Surely
Apr 8, 01:16 PM
A lot of these companies also have Agreements with the Manufacturers on when, how, and what they can sell. Maybe Apple has told them to run this promotion to help draw not only sales but accessories sales or like I said above maybe its a promo like the Back to School promo.
I dunno......it doesn't seem like Apple is having a hard time selling their iPad2 accessories, especially the Smart Cover. I don't see why Apple would ask BB to run a promotion in order to sell 3rd party accessories.
I dunno......it doesn't seem like Apple is having a hard time selling their iPad2 accessories, especially the Smart Cover. I don't see why Apple would ask BB to run a promotion in order to sell 3rd party accessories.
marksman
Mar 29, 04:53 PM
This will be a real boon the Mac Developers... First it makes it easy for Apple to determine who is eligible, if you are in the App Store, you are in.
Secondly when they announce the awards, the benefit to the developers will be more significant as people will be able to link right to them in the Apple App Store and download/install them.
I think it will end up being a real good thing for those developers partake in it.
I don't have much confidence in developers who eschew the App Store for their applications anyways, as in almost all cases it is a bad business move. I appreciate the business savvy of developers and companies who realize what a real advantage the app store model is, especially if you have a strong product.
MMCC, excuse me if I don't buy that gross and volume of your niche has gone down with the introduction of the app store. It seems pretty much impossible that volume sold for products in your niche went down... Perhaps your volume went down, but what that most likely tells me is before you were better at marketing your product than competitors, but now given equal footing as others, people are choosing some competitors over you instead.
The idea that your whole segment was moving 100000 units before the App store and now are moving 50000 units just seems impossible, unless something else effecting the segment happened. It is not because of the Apple App Store. Again though with your own words you used to capture a lot of volume off google adwords. Which means you were likely much more successful at marketing than your competitors because being successful on PPC is not easy for any product. I would focus on your product and its features and place in the market and see what you can do to improve your offering. Feedback from the users and the rest.
Someone else is getting the sales you are not getting and the new sales as well. Figure out how and why.
Secondly when they announce the awards, the benefit to the developers will be more significant as people will be able to link right to them in the Apple App Store and download/install them.
I think it will end up being a real good thing for those developers partake in it.
I don't have much confidence in developers who eschew the App Store for their applications anyways, as in almost all cases it is a bad business move. I appreciate the business savvy of developers and companies who realize what a real advantage the app store model is, especially if you have a strong product.
MMCC, excuse me if I don't buy that gross and volume of your niche has gone down with the introduction of the app store. It seems pretty much impossible that volume sold for products in your niche went down... Perhaps your volume went down, but what that most likely tells me is before you were better at marketing your product than competitors, but now given equal footing as others, people are choosing some competitors over you instead.
The idea that your whole segment was moving 100000 units before the App store and now are moving 50000 units just seems impossible, unless something else effecting the segment happened. It is not because of the Apple App Store. Again though with your own words you used to capture a lot of volume off google adwords. Which means you were likely much more successful at marketing than your competitors because being successful on PPC is not easy for any product. I would focus on your product and its features and place in the market and see what you can do to improve your offering. Feedback from the users and the rest.
Someone else is getting the sales you are not getting and the new sales as well. Figure out how and why.
macEfan
Nov 24, 08:37 PM
store.apple.com is still near crawl levels. It appears you can shop now (the whole system has been sluggish for the past few hours), but at least the products and the deals pages are working. As FC said, the order review still does not work. My errors range from no errors to connection to database problems. Gotta love Thanksgiving!
No problems for me yet. yay I got a good price on an AP express!
No problems for me yet. yay I got a good price on an AP express!
maflynn
Apr 9, 07:26 AM
I'm sure I'm going to get flamed, but to be honest, I'm more excited about what win8 will have to offer then 10.7.
The reason is Microsoft has been adding more features to windows, then apple has to OSX.
Given the anemic features that 10.7, windows 8 could be the version that I see using more then OSX. I'm splitting my time 50/50 right now.
The reason is Microsoft has been adding more features to windows, then apple has to OSX.
Given the anemic features that 10.7, windows 8 could be the version that I see using more then OSX. I'm splitting my time 50/50 right now.
more...
iphone3gs16gb
Apr 26, 10:19 AM
You're not a skinny girl. Being attacked like that typically puts one into a state of shock especially if one doesn't have the fight/flight response of a typical male.
He is a male, just like me, I can't believe you don't understand that...
He thinks he is female which is a whole other thing
That's nice. IMO, your opinions are worthless. You're just looking to stir **** up. As I said, your act is wearing thin.
I bolded a key word in your quote. IMO
I'm not looking to stir anything up, so stop insinuating.
Just because I have a different opinion from you doesn't justify your annoying statement, "your act is wearing thin"
Really guy? I could care less about what you think so stop -__-
He is a male, just like me, I can't believe you don't understand that...
He thinks he is female which is a whole other thing
That's nice. IMO, your opinions are worthless. You're just looking to stir **** up. As I said, your act is wearing thin.
I bolded a key word in your quote. IMO
I'm not looking to stir anything up, so stop insinuating.
Just because I have a different opinion from you doesn't justify your annoying statement, "your act is wearing thin"
Really guy? I could care less about what you think so stop -__-
kzoojason76
Apr 29, 01:36 PM
Does it come in "white"?
No, but I think it will make Safari snappier!!
No, but I think it will make Safari snappier!!
more...
lordonuthin
Apr 9, 07:59 PM
Looks like we are getting close to our likely max output of 270-280k ppd... Nice. Let's see if Apple wants to release new Mac pros soon now.
I'm doin' all the ppd I can without spending more money on hardware right now:D I would like to replace 5 machines with a new Mac Pro when they come out (4 really slow and my current Mac Pro). It's h**l waiting for Apple sometimes :eek: Hurry up Apple!! :apple:
What I want: Mac Pro with 12-16 cores, 24-32 threads, 2-3Ghz, 24 gigs of fast ddr3 ram, same case design outside plus usb 3.0, inside room for 3-4 2.5 inch ssd's in raid 0, 4 3.5 inch sata 2.0 or 3.0 (interchangable) and support for 3 GTX 295/480 cards.
Price $4-5k I'm not asking too much am I?
What I really want: Mac Pro with 64 cores, 256 threads, 3-4Ghz, 32 gigs of fast memristor (http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/emerging-tech/2010/04/09/memristor-discovery-could-lead-to-faster-hpc-40088582/) memory ON CHIP, 64 gigs of ddr3 ram, and a few other things in an anodized aluminum case :p
I'm doin' all the ppd I can without spending more money on hardware right now:D I would like to replace 5 machines with a new Mac Pro when they come out (4 really slow and my current Mac Pro). It's h**l waiting for Apple sometimes :eek: Hurry up Apple!! :apple:
What I want: Mac Pro with 12-16 cores, 24-32 threads, 2-3Ghz, 24 gigs of fast ddr3 ram, same case design outside plus usb 3.0, inside room for 3-4 2.5 inch ssd's in raid 0, 4 3.5 inch sata 2.0 or 3.0 (interchangable) and support for 3 GTX 295/480 cards.
Price $4-5k I'm not asking too much am I?
What I really want: Mac Pro with 64 cores, 256 threads, 3-4Ghz, 32 gigs of fast memristor (http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/emerging-tech/2010/04/09/memristor-discovery-could-lead-to-faster-hpc-40088582/) memory ON CHIP, 64 gigs of ddr3 ram, and a few other things in an anodized aluminum case :p
maflynn
Apr 8, 09:48 AM
What I don't like about Windows 7 is the registry.
Realistically how often have you needed to go into regedit to alter the registry. At my company they restrict access to the registry and it has not impacted my users one bit.
I maintain about 30+ windows servers and while I have needed to go into the registry on occasion its a rarity. While I agree that the usage of the registry is a weak point for windows, its not as bad as some people make it out.
Apple has similar issues that need to be fixed from the terminal, like rebuilding the launchservices database.
Realistically how often have you needed to go into regedit to alter the registry. At my company they restrict access to the registry and it has not impacted my users one bit.
I maintain about 30+ windows servers and while I have needed to go into the registry on occasion its a rarity. While I agree that the usage of the registry is a weak point for windows, its not as bad as some people make it out.
Apple has similar issues that need to be fixed from the terminal, like rebuilding the launchservices database.
more...
killuminati
Sep 8, 09:52 AM
So Saunders then what you're saying is that to believe in god you can't swear? He's not sending mixed messages because his songs aren't saying ******* god.
And just so you know, compared to any other big rappers right now, Kanye doesn't swear at all. He has the cleanest lyrics of any of the current big rappers because he isn't gangsta rap.
And just so you know, compared to any other big rappers right now, Kanye doesn't swear at all. He has the cleanest lyrics of any of the current big rappers because he isn't gangsta rap.
ctrobins
Jul 21, 11:58 AM
Nokia???? What's a 'Nokia'?
more...
vansouza
Oct 20, 12:10 PM
After living in the PC world since 1981 I got myself a Mac mini this year; just to keep my iPod 4G in line... XP was always blowing away my music... Then I got a 24" iMac and a 5 and a 5.5G iPod... All that has to help Steve's numbers... so how many Mac users really have more then just one machine?
How many of us found PCs so perfect that we ran out and got one more... I think there is a very real difference in the user experience...
How many of us found PCs so perfect that we ran out and got one more... I think there is a very real difference in the user experience...
Nekbeth
Apr 26, 08:52 PM
thanks ulbador, the OP understands now :D
If OP wasn't confused he wouldn't have created a thread.
If OP wasn't confused he wouldn't have created a thread.
more...
lordonuthin
Apr 10, 11:47 AM
dang. yeah, not asking for much huh :cool:
but don't be surprised if you don't get half of that, and it costs $6k.
this is one of the main things that bothers me about apple. i just don't understand why they wait so long to update the mac pros like this. at least announce something
I know... but I can always hope :p
It used to be worse when we had to wait for Motorola/IBM to produce enough chips, there were almost always delays in production because of yield issues or something else.
but don't be surprised if you don't get half of that, and it costs $6k.
this is one of the main things that bothers me about apple. i just don't understand why they wait so long to update the mac pros like this. at least announce something
I know... but I can always hope :p
It used to be worse when we had to wait for Motorola/IBM to produce enough chips, there were almost always delays in production because of yield issues or something else.
iMeowbot
Sep 25, 10:23 PM
And in many ways, Adobe Lightroom has more features than Aperture, particularly (useful) editing tools so that you don't always have to go into Photoshop. The DEVELOP mode in Lightroom is rather brilliant.
They really are doing nice things with the customer feedback. The Library portion, if it picks up enough features to truly replace Bridge (the revised name leaves room for optimism), would make this this scary good.
They really are doing nice things with the customer feedback. The Library portion, if it picks up enough features to truly replace Bridge (the revised name leaves room for optimism), would make this this scary good.
more...
ChazUK
Apr 16, 04:13 AM
Next up, Google gives away songs for free. Inserts targeted ads every 30 seconds of music. Fandroids flood the Web to tell us all how awesome Android and "free" Google music are and what a greedy jerk Steve Jobs is for selling songs.
You know it's coming.
What are you basing this on, the current ststus of Android OS for being FOSS? There are no advertising components built into Android OS, unlike iOS with iAds. What's made you insinuate this "free" thing as being a negative anyway?
I bet there are plenty of people who use ad supported music serivces like we7.com and spotify free, and god forbid those tight arses who listten to free music on the radio. Are these people inferior to you for doing so?
You know it's coming.
What are you basing this on, the current ststus of Android OS for being FOSS? There are no advertising components built into Android OS, unlike iOS with iAds. What's made you insinuate this "free" thing as being a negative anyway?
I bet there are plenty of people who use ad supported music serivces like we7.com and spotify free, and god forbid those tight arses who listten to free music on the radio. Are these people inferior to you for doing so?
BBEmployee
Apr 8, 02:42 PM
I'm a current employee at Best Buy and thought I'd offer my two cents on a few issues.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.
That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.
In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.
I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:
1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.
Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.
Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.
Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...
2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.
So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.
All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.
Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.
As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.
Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.
But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.
At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.
Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.
I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.
more...
PeterQVenkman
Apr 5, 03:02 PM
Is it too late for April Fool's?
Edit - I kinda want a McRib now...
Edit - I kinda want a McRib now...
ThaDoggg
May 4, 09:43 AM
Oh boy do I ever love these Apple commercials. Great marketing team.
tvguru
Sep 12, 03:15 AM
no, I wouldn't prefer osx media player, i'm not saying that I would prefer anything different, imedia would make more sense, but there's no way apple would change the name of there most well known software.
I figured you didn't I was just kidding. :o I do agree that if they continue to incorporate more into iTunes it won't have that simple iLife feel. Where you just grab a Mac for the first time and there's no thinking involved on what goes where. I also agree that the name is too significant at this stage for them to change it, a lot of average computer users would be confused the next time they go to upgrade and use the new named version. I'm sure they've thought of something for a full movie download service, but who knows?
I figured you didn't I was just kidding. :o I do agree that if they continue to incorporate more into iTunes it won't have that simple iLife feel. Where you just grab a Mac for the first time and there's no thinking involved on what goes where. I also agree that the name is too significant at this stage for them to change it, a lot of average computer users would be confused the next time they go to upgrade and use the new named version. I'm sure they've thought of something for a full movie download service, but who knows?
GFLPraxis
Jan 9, 04:03 PM
I'm ticked off too, I but luckily I only refreshed this page once or twice so all I know is that they announced one product, I've missed most of the details.
When's the dang video gonna be up?
I didn't see the ticker though. I'm ticked because of people IMing me.
When's the dang video gonna be up?
I didn't see the ticker though. I'm ticked because of people IMing me.
Avatar74
Jan 15, 01:57 PM
Personally, I think the expectations here are bordering on ridiculous. Also, when you have everyone looking to Steve Jobs for religious validation, lining up hours in advance for a freaking keynote speech... you're bound to disappoint yourself.
Frankly, Apple still has the most impressive portfolio of products, and the innovations announced today still up the bar. It's foolish to expect an iPod or an iPhone scale innovation every year from any company, even Apple.
And face it... because you and I aren't everyone, they aren't going to please everyone.
As I figured when it came out, I think the real winner here is AppleTV... there's a reason for that.
We're on the edge of a technological convergence of entertainment media. Apple appears to be moving slowly away from the concept of removable storage to wireless streaming, and AppleTV is no small part of that.
Steve Jobs said it would eventually be the 4th leg in their portfolio... And with the rentals model, and the ability to search and purchase movies and music from the interface, along with all its other features, AppleTV is unlocking a door that others are already committing to follow...including Netflix and LG.
The one problem in picking that lock for Apple has been HD... and they're clearly reading the public sentiment and working on upping the ante with HD and SD viewable content on AppleTV, iPod, iPhone, Mac, PC, etc.
This is really the future of technology... and one of Apple's big goals... to connect your office, your living room and your mobile existence all together.
But if you were expecting it all to happen at once... think again. The public is not ready for that, and the R&D costs alone, plus deployment, would be tremendous and if you operate like Microsoft you find yourself spending 7 years to deploy a bigger leap only to find out it's a dud. Apple is smart for taking kiddie steps before they run with it.
The next kiddie step, I suspect, is multitouch... Granted, I'm sure some were hoping for a full blown multitouch display. I know I was.. but not everyone is ready for that experience just yet. In fact, I'd say a lot of people are't.
So Apple is introducing it gradually... first Mighty Mouse (yes, this is a capacitance sensing surface), then iPhone, now the multitouch trackpad... sooner or later they're going to have enough public reaction to tell them when the right time to go full-throttle will be.
That's part of the game, guys, they release a step below the "product to end all products" that you are asking of them so they can figure out what works, what doesnt, and then invest in the improvements. Otherwise, they could go broke pretty damn quickly... and then you're left with nothing to look forward to except the next Toshiba POS laptop or the next iteration of Windows sometime 15 years from now...
So keep voicing the concerns, but my feeling is... If you want to do more than just vent and actually have your concerns taken as serious criticism and not the ravings of a disappointed fanboy, try voicing them constructively, and at the same time know the old adage... caveat emptor... let the buyer beware. No one puts a gun to your head to buy this stuff. Before you go shelling out for gadgets or getting your expectations up, do some research and lower your expectations.
I'm just happy that the company that introduced me to computers 30 years ago is still around making great hardware.
Frankly, Apple still has the most impressive portfolio of products, and the innovations announced today still up the bar. It's foolish to expect an iPod or an iPhone scale innovation every year from any company, even Apple.
And face it... because you and I aren't everyone, they aren't going to please everyone.
As I figured when it came out, I think the real winner here is AppleTV... there's a reason for that.
We're on the edge of a technological convergence of entertainment media. Apple appears to be moving slowly away from the concept of removable storage to wireless streaming, and AppleTV is no small part of that.
Steve Jobs said it would eventually be the 4th leg in their portfolio... And with the rentals model, and the ability to search and purchase movies and music from the interface, along with all its other features, AppleTV is unlocking a door that others are already committing to follow...including Netflix and LG.
The one problem in picking that lock for Apple has been HD... and they're clearly reading the public sentiment and working on upping the ante with HD and SD viewable content on AppleTV, iPod, iPhone, Mac, PC, etc.
This is really the future of technology... and one of Apple's big goals... to connect your office, your living room and your mobile existence all together.
But if you were expecting it all to happen at once... think again. The public is not ready for that, and the R&D costs alone, plus deployment, would be tremendous and if you operate like Microsoft you find yourself spending 7 years to deploy a bigger leap only to find out it's a dud. Apple is smart for taking kiddie steps before they run with it.
The next kiddie step, I suspect, is multitouch... Granted, I'm sure some were hoping for a full blown multitouch display. I know I was.. but not everyone is ready for that experience just yet. In fact, I'd say a lot of people are't.
So Apple is introducing it gradually... first Mighty Mouse (yes, this is a capacitance sensing surface), then iPhone, now the multitouch trackpad... sooner or later they're going to have enough public reaction to tell them when the right time to go full-throttle will be.
That's part of the game, guys, they release a step below the "product to end all products" that you are asking of them so they can figure out what works, what doesnt, and then invest in the improvements. Otherwise, they could go broke pretty damn quickly... and then you're left with nothing to look forward to except the next Toshiba POS laptop or the next iteration of Windows sometime 15 years from now...
So keep voicing the concerns, but my feeling is... If you want to do more than just vent and actually have your concerns taken as serious criticism and not the ravings of a disappointed fanboy, try voicing them constructively, and at the same time know the old adage... caveat emptor... let the buyer beware. No one puts a gun to your head to buy this stuff. Before you go shelling out for gadgets or getting your expectations up, do some research and lower your expectations.
I'm just happy that the company that introduced me to computers 30 years ago is still around making great hardware.
KnightWRX
Apr 26, 09:37 AM
Oh please don't be so smart. What you say means to lose the pixel density of Retina Display. Would you want that?
Considering the treshold is 300 PPI for "Retina" at 12 inches of distance and that the iPhone 4 has 326 PPI at 3.5", yes I say we can afford to lose a few PPI for a bigger screen. In the end, it will still be "Retina" (as in you can't distinguish individual pixels at a normal viewing distance).
Anyway, it's not like a screen being "Retina" or not has any effect on a developer. If both screens are 960x640, the developer has nothing to change with his code or art at all. It will all work, no matter the actual screen size. What does being a developer even have to do with losing some PPI ? Nothing. Nothing at all.
Considering the treshold is 300 PPI for "Retina" at 12 inches of distance and that the iPhone 4 has 326 PPI at 3.5", yes I say we can afford to lose a few PPI for a bigger screen. In the end, it will still be "Retina" (as in you can't distinguish individual pixels at a normal viewing distance).
Anyway, it's not like a screen being "Retina" or not has any effect on a developer. If both screens are 960x640, the developer has nothing to change with his code or art at all. It will all work, no matter the actual screen size. What does being a developer even have to do with losing some PPI ? Nothing. Nothing at all.
wildmac
Nov 24, 08:41 PM
nah. they're just updating the mb/p line
LOL! Santa Rosa introduced on Tuesday... :D (just kidding!)
LOL! Santa Rosa introduced on Tuesday... :D (just kidding!)
krestfallen
Oct 17, 09:53 AM
I do , I have 140Gb of Photos from my DSLR (and previous digital cameras) putting this on 3 discs rather than 40 discs would be great
I also have 28Gb of music, backing up form itunes to 1 disc rather than 8 would also be useful
word *knock on table*
i got the same problem :-P
I also have 28Gb of music, backing up form itunes to 1 disc rather than 8 would also be useful
word *knock on table*
i got the same problem :-P
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