The engineers are still working on the design and arguing about internal data structures or something, but they don't know we already have it up and running, it has full redundancy and backups, and cost 1/3 of what you're paying them. Think of me fondly at bonus/raise time.
Uhh, I have driven to the top of Cheyenne Mountain, and most of the workers there drive in from Colorado Springs. The top of the mountain has a sizeable commercial RF site focusing on broadcast and two-way radio systems. In fact, it's crowded with them.
Where ever it is that you get your information about such places, you need to change it. It's hideously wrong. The Crystal Palace is pretty easy to commute to.
There are still large areas of the Western U.S. that are largely unpopulated, but the areas around Cheyenne Mountain and Roswell, NM are definitely not in those areas.
Yeah I'm definitely torn, because the machines themselves are about the best you can get for the price-point*, the OS is top-notch, but customer service KEEPS the customer when things go wrong. I hate to reward bad behavior by "trying again". But I might. If the next machine has zero hardware-related issues, I'd end up a happy Apple customer. If the next machine has hardware problems after 14 days, I'd be utterly screwed, with no one to blame but myself for the error in judgement.
*The ongoing heat problems with all of the Intel-based laptop line will eventually be shaken out -- the recent patch to lower the starting temperature of the fans will go a long way to fixing that one.
Thanks for your comments. I think there are good people at Apple and Apple Stores. I also think Apple Corporate is doing some really retarded things to hobble the employees. As one friend put it, "If you want the machine, you're not hurting Apple by withholding a single sale from them, really. You're just hurting yourself."
Perhaps my expectations need to change, but it's hard to do that when I can get Dell CompleteCare for $300 and they'll come to my house to fix anything wrong with their product. Apple needs to find a way to do that.
Mostly I would really like to know that Apple heard the complaint and they're doing something to keep the situation that happened to me from happening again. But I doubt they'll even respond.
Conversations on Ham Radio are only what you make of them. If all you did was talk about your rigs, then that's all the imagination you had. Tough to admit, but true.
Conversations around here run the gamut from Politics, to computers, to spaceflight, to yeah... rigs.
You're right, many hams do only talk about boring things -- just like in a crowded Christmas party, you're bound to find some people talking about boring things, and if you're like me -- you'll gravitate away to a more interesting discussion.
Nah, like any good hobby, it's about the people you meet.
If it weren't for Amateur Radio, I would have never met Bdale Garbee, prior to his becoming the Debian Project Leader, or any of the other great folks who are Hams.
I was driving from the airport. Some people have lives and don't spend all day posting as an AC on Slashdot you know.
I keep wondering what your personal beef is with this situation - I haven't been personally rude or wrong in any way to you, so you must have a vested interest in something here. Are you a "Genius" Bar worker, or are you an Apple employee? Is that why you're posting Anonymously?
Not sure why you think someone who expects excellent customer service from a company that is the underdog and NEEDS to be out-performing their competition is a "beligerant asshole". Other than some strong language on my website, I've not done anything to anyone. If that threatens you, you've got a serious problem. You really should talk to someone about it.
The appointments are FINE for normal service. A dead machine that won't even power up is NOT NORMAL SERVICE. It's higher in priority than any other possible problem because you can't access the very Appointment system you're supposed to use to be allowed to bring the machine in. Ultimately, their system is broken in numberous ways.
I didn't ask to push in front of ANYONE - you are just making that up. Remember the "Genius" Bar guys said they were "done for the day" and there was only one customer at the Bar with two "Genuises". You sure make a lot of things up in your own mind about this situation, sir.
All I wanted them to do was replace a dead laptop. Does it require a "Genius" to power up a machine? Couldn't any of the EIGHT salespeople have done that troubleshooting? It consisted of trying to power up the machine, then removing the battery and power supply, holding the power button in for 5 seconds and replacing the battery and attempting to power up again.
After that, if you're the salesperson at a NORMAL store, you'd hand me a new machine, and apologize for my time wasted on the problem, as well as my time to DRIVE THE MACHINE TO YOU. You don't ask me to leave, and you don't force me to show a technician that the machine won't power on... if you're a normal store salesperson you're assumed by your employer to have at least enough intelligence to recognize a machine that won't turn on at all.
If you don't understand the above paragraph -- you won't make it in customer service. Trust me, I've been doing it for over 15 years, and I've listened to FAR worse complaints from customers who I couldn't help at all. When I could help them, I always do.
FOUR APPLE EMPLOYEES WALKED ME OUT OF THEIR STORE WITHOUT ATTEMPTING TO ADDRESS THEIR COMPLETELY DEAD PRODUCT.
This is the bottom line, man. Whatever other stories you're making up in your head, you need to focus in a bit more...
Apple needs to dump the foo-foo Apple Stores that are a huge cost and focus in on creating a online system with BETTER service than Dell provides.
If they don't, they won't gain MAJOR ground in market-share. They'll remain a two-bit player in the computer market. Computer stores for one brand went out in the 80's - they were ultimately too expensive to operate and too difficult to provide any value-add from.
They'll blow their great past credibility of being high-quality if they continue on this path of "You must have an appointment for anything" service. This is the 2000's. No one has time for appointments, you need to provide "Just In Time" service and staff appropriately.
Eight salespeople standing around with no authority to fix customer issues, and two overworked "Genius" Bar guys... Apple's priority is clearly 4-to-1, SALES OVER SERVICE.
No fucknut, I've had computers since 1982. If they'd asked, I would have told them what I did. This is a major problem with Apple and Apple fans, the assumption that every customer is a complete fucking moron who shouldn't own a computer anyway.
How would I have known to call some fucking Genius Bar to get an appointment?
Nothing in ANY computer I've ever owned (well, perhaps calling Sun to send an ON-SITE tech) requires an APPOINTMENT to get a DEAD COMPUTER THAT'S ONLY TWO DAYS OLD REPLACED AT THE COMPANY'S BRANDED STORE THAT ONLY SELLS THEIR MACHINES.
I CALLED APPLECARE prior to the day I returned. They did not tell me that if I went back to the store I needed AN APPOINTMENT, dumbass.
Apple pushed a badly engineered or assembled product out the door with a serious heat problem. Considering that their market share is much lower than the various PC laptop manufacturers, the amount of documentation on this problem on the Net is HUGE.
The machine fried itself. I knew it was dead. I didn't need a "Genius" to figure that out. It wouldn't even POWER ON. Even the AppleCare rep laughed when he said, "First step says to power the machine on."
To get the problem fixed, I went to their BRANDED STORE expecting EXCELLENT service. MUCH better service than the local crappy CompUSA should have been given. Instead, I was shown to the door and told to keep my dead machine until tomorrow and to stay up until midnight to make a Genius Bar appointment for the next day.
Apple fucked up big time - plain and simple. Their people are bound by corporate policy and are not allowed to think for themselves. Or if they are, they didn't show ANY initiative to fix the problem - they RAN ME OFF. That's shitty customer service in ANY business, Apple kool-aid or not.
We'll see what Apple Corporate has to say about it. The only way it'll change is via complaints in writing.
I bought a MacBook the day they came out. I have been a big proponent of Apple for a long time, and like what they're doing software-wise. I really wanted a MacBook and knew they'd show up "sometime soon" after the MacBook "Pro". (Hell the specs on the new MacBook are as good as the original "Pro" machines, just like Apple always does.)
I then left on a trip back East, and two days into the trip the laptop went completely dead. Won't even power up. Battery is charged, charger works fine. Tried the PRAM Zap thing and the power controller reset trick. The machine is utter fucking toast.
Got back home from the trip into Denver where we have THREE Apple Stores and drove like a mad bastard from DIA to the house to get the original packaging, and then to the Apple Store. Already had researched that they close at 6PM here on Sundays. Had a friend look at the website on the phone while I drove.
Walked in at 5:30 PM, told the sales guy what's up. He says, "come over here with me" and proceeds to log into a Mac away from the rest of the customers to get me an APPOINTMENT for the Genius Bar. An APPOINTMENT? WTF????
The system tells him there are NO APPOINTMENTS left for the day. He tells me flatly that I can't get it replaced or repaired tonight.
My blood boils. I tell him the thing is completely dead and I want it dealt with. He says I can't see anyone today.
I ask him, "Can you at least check with them and see if they'd have time to see that it WON'T EVEN BOOT?!" He says yes, then hollers over to the Genius Bar guys, "Are you guys done for the day?".
Not a word about WHAT THE FUCKING PROBLEM IS -- He leads them into "Yes."
I was so shocked and pissed off I walked out. This was the store across town from where I bought it, but closer to Denver International Airport.
I'm going to absolutely LOSE IT on a manager tomorrow.
Fucking hippy-dippy "Get an Appointment at the Genius Bar" BULLSHIT. Christ.
A customer with a completely dead piece of hardware they bought 4 days ago on the DAY IT WAS RELEASED walks in and you tell them "Go away. You don't have an appointment."
What the fuck is wrong with these people?!?!?!?!?!?!
They're probably getting a dead MacBook back for good tomorrow. If they try to charge me a restocking fee, I'll let them know I'm invoking my credit card's customer protection plan and they can go jump in a god damned lake.
Ohhhh... that rocks. I knew about the two-finger scroll thing, but didn't know about the two-finger second-mouse-button thing. Thanks much for the tip!!!
Using the new MacBook right now, and I really like the keyboard. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool clickey-clack real-IBM keyboard lover, the noiser the better, usually... but...
This thing is virtually silent. The keys are firm but not overly so, and they remind me a lot of the key size of the keyboard on my Tandy Color Computer Model I, back in the day... although the feel is MUCH better.
I have a feeling the keyboard will be a "You either love it or you hate it" type of thing. But so far, I like it a lot!
The trackpad and lack of a second button (still) for that will drive me to get an external mouse for long sessions at a desk, as I'm also a fan of the IBM laptops with the "nubby" and I always disable the bloody touchpad thing... but... I am getting used to the "two-finger drag = scroll" thing on the Mac's touchpad. That's a nifty one.
In general, if I had to type all day long on it, I might be a bit annoyed by it at the end of the day, but for $1099... it's quite a nice little machine.
Of course, now I'm in that no-man's land of "moving between two laptops" and getting all the tools I need, loaded... and all that crap for the next couple of weeks...
It's really not a problem - bought a new MacBook today and have already had it under harsh flourescent lights and outdoors. It's gorgeous. I almost am wondering if it's polarized in some fashion, but I haven't gone to grab my polarized sunglasses to check. It really does look better.
Toshiba and HP have had these "glossy" screens on certain laptops for some time now. Someone mentioned that it helps DVD's and medial look better, and I'd have to agree. Looks nice.
Mod parent down for gratuitous plug of his company -- the link isn't to the screenshot, finding it is a pain in the ass, and it's tiny on the website. He just wants traffic.
The price differential is still a larger margin on high-end products (an Apple mainstay in their strategy) -- the difference between a MacBook Pro and an equivalent PC-based laptop is a much larger gap than the low-end products you mentioned.
Still - I agree that I want a MacBook Pro... I like what Apple's doing and am willing to pay a premium for it.
There's a very good reason gold is "in a bubble". People are buying it.
When they stop buying it, it'll collapse.
This happens in a regular, yet somewhat unpredictable cycle with all investment opportunities because they never quite live up to their "potential" as seen by exhuberant investors.
Seriously: You need to start taking that vacation time. Start slow, announce it well in advance, and get buy-in from people above you that you're going and you can't change the schedule. Do it somewhere you CAN'T be reached reasonably. (Cruises are great for this.) They'll have a greater understanding of what you do and what your worth to the organization is when you return. Then don't fight them when they pull some of your responsibilities and add headcount... go with the flow.
The point is, it was never INTENDED to have any return other than compliance with the law. Studying the costs of legal compliance vs their monetary gain is tilting after windmills.
I love it - journalist interviews a bezillion people about the story but forgets to mention if they turned the damn cell site off.
Would be interesting to note if the cell site remaining in operation was more important than the health of the people in the building, eh?
I mean, if you just turn the thing off, and assuming the cell site is the cause of the problem, danger removed -- no reason to leave the building at all.
Thus, the real story here is -- "Reporter writes silly sensationalist story while REAL Doctors and Engineers try to find the cause of the problem, long before they really know what it is."
You really think the power companies are going to hire the people and talent necessary to handle all of this?
I forsee this commercial in the near future, if BPL actually ever happens:
Xcel Energy BPL, Brought to you by Comcast!
Of course from a purely RF Engineering standpoint, BPL is an utter piece of shit anyway, as documented numerous times.
I wonder how this retarded article ended up on Slashdot again about BPL... it's been announced before... there's been articles about what a load of crap it is... and then this "It's all new... shiny new BPL rises again from it's own pile of crap!"... shows up.
Oh well, what do you expect from Slashdot? This isn't "news for nerds" anymore, this is "fake news re-hashed over and over for 18-year old nerds and Linux vs. Microsoft flamefests until they buy everything we're pushing...".
How many gaming industry articles do we need a day, and who gives a rats ass if they overwork their staff... for one example. They can quit and work more mundane jobs to get away from it if they don't like it. Slashdot treats game writers like they're doing something noble. IT'S A FREAKIN' GAME!
Much of the software created today is the huge-project type that really does fit your "hot-rod" analogy. It has more bells, whistles, horsepower, and "stuff" that's completely unnecessary (but required by the customer for so-called "ease of use") than required to do the job.
Data entry, and then post-processing into text files and possibly graphs for mathmatical stuff is still the raw "guts" of the real world of heavy-duty computing that actually MAKES MONEY. (Think billing systems, big batch processes for warehouses/inventory, etc.)
The "personal computer" crazy companies that want pretty GUI's, rediculous features that have nothing to do with the job actually being accomplished, etc... are most of the "problem" with "software projects" today.
You prove it by saying that Notepad (a simple text editor), Mac OS X (a Unix - text-based OS with a decent user GUI over the top and a few "common" applications bundled in for free), and Corel Draw (that graphics thing... if you need it)... are the three apps you use.
Most of this other CRAP companies build could be better done on a series of dumb terminals, a Unix box, and maybe... just maybe... and RDBMS and associated front-end. All text. The JOB would get done, but no one would LIKE it, or like working on it.
Slashdot Mirror
Tech guy who worked his way up's Motto:
The engineers are still working on the design and arguing about internal data structures or something, but they don't know we already have it up and running, it has full redundancy and backups, and cost 1/3 of what you're paying them. Think of me fondly at bonus/raise time.
I love seeing that there's like six different types of DUCT TAPE in that photo. And a ThinkPad. ;-)
Uhh, I have driven to the top of Cheyenne Mountain, and most of the workers there drive in from Colorado Springs. The top of the mountain has a sizeable commercial RF site focusing on broadcast and two-way radio systems. In fact, it's crowded with them.
Where ever it is that you get your information about such places, you need to change it. It's hideously wrong. The Crystal Palace is pretty easy to commute to.
There are still large areas of the Western U.S. that are largely unpopulated, but the areas around Cheyenne Mountain and Roswell, NM are definitely not in those areas.
Yeah I'm definitely torn, because the machines themselves are about the best you can get for the price-point*, the OS is top-notch, but customer service KEEPS the customer when things go wrong. I hate to reward bad behavior by "trying again". But I might. If the next machine has zero hardware-related issues, I'd end up a happy Apple customer. If the next machine has hardware problems after 14 days, I'd be utterly screwed, with no one to blame but myself for the error in judgement.
*The ongoing heat problems with all of the Intel-based laptop line will eventually be shaken out -- the recent patch to lower the starting temperature of the fans will go a long way to fixing that one.
Thanks for your comments. I think there are good people at Apple and Apple Stores. I also think Apple Corporate is doing some really retarded things to hobble the employees. As one friend put it, "If you want the machine, you're not hurting Apple by withholding a single sale from them, really. You're just hurting yourself."
Perhaps my expectations need to change, but it's hard to do that when I can get Dell CompleteCare for $300 and they'll come to my house to fix anything wrong with their product. Apple needs to find a way to do that.
Mostly I would really like to know that Apple heard the complaint and they're doing something to keep the situation that happened to me from happening again. But I doubt they'll even respond.
Conversations on Ham Radio are only what you make of them. If all you did was talk about your rigs, then that's all the imagination you had. Tough to admit, but true.
Conversations around here run the gamut from Politics, to computers, to spaceflight, to yeah... rigs.
You're right, many hams do only talk about boring things -- just like in a crowded Christmas party, you're bound to find some people talking about boring things, and if you're like me -- you'll gravitate away to a more interesting discussion.
Nah, like any good hobby, it's about the people you meet.
If it weren't for Amateur Radio, I would have never met Bdale Garbee, prior to his becoming the Debian Project Leader, or any of the other great folks who are Hams.
I was driving from the airport. Some people have lives and don't spend all day posting as an AC on Slashdot you know.
I keep wondering what your personal beef is with this situation - I haven't been personally rude or wrong in any way to you, so you must have a vested interest in something here. Are you a "Genius" Bar worker, or are you an Apple employee? Is that why you're posting Anonymously?
Not sure why you think someone who expects excellent customer service from a company that is the underdog and NEEDS to be out-performing their competition is a "beligerant asshole". Other than some strong language on my website, I've not done anything to anyone. If that threatens you, you've got a serious problem. You really should talk to someone about it.
The appointments are FINE for normal service. A dead machine that won't even power up is NOT NORMAL SERVICE. It's higher in priority than any other possible problem because you can't access the very Appointment system you're supposed to use to be allowed to bring the machine in. Ultimately, their system is broken in numberous ways.
I didn't ask to push in front of ANYONE - you are just making that up. Remember the "Genius" Bar guys said they were "done for the day" and there was only one customer at the Bar with two "Genuises". You sure make a lot of things up in your own mind about this situation, sir.
All I wanted them to do was replace a dead laptop. Does it require a "Genius" to power up a machine? Couldn't any of the EIGHT salespeople have done that troubleshooting? It consisted of trying to power up the machine, then removing the battery and power supply, holding the power button in for 5 seconds and replacing the battery and attempting to power up again.
After that, if you're the salesperson at a NORMAL store, you'd hand me a new machine, and apologize for my time wasted on the problem, as well as my time to DRIVE THE MACHINE TO YOU. You don't ask me to leave, and you don't force me to show a technician that the machine won't power on... if you're a normal store salesperson you're assumed by your employer to have at least enough intelligence to recognize a machine that won't turn on at all.
If you don't understand the above paragraph -- you won't make it in customer service. Trust me, I've been doing it for over 15 years, and I've listened to FAR worse complaints from customers who I couldn't help at all. When I could help them, I always do.
FOUR APPLE EMPLOYEES WALKED ME OUT OF THEIR STORE WITHOUT ATTEMPTING TO ADDRESS THEIR COMPLETELY DEAD PRODUCT.
This is the bottom line, man. Whatever other stories you're making up in your head, you need to focus in a bit more...
Apple needs to dump the foo-foo Apple Stores that are a huge cost and focus in on creating a online system with BETTER service than Dell provides.
If they don't, they won't gain MAJOR ground in market-share. They'll remain a two-bit player in the computer market. Computer stores for one brand went out in the 80's - they were ultimately too expensive to operate and too difficult to provide any value-add from.
They'll blow their great past credibility of being high-quality if they continue on this path of "You must have an appointment for anything" service. This is the 2000's. No one has time for appointments, you need to provide "Just In Time" service and staff appropriately.
Eight salespeople standing around with no authority to fix customer issues, and two overworked "Genius" Bar guys... Apple's priority is clearly 4-to-1, SALES OVER SERVICE.
No fucknut, I've had computers since 1982. If they'd asked, I would have told them what I did. This is a major problem with Apple and Apple fans, the assumption that every customer is a complete fucking moron who shouldn't own a computer anyway.
How would I have known to call some fucking Genius Bar to get an appointment?
Nothing in ANY computer I've ever owned (well, perhaps calling Sun to send an ON-SITE tech) requires an APPOINTMENT to get a DEAD COMPUTER THAT'S ONLY TWO DAYS OLD REPLACED AT THE COMPANY'S BRANDED STORE THAT ONLY SELLS THEIR MACHINES.
I CALLED APPLECARE prior to the day I returned. They did not tell me that if I went back to the store I needed AN APPOINTMENT, dumbass.
Apple pushed a badly engineered or assembled product out the door with a serious heat problem. Considering that their market share is much lower than the various PC laptop manufacturers, the amount of documentation on this problem on the Net is HUGE.
The machine fried itself. I knew it was dead. I didn't need a "Genius" to figure that out. It wouldn't even POWER ON. Even the AppleCare rep laughed when he said, "First step says to power the machine on."
To get the problem fixed, I went to their BRANDED STORE expecting EXCELLENT service. MUCH better service than the local crappy CompUSA should have been given. Instead, I was shown to the door and told to keep my dead machine until tomorrow and to stay up until midnight to make a Genius Bar appointment for the next day.
Apple fucked up big time - plain and simple. Their people are bound by corporate policy and are not allowed to think for themselves. Or if they are, they didn't show ANY initiative to fix the problem - they RAN ME OFF. That's shitty customer service in ANY business, Apple kool-aid or not.
We'll see what Apple Corporate has to say about it. The only way it'll change is via complaints in writing.
Can you please point out where I yelled or screamed at anyone?
Patience? $1200 and the thing died in two days, and then they tell you to leave the store when you come in to get it replaced.
Somehow I don't think you'd find that an easy situation to be patient in.
Of course, you're an AC, so who cares. Put a real name on your posts and grow a pair.
I bought a MacBook the day they came out. I have been a big proponent of Apple for a long time, and like what they're doing software-wise. I really wanted a MacBook and knew they'd show up "sometime soon" after the MacBook "Pro". (Hell the specs on the new MacBook are as good as the original "Pro" machines, just like Apple always does.)
I then left on a trip back East, and two days into the trip the laptop went completely dead. Won't even power up. Battery is charged, charger works fine. Tried the PRAM Zap thing and the power controller reset trick. The machine is utter fucking toast.
Got back home from the trip into Denver where we have THREE Apple Stores and drove like a mad bastard from DIA to the house to get the original packaging, and then to the Apple Store. Already had researched that they close at 6PM here on Sundays. Had a friend look at the website on the phone while I drove.
Walked in at 5:30 PM, told the sales guy what's up. He says, "come over here with me" and proceeds to log into a Mac away from the rest of the customers to get me an APPOINTMENT for the Genius Bar. An APPOINTMENT? WTF????
The system tells him there are NO APPOINTMENTS left for the day. He tells me flatly that I can't get it replaced or repaired tonight.
My blood boils. I tell him the thing is completely dead and I want it dealt with. He says I can't see anyone today.
I ask him, "Can you at least check with them and see if they'd have time to see that it WON'T EVEN BOOT?!" He says yes, then hollers over to the Genius Bar guys, "Are you guys done for the day?".
Not a word about WHAT THE FUCKING PROBLEM IS -- He leads them into "Yes."
I was so shocked and pissed off I walked out. This was the store across town from where I bought it, but closer to Denver International Airport.
I'm going to absolutely LOSE IT on a manager tomorrow.
Fucking hippy-dippy "Get an Appointment at the Genius Bar" BULLSHIT. Christ.
A customer with a completely dead piece of hardware they bought 4 days ago on the DAY IT WAS RELEASED walks in and you tell them "Go away. You don't have an appointment."
What the fuck is wrong with these people?!?!?!?!?!?!
They're probably getting a dead MacBook back for good tomorrow. If they try to charge me a restocking fee, I'll let them know I'm invoking my credit card's customer protection plan and they can go jump in a god damned lake.
Dude, I'm gettin' a Dell.
Ohhhh... that rocks. I knew about the two-finger scroll thing, but didn't know about the two-finger second-mouse-button thing. Thanks much for the tip!!!
Using the new MacBook right now, and I really like the keyboard. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool clickey-clack real-IBM keyboard lover, the noiser the better, usually... but...
This thing is virtually silent. The keys are firm but not overly so, and they remind me a lot of the key size of the keyboard on my Tandy Color Computer Model I, back in the day... although the feel is MUCH better.
I have a feeling the keyboard will be a "You either love it or you hate it" type of thing. But so far, I like it a lot!
The trackpad and lack of a second button (still) for that will drive me to get an external mouse for long sessions at a desk, as I'm also a fan of the IBM laptops with the "nubby" and I always disable the bloody touchpad thing... but... I am getting used to the "two-finger drag = scroll" thing on the Mac's touchpad. That's a nifty one.
In general, if I had to type all day long on it, I might be a bit annoyed by it at the end of the day, but for $1099... it's quite a nice little machine.
Of course, now I'm in that no-man's land of "moving between two laptops" and getting all the tools I need, loaded... and all that crap for the next couple of weeks...
It's really not a problem - bought a new MacBook today and have already had it under harsh flourescent lights and outdoors. It's gorgeous. I almost am wondering if it's polarized in some fashion, but I haven't gone to grab my polarized sunglasses to check. It really does look better.
Toshiba and HP have had these "glossy" screens on certain laptops for some time now. Someone mentioned that it helps DVD's and medial look better, and I'd have to agree. Looks nice.
Mod parent down for gratuitous plug of his company -- the link isn't to the screenshot, finding it is a pain in the ass, and it's tiny on the website. He just wants traffic.
You had a real, defined, in-the-open, enemy to fight, old man.
Talk about having it easy!
-97 dBm is a "relatively poor signal"?
I've got analog FM receivers here that will receive at 12 dB SINAD at -125 dBm!
If -97 dBm is poor quality on cell phones, no wonder they suck.
The price differential is still a larger margin on high-end products (an Apple mainstay in their strategy) -- the difference between a MacBook Pro and an equivalent PC-based laptop is a much larger gap than the low-end products you mentioned.
Still - I agree that I want a MacBook Pro... I like what Apple's doing and am willing to pay a premium for it.
There's a very good reason gold is "in a bubble". People are buying it.
When they stop buying it, it'll collapse.
This happens in a regular, yet somewhat unpredictable cycle with all investment opportunities because they never quite live up to their "potential" as seen by exhuberant investors.
Yeah great job SuSE - you finally pulled off what Mac and Windows had ten years ago in desktop themeing and consistency???
Come on... it's GNOME and KDE, and both still look like something out of 1998.
Seriously: You need to start taking that vacation time. Start slow, announce it well in advance, and get buy-in from people above you that you're going and you can't change the schedule. Do it somewhere you CAN'T be reached reasonably. (Cruises are great for this.) They'll have a greater understanding of what you do and what your worth to the organization is when you return. Then don't fight them when they pull some of your responsibilities and add headcount... go with the flow.
The point is, it was never INTENDED to have any return other than compliance with the law. Studying the costs of legal compliance vs their monetary gain is tilting after windmills.
I love it - journalist interviews a bezillion people about the story but forgets to mention if they turned the damn cell site off.
Would be interesting to note if the cell site remaining in operation was more important than the health of the people in the building, eh?
I mean, if you just turn the thing off, and assuming the cell site is the cause of the problem, danger removed -- no reason to leave the building at all.
Thus, the real story here is -- "Reporter writes silly sensationalist story while REAL Doctors and Engineers try to find the cause of the problem, long before they really know what it is."
You really think the power companies are going to hire the people and talent necessary to handle all of this?
I forsee this commercial in the near future, if BPL actually ever happens:
Xcel Energy BPL, Brought to you by Comcast!
Of course from a purely RF Engineering standpoint, BPL is an utter piece of shit anyway, as documented numerous times.
I wonder how this retarded article ended up on Slashdot again about BPL... it's been announced before... there's been articles about what a load of crap it is... and then this "It's all new... shiny new BPL rises again from it's own pile of crap!"... shows up.
Oh well, what do you expect from Slashdot? This isn't "news for nerds" anymore, this is "fake news re-hashed over and over for 18-year old nerds and Linux vs. Microsoft flamefests until they buy everything we're pushing...".
How many gaming industry articles do we need a day, and who gives a rats ass if they overwork their staff... for one example. They can quit and work more mundane jobs to get away from it if they don't like it. Slashdot treats game writers like they're doing something noble. IT'S A FREAKIN' GAME!
Much of the software created today is the huge-project type that really does fit your "hot-rod" analogy. It has more bells, whistles, horsepower, and "stuff" that's completely unnecessary (but required by the customer for so-called "ease of use") than required to do the job.
... just maybe... and RDBMS and associated front-end. All text. The JOB would get done, but no one would LIKE it, or like working on it.
Data entry, and then post-processing into text files and possibly graphs for mathmatical stuff is still the raw "guts" of the real world of heavy-duty computing that actually MAKES MONEY. (Think billing systems, big batch processes for warehouses/inventory, etc.)
The "personal computer" crazy companies that want pretty GUI's, rediculous features that have nothing to do with the job actually being accomplished, etc... are most of the "problem" with "software projects" today.
You prove it by saying that Notepad (a simple text editor), Mac OS X (a Unix - text-based OS with a decent user GUI over the top and a few "common" applications bundled in for free), and Corel Draw (that graphics thing... if you need it)... are the three apps you use.
Most of this other CRAP companies build could be better done on a series of dumb terminals, a Unix box, and maybe
The guy that posts all the dupes. ;-)