I'd have a big problem with working at a Microsoft store, but I seem to be the only person on the planet who still remembers what a bastard Bill Gates is and isn't blinded by his philanthropy-as-atonement. ;-)
I'd have a big problem with working at a Microsoft store, but I seem to be the only person on the planet who still remembers what a bastard Bill Gates is and isn't blinded by his philanthropy-as-atonement. ;-)
I won't work to sell a product I don't like. In most cases, I would be lying if I told people I really think Microsoft products are the best options for them. Microsoft does fine for a lot of things, but I genuinely prefer other options for almost every product genre I use that they produce. (The exception is Microsoft Office.)
It's a bit tough for me to find retail stores to apply to because I won't sell shitty products or woo.
You'd have a problem working because of someone who doesn't even run the company anymore?
It's more to do with what Microsoft did to the landscape of technology in this country. I really feel as though their anticompetitive practices, which were begun by and championed by Gates, really held us all back quite a great deal. I don't want to support that business model even if they're less relevant now than then.
@Nuri : Microsoft stores mostly sell other OEM PCs and peripherals. I actually really like Microsofts peripherals and I LOVE the new Surface (though I haven't tried it yet), so I would have no problem selling them.
It's more to do with what Microsoft did to the landscape of technology in this country. I really feel as though their anticompetitive practices, which were begun by and championed by Gates, really held us all back quite a great deal. I don't want to support that business model even if they're less relevant now than then.
Then what do you use for a computer? A Mac? Which monopolistic, anticompetitive, platform DO you support? Unless you're running linux.
So this sounds like one of those pretentious "presence" stores, like Dell, or Apple, or Microsoft.
Which seemed to be the best places to work in storefront tech retail from what I could tell. You've got ulterior objectives beyond "sell uninformed people shit for a fast profit" and you've got opportunities beyond making sales (classes, hardware work, potential connections within the industry itself).
@Nuri : Microsoft stores mostly sell other OEM PCs and peripherals. I actually really like Microsofts peripherals and I LOVE the new Surface (though I haven't tried it yet), so I would have no problem selling them.
It's more to do with what Microsoft did to the landscape of technology in this country. I really feel as though their anticompetitive practices, which were begun by and championed by Gates, really held us all back quite a great deal. I don't want to support that business model even if they're less relevant now than then.
Then what do you use for a computer? A Mac? Which monopolistic, anticompetitive, platform DO you support? Unless you're running linux.
Apple is only recently monopolistic and shitty. Microsoft ran rampant for decades.
And I do run Linux most of the time. Lately though, it's OS X for the sake of convenience. Honestly for me it's almost 100% about iPhoto and Time Machine. If Linux had decent replacements (and didn't fuck around so much with my desktop experience, I'm looking at you Ubuntu) I'd SO be there.
Anyway there's a distinction between using and selling.
I use a Windows 7 laptop because Apple laptops are too expensive and I want to be able to run a few Steam games.
Anyway there's a distinction between using and selling.
No, there isn't. When you buy something and use it, you are endorsing it by saying "Hey, this item is good enough for me! In fact, I prefer it over all the others of its kind!" When I buy Sennheiser headphones or Shure microphones, my purchase in and of itself is an endorsement. When I worked at The Sharper Image or Game Stop, or when I was just a freelance computer technician, I would never advise someone to buy something that I myself would not buy. That's called ethics.
Apple is only recently monopolistic and shitty. Microsoft ran rampant for decades.
Semantic point - It's been long enough now that you can't really call it recent, they've been that way since roughly around the time the first iPod came out, and that was 2001, it's been more than a decade.
Apple's always been monopolistic. It's only been recently that they had a big enough market share where it actually started to matter.
Also true, but the way I'm thinking of it, I'm measuring from when they started to actually manage to do it effectively.
Anyway there's a distinction between using and selling.
No, there isn't. When you buy something and use it, you are endorsing it by saying "Hey, this item is good enough for me! In fact, I prefer it over all the others of it's kind!" When I buy Sennheiser headphones or Shure microphones, my purchase in and of itself is an endorsement. When I worked at The Sharper Image or Game Stop, or when I was just a freelance computer technician, I would never advise someone to buy something that I myself would not buy. That's called ethics.
There's a difference between advocating something you wouldn't buy, and buying something you wouldn't advocate.
Apple is only recently monopolistic and shitty. Microsoft ran rampant for decades.
Semantic point - It's been long enough now that you can't really call it recent, they've been that way since roughly around the time the first iPod came out, and that was 2001, it's been more than a decade.
Apple's always been monopolistic. It's only been recently that they had a big enough market share where it actually started to matter.
Also true, but the way I'm thinking of it, I'm measuring from when they started to actually manage to do it effectively.
Sure, can't disagree. I did say that I mostly run Linux and gave the two reasons that OS X works for me. iPhoto and Time Machine for me are killer apps. I certainly didn't say Apple is a shining beacon of morality and that's why I use it. :-)
Sure, can't disagree. I did say that I mostly run Linux and gave the two reasons that OS X works for me. iPhoto and Time Machine for me are killer apps. I certainly didn't say Apple is a shining beacon of morality and that's why I use it. :-)
Oh, I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with you, I'm just making the semantic point that it's a bit further back than what I'd call "recent", especially in the rapidly changing tech world.
Apple is definitely starting to pull a Microsoft in the past few years. No doubt about it. Luckily, they seem to be mostly failing (except for costing their competitors millions, I guess.)
There's a difference between advocating something you wouldn't buy, and buying something you wouldn't advocate.
I don't buy things I wouldn't advocate and I don't advocate things I wouldn't buy. It all comes down to honesty.
No, buying things you wouldn't advocate has little to do with honestly. Mostly it has to do with sometimes having to settle for what works in the absence of better options.
Buying something you don't like is an acceptance that it's the best you can do. Advocating for that same purchase is another level. It's campaigning. Since I'm not a salesman, I have this luxury of not having to influence people to buy things I myself am not 100% happy with. Let them reach their own compromise.
If there is an absence of better options, then the option you picked is the best one. Even if I feel that a type of product could be done better, if there is no "better", then I will advocate buying the best one. The one I would pick. Settling doesn't mean what you get is shit. I never feel unhappy about buying the best possible variant of a thing because I know I got the best one.
What about personal taste and priorities, as well as individual circumstances? There are a whole slew of products I wouldn't buy for myself that I recommend to customers all the time.
Best for me doesn't always mean best for the customer.
What about personal taste and priorities, as well as individual circumstances? There are a whole slew of products I wouldn't buy for myself that I recommend to customers all the time.
All right in this instance, yes, I would and have advocated for something I wouldn't buy myself. To further refine the statement I guess I'd say I wouldn't advocate for a product I consider inferior or immoral or otherwise "tainted". Other reasons I wouldn't buy it, like unsuitability for my purposes, don't figure in.
No but it doesn't mean I'm excited enough about it to try to talk others into buying it, either.
If someone asks me "I'm looking for something that does X" I will tell them what does X the best, even if it could still be done a lot better. There's no point in telling someone about a product that doesn't exist.
The critical question to the customer is "What is your goal?"
A customer may have a different goal than me. In that case I would recommend a product that I wouldn't buy. There's a difference between a product that you are sure will meet the needs of your customer and a product you would buy yourself.
Fail: Months ago, I bought a completely customized Lenovo W530 (love this beautiful beast to death) just the way I wanted it for just under $2000. However I made a mistake in customizing it to be dual core instead of quad core...and I realized this mistake just after I made the order and it was being assembled. I was very bitter about this but I lived with it.
Booh Yah: Just now, on a whim, I felt like getting a RAM upgrade so I went to Crucial and did a scan of my computer to see what I needed. Turns out...my computer IS quad core, it is just that I stupidly specified two RAM chips to be installed instead of 4, meaning there are two empty RAM slots waiting to be used. I am literally overjoyed and ready to explode from happiness. 32 GB RAM upgrade...HERE I COME!!
Fail: With Sandy gone, Viriginia has finally decided it's actually winter now. It's cold, and the temperature in my bedroom/study has dropped from a balmy 75+ to less than 70. Booyah: Since I've moved my computer into my room, I can use it to heat the space. That plus morning sun exposure means I've gotten the temperature back up to 74 without having to run the gas heat. Fail: The rest of the house is a bit chilly.
Fail: My sister went to the emergency room and it was discovered that she had an ovarian cyst, and her right ovary. Her right ovary had to be removed because the it was twisting around itself. Booyah: My sister came out well from surgery and I am kind of glad that this happened, if it would not have been detected then it would have been much worse, like necrosis or worse.
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It's a bit tough for me to find retail stores to apply to because I won't sell shitty products or woo.
And I do run Linux most of the time. Lately though, it's OS X for the sake of convenience. Honestly for me it's almost 100% about iPhoto and Time Machine. If Linux had decent replacements (and didn't fuck around so much with my desktop experience, I'm looking at you Ubuntu) I'd SO be there.
Anyway there's a distinction between using and selling.
I use a Windows 7 laptop because Apple laptops are too expensive and I want to be able to run a few Steam games.
When you buy something and use it, you are endorsing it by saying "Hey, this item is good enough for me! In fact, I prefer it over all the others of its kind!" When I buy Sennheiser headphones or Shure microphones, my purchase in and of itself is an endorsement. When I worked at The Sharper Image or Game Stop, or when I was just a freelance computer technician, I would never advise someone to buy something that I myself would not buy. That's called ethics.
It all comes down to honesty.
Buying something you don't like is an acceptance that it's the best you can do. Advocating for that same purchase is another level. It's campaigning. Since I'm not a salesman, I have this luxury of not having to influence people to buy things I myself am not 100% happy with. Let them reach their own compromise.
Best for me doesn't always mean best for the customer.
A customer may have a different goal than me. In that case I would recommend a product that I wouldn't buy. There's a difference between a product that you are sure will meet the needs of your customer and a product you would buy yourself.
Booh Yah: Just now, on a whim, I felt like getting a RAM upgrade so I went to Crucial and did a scan of my computer to see what I needed. Turns out...my computer IS quad core, it is just that I stupidly specified two RAM chips to be installed instead of 4, meaning there are two empty RAM slots waiting to be used. I am literally overjoyed and ready to explode from happiness. 32 GB RAM upgrade...HERE I COME!!
Fail: ...because people interpreted a shitty thing I said in jest as serious and agreed with me.
Shitstorm ensues
I edited my comment to say that I wasn't serious. Hopefully that will help things a little.
Booyah: Since I've moved my computer into my room, I can use it to heat the space. That plus morning sun exposure means I've gotten the temperature back up to 74 without having to run the gas heat.
Fail: The rest of the house is a bit chilly.
Booyah: My sister came out well from surgery and I am kind of glad that this happened, if it would not have been detected then it would have been much worse, like necrosis or worse.