I agree that Apple's customer service is atrocious. My wife wanted a new iBook a little over a year ago and we went online to order one. When we saw that she could log in through her school's purchase program and get a discount, we did exactly that.
But wait! The iBooks they had listed on the "school" page *looked* the same as the original iBook page, but when her iBook came in, she said "it won't play DVDs." I KNEW the system specs had listed a DVD player for EVERY iBook listed, so I called up Apple and after talking to two techs someone could tell me what happened: "Oh, the low-end system under the school discount ONLY has a CD-ROM...it's a only an option on the school systems, and basically the low-end iBook changes to only have a CD." They agreed that it was a bit misleading, since the systems appear the same, but you have to read the fine print to see that there are some differences. (also, the "discount" really isn't that good if they're not giving you the same system in the end)
OK, thanks buddy. Now I have a brand new iBook that doesn't play DVDs and my wife is getting upset that her new computer "isn't working." Apple's response? NOTHING!!! They would not take it back in return because it was "customized" (hard drive upgrade) and when I asked if I could send it back to them and PAY HOWEVER MUCH THEY WANTED to get the CD upgraded to a DVD they said they "do not do that." Basically, "screw you, you made a mistake on our admittedly-misleading website."
I talked to 4 different people at Apple (some calling themselves managers)...we had purchased the extended 3-year service and everything...I was willing to do ANYTHING THEY SUGGESTED just to get this BRAND NEW iBOOK upgraded since apparently "I had made the mistake." They flatly refused to offer me any options: they said I made the mistake and would have to eat it; they don't do hardware upgrades, so I couldn't send it back to them; and they couldn't refer me to anyone who could help get this problem solved.
It's debatable whether my "mistake" was really my error, but just to be nice to Apple, I'll admit that it was. What company in their right mind takes a customer that has just admitted making a costly mistake in buying a new computer and is willing to spend MORE money to get some help fixing it, and tell them to basically go pound sand? Money was NOT the object here...a wife happy with her new non-Windows computer WAS.
Hands down, I have never experienced such poor customer service in my life. I had plans to buy a new PowerBook, but I am done dealing with this piss-poor company.
Depending on what kind of degree you want to pursue, an online degree definitely can be equivalent to a "traditional" degree. I have a B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology, and completed my entirely at night through their Distance Learning program while I was working for a software company full-time. Because it's an accredited school and my degree was "work related," I was even able to use tuition reimbursement from work to pay for it.
When I decided to go to law school (2nd tier), the fact that I had earned my distance learning degree wasn't even mentioned (yes, I was accepted). In my case, there is no difference between my degree and the same degree earned on campus.
I'm certain there will be a lot of naysayers who are convinced that all online degrees are worthless, but it's not true. It depends on the school (accredited, etc.) and the type of degree you're looking for. Even if you're just looking for a way to get some extra credits, most schools will let you take DL courses from an accredited school and transfer them into your program.
Do your research and you'll find there are a lot of legitimate options out there. John Bear has written some good books about where to get quality distance learning education.
Give the guy a break. He's got a high pressure job.
That explanation wouldn't be acceptable if the offender were the President of the United States. Regardless of what you think of the current President, that job is a lot higher stress (more people out to kill you...around half the country always disapproves of you no matter what political party you're from).
Ballmer could resign from Microsoft with no pension and still live fat, dumb, bald, and happy for the rest of his life. "High pressure"? It's all relative.
Say what you like about this being dribble, but this is exactly what Google is doing, betting the farm on the long-term value of the cream of the crop.
...read the order and try to understand something about the law here people.
IANAL but IAALS (I Am A Law Student)
This judge ruled as a matter of law and much of this case was procedural. You cannot just allege something and bring it into court and hope that you find a judge that sympathizes. A key component of this order is Rule 12(b)(6) that allows a case to be dismissed for failure to state a claim. http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule12.htm
This concept is more complicated than it might seem to readers that don't even RTFA and just assume whatever they want to, but there are solid procedural rule in place (established by the US Supreme Court) that require certain things to be stated in order to for a claim to be properly stated. These rules are partly to promote efficiency in the court system, and also to keep incomplete causes of action out of the system because they aren't sufficiently stated.
The purpose of a motion to dismiss under F.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) is to test the formal sufficiency of the statement of the claim for relief. It is not a procedure for resolving a contest about the merits of the case. 5A Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure 1356 (West 1990)
Procedure is important. Honestly, discussions about this sort of thing may be over the heads of those that prefer to offer their rabid opinions about a topic rather than trying to understand the real issue at hand here.
NY is different than most states because the title of their trial court is the "Supreme Court", which is what most people think is the title for the highest court in the state.
This is Slashdot. Of course we will have people coming out of the woodwork saying they see no need for cursive writing or even most handwriting at all. Just look at how much we type everything.
On the other hand, the same argument could be made for learning to tie a necktie or similar skills. You CAN get away without them, but I think you are missing a classic skill that isn't all that difficult to learn, and worth the effort. You can type most things, but not all things. Handwriting will never go completely away (signatures, notepads, etc.), and your impression on other people WILL be influenced by how you write.
The only time I ever call technical support is when checking the manual and web doesn't get me the answer. If the person on the other end of the line has no more information available to them, what's the point?
It sounds this simple, but as you say, _you_ don't call support unless you checked the manual and web without getting an answer. I'm the same way. But I do 4th tier support for a software company, and I never cease to be amazed at the number of "qualified people" (network/system/UNIX administrators and so forth) who decide that they would rather whine to someone on a phone or over email rather than doing simple investigation or troubleshooting. And I mean *simple* like obvious filesystem permissions issues or questions like "how do I tar a file...I normally use this GUI utility, but I'm accessing the server through a console today". Goodness, where do these "administrators" come from!?
If I were doing front line support, I would be tempted to tell some of these people they aren't competent enough to do their jobs...but hey, it pays our salaries...even my job is mostly lab-based research; nothing a hard-core techie wouldn't dive into.
For low purchase, fuel, and maintenance costs, it's hard to beat a bicycle. Not only that, but it's healthy for you, and 30MPH is doable if you're in good shape on a touring bike.
Slashdot Mirror
"acted stupidly"
Would you agree, President Obama?
...then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
I hope we're reaching that last point there.
"...die motherf-cker, die motherf-cker..."
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/18/10649/5334
How about we export President Bush over to Germany? Sounds like he'd fit right in.
Their dark-on-dark website scheme is really conveying a professional image for them.
My main problem with AJAX: submitting a form without reloading the page! Any easy way to do that?
If you're not opposed to using a framework, use Ajax.Updater from script.aculo.us
I agree that Apple's customer service is atrocious. My wife wanted a new iBook a little over a year ago and we went online to order one. When we saw that she could log in through her school's purchase program and get a discount, we did exactly that.
But wait! The iBooks they had listed on the "school" page *looked* the same as the original iBook page, but when her iBook came in, she said "it won't play DVDs." I KNEW the system specs had listed a DVD player for EVERY iBook listed, so I called up Apple and after talking to two techs someone could tell me what happened: "Oh, the low-end system under the school discount ONLY has a CD-ROM...it's a only an option on the school systems, and basically the low-end iBook changes to only have a CD." They agreed that it was a bit misleading, since the systems appear the same, but you have to read the fine print to see that there are some differences. (also, the "discount" really isn't that good if they're not giving you the same system in the end)
OK, thanks buddy. Now I have a brand new iBook that doesn't play DVDs and my wife is getting upset that her new computer "isn't working." Apple's response? NOTHING!!! They would not take it back in return because it was "customized" (hard drive upgrade) and when I asked if I could send it back to them and PAY HOWEVER MUCH THEY WANTED to get the CD upgraded to a DVD they said they "do not do that." Basically, "screw you, you made a mistake on our admittedly-misleading website."
I talked to 4 different people at Apple (some calling themselves managers)...we had purchased the extended 3-year service and everything...I was willing to do ANYTHING THEY SUGGESTED just to get this BRAND NEW iBOOK upgraded since apparently "I had made the mistake." They flatly refused to offer me any options: they said I made the mistake and would have to eat it; they don't do hardware upgrades, so I couldn't send it back to them; and they couldn't refer me to anyone who could help get this problem solved.
It's debatable whether my "mistake" was really my error, but just to be nice to Apple, I'll admit that it was. What company in their right mind takes a customer that has just admitted making a costly mistake in buying a new computer and is willing to spend MORE money to get some help fixing it, and tell them to basically go pound sand? Money was NOT the object here...a wife happy with her new non-Windows computer WAS.
Hands down, I have never experienced such poor customer service in my life. I had plans to buy a new PowerBook, but I am done dealing with this piss-poor company.
because, like Slashdot, their page doesn't validate either.
Depending on what kind of degree you want to pursue, an online degree definitely can be equivalent to a "traditional" degree. I have a B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology, and completed my entirely at night through their Distance Learning program while I was working for a software company full-time. Because it's an accredited school and my degree was "work related," I was even able to use tuition reimbursement from work to pay for it.
When I decided to go to law school (2nd tier), the fact that I had earned my distance learning degree wasn't even mentioned (yes, I was accepted). In my case, there is no difference between my degree and the same degree earned on campus.
I'm certain there will be a lot of naysayers who are convinced that all online degrees are worthless, but it's not true. It depends on the school (accredited, etc.) and the type of degree you're looking for. Even if you're just looking for a way to get some extra credits, most schools will let you take DL courses from an accredited school and transfer them into your program.
Do your research and you'll find there are a lot of legitimate options out there. John Bear has written some good books about where to get quality distance learning education.
Give the guy a break. He's got a high pressure job.
That explanation wouldn't be acceptable if the offender were the President of the United States. Regardless of what you think of the current President, that job is a lot higher stress (more people out to kill you...around half the country always disapproves of you no matter what political party you're from).
Ballmer could resign from Microsoft with no pension and still live fat, dumb, bald, and happy for the rest of his life. "High pressure"? It's all relative.
Ballmer's behaviour is unacceptable here.
Say what you like about this being dribble, but this is exactly what Google is doing, betting the farm on the long-term value of the cream of the crop.
Correct. The Democratic-Republicans were also referred to as Republicans in short. http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.h tml
And yes...not the same as today's Republican party.
That is a good view, but Thomas Jefferson did not write any of the Federalist Papers. http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/
Thomas Jefferson was not a Federalist; rather, he was a Republican and upon becoming President tried to unite the groups.
...read the order and try to understand something about the law here people.
IANAL but IAALS (I Am A Law Student)
This judge ruled as a matter of law and much of this case was procedural. You cannot just allege something and bring it into court and hope that you find a judge that sympathizes. A key component of this order is Rule 12(b)(6) that allows a case to be dismissed for failure to state a claim. http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule12.htm
This concept is more complicated than it might seem to readers that don't even RTFA and just assume whatever they want to, but there are solid procedural rule in place (established by the US Supreme Court) that require certain things to be stated in order to for a claim to be properly stated. These rules are partly to promote efficiency in the court system, and also to keep incomplete causes of action out of the system because they aren't sufficiently stated.
The purpose of a motion to dismiss under F.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) is to test the formal sufficiency of the statement of the claim for relief. It is not a procedure for resolving a contest about the merits of the case. 5A Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure 1356 (West 1990)
Procedure is important. Honestly, discussions about this sort of thing may be over the heads of those that prefer to offer their rabid opinions about a topic rather than trying to understand the real issue at hand here.
does it recharge under fluorescent lighting???!!!
With this type of rogue behavior, they should merge with the ATF and become Firearms, Alcohol, Recording, and Tobacco (FART)!
Interestingly, the highest court in NY is called the "Court of Appeals"
The intermediate courts are the appellate courts.
NY is different than most states because the title of their trial court is the "Supreme Court", which is what most people think is the title for the highest court in the state.
Not only routers, but Cisco runs Linux on their NAMs (Network Analysis Modules...commonly found in 65xx switches)
"OK everyone...arms up in the air"
\
that Netscape is now like BSD??!!
This is Slashdot. Of course we will have people coming out of the woodwork saying they see no need for cursive writing or even most handwriting at all. Just look at how much we type everything.
On the other hand, the same argument could be made for learning to tie a necktie or similar skills. You CAN get away without them, but I think you are missing a classic skill that isn't all that difficult to learn, and worth the effort. You can type most things, but not all things. Handwriting will never go completely away (signatures, notepads, etc.), and your impression on other people WILL be influenced by how you write.
Just my $0.02
The only time I ever call technical support is when checking the manual and web doesn't get me the answer. If the person on the other end of the line has no more information available to them, what's the point?
It sounds this simple, but as you say, _you_ don't call support unless you checked the manual and web without getting an answer. I'm the same way. But I do 4th tier support for a software company, and I never cease to be amazed at the number of "qualified people" (network/system/UNIX administrators and so forth) who decide that they would rather whine to someone on a phone or over email rather than doing simple investigation or troubleshooting. And I mean *simple* like obvious filesystem permissions issues or questions like "how do I tar a file...I normally use this GUI utility, but I'm accessing the server through a console today". Goodness, where do these "administrators" come from!?
If I were doing front line support, I would be tempted to tell some of these people they aren't competent enough to do their jobs...but hey, it pays our salaries...even my job is mostly lab-based research; nothing a hard-core techie wouldn't dive into.
For low purchase, fuel, and maintenance costs, it's hard to beat a bicycle. Not only that, but it's healthy for you, and 30MPH is doable if you're in good shape on a touring bike.