Popeye206
May 3, 11:11 PM
Or you know, the more obvious conclusion - iOS 5.
Agreed... seemed like a teaser for iOS 5.
Agreed... seemed like a teaser for iOS 5.
Les Kern
Aug 4, 07:56 AM
This is why I do not see "electric cars" gaining mainstream popularity any time soon.
Because they don't want you to.
We should have had electric cars for short-haul 20 years ago.
It's all a big scam, and most Americans don't even know they are the chumps.
Because they don't want you to.
We should have had electric cars for short-haul 20 years ago.
It's all a big scam, and most Americans don't even know they are the chumps.
jackc
Jan 11, 06:41 PM
Someone should have got their asses kicked
bcslay
Sep 12, 02:59 AM
I believe that an airport extreme, or 802.11g is plenty fast to stream High-def Video, and shouldn't apple change the name of itunes at this point, since it is now a multimedia piece of software?
more...
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.
Jony Mac
Apr 13, 08:42 AM
What are you doing with a camera shot of my servant's quarters? :confused:
Ha ha. I've never stayed here, I'm thinking my wife will like to stay in a castle.
Ha ha. I've never stayed here, I'm thinking my wife will like to stay in a castle.
more...
nate13
Apr 25, 11:55 AM
Fake. Display looks like paper / printed.
agreed. Even though with the white one, I'd expect a 64GB available. Just makes sense; they used to have an ipod nano that only came in black in the largest size, if memory serves...
agreed. Even though with the white one, I'd expect a 64GB available. Just makes sense; they used to have an ipod nano that only came in black in the largest size, if memory serves...
gkarris
Mar 28, 05:27 PM
Good. I'm all in favor of Apple adding more incentives for devs to embrace the Mac App store. As a consumer I really like the idea of an App Store that makes buying and installing as easy as one click as well as fostering competition between comparable apps.
And not being able to resell it or trade it in... :eek:
And not being able to resell it or trade it in... :eek:
more...
Ryeno
May 3, 05:11 PM
Just like communism
i love it when people say stuff, i mean type stuff, without thinking.
android being free and open is more comparable to a capitalist system which ironically also doesn't work out too well in real life.
i love it when people say stuff, i mean type stuff, without thinking.
android being free and open is more comparable to a capitalist system which ironically also doesn't work out too well in real life.
miketcool
Oct 7, 04:26 PM
For whatever reason, Sprint and Verizon started deploying their 3G networks about three years before T-Mobile and AT&T did. Nothing T-Mobile and AT&T can do about that now, except let Verizon gloat while they continue to try to play catch-up.
I can speak for T-Mo in that they bought their 3G frequency from that public auction. It took the government almost 2 years to move emergency bands off and allow T-Mo to actually use what they bought. The early adopters had an easier transition.
I can speak for T-Mo in that they bought their 3G frequency from that public auction. It took the government almost 2 years to move emergency bands off and allow T-Mo to actually use what they bought. The early adopters had an easier transition.
more...
netdog
Sep 12, 07:31 AM
Can't wait :D
The Australian store is claiming that the store is busy or to check my connection :confused:
Same in the UK.
The Australian store is claiming that the store is busy or to check my connection :confused:
Same in the UK.
tny
Oct 29, 11:14 AM
Thats wrong, its not free as is freedom. If that was the case I should be able to do as I please with the code and that is not the case. If I use the free(GPL) software as a baseline for a project I then have to turn around and release all the changes I made for free as well. This may be hundreds of hours of work and I don't know anyone that works for free.
So then you only consider the BSD license to be free?
So then you only consider the BSD license to be free?
more...
Sounds Good
Apr 21, 09:23 PM
When is Windows 8 due out?
joeboy_45101
Oct 28, 09:40 PM
Oh ****! Thanks Apple! Now, how am I supposed to get Mac OS X to run on my old Linux box?
more...
NDA74
Jan 12, 09:01 PM
Anyone who leaps to a conclusion over this is foolish and shooting themselves in the foot. Print media is dead in its current form so you'll never see events banning people just because they have an online presence.
No, you will not. But what you will see are event planners being much more selective about who they credential, until the only media you see at events are the same big media companies that have always been there, except now they're online instead of in print. Same monopolies, different medium.
No, you will not. But what you will see are event planners being much more selective about who they credential, until the only media you see at events are the same big media companies that have always been there, except now they're online instead of in print. Same monopolies, different medium.
AtHomeBoy_2000
Sep 28, 01:23 PM
All pocket doors. Very interesting.
more...
wlh99
Apr 27, 11:34 AM
I see where you going wlh99, and don't worry.. my full intention is to learn, not to get code from all of you. Many people in this thread underestimate my knowledge of objective C (and I understand why, I got lost with the pointers). I have 2 1/2 months since I started development and had 0 idea of the language or programming (I was a Pastry Chef actually :D, which is the name of my first app).
Believe me when I tell you that I know what's going on with my code. I'm aware that If you release an object that it doesn't exist you'll get an exception every time.
Making it work is a lot less important than knowing how to do it, for future work.
Back to the Code, let me go give it try.. b-back
UPDATE**
Ok, it doesn't crash now but timer still won't restart. I'm going to create another timer object (not pointer, I'll use the same pointer). I get this idea that I can't reuse or reset the same timer over again (invalidating and releasing it only pauses the timer). Wish me luck :)
Good luck.
Post your echoIt: method. If you are displaying elapsed seconds or something, the code to calculate and display that might be your issue.
Believe me when I tell you that I know what's going on with my code. I'm aware that If you release an object that it doesn't exist you'll get an exception every time.
Making it work is a lot less important than knowing how to do it, for future work.
Back to the Code, let me go give it try.. b-back
UPDATE**
Ok, it doesn't crash now but timer still won't restart. I'm going to create another timer object (not pointer, I'll use the same pointer). I get this idea that I can't reuse or reset the same timer over again (invalidating and releasing it only pauses the timer). Wish me luck :)
Good luck.
Post your echoIt: method. If you are displaying elapsed seconds or something, the code to calculate and display that might be your issue.
fsck-y dingo
Nov 8, 02:26 PM
I'm worried about getting banned for getting it (a few hours) early.
No need to worry. If you have a retail copy of the game you can play before the official release date without any issues.
Just out of curiosity, where did the games that have already been delivered come from? I ordered through Amazon with the delivery date shipping option so I won't have mine until tomorrow. If there's a place that tends to ship early I may use them next time.
No need to worry. If you have a retail copy of the game you can play before the official release date without any issues.
Just out of curiosity, where did the games that have already been delivered come from? I ordered through Amazon with the delivery date shipping option so I won't have mine until tomorrow. If there's a place that tends to ship early I may use them next time.
lordonuthin
May 8, 08:01 PM
so do you have it up and folding now?
It is folding at stock speed with threading turned off and it is doing big normal units at 3 minutes per frame. For some reason it hasn't gotten any -bigadv units since I set it up like this. It is using all 6 cores at least.
i've been working on mine this morning. i gave up on 4.0 ghz and it's now running at 3.7 ghz. i think this is stable, but i guess we'll see
3.7 is still really good, hope it stays there ok.
well i lost another bigadv unit on my alienware rig. but i did get my 2nd gtx 260 going on that machine, so that's a plus. and i just upped it to 3.7 ghz. we'll see how it goes
I'm starting to think that gpu's are the only way to go from now on; you tend not to lose wu's on them and if you do it only takes a couple of hours to catch up to where you were on the last one, not the day or 2 like bigadv units.
Hope that Alienware rig works ok now, can you get anymore gpu's in it?
It is folding at stock speed with threading turned off and it is doing big normal units at 3 minutes per frame. For some reason it hasn't gotten any -bigadv units since I set it up like this. It is using all 6 cores at least.
i've been working on mine this morning. i gave up on 4.0 ghz and it's now running at 3.7 ghz. i think this is stable, but i guess we'll see
3.7 is still really good, hope it stays there ok.
well i lost another bigadv unit on my alienware rig. but i did get my 2nd gtx 260 going on that machine, so that's a plus. and i just upped it to 3.7 ghz. we'll see how it goes
I'm starting to think that gpu's are the only way to go from now on; you tend not to lose wu's on them and if you do it only takes a couple of hours to catch up to where you were on the last one, not the day or 2 like bigadv units.
Hope that Alienware rig works ok now, can you get anymore gpu's in it?
budugu
Oct 3, 04:00 PM
I am just interested in a black Macbook pro with the new Core 2 Duo w/800 FSB ... in either 15" or 17" ... if they can come up with a better video ipod may be.
notjustjay
Mar 7, 01:06 AM
I think there are a lot of factors at play here.
One is that virtually every other company not only has to compete with Apple, but with each other. So they have to cram the most features and specs they can into a product, while making as cheap as they possibly can, in order to stay competitive.
For example, take a MacBook Pro, and find ways to make it cheaper: Well, we can replace the unibody aluminum with a plastic shell. We could remove the backlit keyboard. We could replace the glass touchpad with a cheaper part. Take out the Firewire port. Hey, look what's left: a cheap laptop. Everyone tries to get it cheaper and cheaper so they can outsell the other guys. Meanwhile, Apple puts in whatever they want and charges whatever they want, because they've built themselves up a position where they know people will still go ahead and pay it.
Also, because of the tight competition, companies are afraid to take risks. Remember when the USB por had just been introduced? This was a real chicken and egg situation for PC makers. No PC maker wants to be the first to switch to all USB ports because (a) it will cost more money to put the new ports into the board, and (b) they know it will annoy customers who will have to buy all peripherals. Customers will simply buy the competing brand because it's cheaper. Now, someone eventually sells a PC with both USB and PS/2 ports so you can slowly start the upgrade trend, but it's slow for all the above reasons.
Same for the floppy drive: nobody wants to be the first to ship without one. It would be seen as being "too different" and cause lost sales to the competition.
Then comes Apple with the iMac and its all-USB ports and no floppy. You want an iMac? You're getting USB. You're getting no floppy drive. There's simply no choice about it. There's no competition, either, and Apple is already known for being more expensive so that's not even a factor. Apple decides they want to push the standard forward, and frankly you have no real choice about it (if you intend to stick to Apple).
Then the market opens up (for USB) or perception changes (it's OK to not have a floppy drive) or Apple defines something cool that people copycat, and in all cases Apple's marketing engine claims credit for changing the industry. Repeat something enough times and everyone starts to believe it...
And, to be honest, there's also lots of confirmation bias going on.
One is that virtually every other company not only has to compete with Apple, but with each other. So they have to cram the most features and specs they can into a product, while making as cheap as they possibly can, in order to stay competitive.
For example, take a MacBook Pro, and find ways to make it cheaper: Well, we can replace the unibody aluminum with a plastic shell. We could remove the backlit keyboard. We could replace the glass touchpad with a cheaper part. Take out the Firewire port. Hey, look what's left: a cheap laptop. Everyone tries to get it cheaper and cheaper so they can outsell the other guys. Meanwhile, Apple puts in whatever they want and charges whatever they want, because they've built themselves up a position where they know people will still go ahead and pay it.
Also, because of the tight competition, companies are afraid to take risks. Remember when the USB por had just been introduced? This was a real chicken and egg situation for PC makers. No PC maker wants to be the first to switch to all USB ports because (a) it will cost more money to put the new ports into the board, and (b) they know it will annoy customers who will have to buy all peripherals. Customers will simply buy the competing brand because it's cheaper. Now, someone eventually sells a PC with both USB and PS/2 ports so you can slowly start the upgrade trend, but it's slow for all the above reasons.
Same for the floppy drive: nobody wants to be the first to ship without one. It would be seen as being "too different" and cause lost sales to the competition.
Then comes Apple with the iMac and its all-USB ports and no floppy. You want an iMac? You're getting USB. You're getting no floppy drive. There's simply no choice about it. There's no competition, either, and Apple is already known for being more expensive so that's not even a factor. Apple decides they want to push the standard forward, and frankly you have no real choice about it (if you intend to stick to Apple).
Then the market opens up (for USB) or perception changes (it's OK to not have a floppy drive) or Apple defines something cool that people copycat, and in all cases Apple's marketing engine claims credit for changing the industry. Repeat something enough times and everyone starts to believe it...
And, to be honest, there's also lots of confirmation bias going on.
iJohnHenry
Apr 18, 07:43 PM
Likewise with the Jews perhaps? :rolleyes:
Without any doubt, whatsoever.
You face the likelihood of extinction, and see how you respond.
Jews are the best example of 'survivors' on the planet at the moment.
IMNSHO.
Without any doubt, whatsoever.
You face the likelihood of extinction, and see how you respond.
Jews are the best example of 'survivors' on the planet at the moment.
IMNSHO.
Applejuiced
Apr 22, 01:11 PM
On IE7 whenever I click either the "up" or "down" arrow I get taken back to the forum index.
Same here.
It was working fine yesterday but today it just takes me to the forum index.
I got IE9 installed btw.
Same here.
It was working fine yesterday but today it just takes me to the forum index.
I got IE9 installed btw.
MacBoy108
Jan 15, 09:04 AM
:apple::apple:Apple Iz The Best!!111!!!!!1!1!!1:apple::apple:
:D
:D