Woosh!

That was the point going right over your head, by the way.

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.

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? ;) (bonus points - I'm not a manager, just management-ready) We actually -do- value our customers, especially in our store where we get plenty of regular ones.

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. ;p

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. ... I rambled. Sorry. _

Who is going to pay for the software modifications to the POS (Point Of Sale) systems for the retailers to handle this?

I'm not sure if it's going to be a "change a few lines of code" thing, or "entirely new program". Not to mention the differing POS systems that retailers have - they're mostly based off of Windows, granted, but they all look like they're running a different version of software specific to a retailer. And, of course, the deployment costs would be passed down the line to you, the consumer. Isn't that special? :D

It's a plastic little piece of shit. I've never played the game, nor will I, but I saw the picture. They expect this thing NOT to break?

Far be it from me to defend the likes of EA, but seriously, the class? They should go fuck themselves on this one. :/

This is like me buying a $1 toy at Dollar Tree, and then bitching when it breaks on the second use or so.