Who you calling a Genius?
by acdickson
Okay, bite my tongue. My last post was about the merits of Apple Computers. The sleek design, usability, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Well a retraction of sorts is order, because AC has just returned from the so called Genius Bar at the Los Angeles Grove Mall and he's not happy. First off, the name. Genius Bar? Really, like there are enough geniuses in this country willing to work retail to stock an entire bar of customer service representatives much less to fill one in every major city?
Yeah, AC gets it. Calling it the Genius bar is good marketing, but that still doesn't make him feel any less dumb when the door greeter asks him how he can help and AC feels compelled to answer, "I'm cool, I'm just going upstairs. I have an appointment at the Genius bar."
So I get up there. I mosey over to the wood bench, wait my turn, and saunter up to the genius who calls "AC." My question? PowerPoint has been sluggish ever since I upgraded to Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac (remember that last bit, for MAC). I'm hoping for a suggestions about to get it acting snappy again. I lay it on the Genius. No can do. Seems that since PowerPoint is a Microsoft product, the Geniuses aren't allowed to talk about it. At all. Nope, they can't even hazard a guess. Conversation over. Next.
Wow.
So, what? You think I'm going to sue you for giving me less than perfect advice after making a freaking appointment and driving 45 minutes through LA traffic to get there? Like if you can't fix it I'm going to call the cops on your ass, or dial up MENSA and get then to take your genius certificate away? A little help here, Genius.
Yeah, see that's the problem. Don't call yourself a genius when you're not allowed to answer questions about products you FREAKING SELL IN YOUR STORE. Have you been to an Apple store? There are like 19 different products. You can buy the same crap upstairs as you can downstairs. They just make the stores two stories to fit all the not nearly Genius employees in there. And you're telling me you won't discuss one of those very few products because a rival company who you have working relationship with makes it for you? This is the one product that anyone who writes anything is going to use one a daily basis? A product, I may remind you, that says MAC on the g damn box.
Man, what a scam. I'm sure if you're having problems figuring our your Nano iPod you're going to have one hell of lucky day at the Genius bar. They'll show you how to turn in on, load up some music, AND turn up the volume. But AC has to quote Mr. D here, "Don't Believe the Hype." Love the product, hate the service.
And that dude with the wireless mic aping the AC style with his seminar presentation for four people in that sorry ass amphitheater? Stop embarrassing yourself.
Posted on January 26, 2006 | Comments (5)
Garage Sale
by acdickson
AC might have been silent this past month, but DO NOT mistake silence for dormancy.
What's new in the land of PowerSelling and popsicles? A lil program called Garage Sale. It has got AC so riled up and excited that he plum forget to write anything here since he got it.
See, if you list things to sell on eBay the standard way, you've got 8 pages to fill with information just to sell one thing. Even the most seasoned pro with the fastest cable connection is looking at 5 minutes minimum to list a single item. Enter Turbo Lister, a free download developed by eBay and offered free for the download off the official site. It allows users to create listings offline and with the single click of a button, upload 5, 10, 50, 500 listings at once. Revolutionary. A few years back AC found a old PC at a garage sale and bought it for $200. I downloaded the program, and BOOM, I cut my eBay time in half. Without needed to wait for each the 8 pages to load, plus the ease of creating and saving templates with the turbo lister program, not to mention cutting out the long photo upload, I was a new man.
But careful readers will already see the problem. You had to buy a PC, AC? What were you using before that? You had a computer, right? Of course I did. A Mac. The end all and be of computers. But Turbo Lister is PC only. Yes, you read that right. Even after turbo lister has been out for five years there still isn't a Mac version. One of the few reasons I question the collective sanity of the upper brass at eBay HQ.
But Garage Sale came to the rescue. It's a third party Mac version of Turbo Lister. It costs a well worth it $24.99. And do you want to know a little secret? It kicks Turbo Lister's ass. Every reason Mac's are better than PC's, hold true here; design, ease of use, common sense of lay out, menu, etc. And the fancy smancy design templates that eBay charges you money 10 cent a listing for are improved upon and offered for free with Garage Sale.
AC is happier than a pig in mud.
What else?
The AC Dickson: eBay PowerSeller show is going Continental.
The DVD will soon be available on the Paris France based e-commerce site Sonore.
If you check it out you'll notice an abundance of Japanese music. Turns out the AC DVD is the very first item sold on the site that doesn't fall into that genre. eBay and Japanese imports, it's like chocolate and peanut butter.
But what about AC in the flesh? Well, he's going to take Misses and mosey on over to the other side of the pond himself. Early February features two AC Dickson: eBay PowerSeller show seminars, both in the United Kingdom. February 2nd the Arnolifini In Between Time Festival in Bristol kicks off with some PowerSelling. The other shoe drops at the Custard Factory Theatre in Birmingham on February 7th . If you know anyone living near either city, put them on alert. The show is bigger and better than ever.
Posted on January 19, 2006 | Comments (1)