You must be right! Apple is deliberately antagonizing its customer so it can apologize and issue store credits. This must happen all the time! That explains why so many businesses fuck over their customers!
Next time you deal with a really stupid sales clerk, be sure to thank them!
I totally agree that it is just some accounting trick that should be banished...
No, it's not an accounting trick. At least not for small-ticket items. Unless a rebate is for thousands of dollars, many consumers will never claim it: they'll forget, or lose the paperwork. That allows the retailer to advertise a price that is much lower than what many consumers will pay. And retailing is not about what a thing actually costs, it's about what consumers perceive as the cost. That's why prices are usually odd figures and rarely include sales tax.
Anyway, despite your experience, many companies are not honest about rebates. They know they can reject a rebate, or just "forget" to process it, and very few people will find it worthwhile to call them on this fraud.
If rebates were just an accounting trick, they wouldn't be as widely hated as they are.
So,in no way does it cost Apple 100.00 to look like they are meeting Joe "early adopter" halfway.
What I don't understand is why they have to meet him at all. He waited out in front of the store all night, he bought something he knew would soon be subject to steep discounts, and he did it just because he had to have this new toy 5 minutes before everybody else. And now he's screaming that he got ripped of because Apple only waited a couple months before cutting the SRP? A price nobody pays anyway?
Me, I'm against Global Warming and Global Whining.
Yes, Fry's is the worst retailer on the planet, and rebates are an evil scam. But...
I read the original Mercury-News story earlier today. It's version is that Vastech is a computer accessories company that distributes through Fry's (among other retailers) and that processes its own rebates (hey, throwing them out is "processing" isn't it?). The dumped envelopes were discovered by an employee at a neighboring company, who gave them to his boss, who gave them to Dean Takahashi, who wrote the Mercury-News story.
The story was quoted in an article on Consumerist, which in turn is quoted in this article. By the time Slashdot had posted it, the envelope's had been retrieved by the reporter, and Vastech had morphed from a flaky hardware reseller to a Fry's rebate processing contractor!
Ok, it's natural that a story should change a little as it passes from ear to ear. But to get so many facts wrong after just two iterations? Come on, people!
Another thing that bothers me is Takahashi's outrage over those 1300 envelopes. Not that I don't share his hatred of rebates. But the big offenders are not little companies like Vastech (which would probably have gone out of business soon anyway, even if Fry's hadn't just cancelled all their orders). It's big companies that go through the motions of honoring rebates, but almost always have an excuse for not paying or an indefinite "processing delay". If we're going to be pissed off, let's be pissed off at the right people!
Since when is a column store database and a relational database mutually exclusive concepts?
Well, if "stupid" means grasping that storage is an implementation feature and that what makes a database relational is how you access the data, then yeah, you're a total idiot.
We're not talking about what you want. We're talking about what the marketplace wants. It's interesting how few geeks seem to understand the distinction.
First off, Linux doesn't enter the equation. No non-geek cares what OS is embedded in their devices. Even geeks shouldn't really care unless the device in question is reasonably hackable. Which they're usually not.
And TeX? That's a niche within a niche! Unless you're composing scientific documents (if you're just reading them, convert them to PDF), you shouldn't bother with it. And even if you are composing such documents, you need to think about switching to a modern markup language.
I too would rather have something like a Nokia tablet. (My Motion Computing tablet is pretty small, but I'd trade it in for a Nokia tomorrow if it had anything like the same functionality.) But you and I are not typical consumers.
And yes, you don't need 90% of the market to be successful. But you do need enough to claim a loyal customer base for ongoing sales and to justify developing improved products. And so far, in between devices just haven't come close.
You're probably right about the notebook. (Or in my case the tablet. Except that just as I got used to having one desktop for everything, it decided it didn't want to talk to my external monitor any more. Anybody know anything about a bug in the Intel graphics chipset where external monitor functionality gradually disappears?) But the smart phone the new notebook? Not unless you never do anything with your notebook more complicated than email.
Rather than trying to shove old paradigms into new technology, industry needs to rethink the whole ball game. Instead of a smart phone, or even a regular cell phone. I want a wireless network node that never leaves my pocket (except when I change my pants). Everything else is done when a bluetooth device. You use a headset to make phone calls. (Hopefully one that you easily remove from your ear when you're not using it, so people don't snicker and yell "Resistance is futile!") You use simple Palm-like PDA, or maybe a watch-like device, for tracking personal information and to dial numbers for that headset. For serious work, you have a tablet or notebook in your briefcase, permanently networked via that node in your pocket.
Alas, such a setup is anathema to providers that prefer to sell "bundles". And probably most consumers prefer an all-in-one device, even if the device does no one thing very well. Resistance is futile.
Anyway, we agree on one thing: the Foleo concept was totally out of touch with realit.
Functionality you don't use is still equity in the device.
Electronic devices don't have "equity". Unlike real-estate, a cell phone does not increase in value. Rather the opposite. Any IT person will tell you that if you don't need functionality for 2 years, you wait two years to buy it, when it will cost less than half as much.
I have seen absolutely no support for Hawking's view that this was the best invention ever to come out of Palm.
I used to think highly of Hawkins, after hearing the story about him modeling the first Palm Pilot out of a block of wood. But then he started Handspring, and came out with some of the worst PDA designs ever. And why has he never intervened in the horrible button design for the Palm m Series? (If a button is designed to turn on the PDA, you don't want it sticking out so it gets pressed in your pocket!) I do believe his 15 minutes are up.
And remember how well the Palm V/Vx sold
The last really good product they did. I miss mine. I'm tempted to downgrade, except that not having a USB interface would be a major pain.
The early Palms were good because of all the stuff they left out. They did a few basic things, and did them very well, making them indispensable for their owners. Hard to make marketeers understand that. And maybe they're even right — feature bloat makes for a bad product, but it also makes for a product that's easier to sell.
I'd hate to bother your ex. I could probably pick on up on eBay. I'd hate to switch back to Sprint though.
There are some nice Palm-based clamshells for the Asian market. Problem is, they're all tri-band, since nobody there uses the 850 band. Now, I could probably live without the 850 band, but I don't know. Anybody know a way to detect what bands a GSM cell uses in a given area?
Still haven't learned to use the shift key, I see. I realize that it slows you down. But that would give you extra time to think about what point you're trying to make, and maybe expressing it a little more concisely.
Really, it's typical third-rate juvenile science fiction, much like you would find in 50's back issues of Amazing Stories.
Hey, some of us like that stuff. SF has a long history of hare-brained ideas, and I find it all the more entertaining for that. (One of my current favorites is S.M. Stirling, who fantasizes about slavery surviving into the 21st century. Absurd. But great fun to read.) Hubbard was just the the only one who turned his hare-brained ideas into a second career.
But forget about Battlefield Earth, for which Hubbard obviously supplied nothing but his name. I mean, the guy basically retired from writing SF after Dianetics got going. (Running a cult is less work and better paid than churning out pulp fiction.) Then, almost 30 years later, in his 70s, with no need for the extra income, rumored to be senile, or even dead, he starts churning out almost a thousand pages a year? (Much more if you count the stuff that came out after he died. In fact his "late work" by page count is maybe twice what he wrote during his pre-Dianetics days.) It seems more likely that Battlefield Earth and the ten novels that came after it were ghost written, probably by somebody who hoped to use popular fiction to spread Scientological ideas — or what passes for them.
That's a mostly insightful rant, but it's only got a couple of sentences about the Foleo. And that's a weak point — they're basically saying nobody will buy the Foleo if the Treo sucks. Which is kind of dumb, since the Foleo isn't that tightly bound to the Treo.
The big question with the Treo is whether there are enough people who need more than a PDA but less than a full laptop. Or maybe I should say, "who will buy less than a full laptop." Because there are a lot of technically clueless folks out there who'd be better off with a device that simpler than a "real" computer but does everything they need to do — most users just don't need all the functionality a PC provides. But every time somebody comes out with such a device, it fails miserably.
Why? Because such devices only cost a little less than an equivalent PC. And people would rather pay a little extra and get all that extra functionality. Even if it's functionality the won't use.
What I want to know is why Palm won't do a phone that isn't a minor variation on the Treo. There are still folks out there who don't need a QWERTY keyboard and do need a phone that will actually fit in a pants pocket. It's sad and ironic that Palm doesn't recognize this, when their foundation product was the first practical pocket computer.
It means that California tried to force the auto industry to produce and sell large numbers of non-polluting ("zero emmissions") vehicles, but had to back off. The subsequent compromise is called "partial zero emissions". I suppose this term is meant to convey the claim that clean air advocates got some of what they wanted. Of course, whoever coined it has no ear for language or logic — but there's nothing strange about that!
...in the US it is officially recognized as a religion...
Not it's not. There are no officially recognized religions in the U.S. The First Amendment forbids it. What Scientology does have is the right to call itself a religion — a right it shares both with denominations that have been around for thousands of years and with that crazy guy on the corner who says he's Jesus.
Why don't we all just ignore the cult and let it die on it's own?
Many reasons. First, pseudo-scientific "medicine" tends to harm or kill people, and Scientology's "Dianetic" treatments are no exception. Second, they have a history of ripping off their followers. Then there's their nasty habit of abusing the court systems to intimidate people they don't like — responding in kind is the only way to get them to back off.
But the biggest, nastiest reason for erasing Scientology from the face of the earth: I'd like to visit my local mall without having to repeatedly tell some obnoxious zombie "NO I DO NOT WANT A FREE PERSONALITY TEST."
Why? Hubbard was widely accused of similar stuff when he was alive. The whole Scientology/Dianetics thing has attracted the attention of The Law from day one. The only difference is that Hubbard would claim that he was being persecuted by the mental health community (who hated him for "curing" mental illness, depriving them of their livelihood), whereas Scientology is a "church" and thus can claim religious persecution.
Basically you're saying "Lawyers are full of BS, so my opinion is as good as theirs." You're entitled to that opinion, but I wouldn't test it with a real-world legal problem.
Slashdot Mirror
You must be right! Apple is deliberately antagonizing its customer so it can apologize and issue store credits. This must happen all the time! That explains why so many businesses fuck over their customers!
Next time you deal with a really stupid sales clerk, be sure to thank them!
Anyway, despite your experience, many companies are not honest about rebates. They know they can reject a rebate, or just "forget" to process it, and very few people will find it worthwhile to call them on this fraud.
If rebates were just an accounting trick, they wouldn't be as widely hated as they are.
Me, I'm against Global Warming and Global Whining.
They can afford to have a liberal return policy, because they have a liberal recycling policy.
Yes, Fry's is the worst retailer on the planet, and rebates are an evil scam. But...
I read the original Mercury-News story earlier today. It's version is that Vastech is a computer accessories company that distributes through Fry's (among other retailers) and that processes its own rebates (hey, throwing them out is "processing" isn't it?). The dumped envelopes were discovered by an employee at a neighboring company, who gave them to his boss, who gave them to Dean Takahashi, who wrote the Mercury-News story.
The story was quoted in an article on Consumerist, which in turn is quoted in this article. By the time Slashdot had posted it, the envelope's had been retrieved by the reporter, and Vastech had morphed from a flaky hardware reseller to a Fry's rebate processing contractor!
Ok, it's natural that a story should change a little as it passes from ear to ear. But to get so many facts wrong after just two iterations? Come on, people!
Another thing that bothers me is Takahashi's outrage over those 1300 envelopes. Not that I don't share his hatred of rebates. But the big offenders are not little companies like Vastech (which would probably have gone out of business soon anyway, even if Fry's hadn't just cancelled all their orders). It's big companies that go through the motions of honoring rebates, but almost always have an excuse for not paying or an indefinite "processing delay". If we're going to be pissed off, let's be pissed off at the right people!
I have to point out that Neo's green-screen vision uses Unicode characters.
And if Neo's such a visionary, why does he use an HGC monitor?
Africans spend very little time playing first person shooters. Too much like real life.
First off, Linux doesn't enter the equation. No non-geek cares what OS is embedded in their devices. Even geeks shouldn't really care unless the device in question is reasonably hackable. Which they're usually not.
And TeX? That's a niche within a niche! Unless you're composing scientific documents (if you're just reading them, convert them to PDF), you shouldn't bother with it. And even if you are composing such documents, you need to think about switching to a modern markup language.
I too would rather have something like a Nokia tablet. (My Motion Computing tablet is pretty small, but I'd trade it in for a Nokia tomorrow if it had anything like the same functionality.) But you and I are not typical consumers.
And yes, you don't need 90% of the market to be successful. But you do need enough to claim a loyal customer base for ongoing sales and to justify developing improved products. And so far, in between devices just haven't come close.
You're probably right about the notebook. (Or in my case the tablet. Except that just as I got used to having one desktop for everything, it decided it didn't want to talk to my external monitor any more. Anybody know anything about a bug in the Intel graphics chipset where external monitor functionality gradually disappears?) But the smart phone the new notebook? Not unless you never do anything with your notebook more complicated than email.
Rather than trying to shove old paradigms into new technology, industry needs to rethink the whole ball game. Instead of a smart phone, or even a regular cell phone. I want a wireless network node that never leaves my pocket (except when I change my pants). Everything else is done when a bluetooth device. You use a headset to make phone calls. (Hopefully one that you easily remove from your ear when you're not using it, so people don't snicker and yell "Resistance is futile!") You use simple Palm-like PDA, or maybe a watch-like device, for tracking personal information and to dial numbers for that headset. For serious work, you have a tablet or notebook in your briefcase, permanently networked via that node in your pocket.
Alas, such a setup is anathema to providers that prefer to sell "bundles". And probably most consumers prefer an all-in-one device, even if the device does no one thing very well. Resistance is futile.
Anyway, we agree on one thing: the Foleo concept was totally out of touch with realit.
The early Palms were good because of all the stuff they left out. They did a few basic things, and did them very well, making them indispensable for their owners. Hard to make marketeers understand that. And maybe they're even right — feature bloat makes for a bad product, but it also makes for a product that's easier to sell.
I'd hate to bother your ex. I could probably pick on up on eBay. I'd hate to switch back to Sprint though.
There are some nice Palm-based clamshells for the Asian market. Problem is, they're all tri-band, since nobody there uses the 850 band. Now, I could probably live without the 850 band, but I don't know. Anybody know a way to detect what bands a GSM cell uses in a given area?
Still haven't learned to use the shift key, I see. I realize that it slows you down. But that would give you extra time to think about what point you're trying to make, and maybe expressing it a little more concisely.
I said "small" not "low end". I'd kill for a clamshell or slider phone that runs Palm applications.
As for their product cycle, it hardly matters how long it is when nothing really new comes at the end of it.
But forget about Battlefield Earth, for which Hubbard obviously supplied nothing but his name. I mean, the guy basically retired from writing SF after Dianetics got going. (Running a cult is less work and better paid than churning out pulp fiction.) Then, almost 30 years later, in his 70s, with no need for the extra income, rumored to be senile, or even dead, he starts churning out almost a thousand pages a year? (Much more if you count the stuff that came out after he died. In fact his "late work" by page count is maybe twice what he wrote during his pre-Dianetics days.) It seems more likely that Battlefield Earth and the ten novels that came after it were ghost written, probably by somebody who hoped to use popular fiction to spread Scientological ideas — or what passes for them.
That's a mostly insightful rant, but it's only got a couple of sentences about the Foleo. And that's a weak point — they're basically saying nobody will buy the Foleo if the Treo sucks. Which is kind of dumb, since the Foleo isn't that tightly bound to the Treo.
The big question with the Treo is whether there are enough people who need more than a PDA but less than a full laptop. Or maybe I should say, "who will buy less than a full laptop." Because there are a lot of technically clueless folks out there who'd be better off with a device that simpler than a "real" computer but does everything they need to do — most users just don't need all the functionality a PC provides. But every time somebody comes out with such a device, it fails miserably.
Why? Because such devices only cost a little less than an equivalent PC. And people would rather pay a little extra and get all that extra functionality. Even if it's functionality the won't use.
What I want to know is why Palm won't do a phone that isn't a minor variation on the Treo. There are still folks out there who don't need a QWERTY keyboard and do need a phone that will actually fit in a pants pocket. It's sad and ironic that Palm doesn't recognize this, when their foundation product was the first practical pocket computer.
It means that California tried to force the auto industry to produce and sell large numbers of non-polluting ("zero emmissions") vehicles, but had to back off. The subsequent compromise is called "partial zero emissions". I suppose this term is meant to convey the claim that clean air advocates got some of what they wanted. Of course, whoever coined it has no ear for language or logic — but there's nothing strange about that!
You think that's bizarre. There's this weird cult that claims that God and Satan collaborated to persecute people just to settle a bet. Then there's this mind-bending account of the end of the world, obviously written by somebody who ate one too many magic mushrooms.
That's the one thing I like about Scientologists: their mythology is so entertaining.
But the biggest, nastiest reason for erasing Scientology from the face of the earth: I'd like to visit my local mall without having to repeatedly tell some obnoxious zombie "NO I DO NOT WANT A FREE PERSONALITY TEST."
Why? Hubbard was widely accused of similar stuff when he was alive. The whole Scientology/Dianetics thing has attracted the attention of The Law from day one. The only difference is that Hubbard would claim that he was being persecuted by the mental health community (who hated him for "curing" mental illness, depriving them of their livelihood), whereas Scientology is a "church" and thus can claim religious persecution.
Basically you're saying "Lawyers are full of BS, so my opinion is as good as theirs." You're entitled to that opinion, but I wouldn't test it with a real-world legal problem.