Comment: Re:Well, that's one problem I won't have (Score 1) 417
Woosh!
That was the point going right over your head, by the way.
Comment: Re:An Office Depot story: (Score 1) 417
As I recall, the Centrino brand referred to the whole mess - processor + mobo + wifi chip. I still remember the laptop he was talking about - vaguely, at least. I can't remember if it was a screw-up on the manufacturer's part or OD's part, but I do remember that there was a fix in place for it. It's happened a couple of times - sounds like the store he went to wasn't up on the shit they were supposed to be doing.
Comment: Re:Office Depot CEO: "Worst CEO of 2008" (Score 2, Informative) 417
Just as a note, while Odland is a dick, and there's a good chunk of OD employees who disapprove of him, the company itself consistently wins customer service awards - apparently, the "Stevie" (whatever the hell THAT is) was won this year by the company.
This is an isolated and overblown incident - and if someone at my store pulled this stunt, they'd be fired - right before I punched them in the face (If they're no longer employed, it's just simple assault, right?
That being said - we -are- encouraged to sell PPPs at our store, and they -do- get touchy if we don't. Also though, experience counts. I bought a $300 chair with one of the PPPs, using my tax rebate money last year. The back snapped off it near the beginning of this year - called 'em up, got my money back for it. I'll grant, it comes back on a gift card, but it can be used for pretty much anything you want in-store short of another gift card.
And yes, as far as the stores are concerned, the PPP is damned near pure profit. On the other hand, like I said - perhaps I've had a dose of the kool-aid, but not having to spend another crapload of money (especially when I'm making retail money) on something gives one a different perspective on the things.
Assclowns like the employee mentioned in the original article? They're just trying to draw a paycheck and keep a job in this economy. The ones who actually believe in the plans are the ones who are A: not pushy, and B: successful.
Christmas Tree Made From 70 SCSI Hard Drives 248
Posted
by
samzenpus
from the free-time dept.
from the free-time dept.
Trigger writes "At our work we were decomissioning six old HP/Compaq servers to clear up space for new servers and, naturally, each server had a fairly large raid array.
Instead of formatting every hard drive (would have taken weeks performing a DoD level wipe) and disposing them all together with the servers, I decided to disassemble the hard drives and recycle them into something neat.
With a lot (a lot) of patience, I made this shiny Xmas tree.
In total there are around 70 old SCSI hard drives, between 9gb and 18gb in size each. They were nice and chunky, oldschool style. There were quite a few different hard drive models, which is good because they each had different bits which I could use. The Xmas tree is made with parts from hard drives only except for one nut which I had to purchase for $0.39." It's good to see that this guy has plenty to do at work.
EMA Suggests Point-Of-Sale Game Activation To Fight Piracy 244
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the new-ways-to-break-things dept.
from the new-ways-to-break-things dept.
Gamasutra reports on a set of standards (PDF) published by the Entertainment Merchants Association to promote the use of technology that would "disable" games and DVDs until they are activated when purchased. "The effort is codenamed 'Project Lazarus,' and the EMA says it's assembled a consortium of retailers, home video companies and video game publishers to see how easily such 'benefit denial technology' could be implemented, and to evaluate possible cost-benefit analyses. The initiative is similar to security tags used in clothing retail that spill ink on garments if they're forcibly removed, thereby destroying the item. In such a situation, shoplifting is discouraged by implementing a solution that only the retailer can remove at the point of sale."
Gen Con Goes Up For Sale 34
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the i-bid-$5d20 dept.
from the i-bid-$5d20 dept.
Trask writes "LivingDice has documents indicating that Gen Con LLC is up for sale. Additionally, there is an offer pending which could close by the end of the year. This may finally put an end to the uncertainty caused by Gen Con's chapter 11 filing and the recently dismissed Lucasfilm lawsuit."
In the black: Why Linux makes financial sense->
Submitted
by
davidmwilliams
davidmwilliams writes "Sure, we techies know Linux is the right choice. But chances are the suits in a company fear what they consider "risky propositions."
Here's how to talk to your CFO in terms he'll grasp, stabbing to death the notion that Windows has a lower "TCO" (Total cost of ownership) and why Linux makes good financial sense after all."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
World's Greenest Supercomputers->
Submitted
by
drewmoney
drewmoney writes "Researchers at Virginia Tech have compiled a list of the world's greenest supercomputers. The Green500, ranks systems by their use of "FLOPS per watt". A Blue Gene from IBM tops the list with 357.23 megaflops per watt. Big Blue also snagged 9 of the top 10 spots. Maybe we should start calling them Big Green. Another noteworthy observation: the three fastest supercomputers in the world actually made the list.
Look at me, I'm green and speedy!"
Link to Original Source
Look at me, I'm green and speedy!"
Link to Original Source
EFF Releases Software to Spot Net NonNeutrality->
Submitted
by
DanielBoz
DanielBoz writes "In the wake of the detection and reporting of Comcast Corporation's controversial interference with Internet traffic, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has published a comprehensive account of Comcast's packet-forging activities and has released software and documentation instructing Internet users on how to test for packet forgery or other forms of interference by their own ISPs."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Verizon's "Open Network" is Not Really tha->
Submitted
by
saccade.com
saccade.com writes "TechCrunch is reporting
that Verizon's "Open
Network" is not really so open. Reporter Erick Schonfeld
"...asked Verizon whether any of the new apps developed for
the bring-your-own devices would also be available to its existing
customers who bought their phones through Verizon. The answer
for now is, 'No.' Although a spokesperson tells me that they are
looking into it. Unless it figures that out, Verizon is not really
building an open network. It is building a two-tiered network:
One for its preferred customers who play by its rules (i.e., its
current 64 million subscribers), and one for the rabble not satisfied
with its choice of phones and apps.
...If there is no crossover capability on the apps, then the "open" part of Verizon's network will be barren. The appeal of developing an open app for Verizon would be to gain access to those 64 million subscribers. Nobody is going to go through the trouble of creating apps just for the handful of people who want a CDMA phone that Verizon does not already sell. Making the whole open network even less appealing will be the fact that these phones are not likely to be subsidized by Verizon, and thus far more expensive.""
Link to Original Source
...If there is no crossover capability on the apps, then the "open" part of Verizon's network will be barren. The appeal of developing an open app for Verizon would be to gain access to those 64 million subscribers. Nobody is going to go through the trouble of creating apps just for the handful of people who want a CDMA phone that Verizon does not already sell. Making the whole open network even less appealing will be the fact that these phones are not likely to be subsidized by Verizon, and thus far more expensive.""
Link to Original Source