And they continue to choose to buy Microsoft's products... this despite multiple lawsuits, reliability and security issues, and questions regarding the company's business ethics.
::shrug:: All I know is that there are options out there other than Microsoft's offerings that work just as well, and in many/most cases they work better. Microsoft is in a position to make a hell of a lot of money, and they are. That is what happens with capitalism, if you do things right you have the opportunity to rise above everyone else. The only way it can happen, however, is if enough people want your product.
Once again, blame the industry and the consumers. Bill Gates didn't make himself rich and powerful; we did.
I can honestly say that after setting up XBConnect on my computer as well as some of my friends, it is a bit of a pain to do it...but it's totally worth it:-)
Back on topic, however, I completely agree with you. You don't need top of the line hardware to enjoy the majority of PC games out there. And if you need a super-expensive video card to support the resolution required by your monitor...you should have bought a different monitor.
Obligatory car anology: It's like buying a $60,000 car without having the money to maintain it. If you can't afford the video card, don't buy the monitor.
See, that's the thing though. Microsoft didn't become a monopoly (by legal definition) by force. People bought their products en masse. Microsoft didn't hold a gun to their heads...it happend because the consumers CHOSE to buy their products. Consumers have no one to blame but themselves.
It's not like Bill Gates is the only shifty business guy out there. He was just the most successful one, and as such he is the one that people cry about the most.
I don't agree with his practices or ethics, but from a business standpoint, the man is a genius and one of the most successful in the world. There is no denying that he has accomplished the near impossible. Whether you agree with it or not is irrelevant: business is business, and in this case, Bill Gates smashed one out of the park.
The fact that he earns more money while trimming his nose hair than most of us will ever see in our entire lives is proof enough of that. Recognizing someone's business success while acknowledging their shortcomings as a person doesn't make you a pussy, you know...it's ok to admire someone while hating them.
Furthermore, console makers have this tendency to lock you into their proprietary games networks, and unlike the PC it is not possible to get around this.
Agreed. It's funny, I remember when my parents got their first 4-head VCR (the previous one they had was only a 2-head) The picture quality was night and day, I couldn't believe it!
Then I saw DVD hooked up to our same 32" Sony Trinitron via s-video. I nearly crapped myself.
There's absolutely no denying that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray look considerably better than just an upscaled DVD. The question is, are retailers going to be able to convince that there is a big enough difference that warrents a couple thousand dollars to get started, as well as increased prices every time they buy movies.
People sometimes say "well, it worked with DVD and VHS!" That's because DVD was an ENTIRELY different technology...no rewinding, perfect still images, clear and focused slow-mo, chapter selections, extra features, multiple language and audio, etc.
Blu-Ray, even with its "internet enabled extra features", is at its core nothing more than a prettier version of DVD. It's not nearly the leap that VHS to DVD was, and as such I think it's going to be much much harder to convince folks to switch (ESPECIALLY considering how much cheaper DVD is, both for the player and the movies.)
...seeing as HD-DVD is dead as a movie format, that would make it the PERFECT format for Microsoft to use for their next gaming system.
Think about it. They need more space than DVD9 can hold, right? If blank HD-DVD discs and burners are not going to be manufactured anymore, but Microsoft uses HD-DVD discs for its games...that will certainly help out in their "fight against piracy". It will (should) make things a bit tougher. Not to mention it would give them a format with a much higher capacity than DVD, and the best part is IT'S ALREADY A DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY! Their R&D costs would be next to nothing, as it's already been done!
If Microsoft were smart (in my opinion, which when it comes to business doesn't amount to much) they would say screw Blu-Ray, we will release all of our Xbox games on HD-DVD, make the box a kick-ass dvd upscaler, and there ya go. Fighting blu-ray with a good dvd upscaler, an already produced format for increased space for games, a format which blank media and recorders are no longer available to the public, and one that would cost significantly less than a console that uses blu-ray technology.
Rampant stupidity aside, I think that if Microsoft will integrate Blu-Ray into their consoles it won't be until the next Xbox is released.
Not to mention there is still no garuntee that Blu-Ray will win...it beat out HD-DVD, but now it has to beat out plain vanilla DVD. Sony may have been able to win by buying out some of the movie studios, but it's real challange lies ahead: convincing folks to stop buying DVDs and DVD players (which can be had for thirty dollars) and buy Blu-Ray discs and players (whose prices have gone up, not down since there is no long any viable HD competition)
Sony's biggest hurdle, really, will be convincing your average joe everyman that there is a significant enough difference between DVD and Blu-Ray to drop a couple thousand on a TV, a few hundred on a player, and on average pay $5-$15 more per movie. Not saying it's impossible or won't happen, I'm just saying that getting rid of HD-DVD was the easy part.
I'm well aware that what I do isn't complicated, it's the volume that keeps me busy.
Get a job that requires more skill than mailing and recording stuff and you'll get paid more.
As stated in a post further up in the thread, I was a mechanic for three years at a private dealership, two of which were spent as a shop foreman. In my last year as a mechanic, I pulled in about 50k. I had to give it up due to a physical injury, however.
The ease of my job combined with the high volume of it is why I love it. Between my salary and my girlfriend's salary (she is a 3rd grade special ed teacher) we have enough to own our own condo, have no debt (other than the condo, of course), drive cars that we have bought, and even manage to save a little.
I'll worry about making more money when I'm older (I turn 24 in a week, she is 23) For right now, though, I like having an easy job that for me is very mentally satisfying and earns enough to pay the bills...not to mention one that is just a 9-5 in which I leave all my work at work when I go home at the end of the day (as opposed to the 12-14 hour days that I commonly pulled working at a dealer)
pop-hiphop isn't any better. Take a classic, throw some base drums in and 'rap' about bitches, money and all the luxury items you own.
A far cry from pop-hiphop, I highly HIGHLY suggest you check out Immortal Technique. More specifically, the albums Revolutionary Vol. 1 and Portable Immortal. Most honest and true political poetry I've ever heard.
Um, no, train other existing workers to do one of the stated tasks (the mail merge) themselves, completely removing the need for a dedicated worker for that job.
That's the point. The didn't need to train me because I came to the job already having the knowledge of how to do that. Money and time saved. And I'm not a dedicated worker for that job, it's just part of what I do. Prior to my taking on that responsibility, they DID have a fully dedicated person who did it. Now that person can do mail merge issues as well as other things.
The second job you listed, the recording of phone calls, can be handled by a machine; and with the first one, once you've replaced the other two, could either be amalgamated into someone's else responsibilities, or be obviated by automating the process of delivering of the consent forms in the first place.
True, the recording of phone calls can be handled by a machine. This is something my company has actually mentioned numerous times to our clients. Every last one of them has insisted on having a human record the calls. What their motivations are, I'm not sure, but seeing as they are the ones that pay us, we listen.
My wife would disagree with you about my not being liked as a human being (though to be fair, my ex-wife would agree with you).
I don't have any employees, and I'm not a Fortune 500 CEO. But that doesn't mean I don't understand the basics of efficiency and management, two things which you fail to grasp.
Based on what you started your post out with, it would seem obvious to me that you don't understand the basics of efficiency and management. If one person volunteers to do the job of three people, has the skills to do so without requiring training, AND is able to complete all the work on time...why WOULDN'T you say yes to that?
Considering you know nothing of my career and have made grossly inaccurate assumptions not just about that but about my lifestyle as well, how can you be in a position to guarantee any sort of knowledge about the quality of my "existence"?
I based what I said mainly on you stating that I should ignore my achievements because someone else apparently is achieving more. What kind of way is that to look at life?
Don't get angry at me because I pointed out you have a pointless job that doesn't do anything important for your company that can't be replaced by a well written shell script.
I never said I couldn't be replaced. Everyone is replaceable. My point is that I am enabling my company to operate in a more efficient manner, with less overhead, and above all else I volunteered for it. I have no problem being worked like a dog. I rather enjoy it, to be honest.
Go get some real skills and get a better job
I did have a better job. I was a mechanic for three years (ages 18-21), in which I made a little under 50k in my last year at a privately owned dealership. After just one year of being on the job, I was made shop foreman. I was the boss of people twice my age who had been working on cars longer than I have been alive. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not skilled.
I had to end that career due to physical injury. I didn't want to, but I had to. I work behind a desk now. I absolutely love my job, regardless of how mundane it may be in comparison to working on cars or how much less I get paid.
and stop wasting your time justifying your existence to someone who doesn't really care about you in the first place.
Last I checked, this started by you responding to one of my posts, not the other way around bud.
Every single one of which could be easily replaced by a well-written program, or by simply providing some basic training to the other employees
Right. Replace one worker who takes 29k a year off your bottom line with three workers who would take more than triple that a year off your bottom line, AND require more management because it's three employees, not one. Not to mention arbitrary costs like more computers, more health benefits, 401k, training, etc.
So don't be too proud of your "achievements" every day, they pale in comparison to what highly trained and sought after people do for a living.
Tell that to all of your employees, see how long they stick around. If this is truly your opinion, and you are a "highly placed executive", I suggest you stop fisting yourself and realize that assholes are not appreciated, regardless of what role they take in a company. You may have a larger bank account than me, and you may have a fancier bit of paper on the wall, but that doesn't mean you are liked as a human being.
The people I work with genuinely enjoy working by my side, and appreciate how much I do because it means they have to do less. The company I work for (more specifically our GM and Director of Operations, BOTH of which who have told me this face to face) appreciate what I do and how much I do because it requires less warm bodies, less overhead, and less oversight. My response was that it is my pleasure; they treat me with respect and understanding that although different than theirs, my job is still just as important.
If the folks you worked with knew that your attitude towards them was that their "achievements pale in comparison" to yours, how much do you think they would enjoy working with you?
You may live in a bigger house, but I guarantee you I live a more satisfied and happier existence.
As previously mentioned in a post I made earlier on this same topic, I'm one of the lowest if not THE lowest paid full-time employee where I work. I do the work of three different people (mail stuff for multiple projects, one of three folks that record phone calls for roughly 450 employees a month, and one of two folks that work on mail merge issues in our database), and work constantly throughout the day.
I LOVE my job, and I love the company I work for. It's not so much pride in my own work or pride in my company so much as it's pride in what we do. Without us, thousands of patients wouldn't be able to afford their prescriptions (I work in a call center, the majority of our projects are patient assistance programs and insurance verifications/appeals assistance. We are a third party, meaning we get NO money from insurance companies, meaning our loyalty is to the patient, not the scam artists)
Without us, thousands of people a year couldn't afford their cancer medication, or their surgeries, or other medical bills. We convince insurance companies to cover you if you get a denied claim. We work directly with your doctor's office to get you financial help if you need it.
We are the good guys of the healthcare industry. There are so few of us, and I am damn proud to be one of them. I'm in a position where I directly impact both the patients that we work with AND the employees that work internally in this company. As a result, my job is satisfying on multiple levels for multiple reasons...all this just from sitting at a desk all day, typing away.
I felt the same way when I was a mechanic (which I did between the ages of 18-21). There was nothing that made me feel better than seeing a minivan driving down the street with kids strapped in the back, stopping safely, and me knowing that it's stopping safely because I replaced the master cylinder only a week prior. I directly influenced people's lives and fixed their problems then, just as I am now.
I don't get paid much money, but I am the happiest person I know.
I hate ignorant comments like this. Do you realize the massive amount of work required to run a company? Do you understand the job security you have as an employee of a company? It's *my* job to make sure you continue to have a job. It's my job to work ridiculous hours and be on call for things you can't even imagine. I have to be multi-talented, multi-disciplined, multi-tasking, and multi-personality. I have to understand the nuances of industries that aren't even related to my field. I spend massive amounts of money and personal time making sure that YOU are able to produce for me without being sidetracked by unrelated issues.
You sound to me like an adult that forgot what it's like to be a child. Or, to not beat around the bush, you sound to me like someone who started from the bottom and has forgotten what it's like to be there.
I am the lowest paid full time employee in my company. I make right around 29k a year. My job includes the following:
- Mailing out consent forms and FedExing LMNs (Letters of Medical Neccessity) for five different projects. Typicially about 60-75 mailings and 30-45 FedExs a day. - I am one of THREE people that records phone calls that are incoming AND outgoing so that our managers can review them and pass the info back to the employee who took/made the call. Keep in mind that we have roughly 450 people working on the phones, and each of them need at LEAST 2 calls recorded per month, some of them as many as 8 per month. - I am also one of only TWO people out of the 700+ employees that we have on site that handles Mail Merge issues in our database. Between me and this other person, we handle anywhere between 15 and 40 requests A WEEK.
I essentially do the job of three different people, from three different industries, with three different trainings, with three different backgrounds. Two of these jobs would normally go to someone who is multiple pay grades ABOVE mine. I have maybe about 15 minutes of downtime a day, not including 30 minutes for lunch. Keep in mind, I am the lowest paid full-time employee here.
Quit your bitching. The top jobs aren't the only hard ones. It was YOUR CHOICE to put yourself in the position you are in, just as it was my choice to be put in the position I'm in.
You know what the difference is? I actually thought about my choice before I did it, and even though most people would be pulling their hair out if they had to do my job (especially considering what I get paid for it) I love my job. I love being stressed out over work, because if I don't have more work than I have time for, I go nuts.
You fucked yourself. Deal with it. Just don't forget that if all of your employees left at the same time, you would be screwed; another suit like yourself can always be found.
I'm not singling them out, I'm being on-topic with the discussion. There are plenty of other companies that I feel the same way about, and as a result I don't buy their products either. This discussion is about Apple though, so that's who I am making the focus of my posts.
I have no problem with advertising. I have a problem when the advertisement directly influences (or encourages, as is the case with Apple) the way that the majority of the people that buy the product act.
If you notice, I never once said a single bad thing about Apple's products...I have absolutely no issue with the products that they release. I have an issue with the way they market them and the way that the community acts.
As previously pointed out by another poster in this same thread, their advertising shoves their items in your face while telling you nothing about the product itself. Their own advertising encourages that their customers act like hip assholes.
That I have a problem with, and that is why I don't buy their products.
Sorry, but your answer doesn't fit in with the question. I asked who defended their product with more abandon than Apple users, not who criticizes them.
The thing is, like I said in my original post, I don't have a problem with Apple's products. I have absolutely no issue with the products themselves...it's the company and the community that I have issues with.
That's just it though, when you buy an Apple product you ARE joining a club.
Just an observation here, no flaming intended...but can you name me another group of folks in the electronics industry who are more rabid, more fanatical, and more defensive about their choice of product than Apple users?
Are you a windows user? A linux user? Do you play Playstation? Xbox? Are you an enthusiast?
I am actually all of those things...I play games on systems made by all of the major players, and always have. I also have both Windows and Linux boxes in my home.
I'm well aware that all of these have communities that have their own crazy ramblings. To me, however, the Apple community's attitude towards "outsiders" is a bit beyond that of others.::shrug:: It's just my opinion. Sorry if you don't agree with it.
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And they continue to choose to buy Microsoft's products... this despite multiple lawsuits, reliability and security issues, and questions regarding the company's business ethics.
Like I said. No one to blame but themselves.
::shrug:: All I know is that there are options out there other than Microsoft's offerings that work just as well, and in many/most cases they work better. Microsoft is in a position to make a hell of a lot of money, and they are. That is what happens with capitalism, if you do things right you have the opportunity to rise above everyone else. The only way it can happen, however, is if enough people want your product.
Once again, blame the industry and the consumers. Bill Gates didn't make himself rich and powerful; we did.
I can honestly say that after setting up XBConnect on my computer as well as some of my friends, it is a bit of a pain to do it...but it's totally worth it:-)
Back on topic, however, I completely agree with you. You don't need top of the line hardware to enjoy the majority of PC games out there. And if you need a super-expensive video card to support the resolution required by your monitor...you should have bought a different monitor.
Obligatory car anology: It's like buying a $60,000 car without having the money to maintain it. If you can't afford the video card, don't buy the monitor.
See, that's the thing though. Microsoft didn't become a monopoly (by legal definition) by force. People bought their products en masse. Microsoft didn't hold a gun to their heads...it happend because the consumers CHOSE to buy their products. Consumers have no one to blame but themselves.
And? What's your point?
It's not like Bill Gates is the only shifty business guy out there. He was just the most successful one, and as such he is the one that people cry about the most.
I don't agree with his practices or ethics, but from a business standpoint, the man is a genius and one of the most successful in the world. There is no denying that he has accomplished the near impossible. Whether you agree with it or not is irrelevant: business is business, and in this case, Bill Gates smashed one out of the park.
The fact that he earns more money while trimming his nose hair than most of us will ever see in our entire lives is proof enough of that. Recognizing someone's business success while acknowledging their shortcomings as a person doesn't make you a pussy, you know...it's ok to admire someone while hating them.
http://www.techlore.com/article/14302/
You're welcome.
Agreed. It's funny, I remember when my parents got their first 4-head VCR (the previous one they had was only a 2-head) The picture quality was night and day, I couldn't believe it!
Then I saw DVD hooked up to our same 32" Sony Trinitron via s-video. I nearly crapped myself.
There's absolutely no denying that HD-DVD and Blu-Ray look considerably better than just an upscaled DVD. The question is, are retailers going to be able to convince that there is a big enough difference that warrents a couple thousand dollars to get started, as well as increased prices every time they buy movies.
People sometimes say "well, it worked with DVD and VHS!" That's because DVD was an ENTIRELY different technology...no rewinding, perfect still images, clear and focused slow-mo, chapter selections, extra features, multiple language and audio, etc.
Blu-Ray, even with its "internet enabled extra features", is at its core nothing more than a prettier version of DVD. It's not nearly the leap that VHS to DVD was, and as such I think it's going to be much much harder to convince folks to switch (ESPECIALLY considering how much cheaper DVD is, both for the player and the movies.)
...seeing as HD-DVD is dead as a movie format, that would make it the PERFECT format for Microsoft to use for their next gaming system.
Think about it. They need more space than DVD9 can hold, right? If blank HD-DVD discs and burners are not going to be manufactured anymore, but Microsoft uses HD-DVD discs for its games...that will certainly help out in their "fight against piracy". It will (should) make things a bit tougher. Not to mention it would give them a format with a much higher capacity than DVD, and the best part is IT'S ALREADY A DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY! Their R&D costs would be next to nothing, as it's already been done!
If Microsoft were smart (in my opinion, which when it comes to business doesn't amount to much) they would say screw Blu-Ray, we will release all of our Xbox games on HD-DVD, make the box a kick-ass dvd upscaler, and there ya go. Fighting blu-ray with a good dvd upscaler, an already produced format for increased space for games, a format which blank media and recorders are no longer available to the public, and one that would cost significantly less than a console that uses blu-ray technology.
Just my two copper.
I see what you did there. Clever.
Rampant stupidity aside, I think that if Microsoft will integrate Blu-Ray into their consoles it won't be until the next Xbox is released.
Not to mention there is still no garuntee that Blu-Ray will win...it beat out HD-DVD, but now it has to beat out plain vanilla DVD. Sony may have been able to win by buying out some of the movie studios, but it's real challange lies ahead: convincing folks to stop buying DVDs and DVD players (which can be had for thirty dollars) and buy Blu-Ray discs and players (whose prices have gone up, not down since there is no long any viable HD competition)
Sony's biggest hurdle, really, will be convincing your average joe everyman that there is a significant enough difference between DVD and Blu-Ray to drop a couple thousand on a TV, a few hundred on a player, and on average pay $5-$15 more per movie. Not saying it's impossible or won't happen, I'm just saying that getting rid of HD-DVD was the easy part.
As stated in a post further up in the thread, I was a mechanic for three years at a private dealership, two of which were spent as a shop foreman. In my last year as a mechanic, I pulled in about 50k. I had to give it up due to a physical injury, however.
The ease of my job combined with the high volume of it is why I love it. Between my salary and my girlfriend's salary (she is a 3rd grade special ed teacher) we have enough to own our own condo, have no debt (other than the condo, of course), drive cars that we have bought, and even manage to save a little.
I'll worry about making more money when I'm older (I turn 24 in a week, she is 23) For right now, though, I like having an easy job that for me is very mentally satisfying and earns enough to pay the bills...not to mention one that is just a 9-5 in which I leave all my work at work when I go home at the end of the day (as opposed to the 12-14 hour days that I commonly pulled working at a dealer)
A far cry from pop-hiphop, I highly HIGHLY suggest you check out Immortal Technique. More specifically, the albums Revolutionary Vol. 1 and Portable Immortal. Most honest and true political poetry I've ever heard.
That's the point. The didn't need to train me because I came to the job already having the knowledge of how to do that. Money and time saved. And I'm not a dedicated worker for that job, it's just part of what I do. Prior to my taking on that responsibility, they DID have a fully dedicated person who did it. Now that person can do mail merge issues as well as other things.
True, the recording of phone calls can be handled by a machine. This is something my company has actually mentioned numerous times to our clients. Every last one of them has insisted on having a human record the calls. What their motivations are, I'm not sure, but seeing as they are the ones that pay us, we listen.
Based on what you started your post out with, it would seem obvious to me that you don't understand the basics of efficiency and management. If one person volunteers to do the job of three people, has the skills to do so without requiring training, AND is able to complete all the work on time...why WOULDN'T you say yes to that?
I based what I said mainly on you stating that I should ignore my achievements because someone else apparently is achieving more. What kind of way is that to look at life?
I never said I couldn't be replaced. Everyone is replaceable. My point is that I am enabling my company to operate in a more efficient manner, with less overhead, and above all else I volunteered for it. I have no problem being worked like a dog. I rather enjoy it, to be honest.
I did have a better job. I was a mechanic for three years (ages 18-21), in which I made a little under 50k in my last year at a privately owned dealership. After just one year of being on the job, I was made shop foreman. I was the boss of people twice my age who had been working on cars longer than I have been alive. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not skilled.
I had to end that career due to physical injury. I didn't want to, but I had to. I work behind a desk now. I absolutely love my job, regardless of how mundane it may be in comparison to working on cars or how much less I get paid.
Last I checked, this started by you responding to one of my posts, not the other way around bud.
I would love to name my wireless connection that...if I didn't live less than a mile from the Department of Energy in Maryland, that is...
Gotta do something with the time :-)
Besides, it's better than digg...
Right. Replace one worker who takes 29k a year off your bottom line with three workers who would take more than triple that a year off your bottom line, AND require more management because it's three employees, not one. Not to mention arbitrary costs like more computers, more health benefits, 401k, training, etc.
Tell that to all of your employees, see how long they stick around. If this is truly your opinion, and you are a "highly placed executive", I suggest you stop fisting yourself and realize that assholes are not appreciated, regardless of what role they take in a company. You may have a larger bank account than me, and you may have a fancier bit of paper on the wall, but that doesn't mean you are liked as a human being.
The people I work with genuinely enjoy working by my side, and appreciate how much I do because it means they have to do less. The company I work for (more specifically our GM and Director of Operations, BOTH of which who have told me this face to face) appreciate what I do and how much I do because it requires less warm bodies, less overhead, and less oversight. My response was that it is my pleasure; they treat me with respect and understanding that although different than theirs, my job is still just as important.
If the folks you worked with knew that your attitude towards them was that their "achievements pale in comparison" to yours, how much do you think they would enjoy working with you?
You may live in a bigger house, but I guarantee you I live a more satisfied and happier existence.
For reference, I turn 24 next week.
As previously mentioned in a post I made earlier on this same topic, I'm one of the lowest if not THE lowest paid full-time employee where I work. I do the work of three different people (mail stuff for multiple projects, one of three folks that record phone calls for roughly 450 employees a month, and one of two folks that work on mail merge issues in our database), and work constantly throughout the day.
I LOVE my job, and I love the company I work for. It's not so much pride in my own work or pride in my company so much as it's pride in what we do. Without us, thousands of patients wouldn't be able to afford their prescriptions (I work in a call center, the majority of our projects are patient assistance programs and insurance verifications/appeals assistance. We are a third party, meaning we get NO money from insurance companies, meaning our loyalty is to the patient, not the scam artists)
Without us, thousands of people a year couldn't afford their cancer medication, or their surgeries, or other medical bills. We convince insurance companies to cover you if you get a denied claim. We work directly with your doctor's office to get you financial help if you need it.
We are the good guys of the healthcare industry. There are so few of us, and I am damn proud to be one of them. I'm in a position where I directly impact both the patients that we work with AND the employees that work internally in this company. As a result, my job is satisfying on multiple levels for multiple reasons...all this just from sitting at a desk all day, typing away.
I felt the same way when I was a mechanic (which I did between the ages of 18-21). There was nothing that made me feel better than seeing a minivan driving down the street with kids strapped in the back, stopping safely, and me knowing that it's stopping safely because I replaced the master cylinder only a week prior. I directly influenced people's lives and fixed their problems then, just as I am now.
I don't get paid much money, but I am the happiest person I know.
You sound to me like an adult that forgot what it's like to be a child. Or, to not beat around the bush, you sound to me like someone who started from the bottom and has forgotten what it's like to be there.
I am the lowest paid full time employee in my company. I make right around 29k a year. My job includes the following:
- Mailing out consent forms and FedExing LMNs (Letters of Medical Neccessity) for five different projects. Typicially about 60-75 mailings and 30-45 FedExs a day.
- I am one of THREE people that records phone calls that are incoming AND outgoing so that our managers can review them and pass the info back to the employee who took/made the call. Keep in mind that we have roughly 450 people working on the phones, and each of them need at LEAST 2 calls recorded per month, some of them as many as 8 per month.
- I am also one of only TWO people out of the 700+ employees that we have on site that handles Mail Merge issues in our database. Between me and this other person, we handle anywhere between 15 and 40 requests A WEEK.
I essentially do the job of three different people, from three different industries, with three different trainings, with three different backgrounds. Two of these jobs would normally go to someone who is multiple pay grades ABOVE mine. I have maybe about 15 minutes of downtime a day, not including 30 minutes for lunch. Keep in mind, I am the lowest paid full-time employee here.
Quit your bitching. The top jobs aren't the only hard ones. It was YOUR CHOICE to put yourself in the position you are in, just as it was my choice to be put in the position I'm in.
You know what the difference is? I actually thought about my choice before I did it, and even though most people would be pulling their hair out if they had to do my job (especially considering what I get paid for it) I love my job. I love being stressed out over work, because if I don't have more work than I have time for, I go nuts.
You fucked yourself. Deal with it. Just don't forget that if all of your employees left at the same time, you would be screwed; another suit like yourself can always be found.
I'm not singling them out, I'm being on-topic with the discussion. There are plenty of other companies that I feel the same way about, and as a result I don't buy their products either. This discussion is about Apple though, so that's who I am making the focus of my posts.
It does indeed, thank you.
In your own opinion, do you think Comcast actually has something here, or are they just blowing hot air?
I have no problem with advertising. I have a problem when the advertisement directly influences (or encourages, as is the case with Apple) the way that the majority of the people that buy the product act.
If you notice, I never once said a single bad thing about Apple's products...I have absolutely no issue with the products that they release. I have an issue with the way they market them and the way that the community acts.
As previously pointed out by another poster in this same thread, their advertising shoves their items in your face while telling you nothing about the product itself. Their own advertising encourages that their customers act like hip assholes.
That I have a problem with, and that is why I don't buy their products.
Sorry, but your answer doesn't fit in with the question. I asked who defended their product with more abandon than Apple users, not who criticizes them.
The thing is, like I said in my original post, I don't have a problem with Apple's products. I have absolutely no issue with the products themselves...it's the company and the community that I have issues with.
That's just it though, when you buy an Apple product you ARE joining a club.
Just an observation here, no flaming intended...but can you name me another group of folks in the electronics industry who are more rabid, more fanatical, and more defensive about their choice of product than Apple users?
I am actually all of those things...I play games on systems made by all of the major players, and always have. I also have both Windows and Linux boxes in my home.
I'm well aware that all of these have communities that have their own crazy ramblings. To me, however, the Apple community's attitude towards "outsiders" is a bit beyond that of others.