claiming there is no consideration there is ridiculous.
People who tether use more bandwidth, so the cost associated with their usage is more expensive. The carriers can either charge those people for tethering or they can raise the price for EVERYONE.
They choose to charge the people who tether. It is a perfectly reasonable choice on their part.
Hey a cable line comes into my house with all the channels on it. I can just jimmy off a filter and get all the channels without paying any more. They are already delivering it to my house, why can't I just get all of them since they are there anyways and I am paying for cable right?
You are not paying for tethering unless you are paying for tethering. The math is simple. People who tether use more bandwidth. Wireless providers set their data prices based on AVERAGE usage. Tethering makes the average usage go up, so the revenue to cover those costs has to come from somewhere.
So they can either charge EVERYONE more or charge the people who tether more.. Again they choose the later.
Are you seriously defending charging for tethering!? What do you mean MORE bandwidth?
I am paying for a 25 dollar 2gb plan for my phone. 2gb, is 2gb, is 2gb. If I tether it DOES NOT MATTER MY BANDWIDTH, once i use up 2gb i pay overages. It is that simple... I dont have to tether to use 2gb.
Your cable example is weak. On cable you are paying for the content on that line. On your data plan there is no content to pay for.. it is just straight internet.
A better cable example would be a cable company charging you monthly to extend your cable to each seperate room.
The consideration is very clear. Thanks for quoting the premise for contract law, but claiming there is no consideration there is ridiculous.
People who tether use more bandwidth, so the cost associated with their usage is more expensive. The carriers can either charge those people for tethering or they can raise the price for EVERYONE.
They choose to charge the people who tether. It is a perfectly reasonable choice on their part.
Hey a cable line comes into my house with all the channels on it. I can just jimmy off a filter and get all the channels without paying any more. They are already delivering it to my house, why can't I just get all of them since they are there anyways and I am paying for cable right?
You are not paying for tethering unless you are paying for tethering. The math is simple. People who tether use more bandwidth. Wireless providers set their data prices based on AVERAGE usage. Tethering makes the average usage go up, so the revenue to cover those costs has to come from somewhere.
So they can either charge EVERYONE more or charge the people who tether more.. Again they choose the later.
Are you seriously defending charging for tethering!? What do you mean MORE bandwidth?
I am paying for a 25 dollar 2gb plan for my phone. 2gb, is 2gb, is 2gb. If I tether it DOES NOT MATTER MY BANDWIDTH, once i use up 2gb i pay overages. It is that simple... I dont have to tether to use 2gb.
Your cable example is weak. On cable you are paying for the content on that line. On your data plan there is no content to pay for.. it is just straight internet.
A better cable example would be a cable company charging you monthly to extend your cable to each seperate room.
Melrose
Mar 7, 07:38 AM
Yes, it's Apples highly erratic priorities that are puzzling.
Their extreme hypocrisy and superiority complex that causes them to go into denial in so many cases.
They stonewall and refuse to operate in a candid & open way with customers. Instead they practice silently hiding as many of their issues as possible.
Apples one true area of brilliance is their masterful art of marketing. In the finest example of typical American deceptive advertising, Apple describes their products as "magical & revolutionary".
You really think that many people are that stupid and brainwashed? :eek:
Their extreme hypocrisy and superiority complex that causes them to go into denial in so many cases.
They stonewall and refuse to operate in a candid & open way with customers. Instead they practice silently hiding as many of their issues as possible.
Apples one true area of brilliance is their masterful art of marketing. In the finest example of typical American deceptive advertising, Apple describes their products as "magical & revolutionary".
You really think that many people are that stupid and brainwashed? :eek:
Mattie Num Nums
May 2, 09:29 AM
Actually I have seen a number of explanations on this thread from people who use Windows more than myself. The answer to why it is "7" does not seem to be well known even to Windows users.
Really its not brain surgery.
Windows 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, XP (5.0), Vista (6.0), Windows 7 (7.0).
Really its not brain surgery.
Windows 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, XP (5.0), Vista (6.0), Windows 7 (7.0).
tvguru
Sep 12, 07:40 AM
Does this mean we won't be seeing iTunes 7.0? I mean if they were releasing a new iTunes wouldn't they make the changes on the new release?
They would have to update the store to handle it as well. I would assume that there will be a new iTunes out today also and that the movie portion of the store wouldn't be backwards compatible.
They would have to update the store to handle it as well. I would assume that there will be a new iTunes out today also and that the movie portion of the store wouldn't be backwards compatible.
MagicBoy
Mar 24, 08:08 PM
Windows has been downhill since DOS.
Pardon? Want to try that again?
Pardon? Want to try that again?
akac
Apr 29, 03:27 PM
Everything and I mean *everything* is constantly being shared from these developer's builds. Check youtube. It is what it is. There are no killer features in iLion. Certainly nothing like going from Tiger to Leopard.
Multi-User Screen Sharing is a killer feature for me. Versions is a killer feature for me. Those two alone are worth the upgrade.
Multi-User Screen Sharing is a killer feature for me. Versions is a killer feature for me. Those two alone are worth the upgrade.
nasty devil
May 2, 12:46 PM
I sure hope this improves battery life :rolleyes:
whooleytoo
Mar 26, 02:42 PM
Maybe the people are stupid and have the system sitting in plain view and the cops will notice it when they try to question the neighbors.
Well, chances are if it's being used it could well just be sitting there by the living room TV!
Best of luck with this - any kind of theft like this would just drive me nuts.
Incidentally, you asked previously about Connect360's log - I don't know if it creates a separate log file, but you can certainly see log output in the Console, maybe that'll help.
Well, chances are if it's being used it could well just be sitting there by the living room TV!
Best of luck with this - any kind of theft like this would just drive me nuts.
Incidentally, you asked previously about Connect360's log - I don't know if it creates a separate log file, but you can certainly see log output in the Console, maybe that'll help.
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.
The General
Apr 15, 04:06 PM
doesn't look photoshopped to me. looks like three photos of a real object. i dont think it's actually the body of the next iphone. if aluminum didnt work out so well for reception on the OG iphone, why would it work on the new one?
the flat surfaces are something i doubt apple would do.
the slot and square hole on the side are obviously supposed to be holes for the silent switch and volume up and down.
the flat surfaces are something i doubt apple would do.
the slot and square hole on the side are obviously supposed to be holes for the silent switch and volume up and down.