Which, if true, makes the opt-out process even more ludicrous. If I'm at home opting out, shouldn't they just DETECT my mac address, and do the opt-out automatically?
Instead, I had to enter my mac address manually (along with my e-mail address) - and then they told me it would take two business days to go through. (Granted, I got a confirmation e-mail the next day saying it was done, but why isn't this automated?)
I opted out, then I called in and complained. You should too. (You'll note that the opt-out page tells you "this will take 2 business days". Seriously, it should be automated.)
I figure, if enough of us waste their customer support time (costs them like $8/call), they'll realize we really don't want them to do this, and they'll stop it.
It hasn't been the medicine that's expensive for me, it's been the medical tests themselves - it cost me something like $2000 to get a head CT (which was a waste, because it showed I'm perfectly fine). If they're charging $2000 per head CT, then given how often those machines are used, they have to have paid off the actual cost of the machine long ago... so it's the doctors and hospitals themselves that are charging so much.
It doesn't help that insurance companies are screwing us over, too.
I think the possibility of government-controlled healthcare (which isn't particularly worrisome, IMO) should be a much lower-priority concern than the existing system, which appears designed to screw everyone over unless you're already independently wealthy.
Alternative medicines are also commonly psychosomatic, which is where many of the claims of "It works!" originate from.
Just because it's psychosomatic doesn't mean we should get rid of it. Personally, I'd rather feel good than feel bad, even if it's just in my head.
However, I agree with you:
The problem with alternative medicines though is when people turn down medical care or treatment in favor of alternatives. This can get people killed, or exacerbate their conditions.
People should go to "real" (non-alternative) doctors first, and then go to alternative medicine when doctors can't figure it out. In my case, I've spent a year (and thousands of dollars that the insurance company won't cover) trying to track down the cause of my constant nausea; last month my doctor said "I dunno. Try acupuncture?" I think that's a valid course of action (though I can't seem to remember to make the appointment).
The opt-out is a true opt-out. You enter a list of IP addresses to opt-out on your account screen, and from there it gives you real NXDOMAIN responses (and it even works with filtering).
So I'm interested to know what kinds of things you do with your computers. You see, I use both Windows and Linux, and I have observed the following:
cushioned from the harsh world of having to hack the registry,
I haven't had to touch the registery in something like ten years.
of having to manually install drivers,
If you buy any preconfigured machine, you don't have to (and often you can't). (If you build your own, you should expect to do so.)
Of course, this isn't even a possibility with Macs; as far as I'm aware, there's no such thing as a legitimate third-party driver where OSX is concerned. Either OSX supports it out of the box, or it doesn't. I could be wrong on this, though.
of having to repeatedly alter system settings because something decided it would be fun to change them,
Now I'm not sure what software you install that repeatedly alters "system settings" (which is a pretty vague term), but between games, Firefox, Office, and Visual Studio I never have this problem.
of having to deal with people who say "just read the manual" when nobody has bothered to document it properly, of arcane command line switches that have no consistency between products.
Just so you're aware, OSX's unixy tools might have the same name as their Linux counterparts, but they often leave out command-line switches or use different switch letters than their Linux counterparts.
And that's hardly a complaint against Windows, anyway, because rarely do you see the need to fiddle with command-line switches when running any Windows program. And in Linux, say the latest Ubuntu release, you don't need to fiddle with that stuff either.
Don't confuse "tech-savvy" with "can find their way around the registry" or "knows which command line switch makes obscurelinuxtoolset run in the mode you would expect it to run in by default".
Here, you're assuming that what you assume should be default is obviously the best default. What's best for you is often worst for someone else, so don't make assumptions if you can help it (unless you're writing the software in the first place, of course).
It seems like your problem is "user error", not "program error"; it might be true that OSX shields you from some of that, but don't blame the OS for letting you break things.
If you switched to OSX just to avoid the problems you've cited above, you could have used Ubuntu instead and saved yourself a nice bundle of money in the process.
Apple better watch this type of behavior; there's only so much fanboys will overlook.
I wouldn't be so sure. A friend of mine - who I generally consider level-headed - just demonstrated how much of a fanboy he really is when I showed him some articles about iPhone development shenanigans.
While he agrees Apple could do better, he thinks most of the complaints (e.g. excessive NDAs, ridiculous inconsistencies in the approval process, the inability to share ideas with other developers, the high cost of entry to iPhone development, etc.) are crap.
If those complaints are crap, I'm not sure what is left to improve...
When I bought my laptop from Dell, I neglected to choose the higher screen resolution (since their "WSXGA+"-type markings are hardly clear about what resolution you're getting), and I wasn't really in the mood to stick with 1280x800. So I called and asked if I could exchange the laptop for one with the specs I had intended to buy, paying the difference.
Instead, they shipped me the upgraded model at no additional charge, along with a prepaid return shipping label for the one I was going to return. Basically they gave me a $100 discount even though I was the one that screwed up (their website was at least partially to blame, but I'm certainly intelligent enough to know I should double-check things like that).
So there's a good experience with Dell for you to keep in mind.
I also have an 8-year-old Dell desktop (P4, 128MB RAM) that's still chugging along. Its processor fan died about six years in, but that's not surprising. I think a power surge was involved there (it ran without a surge protector for a long time), but I can't be sure, as I wasn't around when it happened.
My now-two-year-old Dell laptop still works quite well (in Linux, anyway, Windows seems to be finnicky nowadays), and I've been somewhat abusive to it (unintentionally, that is).
I've had Dell replace parts on a machine, back when I worked on campus. One replacement was all it took.
I'm not saying your experience is invalid... I'm just saying that where anecdotal evidence is concerned, we all need a heavy dose of "YMMV". Yes, the internet is filled with Dell nightmares, but keep these things in mind:
a) People tend to exaggerate their bad customer service experiences when they're relatively anonymous online, b) The people who have had good experiences rarely speak as often or as loudly as the others, c) If your bad experiences reflected the majority of peoples' experience with Dell, Dell wouldn't be in business anymore, because most people learn from getting screwed over, and they tell their friends.
On-topic, and related: Apple spends a lot of money (and gag orders) keeping the general public happy with their products. We have no way of knowing what percentage of people are actually displeased with Apple, what percentage don't care one way or another, and what percentage love Apple no matter what unpleasant things they find Apple doing in their backyard.
Dell doesn't do this quite as much. Their profit margins are presumably lower (statistic pulled out of a hat), so it's not surprising. That will happen when much of your core business is the lower-end computer market (and no, the Mac Mini doesn't count).
I had a Logitech USB headset stop working. I called, they simply mailed me a new one for free without asking for the old one in return. The new one lasted quite a while longer than the old one.
The problem with Apple isn't that their stuff is overpriced (it isn't) it's that they don't offer any products at lower price points.
I dunno... two years ago, when I was looking for a new laptop, I could get a baseline MacBook Pro, or I could get a Dell with nearly identical specs (missing webcam, but it had a better video card and higher screen resolution) for $600 cheaper.
One year ago, when I was telling people what I just told you, I looked up Dell's prices for laptops equivalent to Apple's then-current baseline MBP, and Dell was (again) $600 cheaper.
This year, when I was telling someone what I just told you, I looked up Dell's prices for laptops equivalent to Apple's current baseline MacBook Pro, and Dell was $300 cheaper. That's in line with Apple's recent price reductions, more or less.
Take from that what you will. Maybe I'm just better than most people at finding good deals on Dell laptops through their website... or maybe you just need to admit that Apple laptops are more expensive.
I'm not saying you don't get anything for that price increase, if you like magnetic power connectors or whatever, or if you think OSX is really worth that $300 price hike. (But heaven forbid Microsoft charge $300 for Windows; that would be evil.)
I'm just saying that it's factually incorrect (if not deliberately deceptive) to say that Apple doesn't charge more than their competitors for equivalent laptops.
I don't have a problem with that at all, having done it myself; if the student is not being disruptive, there's no reason to kick them out into the hall, regardless of whether or not they're paying attention.
The whole point of a credit card is to make the transaction faster. If I have to stand there while the cashier compares my name on my drivers' license to my name on my credit card - which, legally, can be different - that's wasting everyone's time.
Regarding differing names: just after we got married, my wife had to explain "that's my maiden name" almost every time she used her card. She was perpetually annoyed by it. (If a female thief happen to have the same first name as the card she's stolen, she can make the same claim, and the teller basically has no choice but to believe her.)
I just want them to swipe my card and let me sign the receipt. That's what the whole signature thing is for. If someone is capable of mimicking your signature, they're capable of making a fake ID with their picture and your name - it doesn't even have to be a good fake ID; they can just claim they're from out of state and make a crappy ID. The cashier won't even care.
Checking IDs for credit cards only prevents the most trivial of misuse.
That said, my American Express has my picture on the back. No need to pull out ID, when I use that card, no matter what the cashier wants.
With policies like that, it's no wonder our kids feel like they should always get their way with no consequences.
How, exactly, does that prepare them for the real world? Kids who are raised like that are going to show up to their jobs and get fired relatively quickly for not getting things done on time (or: not get paid for time they weren't there).:(
I agree - but I can't risk my family's financial well-being over a risky legal ploy that may or may not have the desired effect even if I were to win.
It's kind of like how if I were to get pulled over for (say) speeding 10 over the limit, and the officer wants to search my trunk. If my wife is with me, I'm going to let him, because it spares her the embarrassment of having me argue with a cop. If she's not with me, I'm going to tell him he'll need a warrant.
Similarly, if I'm buying something with a Visa, and the cashier asks for ID, and I'm with my wife, I'll hand over my ID; but if she's not with me, I'll explain Visa's merchant agreement and refuse.
I'll gladly stand up for my principles when there are no adverse affects on my family, but I think keeping my wife sane takes higher priority.
I don't pirate music, but I've been considering firing up a VM, having it randomly download one RIAA-copyrighted song per day in a p2p program with uploading enabled, and waiting for my "pay up or get sued" letter.... just so I can use all the defenses these people should be using.
Of course, I have a 4-month-old baby, so I don't think I should risk owing that much money.
Slashdot Mirror
Which, if true, makes the opt-out process even more ludicrous. If I'm at home opting out, shouldn't they just DETECT my mac address, and do the opt-out automatically?
Instead, I had to enter my mac address manually (along with my e-mail address) - and then they told me it would take two business days to go through. (Granted, I got a confirmation e-mail the next day saying it was done, but why isn't this automated?)
I opted out, then I called in and complained. You should too. (You'll note that the opt-out page tells you "this will take 2 business days". Seriously, it should be automated.)
I figure, if enough of us waste their customer support time (costs them like $8/call), they'll realize we really don't want them to do this, and they'll stop it.
I'm probably dreaming, though.
It was down three weeks ago when the story ran the first time. It eventually came back up.
You're IT for a business. You have employees who check their e-mail from home, accessing your stuff via a split tunnel VPN.
The computer tries to resolve internalmail.company.com, and normally this should fail, causing the computer to try the VPN's DNS server.
Instead, your employee's computer gets Comcast's search page server. Their mail client times out.
You get inundated with tech support calls.
Is it just me or was this story on slashdot like three weeks ago? And I complained then? And we all opted out?
It hasn't been the medicine that's expensive for me, it's been the medical tests themselves - it cost me something like $2000 to get a head CT (which was a waste, because it showed I'm perfectly fine). If they're charging $2000 per head CT, then given how often those machines are used, they have to have paid off the actual cost of the machine long ago... so it's the doctors and hospitals themselves that are charging so much.
It doesn't help that insurance companies are screwing us over, too.
I think the possibility of government-controlled healthcare (which isn't particularly worrisome, IMO) should be a much lower-priority concern than the existing system, which appears designed to screw everyone over unless you're already independently wealthy.
You're saying the USPTO will control my health care?
Alternative medicines are also commonly psychosomatic, which is where many of the claims of "It works!" originate from.
Just because it's psychosomatic doesn't mean we should get rid of it. Personally, I'd rather feel good than feel bad, even if it's just in my head.
However, I agree with you:
The problem with alternative medicines though is when people turn down medical care or treatment in favor of alternatives. This can get people killed, or exacerbate their conditions.
People should go to "real" (non-alternative) doctors first, and then go to alternative medicine when doctors can't figure it out. In my case, I've spent a year (and thousands of dollars that the insurance company won't cover) trying to track down the cause of my constant nausea; last month my doctor said "I dunno. Try acupuncture?" I think that's a valid course of action (though I can't seem to remember to make the appointment).
If memory serves they have a notification mechanism you can set up to update your account with your current IP address.
Awesome :)
Someone mod this guy +1 Informative!
The opt-out is a true opt-out. You enter a list of IP addresses to opt-out on your account screen, and from there it gives you real NXDOMAIN responses (and it even works with filtering).
If you try the Small Business section of Dell's website you'll get a better price.
Don't blame me for Dell's slothfulness in changing their laptops to DDR3 :P Apple's own switch was relatively recent, if memory serves.
So I'm interested to know what kinds of things you do with your computers. You see, I use both Windows and Linux, and I have observed the following:
cushioned from the harsh world of having to hack the registry,
I haven't had to touch the registery in something like ten years.
of having to manually install drivers,
If you buy any preconfigured machine, you don't have to (and often you can't). (If you build your own, you should expect to do so.)
Of course, this isn't even a possibility with Macs; as far as I'm aware, there's no such thing as a legitimate third-party driver where OSX is concerned. Either OSX supports it out of the box, or it doesn't. I could be wrong on this, though.
of having to repeatedly alter system settings because something decided it would be fun to change them,
Now I'm not sure what software you install that repeatedly alters "system settings" (which is a pretty vague term), but between games, Firefox, Office, and Visual Studio I never have this problem.
of having to deal with people who say "just read the manual" when nobody has bothered to document it properly, of arcane command line switches that have no consistency between products.
Just so you're aware, OSX's unixy tools might have the same name as their Linux counterparts, but they often leave out command-line switches or use different switch letters than their Linux counterparts.
And that's hardly a complaint against Windows, anyway, because rarely do you see the need to fiddle with command-line switches when running any Windows program. And in Linux, say the latest Ubuntu release, you don't need to fiddle with that stuff either.
Don't confuse "tech-savvy" with "can find their way around the registry" or "knows which command line switch makes obscurelinuxtoolset run in the mode you would expect it to run in by default".
Here, you're assuming that what you assume should be default is obviously the best default. What's best for you is often worst for someone else, so don't make assumptions if you can help it (unless you're writing the software in the first place, of course).
It seems like your problem is "user error", not "program error"; it might be true that OSX shields you from some of that, but don't blame the OS for letting you break things.
If you switched to OSX just to avoid the problems you've cited above, you could have used Ubuntu instead and saved yourself a nice bundle of money in the process.
Apple better watch this type of behavior; there's only so much fanboys will overlook.
I wouldn't be so sure. A friend of mine - who I generally consider level-headed - just demonstrated how much of a fanboy he really is when I showed him some articles about iPhone development shenanigans.
While he agrees Apple could do better, he thinks most of the complaints (e.g. excessive NDAs, ridiculous inconsistencies in the approval process, the inability to share ideas with other developers, the high cost of entry to iPhone development, etc.) are crap.
If those complaints are crap, I'm not sure what is left to improve...
When I bought my laptop from Dell, I neglected to choose the higher screen resolution (since their "WSXGA+"-type markings are hardly clear about what resolution you're getting), and I wasn't really in the mood to stick with 1280x800. So I called and asked if I could exchange the laptop for one with the specs I had intended to buy, paying the difference.
Instead, they shipped me the upgraded model at no additional charge, along with a prepaid return shipping label for the one I was going to return. Basically they gave me a $100 discount even though I was the one that screwed up (their website was at least partially to blame, but I'm certainly intelligent enough to know I should double-check things like that).
So there's a good experience with Dell for you to keep in mind.
I also have an 8-year-old Dell desktop (P4, 128MB RAM) that's still chugging along. Its processor fan died about six years in, but that's not surprising. I think a power surge was involved there (it ran without a surge protector for a long time), but I can't be sure, as I wasn't around when it happened.
My now-two-year-old Dell laptop still works quite well (in Linux, anyway, Windows seems to be finnicky nowadays), and I've been somewhat abusive to it (unintentionally, that is).
I've had Dell replace parts on a machine, back when I worked on campus. One replacement was all it took.
I'm not saying your experience is invalid... I'm just saying that where anecdotal evidence is concerned, we all need a heavy dose of "YMMV". Yes, the internet is filled with Dell nightmares, but keep these things in mind:
a) People tend to exaggerate their bad customer service experiences when they're relatively anonymous online,
b) The people who have had good experiences rarely speak as often or as loudly as the others,
c) If your bad experiences reflected the majority of peoples' experience with Dell, Dell wouldn't be in business anymore, because most people learn from getting screwed over, and they tell their friends.
On-topic, and related: Apple spends a lot of money (and gag orders) keeping the general public happy with their products. We have no way of knowing what percentage of people are actually displeased with Apple, what percentage don't care one way or another, and what percentage love Apple no matter what unpleasant things they find Apple doing in their backyard.
Dell doesn't do this quite as much. Their profit margins are presumably lower (statistic pulled out of a hat), so it's not surprising. That will happen when much of your core business is the lower-end computer market (and no, the Mac Mini doesn't count).
I had a Logitech USB headset stop working. I called, they simply mailed me a new one for free without asking for the old one in return. The new one lasted quite a while longer than the old one.
The problem with Apple isn't that their stuff is overpriced (it isn't) it's that they don't offer any products at lower price points.
I dunno... two years ago, when I was looking for a new laptop, I could get a baseline MacBook Pro, or I could get a Dell with nearly identical specs (missing webcam, but it had a better video card and higher screen resolution) for $600 cheaper.
One year ago, when I was telling people what I just told you, I looked up Dell's prices for laptops equivalent to Apple's then-current baseline MBP, and Dell was (again) $600 cheaper.
This year, when I was telling someone what I just told you, I looked up Dell's prices for laptops equivalent to Apple's current baseline MacBook Pro, and Dell was $300 cheaper. That's in line with Apple's recent price reductions, more or less.
Take from that what you will. Maybe I'm just better than most people at finding good deals on Dell laptops through their website... or maybe you just need to admit that Apple laptops are more expensive.
I'm not saying you don't get anything for that price increase, if you like magnetic power connectors or whatever, or if you think OSX is really worth that $300 price hike. (But heaven forbid Microsoft charge $300 for Windows; that would be evil.)
I'm just saying that it's factually incorrect (if not deliberately deceptive) to say that Apple doesn't charge more than their competitors for equivalent laptops.
Pretty sure that's "au contraire".
You just have to make sure the explosion made the serial number unreadable.
I'm already paying for a cell phone plan (5-line family plan with some siblings), so I see no reason to drop another $20/month on a landline.
And before you say "drop her line", that's not really an option.
I don't have a problem with that at all, having done it myself; if the student is not being disruptive, there's no reason to kick them out into the hall, regardless of whether or not they're paying attention.
The whole point of a credit card is to make the transaction faster. If I have to stand there while the cashier compares my name on my drivers' license to my name on my credit card - which, legally, can be different - that's wasting everyone's time.
Regarding differing names: just after we got married, my wife had to explain "that's my maiden name" almost every time she used her card. She was perpetually annoyed by it. (If a female thief happen to have the same first name as the card she's stolen, she can make the same claim, and the teller basically has no choice but to believe her.)
I just want them to swipe my card and let me sign the receipt. That's what the whole signature thing is for. If someone is capable of mimicking your signature, they're capable of making a fake ID with their picture and your name - it doesn't even have to be a good fake ID; they can just claim they're from out of state and make a crappy ID. The cashier won't even care.
Checking IDs for credit cards only prevents the most trivial of misuse.
That said, my American Express has my picture on the back. No need to pull out ID, when I use that card, no matter what the cashier wants.
With policies like that, it's no wonder our kids feel like they should always get their way with no consequences.
How, exactly, does that prepare them for the real world? Kids who are raised like that are going to show up to their jobs and get fired relatively quickly for not getting things done on time (or: not get paid for time they weren't there). :(
I agree - but I can't risk my family's financial well-being over a risky legal ploy that may or may not have the desired effect even if I were to win.
It's kind of like how if I were to get pulled over for (say) speeding 10 over the limit, and the officer wants to search my trunk. If my wife is with me, I'm going to let him, because it spares her the embarrassment of having me argue with a cop. If she's not with me, I'm going to tell him he'll need a warrant.
Similarly, if I'm buying something with a Visa, and the cashier asks for ID, and I'm with my wife, I'll hand over my ID; but if she's not with me, I'll explain Visa's merchant agreement and refuse.
I'll gladly stand up for my principles when there are no adverse affects on my family, but I think keeping my wife sane takes higher priority.
I don't pirate music, but I've been considering firing up a VM, having it randomly download one RIAA-copyrighted song per day in a p2p program with uploading enabled, and waiting for my "pay up or get sued" letter.... just so I can use all the defenses these people should be using.
Of course, I have a 4-month-old baby, so I don't think I should risk owing that much money.