There is nothing – nothing – fun about using the self checkout. Hey Walmart – and all you other grocery/general stores that have these self-serve checkouts… we’re not stupid. You have them there so you don’t have to pay another cashier to work a register. Don’t act like you’re doing us a favor, okay?
When the iPad was first released—has it really only been 3.5 months?—I railed against it for being nothing more than an oversized iPod Touch. I didn’t see the value of it, I didn’t see where it could fit between a smartphone and a laptop (especially if the smartphone was an iPhone and the laptop was a Macbook Pro).
The screen was too small. There was no camera. The screen wasn’t the right aspect ratio, wasn’t true HD. No multitasking. Awkward to type on. Goofy name. You know the list. You’ve been hearing it since the device was announced back in January.
But then a funny thing happened. Apple sold a few million of ‘em. People in the really real world, not the bizarre faux-world that tech journalists tend to inhabit, started to give their opinions about the iPad. By and large, people love this thing. The lack of multitasking that all the tech bloggers said would kill the iPad? Didn’t matter. Remember how all the ‘experts’ said this thing was going to be a disaster?
I was down on it for less common reasons. I didn’t care that it couldn’t multitask because I was used to that on my iPhone. I didn’t care that there wasn’t a camera because I can count on one hand how many times I’ve used the camera on my Macbook Pro. The main reason I wasn’t sold on it was that I simply couldn’t imagine where and how I would use it if I already owned both an iPhone and the aforementioned Macbook Pro.
When the reports started coming in from real world users, I started to change my mind. I started to realize that a 9.7″ device could work really well in my life; I could velcro it to the wall in my kitchen for referencing recipes, I could use it to read any book ever written to my kids at night, I could use it in the car for maps like I do with my iPhone, only larger. I could do all these things with my Macbook, but mine is the 17″ model – velcro is out of the question, it’s awkward to read on while laying in bed next to the kids, and there’s no 3g access built-in, so maps in the car aren’t possible. These are only a very few of the many uses I came up with.
I started to really warm up to the idea of getting an iPad. Then I got the iPhone 4.
Now I’m back to swearing off the iPad… temporarily. You may have heard about the iPhone 4′s “Retina Display” – the device has 326ppi (that’s pixels per inch) and it looks amazing. It’s got cameras. It’s got multitasking. It’s got a lot of things that people have been bitching about for a long time. What do you think the odds are that this stuff isn’t going to be in the next iteration of iPad?
The display alone is worth the wait, to me. These things ain’t cheap, after all. I’ll wait until the announcements come for the next version of iPad – probably either before Christmas this year or early next year – and I’ll make a decision then. If there’s no retina display, no major hardware upgrades, maybe I’ll just go ahead and get one then. But if those hardware improvements are coming, I’ll feel pretty damn great about not spending my $700 on a first generation iPad. It’s not like I need one… right?
Or woman. Whoever is in charge of coming up with promotions needs to be replaced. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about Papa Johns, and I suspect it won’t be the last. Here’s their latest batch of WTF:
You’ve probably spotted the problem, but I still feel compelled to point it out. Numbers 1, 3 and 4 are exactly the same offer. How about a few more specials? Four large pizzas for $40? Five large pizzas for $50? Why stop there? Clearly they think we’re dumb enough to go along with this, so how about THE BEST VALUE: 10 Large Pizzas for $100! Amazing! What a deal!!!
The first of the two new case studies details my Review Builders project. This was my foray into the world of web application programming, a journey that ultimately didn’t last very long. It was a good idea at the time, and someone with tighter skills probably could have made it work, but it wasn’t for me.
The second case study is the aborted book project, Success with Imagekind.com. This thing was a disaster from the word go. While reading, if it sounds like I’m trashing the company and its community… I am. They sucked (with few exceptions). If the bridges weren’t burned then, I’ve made sure they’re nothing but ash now.
There’s still a half dozen case studies to go, and some of the more interesting ones have yet to be written.
Part of the premise of my We Were Not Born Yesterday posts is the realization that some people or companies are dishonest. Noting the dishonesty, be it here or at other blogs or publications, says to those people or companies, “Hey. We know what you’re doing. We’re not stupid.”
Too often though, we are lied to and we accept the lie.
Two days ago, I picked up my new iPhone 4. I “bought” it from Radio Shack for the excellent price of zero dollars and zero cents. In fact, they gave me $20 on top of that price, to be used toward AppleCare or an accessory of my choice. The reason the phone was free? Radio Shack is running a deal (through this month) wherein customers may trade in their iPhone 3GS for a $200 gift card, which can then be used toward the purchase of an iPhone 4. Since I wanted the $199 16GB iPhone 4, my “purchase” was a wash. I’m mentioning that so I can mention this: in the course of my conversation with the guy at The Shack (branding #fail, but that’s for another post), he commented that the reason the phone was only $199 was that AT&T was subsidizing the unit with a 2-year contract.
Of course, you’ve heard that before. It’s a fact of life with cell phones – or rather, cell phones that don’t suck. The phone is normally $5,000 (or $599, something like that) and the carrier is knocking a bunch of money off the top which you’ll pay back over the life of the contract.
That’s a lie.
Does the carrier pay – in this instance – Apple the difference between what I paid and what Apple charges? Sure. Yes, technically, AT&T is fronting some of the bill. The difference between what Apple charges ($599) and the $199 I would have paid were it not for Radio Shack, is $400. The contract length is two years. Subsidy per month? $16.67.
Logically, if I were to stay with AT&T past the two-year contract, my monthly plan should go down by $16.67. After all, I’ve paid back the “loan” that AT&T gave me (which is what it would be defined as, if they gave me money upfront that I was paying back over time).
More importantly, if I were to buy a phone unsubsidized and bring it to AT&T, they should hook me up with a plan that’s $16.67 per month less than they normally charge.
Neither of those situations is reality. AT&T charges every customer the same rate plan as every other customer. If there is no difference in the monthly charge between someone who bought a subsidized phone and someone who didn’t, and if the monthly bill doesn’t go down after paying back the $400 difference, then AT&T cannot claim that unit subsidies are built into the monthly price. AT&T isn’t subsidizing anything. It’s a lie. QED.
I, for one, will stop perpetrating the myth that the carriers are subsidizing the phones. Who’s with me?
A good writer posts updates like this to Twitter:
Some people behave boorishly on our forums and then mention they’re subscribers, as if that makes their behavior acceptable. It doesn’t.
Jason Snell
jsnell
A poor writer would have phrased it:
Some people act like jackasses on our forums and then they’re like, I’m a subscriber! like that makes a difference. lol. asshats.
Jason Snell is the editor for Macworld magazine, and a good writer. The internet has lowered the standards of communication; it’s nothing new, but as more and more people participate online, it seeps into our culture. I’m fighting back. There’s no better way than by making an effort in my own life and setting a good example.
I’ve never been that bad when it comes to abuse of the language, certainly never egregiously so. I’m making a commitment to higher standards, regardless. I don’t want to be perceived as boorish by anyone.
If pride goeth before a fall, then Texas is fucked.
While a novel is definitely on the horizon, I’m also planning some related projects. Being a novelist falls under the broader category of being a writer, after all. I have a long-term plan that will play to my other passion: comic books.
I won’t spend a lot of time justifying them. If you dig ‘em, you know why they have literary value. If you don’t, it’s probably because you can’t get past the “but they’re for kids” aspect (even though they’re not, anymore). That’s okay; not everyone digs novels, or short stories or article-length fiction, either. Comic books are a visual storytelling medium, just like television and movies. ‘Nuff said.
My long(ish)-term plan to break into the comics industry goes a li’l somethin’ like this:
Okay, okay. Not really. It’s more like this:
I ordered the book earlier this week from Amazon and had it delivered on Wednesday. I devoured it – finished it just this morning. It’s awesome. It’s one of the few books that I feel compelled to take a pen to, to make notes in the margins, underline things… it’s very impressive. Hats off, Mr. David, sir. I’ll dedicate my run on She-Hulk to you.
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. So does tequila.
I'm Daniel M. Clark.
This is me →
Blogger, podcaster, geek dad, and full-time cool dude. Slightly sarcastic.
