former apple employee who spent some time in customer service here...
steve does personally read a lot of his mail. what he doesn't read himself is read by a team of high level customer service agents who go through all communications he receives, categorizing them, investigating issues as required and responding to each. especially significant issues are escalated at each agent's discretion.
reports are generated that show the trends and hot issues that are prompting customers to contact steve. I would assume that based on the communications read by steve, as well as the data on feedback trends this led to the decision to offer compensation.
that, or the whole thing was planned from the begining.
It seems like from most people's comments, there are three main factors at play which determine their preference for viewing video content:
1. Convenience 2. Cost 3. Quality
The weight we all place on each of these varies.
For me, I'm not too picky about quality, but I'm lazy, so I want it to be convenient to obtain. I'm also cheap, so there's a limited threshold for how much I'll pay for content. With this combination of weights for the above variables, the iTMS fits my needs well. I'll go to the iTMS before going with Bittorrent every time. The streaming content on the web occasionally does also. This usually beats out iTMS for me if the service is reliable enough. Unfortunately, NBC's streaming service sucks severely. The applet is crappy, the streaming is sketchy and the selection is limited. ABC, otoh, has a pretty good streamer dealie. The fullscreen mode works well, most shows are available, and they're even adding HD quality video now. CBS is somewhere in the middle. All three have limited commercials, and I don't mind sitting through them. usually there'll be about 3 ads per episode, and I can deal with that.
I don't have cable or dish service. I moved in June and still haven't hooked up the bunny ears to the TV. I have been watching all my TV and movies on the lappy. I usually have at least one season subscription through the iTMS at any given time, sometimes two. Most recently it was Ice Road Truckers and before that The Office (I have purchased all seasons of it from ITMS).
Now that The Office won't be available at iTMS and either won't be available at nbc.com or if it is will be too annoying to watch, the next rung on my ladder will be to get the torrent.
While I may have occasional twinge of guilt when getting non-network torrents or movies, I don't have many qualms about getting torrents of network TV episodes. For me, I view this as the equivalent of watching a friend's Tivoed episode. The network stations send these out on the airwaves for anyone to watch without paying, and if someone captures this content and then shares it with me, I don't view it much differently than if I captured it myself to watch at a later time.
If NBC happens to beef up their streaming service and expand their offerings and make their streamer dealie not a piece of crap, I'll probably ditch the torrents and get my fix from NBC.com.
Still, it's disappointing that The Office will not be available at iTMS. It's probably one of the few shows I would consider paying money for even if available through a decent streaming service.
The truth of it is that style, over quality, is the driving market force for most of Apple's consumers. I'm not saying it's a bad thing (except for admittedly picky people like myself) but it IS a sign that the iMobile won't be a terribly high-powered device. It'll be all form.
Flawed logic. Just because form is present doesn't mean that function can't be. As another poster said, they're not mutually exclusive.
In fact, if you take Apple's latest line of computer hardware as an example, all products have a nice form factor. In addition to that, all products have very competitive specs. They hold up nicely, too. Consumer Reports has ranked Apple top in their four-year reliability study six years in a row. Features such as the MagSafe power connector are brilliant.
Looking at the software, there's OS X, which is conisdered equivalent and usually superior to Windows by most. Then there are the iApps. IMO, this is where Apple's true brilliance lies. These apps are spectacular, and in the 6 years that they have been around, no one has come close to releasing anything that can hold a candle to them. Ease of use, integration, capability, intuitive UI, etc.
Sure, the form is nice. Packaging is good. They're pretty to look at. They're also powerful, secure, easy to use and of superior quality to anything else out there.
Let's talk specifically about the iPod. Form is a major component of the device, as is price point, as is ease of use, etc. The vast majority of people loading music on their iPods are loading ripped MP3s in "ok" quality. The vast majority are not audiophiles. Compromising form factor, price, battery life, etc for higher quality sound just doesn't make sense in this case. It makes more sense to produce a device that is $20 cheaper than one that produces 10% better quality audio.
Yes, Apple has a reputation for producing hardware and software that is nice to look at. But that isn't why the iPod is successful. The iPod's success lies in the fact that my 64 year-old mother can use and enjoy it just as much as I can. The reason for this is its integration with iTunes. You can distill it to that. Without iTunes, the iPod wouldn't have succeeded. Bring these two together, and you get a whole greater than the sum.
How could Apple apply this model to a device like a new mobile phone? Some ideas:
o Integration with Address Book
Existing cell phones suck at this, and it frustrates people.
o Integration with iCal
Another thing existing cell phones haven't done well
o Intuitive Bluetooth Support
Apple is better at Bluetooth than many.
o iChat support
iChat is a really cool AIM client. Would be nice to see a mobile version, particularly one that could handle audio/video conferencing.
o Seamless syncing
Apple has proven that good syncing is possible with the iPod. I know of no other portable device that syncs as easily.
o UI
Apple is famous for good UI design.
o Form Factor
This is always where we can expect a pleasant surprise.
o Quality
In a cell phone, in my mind, this would include reception, durability, reliability, solid OS, etc.
If there is any hope of us seeing these features well implemented in a mobile phone, the only company that could possibly deliver it would be Apple.
And yes, people will want it because it looks nice -- but that doesn't mean it lacks function.
Actually, the cycle for each product has remained about the same. New revs of each product seem to come out a couple of times a year. It may seem like each product is changing more frequently, but there have been more totally new additions to the lineup announced.
example: we started with just one ipod. Then the Mini came out. Then the Shuffle, bringing the line up to 3 products. Eventually the Nano replaced the Mini, and this week a third Nano was added to the assortment.
Looking at the computers you'll find the same trend:
6 years ago there were 4 quadrants: iMac, iBook, PowerMac, Powerbook. Now, there's Mac Mini, Intel iMac, iBook, Powerbook, MacBook Pro and PowerMac: 6 families. More software is now available as well. Aperture, Final Cut Express, Logic and Soundtrack are just some of the recent additions over the past couple of years.
All of these products and their respective lifecycles lead to more press releases, which makes it seem like there's something new every week. But really, it's just that the whole product assortment has filled out significantly. Each product still evolves at basically the same pace that it always has.
Realize that apple does not honor this policy unless you buy from their website or from a Retail apple store.
That's not true. The replacement process for DOA hardware is the same regardless of where it was purchased.
The bulk of their sales (through 3rd parties) they do not honor at all. The reseller must eat the defective hardware if they are to do a replacement as you describe.
50%+ of Apple's overall business these days is direct, and an even greater percentage of end user business is direct. Claiming that "the bulk" of sales are through 3rd parties is not accurate. As mentioned above, there is no distinction made when addressing DOA issues between those purchased direct and those purchased from the channel.
If you haven't figured out by now that I know what I'm talking about, and that I have more resources than you to verify my statements, then there's nothing else I can really say. I'm not pulling this information out of my butt.
Remember that this includes Dead on Arrival machines. You must pay for shipping back and they will send it back to you when they get around to it (usually within 1-3 weeks)
Not to mention when you get it back, you have never used it, and it is no longer a brand new machine, yet you paid brand new price for it.
Absolutely not true.
If your machine is DOA and officially diagnosed as such by Tech Support, Apple pays Fed Ex 2-Day shipping for the return, scheduling a next-day pickup. A new replacement order is booked for a new machine. Replacement orders are prioritized. If it's a custom machine, it will have to be built, which will add a few days to the processing time, but if it's an off-the-rack machine, it will be shipped out immediately if readily available and ASAP if the product is in high demand. As mentioned above, replacement orders do take priority.
If your machine needs warranty repair, Apple still pays the shipping to and from the repair center. Most people send in and receive back their repaired box within one week, sometimes two.
They do the same thing with the iPods... I have seen them send a refurb scratched up iPod to replace a brand new DOA iPod because they do not accept open box returns on iPods. Pitiful.
DOA iPods officially diagnosed by Tech Support will be returned in the same manner as CPUs. A replacement order will be booked and shipped generally same day, or you can go to a Retail store and have the machine diagnosed and replaced there on the spot. Obviously DOAs are going to be open box. This has nothing to do with it.
iPods are different animals when it comes to warranty repair, in that the customer must pay shipping back to Apple for the repair. I don't really agree with this, but that's the way it is. I'm not sure if you take it to a Retail store of they're able to return it for you at no charge. Don't think so. In some circumstances, broken, in-warranty iPods are replaced with refurbs, just as cell phones, PDAs, etc are. This is standard procedure in the industry for small, low-margin devices.
Apple's published policy on DOA returns can be found here.
Sure, anyone could post general speculation. That's not what the kid did. His information was very specific.
He posted a report he mentioned was a very reliable source. He provided specs, such as vendors, processor speed, the fact that it wouldn't include a keyboard, mouse or display, etc.
He posted details which could only have been known by someone working for the company.
IIRC, he also mentioned that the source providing the information had been extremely reliable in the past, indicating that he had an ongoing relationship with them.
Yes, he may fill in some gaps with speculation. But too much of the information is too specific to have been pieced together through deduction.
I don't have experience with most of these, so I can't comment on all, but I can on a few...
Peoplesoft: This works on a Mac. Apple uses it in-house even.
On a similar note, Apple also uses SAP. This, and/or Peoplesoft is the Finance/Accounting solution for many Fortune 500 companies.
Access- You mention that FileMaker is an equivalent application available on the Mac. Don't forget Crystal Reports, SQL, etc.
Of course, Internet Explorer is available for the Mac, but perhaps you listed it because it is no longer being developed for the Mac. If someone needs to test the web site on MSIE on Windows, there is no dearth of machines out there to use for this purpose.;)
I know LCD displays have gotten cheap, but where can you find a 17"-23" for $250? If you do manage to find one, it would surely not offer the same quality as the glass Apple includes in the flat panel iMac G5s.
If you factor this into your comparison, along with your time and the included software and features in OS X, you come out with a system that costs as much as one you could build yourself.
In addition to the fact that taxation is higher in the UK than it is in, say, the US, or perhaps in other EU countries, the agreement Apple makes with the record labels is also different.
It's quite possible that prices in the UK are greater due to less favorable contracts with the vendors. As I recall, negotiations with independent labels did not go as smoothly in the UK as they did in the US. Did these labels hold out for a bigger cut? Could this have affected the overall pricing? When one considers that independent labels are more popular in the UK, we can conclude that these selections will account for a bigger portion of sales. This could affect margin, which, according to reports, is already razor-thin.
All music costs more in the UK than it does in other countries -- both hard and soft copy. Apple provides the cheapest soft copy option out there.
Don't be livid at them. Be livid at the reasons for the higher cost: taxes and labels.
A consolidated list of wireless spots around Austin compiled from other listings posted on the web. This message spans two posts, due to too few characters per line. I've got to keep typing stuff here to get the characters per line count higher so this message will post. Maybe this is enough text now. hehe. no, it isn't. keep typing typing typing. sometimes slashdot rules are kinda silly. I guess they wouldn't have to put rules like this in if people weren't so dorky. anyway, maybe this is enough characters to break the avg. goddamnit. still not enough characters. and the error message tells you how many characters your post has per line but not how many it has to have. how helpful. I suppose I could go look it up, but I'm sick of looking shit up. I just looked up a zillion wifi spots. geez. ok. now I'm kinda pissed. this is still not enough text to throw off the little bot. I want to kill it. smash its little bot head in, then maybe drop it into a very salty tub of water. how'd you like that, you irritating little, salty bot? you know what? I don't care how you'd like it. I think it's a grand notion. uhoh. still not enough characters. it's probably not really considered a "bot", per se, which means I've blown my cover and I've exposed the fact that I'm not very hip or with it with nerd lingo. I'm going to get modded down now and sink forever into oblivion. Slashdot irrelevance. the herd. please don't feed us animal bi-products at least. Holy fuck, still not enough godddamn characters per line. we're up to 38.something. Most people would have said fuck it by now. But I looked up all the hotspots. It didn't take all that long, but I don't want to waste the time I did put into gathering them together. They'd probably be useful to people, but nooooo. not enough effing characters. well have a look at this character. It's my middle finger. that got saltybot's attention, apparently. now he'll let this message post. good, because I want to go to sleep. This is post #2/2.
Cain & Abel's Bar & Grill
Capitol Gril
Changos
Crown and Anchor Pub
Cuba Libre
Dick's Deja Disco
Doña Emilia's South American Bar & Grill
Draught House
El Sol y La Luna
Flipnotics Coffeespace
Galaxy Cafe
Garden Spot Deli
Güero's Taco Bar
Hickory Street Bar & Grille
Longhorn Collision Center
Lovejoy's Tap Room & Brewery
Manuel's (2)
Mom's Cafe
Municipal Building/City Hall
One Texas Center
Pipes Plus
Portabla
Republic Square
Resistencia Book Store
Round Rock Public Library
Saradora's Coffeehouse
Speakeasy
Stars Coffee Shop
Texas French Bread (3)
Texas Picnic Company & Bakery
Ventana Del Soul Cultural Center & Coffee House
Zen (3)
219 West
503 Coffeebar
Austin History Center
Azul
Babbo's Gelato (changed their name, but I dunno what to)
Bouldin Creek Coffeeshop
Castleberry's
Cedar Perk Coffee Company
China Hill
CiCi's Pizza
Cipollina
Coyote Ugly
Crescent City Beignets
DoubleDave's PizzaWorks
Elizabeth Clemons
El Arroyo
Green Mesquite BBQ
Iron Cactus
Jakarta Jack's Café
JB Goodwin Realtors
Kenny's Coffee
Marcie
Maudies Milagro
McDonalds on Cypress Creek Rd in Cedar Park
Mezzaluna
Much Ado About Coffee
Palacio
Raspnberger
RPM Indoor Raceway
Scholz Garten
St. Edward's University (students, faculty and staff)
Texadelphia
TGI Fridays on Cesar Chavez
The Green Muse
The Hookup Lounge
Tuscany Cafe
Westbank Community Library
Whole Foods @ 183
Wild Wood Art Café
Elgin Memorial Park
Galaxy Café
Hickory Street Bar & Grille
I combined several lists from various sites for one, big master list of Austin free wireless locations.
I'm sure there are tons more. But this should keep you going for a while. Who knew we had so many coffee shops? This message spans two posts, due to too few characters per line. This is post #1/2.
Every Schlotzsky's sandwich shop
Austin Convention Center
Triumph Cafe
Little City (2)
Alamo Drafthouse (3)
Spiderhouse
Halcyon
Cafe Mundi
The HIdeout
Several auto service waiting areas
Several car wash waiting areas
UT (you don't have to be a paying student; you just have to have a UT EID)
Austin Libraries
Amy's Ice Cream
Aussie's Bar & Grill
BD Riley's Irish Pub
Chili's
Common Grounds Coffeehouse
Copacabana Coffehouse
Jo's Coffee (I think)
Crimson Restaurant
Curra's Grill
The Daily Grind
The Dog and Duck Pub
Flightpath Coffeehouse
Hooter's
Joy of Austin Gentleman's Club
Austin Java Company
JP's Java
La Tazza Fresca
Lava Java
Mimosa Cafe
Mojo's
New World Deli
Opal Divines Freehouse
Quack's 43rd Street Bakery
Quality Seafood Market
Resistencia Bookstore
Ruta Maya
Saradora's Coffeehouse and Emporium
Shoal Creek Saloon
Scholz Garten downtown
Seattle's Best Coffee (3)
Texpresso (2)
Threadgill's
Trianon (3)
Uno's Cafe
Ventana Del Soul
Xpresso Lube
The Yellow Rose Gentleman's Club
Lanz Sport
Carousel Pediatric
Antonio's
Bobee Coffee Shop
BookPeople
Two single parents could easily share the lease on a house. This would allow them to live in a place with a yard and in a better part of town than they would be able to live in on their own.
Kids do take time. But it is possible to find inventive work that doesn't take away from the family too much:
- at-home daycare or childcare exchange
- ebay seller (buy designer clothes at Goodwill, sell on ebay. The local news recently featured a woman who did this and made $200 from a day's work)
- telecommute
- If your kids are school-age, get a job at their school, or be a teacher
- Run a home business
- Sell tupperware, avon, mary kay, amway, sex toys (this is actually a big business these days, replacing tuperware parties), children's toys
- If you have the relative "luxury" of a two-parent household, work alternating shifts so that someone is always home with the kids
If we all stop ingesting the lines being fed to us today excusing people for not standing on their own feet and obligating the rest of us to nurse them, then a remarkable thing happens. You'll find your attitude and perspective change, and the options become endless. You'll become solutions-oriented. Upon executing those solutions, you'll find success comes easy.
I see we have a sex-hating fundamentalist christian in our midst.
The previous poster said nothing about religion or even about virtue. They simply pointed out the correlation between sex and children. Don't want children? Don't have sex. You can't argue with that. I guess that's why you resorted to ad hominems. (if you can consider calling someone a Christian an ad hominem)
It's a sure thing, for those who don't want to take -any- chances. Most of us are willing to hedge some bets for some carnal gratification, myself included. Still, it's important to acknowledge the risks that come with the fun, no matter how careful one may be.
I'm not sure this is what you meant to say, but it sounds like you're suggesting that unplanned pregnancy is inevitable at some point in a sexually active female's child-bearing years. This has not been my experience. Among all the mothers I know, the majority planned their families. The majority do not have unplanned children. Maybe this is unique to Western, or perhaps American, culture. If anyone has some published data on this, please feel free to share.
No, "13K" does NOT mean after-tax, it means before tax, like every salary quote.
People who make this amount pay virtually nothing in income tax. If they have a kid, they actually get back more from the earned income tax credit than they make in many cases. IRS reports show that the lower half of income earners -- and by that I mean of all the income earned, those earning the least up to half of all income earned -- pay 4% of all of the income tax. The earners making the other half of all of the income pay 96% of all of the income tax.
You're making more money than a lot of two-earner families, and you're just a single person, but you're telling them not to be whiners?
First, I may earn three times over the poverty line (really more like 2.5), but I live off of a poverty line income. That was my point. I do so by choice, so that I don't have to later.
Second, I am single and without children. I could live on less, say, $8-$10K, if I didn't have a car, didn't have a pet, didn't eat out as much, didn't pay for martial arts classes, didn't have a cell phone, lived in a less expensive city.
Third, maybe the fact that they whine is why they're never going to achieve more than a poverty line income. Those who emerge from meager beginnings that I referred to in the previous post did not whine. There's a direct relationship. One shouldn't complain about a situation that holds them back. One should find a way to improve or get out of the situation. This is a fundamental, universal concept that is essential if one wants to realize any success in life.
Obviously you're not a female.
Wrong. My username is Summernot, which comes from my real name, Summer.
Even the best contraception methods aren't 100% reliable.
Abstain if you have to. I like sex, so I employ 3-4 contraception methods, all with 85%-95% effectiveness rates. Overlapping them greatly reduces the odds that I'll become pregnant, though it's not out of the question. I chose not to begin having sex until I could at least minimally afford the risk, albeit with great disruption to my goals and significant sacrifice, were it to happen. Prior to that I frustrated a lot of boys. For that I am sorry.;)
As usual, more replies from single males who have no concept of what it's really like to have a relationship, live in a family, and have to earn enough cash to support this.
Funny, since I'm a female who has been a committed relationship for 9 years who has also, in the past, worked for a family as a full-time nanny for two small children. I was responsible for their care most of the time they were out of school and awake, I shopped, paid for/made all meals, recreation and other incidentals, took them to the doctor, birthday parties, sports, the park, etc. Often, I gave them baths and put them to bed. It was about as close as it comes to being a parent without being the parent.
As usual, more replies from single males who have no concept of what it's really like to have a relationship, live in a family, and have to earn enough cash to support this.
The parent poster didn't mention he had children. (pun not intended) If he did, I would strongly encourage him to quit and get another job. Earning a poverty line income while working 100 hours a week give you an hourly rate of $2.50/hr. You could work half as much at minimum wage and make more. Anyone doing that -- especially with a child in tow -- is not smart enough to get a graduate degree!
This whole thread was about whether someone should pursue an academic career that pays next-to-nothing but is highly interesting, or whether they should ditch that and find a career that has a better salary.
There's no rule that says that you can't work one interesting job that is gratifying but pays crap and one "pays the bills" job. Musicians and artists have been doing this for eons. My point, therefore, was entirely relevant.
Do something else. You're not married to physics. You're not obligated to continue. Sure, there'll be time as you get up to speed in something different, but if you like it, and it offers you a more comfortable work situation, it's worth it.
If you're passionately interested in your speciality and won't be complete without scratching the itch, then move on to something less demanding and use your spare time to persue your passion. Apply at your local patent office.
If that won't work, neither is what you're doing now, so it seems obvious that no matter what, you should get out of what you're doing now. As you've described it, it's burning you out for no return. What's the point in staying?
- Get a roommate
- Live in a co-op
- Work for the apartment complex in exchange for free/discounted lodging
- Acquire skills so that you can make more money
- Don't have kids until you can afford them
- Work in a place that provides lodging and food, like in the hospitality industry
- Work out payment plans with doctors
- Carpool
- Don't eat out
- Grow your veggies in a garden. If you're in an apartment, join a community garden
- Barter
- Shop at Goodwill.
- Work two jobs, or, when finished with one job, take continuing education courses
- Take advantage of church/community/family/industry networks and programs.
- Buy in bulk with others in your community to share in savings.
- Learn how to budget: read books, go to workshops, listen to radio shows like Clark Howard
- Sell your television.
- Save for emergencies.
- Don't use credit cards.
- take advantage of overdraft protection, either with a line of credit or with a secured amount outside of your checking account.
- Research before making large purchases.
Basically, it breaks down to this: Work. Save. Learn. Plan. Pool.
If you do these things, you can live on an extremely small amount of day-to-day income. The people who are harping on about the Living Wage BS are whiners. They wouldn't have to worry about it if they simply worked, saved, learned, planned and pooled.
I make about $30-$35K. I invest 25% of this. Between the amount invested and the amount taken from me in taxes, I make about $12-$15K. I live off of this just fine. Certainly, It's not a luxurious life, but I'm fortunate to be able to invest for a comfortable life later on. The limited take-home income I use now is worth it for me. For others with pre-investment salaries of about $12-$15K, they can invest in their future through acquiring new skills so that eventually they will be able to bring greater value to their employer. Then they will be able to invest in their future monetarily as I am able to do. It may not be as glamorous as being an archaeology grad student digging up bones all over the world, but one can be proud in living independently and in investing in a better future, through watever methods they are able to employ.
Let's quit with the class envy and beat-down attitude and look at how to make it happen. As soon as you do, you'll find a wealth of options and opportunities. Some of the most successful people come from meager beginnings. I'm sure none of them allowed for any time wimpering about how they didn't win life's lottery or demanding a "living wage."
If customer is in France, and is not professionnal, and it is commerce at distance () sorry, don't know exact translation), he has 7 days to say : "In fact, I don't like it".
He then return it, and the provider must reimburse everything except postage.
So now I know not to bring my laptop with me the next time I go to France for a few days. I'll just book an order to be delivered to my hotel when I arrive, use it for my trip, then return it and get my money back before flying home. Gone for two weeks? Order one for each week! Cheaper than renting, saves room in the luggage, don't have to worry about theft in the airport. Nifty! Who cares about the fact that I'm taking advantage of the nasty corporations for my own convenience. They deserve it, right?
Slashdot Mirror
former apple employee who spent some time in customer service here...
steve does personally read a lot of his mail. what he doesn't read himself is read by a team of high level customer service agents who go through all communications he receives, categorizing them, investigating issues as required and responding to each. especially significant issues are escalated at each agent's discretion.
reports are generated that show the trends and hot issues that are prompting customers to contact steve. I would assume that based on the communications read by steve, as well as the data on feedback trends this led to the decision to offer compensation.
that, or the whole thing was planned from the begining.
It seems like from most people's comments, there are three main factors at play which determine their preference for viewing video content:
1. Convenience
2. Cost
3. Quality
The weight we all place on each of these varies.
For me, I'm not too picky about quality, but I'm lazy, so I want it to be convenient to obtain. I'm also cheap, so there's a limited threshold for how much I'll pay for content. With this combination of weights for the above variables, the iTMS fits my needs well. I'll go to the iTMS before going with Bittorrent every time. The streaming content on the web occasionally does also. This usually beats out iTMS for me if the service is reliable enough. Unfortunately, NBC's streaming service sucks severely. The applet is crappy, the streaming is sketchy and the selection is limited. ABC, otoh, has a pretty good streamer dealie. The fullscreen mode works well, most shows are available, and they're even adding HD quality video now. CBS is somewhere in the middle. All three have limited commercials, and I don't mind sitting through them. usually there'll be about 3 ads per episode, and I can deal with that.
I don't have cable or dish service. I moved in June and still haven't hooked up the bunny ears to the TV. I have been watching all my TV and movies on the lappy. I usually have at least one season subscription through the iTMS at any given time, sometimes two. Most recently it was Ice Road Truckers and before that The Office (I have purchased all seasons of it from ITMS).
Now that The Office won't be available at iTMS and either won't be available at nbc.com or if it is will be too annoying to watch, the next rung on my ladder will be to get the torrent.
While I may have occasional twinge of guilt when getting non-network torrents or movies, I don't have many qualms about getting torrents of network TV episodes. For me, I view this as the equivalent of watching a friend's Tivoed episode. The network stations send these out on the airwaves for anyone to watch without paying, and if someone captures this content and then shares it with me, I don't view it much differently than if I captured it myself to watch at a later time.
If NBC happens to beef up their streaming service and expand their offerings and make their streamer dealie not a piece of crap, I'll probably ditch the torrents and get my fix from NBC.com.
Still, it's disappointing that The Office will not be available at iTMS. It's probably one of the few shows I would consider paying money for even if available through a decent streaming service.
He doesn't put a license plate on his car because he doesn't like the way it looks.
He racks up citations regularly. The DPS (or whatever it's called in CA) affixed a bar code on his car to enable them to quickly issue the citations.
This was one of the many Legends of Steve that circulated among employees. I worked at The Fruit for 7 years.
This journalist is asking why Apple won't put a tacky sticker on its computers to someone who won't even put a license plate on his car.
You totally blew a perfect In Soviet Russia opportunity with a well written comment.
I'm baffled.
The truth of it is that style, over quality, is the driving market force for most of Apple's consumers. I'm not saying it's a bad thing (except for admittedly picky people like myself) but it IS a sign that the iMobile won't be a terribly high-powered device. It'll be all form.
Flawed logic. Just because form is present doesn't mean that function can't be. As another poster said, they're not mutually exclusive.
In fact, if you take Apple's latest line of computer hardware as an example, all products have a nice form factor. In addition to that, all products have very competitive specs. They hold up nicely, too. Consumer Reports has ranked Apple top in their four-year reliability study six years in a row. Features such as the MagSafe power connector are brilliant.
Looking at the software, there's OS X, which is conisdered equivalent and usually superior to Windows by most. Then there are the iApps. IMO, this is where Apple's true brilliance lies. These apps are spectacular, and in the 6 years that they have been around, no one has come close to releasing anything that can hold a candle to them. Ease of use, integration, capability, intuitive UI, etc.
Sure, the form is nice. Packaging is good. They're pretty to look at. They're also powerful, secure, easy to use and of superior quality to anything else out there.
Let's talk specifically about the iPod. Form is a major component of the device, as is price point, as is ease of use, etc. The vast majority of people loading music on their iPods are loading ripped MP3s in "ok" quality. The vast majority are not audiophiles. Compromising form factor, price, battery life, etc for higher quality sound just doesn't make sense in this case. It makes more sense to produce a device that is $20 cheaper than one that produces 10% better quality audio.
Yes, Apple has a reputation for producing hardware and software that is nice to look at. But that isn't why the iPod is successful. The iPod's success lies in the fact that my 64 year-old mother can use and enjoy it just as much as I can. The reason for this is its integration with iTunes. You can distill it to that. Without iTunes, the iPod wouldn't have succeeded. Bring these two together, and you get a whole greater than the sum.
How could Apple apply this model to a device like a new mobile phone? Some ideas:
o Integration with Address Book
Existing cell phones suck at this, and it frustrates people.
o Integration with iCal
Another thing existing cell phones haven't done well
o Intuitive Bluetooth Support
Apple is better at Bluetooth than many.
o iChat support
iChat is a really cool AIM client. Would be nice to see a mobile version, particularly one that could handle audio/video conferencing.
o Seamless syncing
Apple has proven that good syncing is possible with the iPod. I know of no other portable device that syncs as easily.
o UI
Apple is famous for good UI design.
o Form Factor
This is always where we can expect a pleasant surprise.
o Quality
In a cell phone, in my mind, this would include reception, durability, reliability, solid OS, etc.
If there is any hope of us seeing these features well implemented in a mobile phone, the only company that could possibly deliver it would be Apple.
And yes, people will want it because it looks nice -- but that doesn't mean it lacks function.
Actually, the cycle for each product has remained about the same. New revs of each product seem to come out a couple of times a year. It may seem like each product is changing more frequently, but there have been more totally new additions to the lineup announced.
example: we started with just one ipod. Then the Mini came out. Then the Shuffle, bringing the line up to 3 products. Eventually the Nano replaced the Mini, and this week a third Nano was added to the assortment.
Looking at the computers you'll find the same trend: 6 years ago there were 4 quadrants: iMac, iBook, PowerMac, Powerbook. Now, there's Mac Mini, Intel iMac, iBook, Powerbook, MacBook Pro and PowerMac: 6 families. More software is now available as well. Aperture, Final Cut Express, Logic and Soundtrack are just some of the recent additions over the past couple of years.
All of these products and their respective lifecycles lead to more press releases, which makes it seem like there's something new every week. But really, it's just that the whole product assortment has filled out significantly. Each product still evolves at basically the same pace that it always has.
Realize that apple does not honor this policy unless you buy from their website or from a Retail apple store.
That's not true. The replacement process for DOA hardware is the same regardless of where it was purchased.
The bulk of their sales (through 3rd parties) they do not honor at all. The reseller must eat the defective hardware if they are to do a replacement as you describe.
50%+ of Apple's overall business these days is direct, and an even greater percentage of end user business is direct. Claiming that "the bulk" of sales are through 3rd parties is not accurate. As mentioned above, there is no distinction made when addressing DOA issues between those purchased direct and those purchased from the channel.
If you haven't figured out by now that I know what I'm talking about, and that I have more resources than you to verify my statements, then there's nothing else I can really say. I'm not pulling this information out of my butt.
Remember that this includes Dead on Arrival machines. You must pay for shipping back and they will send it back to you when they get around to it (usually within 1-3 weeks)
Not to mention when you get it back, you have never used it, and it is no longer a brand new machine, yet you paid brand new price for it.
Absolutely not true.
If your machine is DOA and officially diagnosed as such by Tech Support, Apple pays Fed Ex 2-Day shipping for the return, scheduling a next-day pickup. A new replacement order is booked for a new machine. Replacement orders are prioritized. If it's a custom machine, it will have to be built, which will add a few days to the processing time, but if it's an off-the-rack machine, it will be shipped out immediately if readily available and ASAP if the product is in high demand. As mentioned above, replacement orders do take priority.
If your machine needs warranty repair, Apple still pays the shipping to and from the repair center. Most people send in and receive back their repaired box within one week, sometimes two.
They do the same thing with the iPods... I have seen them send a refurb scratched up iPod to replace a brand new DOA iPod because they do not accept open box returns on iPods. Pitiful.
DOA iPods officially diagnosed by Tech Support will be returned in the same manner as CPUs. A replacement order will be booked and shipped generally same day, or you can go to a Retail store and have the machine diagnosed and replaced there on the spot. Obviously DOAs are going to be open box. This has nothing to do with it.
iPods are different animals when it comes to warranty repair, in that the customer must pay shipping back to Apple for the repair. I don't really agree with this, but that's the way it is. I'm not sure if you take it to a Retail store of they're able to return it for you at no charge. Don't think so. In some circumstances, broken, in-warranty iPods are replaced with refurbs, just as cell phones, PDAs, etc are. This is standard procedure in the industry for small, low-margin devices.
Apple's published policy on DOA returns can be found here.
"Don't buy the special configured mac's... they are non-returnable if there is a problem with them."
um, not exactly... if there's a problem with them, they are returnable. You return it, and the problems are fixed under warranty.
He posted a report he mentioned was a very reliable source. He provided specs, such as vendors, processor speed, the fact that it wouldn't include a keyboard, mouse or display, etc.
He posted details which could only have been known by someone working for the company.
IIRC, he also mentioned that the source providing the information had been extremely reliable in the past, indicating that he had an ongoing relationship with them.
Yes, he may fill in some gaps with speculation. But too much of the information is too specific to have been pieced together through deduction.
The XServe has been cheaper than its Wintel counterparts since it was announced.
You have to get your megaphones separately as well.
See the footnote at http://www.apple.com/macmini/
Keyboard, mouse, megaphone and display sold separately.
I, for one, amd glad, as I already have a megaphhone from my old mac.
I don't have experience with most of these, so I can't comment on all, but I can on a few...
;)
Peoplesoft: This works on a Mac. Apple uses it in-house even.
On a similar note, Apple also uses SAP. This, and/or Peoplesoft is the Finance/Accounting solution for many Fortune 500 companies.
Access- You mention that FileMaker is an equivalent application available on the Mac. Don't forget Crystal Reports, SQL, etc.
Of course, Internet Explorer is available for the Mac, but perhaps you listed it because it is no longer being developed for the Mac. If someone needs to test the web site on MSIE on Windows, there is no dearth of machines out there to use for this purpose.
I know LCD displays have gotten cheap, but where can you find a 17"-23" for $250? If you do manage to find one, it would surely not offer the same quality as the glass Apple includes in the flat panel iMac G5s.
If you factor this into your comparison, along with your time and the included software and features in OS X, you come out with a system that costs as much as one you could build yourself.
In addition to the fact that taxation is higher in the UK than it is in, say, the US, or perhaps in other EU countries, the agreement Apple makes with the record labels is also different.
It's quite possible that prices in the UK are greater due to less favorable contracts with the vendors. As I recall, negotiations with independent labels did not go as smoothly in the UK as they did in the US. Did these labels hold out for a bigger cut? Could this have affected the overall pricing? When one considers that independent labels are more popular in the UK, we can conclude that these selections will account for a bigger portion of sales. This could affect margin, which, according to reports, is already razor-thin.
All music costs more in the UK than it does in other countries -- both hard and soft copy. Apple provides the cheapest soft copy option out there.
Don't be livid at them. Be livid at the reasons for the higher cost: taxes and labels.
I'll take whatever road the trucks aren't taking then. If the trucks are on I35, then I'll take 130.
A consolidated list of wireless spots around Austin compiled from other listings posted on the web. This message spans two posts, due to too few characters per line. I've got to keep typing stuff here to get the characters per line count higher so this message will post. Maybe this is enough text now. hehe. no, it isn't. keep typing typing typing. sometimes slashdot rules are kinda silly. I guess they wouldn't have to put rules like this in if people weren't so dorky. anyway, maybe this is enough characters to break the avg. goddamnit. still not enough characters. and the error message tells you how many characters your post has per line but not how many it has to have. how helpful. I suppose I could go look it up, but I'm sick of looking shit up. I just looked up a zillion wifi spots. geez. ok. now I'm kinda pissed. this is still not enough text to throw off the little bot. I want to kill it. smash its little bot head in, then maybe drop it into a very salty tub of water. how'd you like that, you irritating little, salty bot? you know what? I don't care how you'd like it. I think it's a grand notion. uhoh. still not enough characters. it's probably not really considered a "bot", per se, which means I've blown my cover and I've exposed the fact that I'm not very hip or with it with nerd lingo. I'm going to get modded down now and sink forever into oblivion. Slashdot irrelevance. the herd. please don't feed us animal bi-products at least. Holy fuck, still not enough godddamn characters per line. we're up to 38.something. Most people would have said fuck it by now. But I looked up all the hotspots. It didn't take all that long, but I don't want to waste the time I did put into gathering them together. They'd probably be useful to people, but nooooo. not enough effing characters. well have a look at this character. It's my middle finger. that got saltybot's attention, apparently. now he'll let this message post. good, because I want to go to sleep. This is post #2/2.
Cain & Abel's Bar & Grill
Capitol Gril
Changos
Crown and Anchor Pub
Cuba Libre
Dick's Deja Disco
Doña Emilia's South American Bar & Grill
Draught House
El Sol y La Luna
Flipnotics Coffeespace
Galaxy Cafe
Garden Spot Deli
Güero's Taco Bar
Hickory Street Bar & Grille
Longhorn Collision Center
Lovejoy's Tap Room & Brewery
Manuel's (2)
Mom's Cafe
Municipal Building/City Hall
One Texas Center
Pipes Plus
Portabla
Republic Square
Resistencia Book Store
Round Rock Public Library
Saradora's Coffeehouse
Speakeasy
Stars Coffee Shop
Texas French Bread (3)
Texas Picnic Company & Bakery
Ventana Del Soul Cultural Center & Coffee House
Zen (3)
219 West
503 Coffeebar
Austin History Center
Azul
Babbo's Gelato (changed their name, but I dunno what to)
Bouldin Creek Coffeeshop
Castleberry's
Cedar Perk Coffee Company
China Hill
CiCi's Pizza
Cipollina
Coyote Ugly
Crescent City Beignets
DoubleDave's PizzaWorks
Elizabeth Clemons
El Arroyo
Green Mesquite BBQ
Iron Cactus
Jakarta Jack's Café
JB Goodwin Realtors
Kenny's Coffee
Marcie
Maudies Milagro
McDonalds on Cypress Creek Rd in Cedar Park
Mezzaluna
Much Ado About Coffee
Palacio
Raspnberger
RPM Indoor Raceway
Scholz Garten
St. Edward's University (students, faculty and staff)
Texadelphia
TGI Fridays on Cesar Chavez
The Green Muse
The Hookup Lounge
Tuscany Cafe
Westbank Community Library
Whole Foods @ 183
Wild Wood Art Café
Elgin Memorial Park
Galaxy Café
Hickory Street Bar & Grille
I combined several lists from various sites for one, big master list of Austin free wireless locations.
I'm sure there are tons more. But this should keep you going for a while. Who knew we had so many coffee shops? This message spans two posts, due to too few characters per line. This is post #1/2.
Every Schlotzsky's sandwich shop
Austin Convention Center
Triumph Cafe
Little City (2)
Alamo Drafthouse (3)
Spiderhouse
Halcyon
Cafe Mundi
The HIdeout
Several auto service waiting areas
Several car wash waiting areas
UT (you don't have to be a paying student; you just have to have a UT EID)
Austin Libraries
Amy's Ice Cream
Aussie's Bar & Grill
BD Riley's Irish Pub
Chili's
Common Grounds Coffeehouse
Copacabana Coffehouse
Jo's Coffee (I think)
Crimson Restaurant
Curra's Grill
The Daily Grind
The Dog and Duck Pub
Flightpath Coffeehouse
Hooter's
Joy of Austin Gentleman's Club
Austin Java Company
JP's Java
La Tazza Fresca
Lava Java
Mimosa Cafe
Mojo's
New World Deli
Opal Divines Freehouse
Quack's 43rd Street Bakery
Quality Seafood Market
Resistencia Bookstore
Ruta Maya
Saradora's Coffeehouse and Emporium
Shoal Creek Saloon
Scholz Garten downtown
Seattle's Best Coffee (3)
Texpresso (2)
Threadgill's
Trianon (3)
Uno's Cafe
Ventana Del Soul
Xpresso Lube
The Yellow Rose Gentleman's Club
Lanz Sport
Carousel Pediatric
Antonio's
Bobee Coffee Shop
BookPeople
Two single parents could easily share the lease on a house. This would allow them to live in a place with a yard and in a better part of town than they would be able to live in on their own.
Kids do take time. But it is possible to find inventive work that doesn't take away from the family too much:
- at-home daycare or childcare exchange
- ebay seller (buy designer clothes at Goodwill, sell on ebay. The local news recently featured a woman who did this and made $200 from a day's work)
- telecommute
- If your kids are school-age, get a job at their school, or be a teacher
- Run a home business
- Sell tupperware, avon, mary kay, amway, sex toys (this is actually a big business these days, replacing tuperware parties), children's toys
- If you have the relative "luxury" of a two-parent household, work alternating shifts so that someone is always home with the kids
If we all stop ingesting the lines being fed to us today excusing people for not standing on their own feet and obligating the rest of us to nurse them, then a remarkable thing happens. You'll find your attitude and perspective change, and the options become endless. You'll become solutions-oriented. Upon executing those solutions, you'll find success comes easy.
I see we have a sex-hating fundamentalist christian in our midst.
The previous poster said nothing about religion or even about virtue. They simply pointed out the correlation between sex and children. Don't want children? Don't have sex. You can't argue with that. I guess that's why you resorted to ad hominems. (if you can consider calling someone a Christian an ad hominem)
It's a sure thing, for those who don't want to take -any- chances. Most of us are willing to hedge some bets for some carnal gratification, myself included. Still, it's important to acknowledge the risks that come with the fun, no matter how careful one may be.
I'm not sure this is what you meant to say, but it sounds like you're suggesting that unplanned pregnancy is inevitable at some point in a sexually active female's child-bearing years. This has not been my experience. Among all the mothers I know, the majority planned their families. The majority do not have unplanned children. Maybe this is unique to Western, or perhaps American, culture. If anyone has some published data on this, please feel free to share.
No, "13K" does NOT mean after-tax, it means before tax, like every salary quote.
;)
People who make this amount pay virtually nothing in income tax. If they have a kid, they actually get back more from the earned income tax credit than they make in many cases. IRS reports show that the lower half of income earners -- and by that I mean of all the income earned, those earning the least up to half of all income earned -- pay 4% of all of the income tax. The earners making the other half of all of the income pay 96% of all of the income tax.
You're making more money than a lot of two-earner families, and you're just a single person, but you're telling them not to be whiners?
First, I may earn three times over the poverty line (really more like 2.5), but I live off of a poverty line income. That was my point. I do so by choice, so that I don't have to later.
Second, I am single and without children. I could live on less, say, $8-$10K, if I didn't have a car, didn't have a pet, didn't eat out as much, didn't pay for martial arts classes, didn't have a cell phone, lived in a less expensive city.
Third, maybe the fact that they whine is why they're never going to achieve more than a poverty line income. Those who emerge from meager beginnings that I referred to in the previous post did not whine. There's a direct relationship. One shouldn't complain about a situation that holds them back. One should find a way to improve or get out of the situation. This is a fundamental, universal concept that is essential if one wants to realize any success in life.
Obviously you're not a female.
Wrong. My username is Summernot, which comes from my real name, Summer.
Even the best contraception methods aren't 100% reliable.
Abstain if you have to. I like sex, so I employ 3-4 contraception methods, all with 85%-95% effectiveness rates. Overlapping them greatly reduces the odds that I'll become pregnant, though it's not out of the question. I chose not to begin having sex until I could at least minimally afford the risk, albeit with great disruption to my goals and significant sacrifice, were it to happen. Prior to that I frustrated a lot of boys. For that I am sorry.
As usual, more replies from single males who have no concept of what it's really like to have a relationship, live in a family, and have to earn enough cash to support this.
Funny, since I'm a female who has been a committed relationship for 9 years who has also, in the past, worked for a family as a full-time nanny for two small children. I was responsible for their care most of the time they were out of school and awake, I shopped, paid for/made all meals, recreation and other incidentals, took them to the doctor, birthday parties, sports, the park, etc. Often, I gave them baths and put them to bed. It was about as close as it comes to being a parent without being the parent.
As usual, more replies from single males who have no concept of what it's really like to have a relationship, live in a family, and have to earn enough cash to support this.
The parent poster didn't mention he had children. (pun not intended) If he did, I would strongly encourage him to quit and get another job. Earning a poverty line income while working 100 hours a week give you an hourly rate of $2.50/hr. You could work half as much at minimum wage and make more. Anyone doing that -- especially with a child in tow -- is not smart enough to get a graduate degree!
This whole thread was about whether someone should pursue an academic career that pays next-to-nothing but is highly interesting, or whether they should ditch that and find a career that has a better salary.
There's no rule that says that you can't work one interesting job that is gratifying but pays crap and one "pays the bills" job. Musicians and artists have been doing this for eons. My point, therefore, was entirely relevant.
Do something else. You're not married to physics. You're not obligated to continue. Sure, there'll be time as you get up to speed in something different, but if you like it, and it offers you a more comfortable work situation, it's worth it.
If you're passionately interested in your speciality and won't be complete without scratching the itch, then move on to something less demanding and use your spare time to persue your passion. Apply at your local patent office.
If that won't work, neither is what you're doing now, so it seems obvious that no matter what, you should get out of what you're doing now. As you've described it, it's burning you out for no return. What's the point in staying?
You're not very creative are you?
- Get a roommate
- Live in a co-op
- Work for the apartment complex in exchange for free/discounted lodging
- Acquire skills so that you can make more money
- Don't have kids until you can afford them
- Work in a place that provides lodging and food, like in the hospitality industry
- Work out payment plans with doctors
- Carpool
- Don't eat out
- Grow your veggies in a garden. If you're in an apartment, join a community garden
- Barter
- Shop at Goodwill.
- Work two jobs, or, when finished with one job, take continuing education courses
- Take advantage of church/community/family/industry networks and programs.
- Buy in bulk with others in your community to share in savings.
- Learn how to budget: read books, go to workshops, listen to radio shows like Clark Howard
- Sell your television.
- Save for emergencies.
- Don't use credit cards.
- take advantage of overdraft protection, either with a line of credit or with a secured amount outside of your checking account.
- Research before making large purchases.
Basically, it breaks down to this: Work. Save. Learn. Plan. Pool.
If you do these things, you can live on an extremely small amount of day-to-day income. The people who are harping on about the Living Wage BS are whiners. They wouldn't have to worry about it if they simply worked, saved, learned, planned and pooled.
I make about $30-$35K. I invest 25% of this. Between the amount invested and the amount taken from me in taxes, I make about $12-$15K. I live off of this just fine. Certainly, It's not a luxurious life, but I'm fortunate to be able to invest for a comfortable life later on. The limited take-home income I use now is worth it for me. For others with pre-investment salaries of about $12-$15K, they can invest in their future through acquiring new skills so that eventually they will be able to bring greater value to their employer. Then they will be able to invest in their future monetarily as I am able to do. It may not be as glamorous as being an archaeology grad student digging up bones all over the world, but one can be proud in living independently and in investing in a better future, through watever methods they are able to employ.
Let's quit with the class envy and beat-down attitude and look at how to make it happen. As soon as you do, you'll find a wealth of options and opportunities. Some of the most successful people come from meager beginnings. I'm sure none of them allowed for any time wimpering about how they didn't win life's lottery or demanding a "living wage."
If customer is in France, and is not professionnal, and it is commerce at distance () sorry, don't know exact translation), he has 7 days to say : "In fact, I don't like it". He then return it, and the provider must reimburse everything except postage.
So now I know not to bring my laptop with me the next time I go to France for a few days. I'll just book an order to be delivered to my hotel when I arrive, use it for my trip, then return it and get my money back before flying home. Gone for two weeks? Order one for each week! Cheaper than renting, saves room in the luggage, don't have to worry about theft in the airport. Nifty! Who cares about the fact that I'm taking advantage of the nasty corporations for my own convenience. They deserve it, right?
Thanks for the tip!