Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Livermore, Privacy, Nixieness
Fancy titles attract bigger budgets. SeanAhern writes: "Following up on last week's Slashdot article about LLNL's role in the new Department of Homeland Security, it turns out that LLNL will not change its role or change hands. Instead, LLNL may become a 'center for excellence,' essentially taking on a research role for the new Department. More information can be found in a couple of articles around the press."
Why not just shout it cashier-to-cashier? jqcoffey writes: "A while ago it was discovered that Best Buy was using wireless LANs to transmit cash register data back to accounting servers. The problem was it was UN-encrypted data. They turned them off for a while and now, according to this Computerworld story, they are back on."
Maglev for the Maglevians! LighthouseJ writes: "The Hampton Roads Virginia paper, the Pilot recently reported that my current school, Old Dominion University, recently installed the very first maglev train in the United States on the elevated track already built the previous school year. This train won't go that fast (40 mph) compared to the bullet trains that travel at 300 mph, but at the same token, it won't be traveling that far. The service has been scheduled to start September 1st.
There is some information I have about the maglev that's not mentioned. First, the school is in a rectangle, with the maglev built in the center length-wise. It connects the main campus with the new construction happening across the major road, Hampton Rd and has 3 stations planned now with more to come as the track may extend in the future. They are building more housing, education and meeting places, and the maglev will facilitate safe transportation across that road for students and faculty."
Can this really be the first Mag-lev train in the U.S.? A nifty project regardless.
When a Rolex just isn't good enough. fixitsan2 writes: "I know this thread has been gone over before, when it appeared at the start of February, but ironically, about the same time as the thread ended a group was started on Yahoo!. Not only was it a fast-growing newsgroup, but the technical standard is extremely high. Covering all aspects of building nixie tube clocks as well as other nixie devices including safe power generation, and all display methods from direct drive to multiplexing, as well as lots of circuits and tube sources.
A quick look at the welcome page will give you a fuller idea of what gets discussed."
Check it out here
If it's down, then it's probably been slashdotted.
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature / un02/nixi.html
That makes me really, really glad that I refuse to sign Best Buy's electronic signature pads and tell them to let me sign paper instead.
I know about the arguments that claim that it's just as easy to steal a receipt or carbons, but making it as easy as pulling up front with a wireless card? No, thanks. And yes, I do shred my receipts when I'm done with them.
"It is our blasphemy which has made us great, and will sustain us, and which the gods secretly admire in us." - Zelazny
I was amazed when my friend showed me all of the places that have unsecured networks. For example, the FedEx building next door to where he works has such a powerful broadcast that if you stand by a window in his office, you can pick up their network.
A simple drive around town, and you can pick up 15 to 20 unencrypted and unsecured networks. Not to mention all of the ones that use cheesy WEP encryption that is really not that hard to break. When are people gonna learn...?
--Jason
"I used to have a sig, but it took up too much space so I got rid of it!"
so is that data not encrypted, or is encrypted by the evil socialist conspiricy that is the United Nations?
It appears that you are full of shit, and it is exactly the same story here. The same company (ISS), and the same observation that their "patch" doesn't fix the problem.
The MSNBC article is typically light on details, but it certainly appears to be exactly what Slashdot reported.
-------------------------
A person of moderate zeal
A few months ago I went to Best Try's site at 4 in the afternoon to be greeded by a "running maintainance" page. Ever since then I've had the feeling their tech support people we inept.
This should not suprise me, as I have yet to have a good experience in their store. The salespeople are, and look, clueless. I have thown them for a loop too many times with questions like "how much does the item in the end isle display cost, there is no tag". I have never waited in line there less than 10 minutes, and the "anti-theft" thing goes off every 10 people or so; the guy with who looks like a thug (who's polo shirt doesn't fit) then has to check reciepts. It is all just a ploy to eliminate shoplifting, like the very visible camera monitor you have to walk around to get into the store. The place is run like the don't trust any of their customers. Not a place that makes you feel welcome.
It short, it is auwful. If there was another major electronics store in the area (closest "equal" class competitor is an hour away) they would not get any of my business.
I aviod them at every opportunity. Too bas they are the only place I can find certain items around here.
-Pete
Soccer Goal Plans
"The company does, however, use wireless LANs for inventory and stocking operations. " I have worked at three different retail companies: Sears, Staples, and Target. Each one of those companies uses a wireless lan for inventory scanners. I'm sure my experience is not coincidence. What point is the author trying to make there?
Most likely negligible. An efficient system wouldn't put magnetic fields into the passenger compartment--it would be a waste. I wager anything that leaks can be blocked by a fairly thin ferro-magnetic shield.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Best Buy's worst practices for data security
*Comic Book Guy* Worst practices ever!
I pledge allegiance to the flag...
of the Corporate States of America...
"We don't have bestbuy her (UK), but from all their problems, its a wonder people still shop there..."
That's because those of us that are satisfied Best Buy customers don't want to argue with people who require a salesman to show them which Compaq to buy. You can imagine how that convo'd go, right?
"That stupid Best Buy salesman had no idea what a hard-drive is!"
"err, why did you need a Best Buy salesman to tell you what a hard drive is?"
"STFU!"
"Hey! All I'm saying is..."
"Look those salesman making $8 should know everything there is to know about what I want! I mean if they don't know what a hard drive is, why are they selling there anyway?"
"Fair enough, but if you know so much about what you're looking for, why do you need their help?"
From there the f word is used alot. Heh. You can see why none of us want to rush to Best Buy's defense. Most of the reasoning I've heard so far is typical of any retailer, not just Best Buy. They just had their bad straw drawn at Best Buy.
"Derp de derp."
WVU has had the PRT for a donkey's age. Sure it doesn't float, but it got my drunken ass around campus, to and from football games, and out to tutor engineers with ease.
Truly neat stuff.
Of course, getting stuck on one packed with students on a hot day sucked, but that's what deodorant is for anyway...
Its the same reason people shop at Fry's or anywhere else -- when you balance the equation of convenience, location, price, selection, staff, policies, and so on, for many things it balances out to be pretty much the best option, sometimes the only option.
I try to avoid it if I can, even going to more upscale shops, but even when customer service isn't Best Buy Awful, they're still ingratiating college drop outs who are just training for the big league of automobile and photocopier sales.
The maglev train is a good thing for ODU as the school is just to close to downtown Norfolk for comfort. Something like this might have kept me from getting my bike stolen and spared me the "enlightened comments" from the campus police as we drove around the more shady sections looking for it. On the plus side, my renter's insurance paid for a brand new bike, even better than the one that was stolen!
Drive to your nearest Best Buy and change the price of the GeForces to $0!!!
Humorously,
--pi
And pointing this out to slashdot, you just ensured it won't stay that way for very long.
way to sterotype.
I do not need to know what a hard drive is, or how to change one, but a great many people do, and BestBuy Technical people should at least know the basics, but they can seldom answer basic HD questions. A good example of this is when I went to one a few years ago, and want to purchase a 10G HD. I asked the guy behind the technical counter if they had any, he said "No we only have 8 Gig hard drives, but since windows can't partion above 8Gig, so it doesn't matter"
I said "Its not for Windows"
with a smug attitide. he said "No operating system can see a hard disk larger then 8 Gig"
At which point I just turned and left.
Send data unencrypted is a nother perfectly valid camplaint against best buy.
As is there secuity methods.
Of course this is the same place that told me HDTV can store twice as much data then a CD.
I still haven't figured that one out.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"with a smug attitide. he said "No operating system can see a hard disk larger then 8 Gig"
You have really high expectations of a guy who makes $8 an hour.
I mean seriously, I used to be a salesman, I know for a fact his job is not to be knowledgable. His job is to make sure you leave money behind before you leave the store. You should never depend on 'expert' advice from the guy that you are buying from. Nobody has ever gotten a BS degree and went on to sell computers.
If you need to know what type of RAM your computer uses, look it up. If you need to know whether or not you want a Radeon or a Geforce, then go to www.tomshardware.com. If you want to know which way to the hard-drive aisle, then you may ask the guy in the blue shirt.
I'm not telling you this to say "You're dumb and you don't know how to shop at Best Buy...", I'm telling you this because no retail chain trains their salespeople to dispense facts, only incentives to buy. Take any of these stories about Best Buy, go through in Notepad and replace 'Best Buy' with 'Circuit City', and guess what, you get a believable story.
The only knowledgable sales people I've ever met sold video games.
"Derp de derp."
The Black Mesa Federal Research Facility had a maglev train, at least, until it was destroyed by aliens from planet Xen.
Naturally, I received a response saying that "the store said that this did not happen." I haven't shopped there since.
December 26, 2001
Richard M. Schultze
Chairman & CEO
Best Buy Co., Inc.
7075 Flying Cloud Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Cc: Allen Lenzmeier
President
Best Buy Retail Stores
Dear Mr. Schultze,
I am writing you in regards to the events that took place today, December 26, 2001, at Best Buy #516 (Alpharetta, GA). First I would like to mention that I don't usually write letters to executives such as you concerning the conduct of low-level employees, but I felt that the events that occurred today warranted such action.
I received two $25 gift cards for Christmas this year, and went to visit my local Best Buy to redeem them. I purchased several DVD movies, as well as a computer cable. My total, after the gift cards were applied, was approximately $65. To my knowledge, retail companies issue gift cards not only for the assurance of a future purchase but also in the hope the customer will purchase other merchandise beyond the amount to be redeemed. I did exactly this with no reservations and came away pleased with my purchase.
As I am sure you can imagine, the store was an absolute zoo due to the holiday season, and the lines at the registers where backed up across the central aisle and spilled over into the music section. As I was exiting the store another customer about seven feet ahead of me set off the alarm, I, however, continued through and as the alarm did not activate so of course I felt that there was no reason to remain on the premises. At that time, a loss prevention employee ran out of the store and demanded to see my receipt. This particular employee, whose nametag read Josh, has in the past demanded I show him my receipt a good majority of the times he is on duty heedless of what I had just purchased and without the reasonable doubt that activating the security gates may imply. Out of these dozen or more "checks," this employee has not once found anything but the items listed on the receipt inside of my bag. Such dogged persistence to search my purchases with no justifiable reason has made it difficult to interact with him not only as an employee but as a person as well.
Today, I had just waited 20 minutes to check out, and another 10 minutes for the clerk to locate the BestBuy.com order I was picking up; I was in no mood to be made to wait a third time. Knowing that there was no reason whatsoever for the employee to continue to subject me to such scrutiny, I chose rather to inform him that I was leaving instead of submitting once again to his suspicions and started walking off towards my car. He continued to pursue me, at which point I became upset that this harassment was still taking place. Rather than maintain a civilized approach to the situation he proceeded to stand in front of my path and grab at my bag. After "bumping" me with his chest and pushing me with his hands a verbal confrontation ensued, during which the employee stated to me "Why don't you go fuck yourself". Following this, I was trying my best to simply escape the situation, since I knew that if he continued to markedly provoke me in this manner, I might lose my temper. That was the last thing I wanted to happen; especially in light of the fact that it was the day after Christmas and I simply wished to enjoy my day off from work with my younger brother. He can independently verify my account if you deem it necessary.
As I was trying to leave, the employee grabbed my shopping bag and refused to release it. In accordance with my desire to avoid any further escalation, I was able to forcibly regain the bag by pulling it out of his hands. By this time, a store manager and several other employees began to approach us in the parking lot. Seeing as none of them had witnessed the event or the actions of the employee, I turned and began to walk to my car, rather than have the confrontation continue with more accusations and yelling. As I was leaving "Josh" continued to yell after me, and the manager called me an "asshole" behind my back before telling me to "never come back." There is simply no excuse for this type of behavior from any retail employee, and certainly not from a Best Buy employee.
In order to demonstrate the extent of my patronage, I have included several documents. First, I have attached a report generated from my Microsoft Money file that details all of the purchases I have made since August using my debit card. According to the report, this total is just over $2,000. Since I only use my debit card about 50% of the time, I have included copies of a number of receipts that I have just been able to locate from around my apartment. As you can see, I am a frequent shopper, and I make multiple purchases per week at your Alpharetta location. I stop by almost every Tuesday to purchase the newly released DVD movies that have recently been made available to the public. As a matter of fact, this is the reason I went shopping in your store today... to pickup a movie I had ordered from BestBuy.com as well as two others that I wished to purchase. The statement the manager made to me that I should "never come back" is disappointing to me.
I know that as an executive, you have many priorities that occupy your time, but I felt that this situation is of such magnitude that it demands the attention of yourself or someone who is directly involved at a district level.
I hope you are able to use this information to improve your customer service, and in through that customer service, improve the customer relationships that are so important for Best Buy to continue to succeed in the marketplace. Thank you for your attention to this matter and for your time. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how this situation can be resolved.
Regards,
....
It's been over 10 years since I went to disney world, but don't they have a maglev train in "tomorrowland"?
If a store employee runs out after you and physically grabs your purchase out of your hands, an appropriate response would be to open your mouth and start yelling "HELP! POLICE! I'M BEING ASSAULTED AND ROBBED! HELP! POLICE!" as loudly as you possibly can, while pointing at the employee.
I guarantee you that:
1) This will get the attention of everyone within hearing range, who will all stop to stare at the altercation. That generally will make the employee pretty damn uncomfortable with what they're doing, although of course they will try to act like you're some kind of lunatic. Knowing that everyone is watching will, however, force them to adhere to some minimal standard of decent behavior.
2) This suddenly puts a whole different spin on how the store has to handle the situation: instead of being on the offensive, claiming you're some kind of bad customer, they're on the defensive, trying to fend off the accusation that their employees assault their customers.
Although, to be honest, any employee who physically grabs my shopping bag out of my hands is in danger of being hit: That *is* assault around here, and I *do* have the right to defend myself, and if they actually physically fought a bag out of my hands I would be likely to defend myself before stopping to consider the situation.
That's the danger of such employees: they pick on the wrong person and they may find that they've chosen to assault someone who has faster self-defense reflexes, suddenly the police are involved, and it won't be the customer who gets arrested and sued.
Now that the store has told you, "Don't ever come back," make sure to tell all of your friends about it so they know that the store doesn't want people like you as customers, so they obviously must not want any of your friends as customers either.
If you bring a bag in, the security guy will ask you to leave it in the car, or leave it with him. Seems fair enough, doesn't it?
By contrast, my friendly neighbourhood PC shop will let you wander through the back and rob them blind, so long as you come in with the cash in the next few days...
The key word is 'static' Maglev trains use Electro-magnetic fields (EMFs.) Due to the nature of EMFs it is quite easy to point them in one specific direction, and it is also easy to shield them. Since they pulse with variance in the current they are believed (by some) to cause lukemia and certain other forms of cancer, evidence of this is primarily from studies done on long term exposure to the very high dosage EMF in a power generation plant. There isn't even an iota of proof that power lines, or Monitors produce enough. Maglev trains only produce a strong enough field to effect anyone if they're riding underneath the train, which has a number of other nasty side effects, like contusions, abrasions and permanent hearing loss, should one survive.
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
I would think that you could get all of the advantages of maglev at a fraction of the price by using a thin air cushion underneath the train instead of magnetic levitation.
It would certainly make your track cheaper: an air cushion train could run on concrete.
Jon Acheson
All opinions expressed herein are my own, and not those of my employers, who are appalled.
...it's just not a very useful one. The WEDWay PeopleMover in Disney World--now renamed the "Tomorrowland Transit Authority"--isn't called a mag-lev, but as it uses linear induction motors and no wheels, it's a low-speed relative. (And it bears no relation to the PeopleMover that used to be at Disneyland.)
"What's disturbing is that people from my parents' generation seem to have a deep-seated expectation that the salespeople really will know what they're talking about..."
Heh it's funny because the term 'Salesman' implies "Man who sells", as opposed to "Man who knows what he's talking about."
Sometimes they hide the fact by calling them 'advisors'. They all do the same thing, though: They make sure you buy something.
"Derp de derp."
Sorry, had to get that off my chest.
Bleh!