JDSoCal
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Aspiring oligarch
Posts: 4,189
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Post by JDSoCal on Jan 20, 2014 14:56:48 GMT -8
ps. dont be bashful JD, the larger laptop screen you want is for porn! Well, I am looking at Asus and Alienware w/ 17" glossy 3D screens.
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Post by rickag on Jan 20, 2014 15:41:28 GMT -8
JDSoCal Upgradability; I can completely understand (see my signature), yet here I am, using a 15" Macbook Pro, iMac, iPhone and iPad Mini retina. I bought my daughters iBooks and iPhones. I'm 62, also have ham hands and failing eyesight, yet still have the iPhone. Am I stupid or stubborn? Or do I like quality and will forego the size of the iPhone to avoid inferior OS and quality. I do hope Apple sells a slightly larger iPhone along side the current size, my next upgrade would be the larger version. If they drop the current size many will object (people with normal hands and eyeglasses don't seem to want the larger size). As far as the poor presentation of Apple products in retail, that's why we have Apple stores, Steve Jobs got tired of expecting retailers to do their friggin jobs and properly sell Apple products without being bribed. I expect nothing from the likes of the Best Buys, Targets, Walmarts of the world. The good knowledgeable sales person in these stores is the exception not the rule. I bought an iPad Mini Retina case at Best Buy - oops - the iPan Mini is thicker - didn't fit. Took it back, exchanged for a different one the sales clerk assured me would fit, opps it didn't fit either. Took it back and the sales clerk had the temerity to tell me that the iPad Mini Retina is the same size as the previous model while actually being unable to get an iPad Mini retina into the same damn case he was trying to sell me. Got my money back and ordered one online. It must gall Samsung to no end that even with all the big display areas extra staff, sales pressure and huge advertising budget that Apple's iPhones still outsell the S4 / S3s. Anyway, good luck on your search for a laptop that meets your needs.
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Post by mcharliem on Jan 20, 2014 15:52:02 GMT -8
I could care less what Sherman said ON the field .... after the game is over that kind of stuff shows a huge lack of class as well as sportsmanship .... save it for the field. It will make for one hell of a game when they meet again ... They asked him immediately after the game, after he went up to shake Crabtree's hand and Crabtree ignored him. He's full of adrenaline after the biggest play/game of his life. Crabtree apparently tried to fight him at some charity event, and they don't like each other. To play in the NFL you have to be a bit crazy on the field, you risk your livelihood every game where you know every game could be your last. It's the most testosterone filled sport around, which is what makes it so popular...then we expect these people to go from that to church going gentleman as soon as the game is over? I see no issue with anything he said...he doesn't like Crabtree, why should he say anything good about him? It's refreshing to see an athlete speak his mind instead of the usual PC quotes we get from almost all of them. I'm definitely in the pro-Sherman camp. The guy supposedly had a 3.9 GPA at Stanford, and has managed to turn himself into the 2nd biggest name playing in this Super Bowl. This whole act is obviously extremely premeditated, well-crafted, and in my opinion, highly entertaining. I say good for him. This new commercial is pretty awesome too: m.youtube.com/watch?v=HESJgpYYUyM
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Post by archibaldtuttle on Jan 20, 2014 15:52:51 GMT -8
The margins that Best Buy gets on Apple products are much thinner than for other electronics in the category - they don't want to sell the Apple products - they would much rather sell you something else.
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Post by Red Shirted Ensign on Jan 20, 2014 16:17:59 GMT -8
They asked him immediately after the game, after he went up to shake Crabtree's hand and Crabtree ignored him. He's full of adrenaline after the biggest play/game of his life. Crabtree apparently tried to fight him at some charity event, and they don't like each other. To play in the NFL you have to be a bit crazy on the field, you risk your livelihood every game where you know every game could be your last. It's the most testosterone filled sport around, which is what makes it so popular...then we expect these people to go from that to church going gentleman as soon as the game is over? I see no issue with anything he said...he doesn't like Crabtree, why should he say anything good about him? It's refreshing to see an athlete speak his mind instead of the usual PC quotes we get from almost all of them. I'm definitely in the pro-Sherman camp. The guy supposedly had a 3.9 GPA at Stanford, and has managed to turn himself into the 2nd biggest name playing in this Super Bowl. This whole act is obviously extremely premeditated, well-crafted, and in my opinion, highly entertaining. I say good for him. This new commercial is pretty awesome too: m.youtube.com/watch?v=HESJgpYYUyMThe sports talk radio today in Seattle is all over the lot. Some former Seahawk players who are now commentators feel the hype is a bit of a distraction and that Sherman (a very smart fellow indeed) knew just what he was doing and loves the individual recognition. But these former players wish, in the end, that it had not happened. Other former players and jock analysts are totally up with the "in your face" approach. The identity of the Seahawk defense is hands on, battle and swagger. So, show it....no love between Sherman and Crabtree ever anyway. Well, if Sherman wanted his moment in the sun, he got it...hope Peyton doesn't throw for 400 yards and then ask him "you mad, bro". As for Verizon tomorrow....can't wait. The Samsung product lines had little to compete against the Iphone this quarter....let's see some data points!
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Post by phoebear611 on Jan 20, 2014 16:35:25 GMT -8
congrats to Red and his Seahawks but my money is on Peyton and his Broncos for the Superbowl! Sorry, Red ... I prefer the somewhat more reserved players (in demeanor) and I love the comeback kid story. Yep, Sherman is a classless bum. The irony is, not only is Manning a class act, but he does not just spew cliches in interviews. If you ever hear Manning interviewed, he actually answers the question and offers game analysis, ..... Well Peyton doesn't ALWAYS answer the question : tinyurl.com/kydztxr(Sorry about the initial ad...can't figure out how to eliminate it)
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Post by rickag on Jan 20, 2014 16:47:27 GMT -8
The margins that Best Buy gets on Apple products are much thinner than for other electronics in the category - they don't want to sell the Apple products - they would much rather sell you something else. I can't dispute this, but do you have evidence that margins are much lower and if so how much lower? Just asking
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Mav
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Post by Mav on Jan 20, 2014 16:52:16 GMT -8
It should shake your confidence in Best Buy, not Apple. There's a reason why Apple has had a love-hate relationship with third-party retailers. It can't ever have the full control it has at Apple Stores (which need work, but I'll leave it to Ahrendts and the retail team to find out what). Samsung paid for its presence. It's paying a price for all that promotion and no substance. iPhone 6 will almost assuredly have a bigger screen SKU if nothing else (as in a 2-flagship, 2-screen-size line, though it could force all users to a single bigger iPhone). Tim Cook all but guaranteed its future arrival in a previous conference call, and I'm not thinking it'll take until 2016. But will it be "big enough"? Here's the quote from the former All Things D coverage of the call: But as soon as Apple can clear away those trade-offs... allthingsd.com/20130424/apple-wont-build-a-lousy-five-inch-iphone-but-it-may-build-a-good-one/
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Post by firestorm on Jan 20, 2014 17:23:53 GMT -8
I want a bigger phone; the current phone size was dictated by the mechanics of holding the phone in one hand and keyboarding using the thumb of that hand. That's not the way I operate it; I hold the phone in my left hand and keyboard with my right index finger. I think that for the next iteration of the iPhone, there should be an iPhone Grande and and iPhone Petite, and dump the whole 6c idea.
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Post by artman1033 on Jan 20, 2014 18:01:07 GMT -8
This just in from the internets:
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JDSoCal
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Post by JDSoCal on Jan 20, 2014 18:23:46 GMT -8
JDSoCal Upgradability; I can completely understand (see my signature), yet here I am, using a 15" Macbook Pro, iMac, iPhone and iPad Mini retina. I bought my daughters iBooks and iPhones. I'm 62, also have ham hands and failing eyesight, yet still have the iPhone. Am I stupid or stubborn? Or do I like quality and will forego the size of the iPhone to avoid inferior OS and quality. I do hope Apple sells a slightly larger iPhone along side the current size, my next upgrade would be the larger version. If they drop the current size many will object (people with normal hands and eyeglasses don't seem to want the larger size). As far as the poor presentation of Apple products in retail, that's why we have Apple stores, Steve Jobs got tired of expecting retailers to do their friggin jobs and properly sell Apple products without being bribed. I expect nothing from the likes of the Best Buys, Targets, Walmarts of the world. The good knowledgeable sales person in these stores is the exception not the rule. I bought an iPad Mini Retina case at Best Buy - oops - the iPan Mini is thicker - didn't fit. Took it back, exchanged for a different one the sales clerk assured me would fit, opps it didn't fit either. Took it back and the sales clerk had the temerity to tell me that the iPad Mini Retina is the same size as the previous model while actually being unable to get an iPad Mini retina into the same damn case he was trying to sell me. Got my money back and ordered one online. It must gall Samsung to no end that even with all the big display areas extra staff, sales pressure and huge advertising budget that Apple's iPhones still outsell the S4 / S3s. Anyway, good luck on your search for a laptop that meets your needs. I understand why Steve, God rest his soul, didn't like third party retailers. They are retarded dinosaurs, bellowing in the tar pits (I realize those were actually mammals doing that). But "getting tired" of how they do things doesn't mean you can't eventually find a way to make them do it right (or don't do it at all). Tim Cook gets paid millions, so he is well compensated to deal with recalcitrant dipshits. Frankly, Samsung has found away - pay for a huge display and for a $9/hr employee to sit there and lord over the displays. I mean c'mon, do we really need to defend everything Apple does just because they have always done it that way? Here's the problem with the "big boxes just suck" logic: Either Apple sells a significant number of phones in the third party B&M stores, or it does not. If it does sell a significant number in B&M stores, then Apple should do whatever it has to do to make sure it's done right. If Apple sells only a trivial amount of iOS devices in these stores, why even deal with them at all and risk the hit to the brand by being in a shoddy retail display environment? This never ceases to annoy me every time I pass an unattended, substandard Apple display in a non-Apple retailer. Hopefully Ms. Ahrendts deals with this issue. Perhaps I should write her a letter. As for the upgradability thing, that's a deal breaker for me. It's why I am going Alienware over Asus for the laptop - the latter has soldered-in CPUs. I think the Mac Pro desktops are user upgradable, no? I guess Apple can't get away with that with the power user crowd. BTW, rickrag, you are not the target audience I am referring to. You are an Apple diehard guy, obviously. I'm talking about Joe Sixpack that Apple may be losing a few of. Hell, if they don't go bigger screens, they will lose me.
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JDSoCal
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Post by JDSoCal on Jan 20, 2014 19:58:15 GMT -8
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Post by rickag on Jan 20, 2014 20:19:51 GMT -8
JDSoCal I agree with your comments. Sometimes I wonder why I don't just get an upgradable computer and concede to Windows, but then everyday I have to use Windows @ work. Windows frustrates me no end on so many levels. If I had the time I might get a Hackensacktosh, but that also brings it's own world of hurt. And at my age I'm too close to the die part of the diehard fan.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 20:43:37 GMT -8
I thought you had to dress up as a Trekkie to drive one of these laptops. I've seen a few in the wild where I live, but the user was out of uniform, so I just had to visualize Red... No one will ever mistake this for an Ive creation.
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Post by Red Shirted Ensign on Jan 20, 2014 20:48:24 GMT -8
I thought you had to dress up as a Trekkie to drive one of these laptops. I've seen a few in the wild where I live, but the user was out of uniform, so I just had to visualize Red... No one will ever mistake this for an Ive creation. Handsome....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 20:49:59 GMT -8
My issue with Sherman was holding his throat to say "you choked." Even Ali was graceful after knocking out an opponent. The next Seahawk 49er game in San Fran. may look like a boxing match.
Ali - Frazier IV anyone?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 20:50:31 GMT -8
The best buy situation described by JD is not unusual, it happens all over the world.
Simple fact is that third party resellers receive tiny margins on Apple sales (usually less than 10%). It is the same reason why you often see Apple products excluded in "interest free" financing offers by retailers.
Yet they have to stock them to get customers into the stores when they want to buy a iPad, iPhone or Mac. So the stores main effort is to get you in if you want an Apple product, and once you are in they try their hardest to sell you something else which is likely higher margin and likely offers the sales people incentives.
I see this everywhere that isn't a Apple only reseller with the iPad & iPhone display stands usually missing hardware (yet if you ask at the counter they have them in stock but the display "needs updating" or some crap). As an Apple shareholder it drives me crazy, but from a store managers perspective I can see they go where the immediate financial reward is (which is probably what they get performance graded on) - despite the fact they are likely harming customer goodwill and long term customer relationships by recommending shite product.
The great thing about the iPhone and iPad is that there are hundreds of millions of walking & talking sales people that you can see on the street every day. Its similar to how the iPods white earphones likely had a far bigger promotional effect than all the store displays in history - nothing beats a recommendation than seeing people use them everyday in the real world.
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Mav
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Post by Mav on Jan 20, 2014 20:53:53 GMT -8
Who knows. Maybe Ahrendts will really shake things up in that department.
Roving teams of retail auditors, who might also check up on newly "embedded" Apple reps within the stores-within-a-store? The possibility of underperforming stores or even entire underperforming big box types generally losing the right to sell Apple product?
Meaning retailers like Best Buy are at risk of going "off again"?
I don't necessarily see how that's an idle threat. Apple is still on a trajectory for $200B in annual revs. They still sell iPhones and iPads and Macs people want. You'd kind of have to be a little stupid as a Target, Wal-Mart, etc. to not want to keep a piece of that business and make non-back-breaking changes if given the opportunity to do so.
Now that there's a presumably competent and motivated Apple Retail exec in charge, can't wait to see what happens.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2014 20:59:06 GMT -8
Didn't best buy just have a lousy earnings partly blamed on a lack in supply of "premium smartphone & tablets" - maybe they are already getting punished by Apple in the form of minimal supply.
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Mav
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Post by Mav on Jan 20, 2014 21:00:59 GMT -8
Or maybe the Apple portion is more or less fine but OTHER "premium smartphone & tablets" (read: from Samsung etc.) aren't doing as well as the media would like us to think.
Remember, BBY would be starved for iPads for the previous quarter. Not sure you could find a mini retina anywhere other than an Apple Store for a while there.
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Mav
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Post by Mav on Jan 20, 2014 21:04:52 GMT -8
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chinacat
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Post by chinacat on Jan 20, 2014 21:15:46 GMT -8
Hopefully Ms. Ahrendts deals with this issue. Perhaps I should write her a letter. Only if you promise to cc AFB
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chinacat
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Post by chinacat on Jan 20, 2014 21:28:14 GMT -8
Now that there's a presumably competent and motivated Apple Retail exec in charge, can't wait to see what happens. I hope that she dumps all of these third-party idiots and transfers the investment into the on-line channel, along with whatever updates to the retail stores she may have in mind. Brand is everything, IMHO, for our favorite fruit company. It's the premium that justifies the dedication to quality. I think that Tim has always recognized that the most significant difference between him and his predecessor is that Steve Jobs embodied the brand in a way that no one else ever has, or could. Just ask John Sculley. I don't expect Angela Ahrendts to fill that role, but I think that she is an excellent candidate to nurture the brand she is "inheriting." Only time will tell, but it was a pretty bold move.
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Post by phoebear611 on Jan 20, 2014 22:20:42 GMT -8
Last comment of the night on Sherman - what some of these players seem to forget - whether they like it or not - is that they are role models to our youth and should behave as such . Instead we get displays like Sunday's fine rant. As for the 3.9 GPA - in Communications, I might add - anyone that went to college with athletes knows first hand some of the crap that goes on including at the best schools. Lastly, if we give him the benefit of the doubt that he is a brilliant scholar-athlete....he can STILL qualify as a classless asshole. Hopefully Manning will use him as his personal brand of Charmin. Ok - need to get my beauty sleep - see ya fellas!
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JDSoCal
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Post by JDSoCal on Jan 20, 2014 23:47:57 GMT -8
Nice green futures, for whatever that's worth. Let's hope for a green week, month, quarter, and year.
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Post by rickag on Jan 21, 2014 4:48:40 GMT -8
Best line in the comments was"you expect an Ad Company to block Ads".
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Post by mcharliem on Jan 21, 2014 4:54:35 GMT -8
what some of these players seem to forget - whether they like it or not - is that they are role models to our youth and should behave as such . Instead we get displays like Sunday's fine rant. As for the 3.9 GPA - in Communications, I might add - anyone that went to college with athletes knows first hand some of the crap that goes on including at the best schools. The argument on whether famous people have a responsibility to be role models has been going on for decades. In the responsibility split between famous people acting appropriately and parents teaching their kids that famous people shouldn't be role models, I think it's 0% responsibility on the famous person and 100% on the parents. As far as his communications degree, he obviously picked the perfect major for his career. I'm sure he studied the media plenty during his coursework and it's not an overstatement to say that he will end up earning many millions of dollars more in his career as a result of how he's played the media game. He's probably getting more financially from what he learned in school than practically anyone else on this board, so I think belittling his degree and GPA comes off as sour grapes. I was an engineering major in school, and I'm positive Sherman uses what he learned in school way more than I use what I learned when I go into work everyday as an options trader.
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