I called both BB stores here in Colorado Springs and although they say they have them in stock, their computer says release day is Tuesday. Both stores have over 100 in stock, but none on the shelves at this time.
So I guess it's not nationwide....
>>>> What kind of answer do you want? a)It wasn't a question.
No, it was a statement. An answer is "a spoken or written reply" which doesn't necessarily have to be to a question.
I was hoping for an intelligent reply....something you haven't provided either.
Yes, I was clueless what Gateway's idea of a computer store was, but I wasn't embarrassed by that. It's a store where they sell computers, right? The fact that their version of this was something they had to explain to a potential customer is just silly.
Evidently their store concept was later changed (fixed, I'd say) so that they stock some of the computers they sell. See the below post from the anonymous ex-employee of a GW store.
Further proof that the concept was stupid can be found in the title of this/. story.
I worked for a software company in California, and I was asked to purchase a PC for an emergency programming job. Our usual supplier took over a week to get a PC, and I remembered seeing the Gateway store on my way to work.
Thinking the Gateway might be a cut above the HP Pavilion or something I would get at Best Buy I drove over there. There were about 3 people looking at computers -- one was getting a demo of something by a sales person -- a pretty empty store.
It took me 3 minutes to walk around and peruse the various models, and then 10 more to get a sales rep to talk to me.
I pointed at a PC and told him I wanted to get one and asked for a price. When he told me it would take a week to get the PC, I was floored.
"You don't have any computers to sell here???" "No." "What's in all these cow-boxes you have along the windows?" "They're empty." "So what do you sell here?" "Well, you can order one here. The store is so that customers can come in and try the machines out and match their needs to the PC." "But I can order one from home with a couple of mouse-clicks!"
He didn't have much of an answer for that. I drove on to Best Buy and got the Pavilion.
I remember thinking that GW was crazy to open all these stores just so people could look and touch (but not take!) the machines. Expensive real-estate too -- all the stores I saw were in very high-rent areas.
Maybe Inouye can keep Waitt's expensive schemes in check and keep the company afloat....
I'll second the Namiki Vanishing Point recommendation. Beautiful and functional pen that writes VERY well. Easily worth the money if you write much at all.
Here are some other pens I like:
Fountain: Namiki Vanishing Point - $100-120. I know I mentioned it above, but have to do so again. I use this pen as often as possible. Note: NEVER lend a fine fountain pen to anyone else. Their writing style may be quite different than yours and will wreck your nib, which has adapted to YOUR writing style. Hand that person a rollerball or something.
Rotring Core - inexpensive ($20), writes decently, and looks cool.
Any Waterman - nice pens, and even the $30-40 ones write well.
Some have recommended the Lamy Safari fountain pens. I have one, but find the steel nib much too rigid for comfortable writing.
Rollerball: Lamy Swift - my favorite! About $60, but has a neat retracting pocket clip so you don't stain your shirt. Makes a nice impression. If you loan it to someone don't take your eyes off them until you get it back! I've even had real-estate agents who want my business attempt to get away with it.
Rotring 600 - durable as hell, and has a cushioned tip. It is heavy, though and I think runs about $60.
Cross Ion - $20, gel refills come in a rainbow of colors, and it hangs nicely off my keyring. Writing comfort is secondary to convenience.
Stypen makes a whole bunch of $20 rollerballs in many cool colors -- they are great values and look very sharp.
For disposable, I've become addicted to the Pilot Precise Deluxe Bold. They regularly get stolen from my desk, but they're not too expensive to replace, and have a very smooth feel.
Ball Points: I've given up on ballpoint pens -- even the MontBlanc my wife got me years ago. After using rollerballs and fountain pens, even nice ballpoints feel laborious to write with.
Pencils: I don't use them. I commit to what I write.
I consider myself careful with my info, but 2 years ago, I (and several co-workers) were victimized by a restaurant waiter at our favorite sushi place.
Apparently he had a small hand-held device that read the data off our cards on his way to or from the POS terminal. Here's http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =2551132362&category=46973 one for sale on EBay. I know they have legitimate uses, but this guy grabbed at least 7 CC numbers in a weeks time from people I know. Lord knows how many people I don't know got hit.
What happened then was that new cards with the data were made, and then used. One friend of mine tracked transactions all the way to Hong Kong. Mine just went to southern CA.
My card was charged for over $4K -- mostly in tickets to Disneyland. In working this through with the bank, it turned out that the individual who charged the tickets had used an actual card - not a phone or internet transaction.
I never knew there was a problem until the bank called and asked if I had made any transactions at Disneyland. I was living in northern CA at the time, but have never been south. What triggered their attention was that I made a purchase just a few minutes away from their purchase, and since both were using cards, something was up.
After switching card numbers I didn't have to pay any of the bogus charges -- it took about 60 days to clear up.
So as careful as you are, if you use credit cards at all, you could be victimized.
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I called both BB stores here in Colorado Springs and although they say they have them in stock, their computer says release day is Tuesday. Both stores have over 100 in stock, but none on the shelves at this time. So I guess it's not nationwide....
>>>> What kind of answer do you want? a)It wasn't a question.
/. story.
No, it was a statement. An answer is "a spoken or written reply" which doesn't necessarily have to be to a question.
I was hoping for an intelligent reply....something you haven't provided either.
Yes, I was clueless what Gateway's idea of a computer store was, but I wasn't embarrassed by that. It's a store where they sell computers, right? The fact that their version of this was something they had to explain to a potential customer is just silly.
Evidently their store concept was later changed (fixed, I'd say) so that they stock some of the computers they sell. See the below post from the anonymous ex-employee of a GW store.
Further proof that the concept was stupid can be found in the title of this
I worked for a software company in California, and I was asked to purchase a PC for an emergency programming job. Our usual supplier took over a week to get a PC, and I remembered seeing the Gateway store on my way to work.
Thinking the Gateway might be a cut above the HP Pavilion or something I would get at Best Buy I drove over there. There were about 3 people looking at computers -- one was getting a demo of something by a sales person -- a pretty empty store.
It took me 3 minutes to walk around and peruse the various models, and then 10 more to get a sales rep to talk to me.
I pointed at a PC and told him I wanted to get one and asked for a price. When he told me it would take a week to get the PC, I was floored.
"You don't have any computers to sell here???"
"No."
"What's in all these cow-boxes you have along the windows?"
"They're empty."
"So what do you sell here?"
"Well, you can order one here. The store is so that customers can come in and try the machines out and match their needs to the PC."
"But I can order one from home with a couple of mouse-clicks!"
He didn't have much of an answer for that. I drove on to Best Buy and got the Pavilion.
I remember thinking that GW was crazy to open all these stores just so people could look and touch (but not take!) the machines. Expensive real-estate too -- all the stores I saw were in very high-rent areas.
Maybe Inouye can keep Waitt's expensive schemes in check and keep the company afloat....
I'll second the Namiki Vanishing Point recommendation. Beautiful and functional pen that writes VERY well. Easily worth the money if you write much at all.
Here are some other pens I like:
Fountain:
Namiki Vanishing Point - $100-120. I know I mentioned it above, but have to do so again. I use this pen as often as possible. Note: NEVER lend a fine fountain pen to anyone else. Their writing style may be quite different than yours and will wreck your nib, which has adapted to YOUR writing style. Hand that person a rollerball or something.
Rotring Core - inexpensive ($20), writes decently, and looks cool.
Any Waterman - nice pens, and even the $30-40 ones write well.
Some have recommended the Lamy Safari fountain pens. I have one, but find the steel nib much too rigid for comfortable writing.
Rollerball:
Lamy Swift - my favorite! About $60, but has a neat retracting pocket clip so you don't stain your shirt. Makes a nice impression. If you loan it to someone don't take your eyes off them until you get it back! I've even had real-estate agents who want my business attempt to get away with it.
Rotring 600 - durable as hell, and has a cushioned tip. It is heavy, though and I think runs about $60.
Cross Ion - $20, gel refills come in a rainbow of colors, and it hangs nicely off my keyring. Writing comfort is secondary to convenience.
Stypen makes a whole bunch of $20 rollerballs in many cool colors -- they are great values and look very sharp.
For disposable, I've become addicted to the Pilot Precise Deluxe Bold. They regularly get stolen from my desk, but they're not too expensive to replace, and have a very smooth feel.
Ball Points:
I've given up on ballpoint pens -- even the MontBlanc my wife got me years ago. After using rollerballs and fountain pens, even nice ballpoints feel laborious to write with.
Pencils:
I don't use them. I commit to what I write.
I consider myself careful with my info, but 2 years ago, I (and several co-workers) were victimized by a restaurant waiter at our favorite sushi place. Apparently he had a small hand-held device that read the data off our cards on his way to or from the POS terminal. Here's http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =2551132362&category=46973 one for sale on EBay. I know they have legitimate uses, but this guy grabbed at least 7 CC numbers in a weeks time from people I know. Lord knows how many people I don't know got hit.
What happened then was that new cards with the data were made, and then used. One friend of mine tracked transactions all the way to Hong Kong. Mine just went to southern CA.
My card was charged for over $4K -- mostly in tickets to Disneyland. In working this through with the bank, it turned out that the individual who charged the tickets had used an actual card - not a phone or internet transaction.
I never knew there was a problem until the bank called and asked if I had made any transactions at Disneyland. I was living in northern CA at the time, but have never been south. What triggered their attention was that I made a purchase just a few minutes away from their purchase, and since both were using cards, something was up.
After switching card numbers I didn't have to pay any of the bogus charges -- it took about 60 days to clear up.
So as careful as you are, if you use credit cards at all, you could be victimized.