Let Me Teach You Something » Take It From Me

Part Two: Get Hired At The Apple Retail Store: Questions Answered

Marc Cizravi — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:04:00 +0000

St. Catherine Apple Store, Montreal Quebec Canada

To those of you who were promised another post ‘soon’, I apologize for the massive one year wait. For those of you who are reading this for the first time, I encourage you to read my original posting on ‘How To Get Hired At The Apple Retail Store‘.

I started this blog (without any real theme or direction other than to share my knowledge or opinions that I thought were useful to others), and the original post generates a lot of interest, so I wanted to follow up with another to answer a lot of the questions that were posed to me via e-mail or comments.

Keep in mind this will be extremely lengthy (and at points a little redundant); I want to answer as many questions as possible, and I hammer the important points home.

I want to make it clear that Apple retail is just glorified sales & support, nothing revolutionary going on, nothing spectacular that you’ll be contributing to apart from a sophisticated retail team. It’s a foot in the door if you ever want to work for corporate, or maybe move to California, but keep your expectations low, working for the Apple store isn’t glamorous, at all. Apple retail has been well trained and imposed upon by corporate that makes it one of the best retail experiences in the world, but in my opinion it’s the bare minimum that all retail operations should abide by. It is a lot of fun, and a really easy job for the pay, so if you get hired, have fun with it .

The first thing you need to do is just disconnect yourself from everything you know about Apple’s culture. Don’t put so much weight into it – you don’t need to be a good “Apple” candidate, you just need to be a good candidate. Don’t be a fanboy – be genuine.

Questions have been SLIGHTLY edited where necessary just to be more clear, most of them have been left as is – so if you see some awful english or stupid questions (I removed most of them), my apologies! In no particular order, here we go:

#1 “I’m applying for the Specialist position. I would like to ‘work my way up’ perhaps into management in time, maybe even corporate way down the road. Is Apple the type of corporate culture to develop from within and promote?”

Answer: Apple’s retail stores grow in a very calculated way. Over the course of time their sales and technical support appointments are analyzed and the need for more staff grows with the demand. When a new position for a Specialist (because the store is selling more) or a Creative/Genius (because the store is booking more technical support appointments) goes up, it’s first made available to the store internally. Those who want to apply are given a 5 day window (approximate, something short) to submit their candidacy, and then if the spot cannot be filled internally, then the listing goes public on http://cooljobs.apple.com.

The more direct answer to this question depends on the management. The best way to be promoted internally is to a) perform above average with the position you’re currently filling and b) make sure that you’re intimately familiar with the requirements for the position you’d like to fill.

You should know that ultimately it is the leadership team (usually the store’s general manager) that decides whether you’re fit for the position or not. Being a Creative or a Genius entails passing a technical test – even if you pass with flying colours, it will still be a political decision to be made by the management, so you need to be sure that you’re properly manipulating their perception of you. If they don’t like you, or if they see something they don’t like, it’s easy for them to just pass you up for no other good reason. I remember when I wanted to move into the genius position, my particular manager told me that my “team skills” had yet to develop to the point necessary, this wasn’t anywhere near the truth – she was just reaching.

#2 “This is probably an odd question but I’m curious; The casual dress code for the employees makes me a bit hesitant to go in flanked with a suit and tie. I’m certain jeans aren’t cool…but suit recommended, or business professional/casual?”

Answer: When I went for my interview I wore a white button down shirt, blue stripped tie, black pants and black shoes. I still presented myself as a ‘regular’ guy, and I didn’t change my behaviour or my attitude. When I first met the managers who setup my interview, I was wearing a ratty t-shirt and torn jeans, it didn’t matter. I’m sure that people have been hired before wearing jeans, and I’m sure that people have been dismissed because they looked sloppy – the point here is that the clothes are just icing on the cake, if you’re the right candidate it’s not going to make or break you. My advice to you is to dress as ‘professionally’ as possible. Pretend like you’re conducting the interview, and look at yourself without thinking anything about yourself as a person, do you look like someone who would get the job? When I was on the job, I wore sweatpants, jeans, sometimes even torn jeans – but I still performed excellently, customers saw the torn jeans initially, but after 2 minutes of speaking with them, they were practically in love, because I was honest, knowledgeable, and quite the charmer *WINK*. If you ask an authority at Apple what to wear, they’ll likely answer “business casual”.

#3 “I’ve researched, and compensation for this position [Specialist] listed from one extreme to another. If asked, do you have an ‘updated’ recommendation on what to say.”

Answer: I started at $13.50 CAD per hour, which is pretty good for a retail job – I know for a fact that if I had lied about having an undergraduate degree (I was 2 years in at that point) I would have started at $14.00 or $14.50, This was October 2009, when minimum wage in the province was $9.50. It’s going to float in this area, you’re not going to see a big jump. I can’t comment on how others countries handle it. I don’t know what they’re paid, and I don’t know how the conversions are taken into account.

#4 “Does your location make much difference because I live in the outer-northern city of Gosford, which is 1 hour’s train ride away from my local retail store (Sydney, NSW, Australia).”

Answer: I’m assuming this question was “does it matter that I live far away from the store?” No, I don’t think so, as long as management understands that the commute isn’t a problem for you, and that you’re punctual, you’ll have no problem getting hired, even if you live an hour away. The right candidate is the right candidate, they won’t hold it against you if you live far away.

#5 “After I applied, I received an email from Apple noting that they will review my qualifications and experiences, etc. I was wondering if this is traditional or if there is another kind of notification from Apple that can see one can get hired, such as different email content.. etc.”

Answer: Yes this e-mail notification you received is standard, everyone receives it after applying. If you’ve made prior contact with a manager (like I did), they will likely also email you personally (with their Apple email address usually) to make follow up arrangements for an interview, or anything else thereafter. These arrangements can also be made over the phone if you happen to make contact in that way.

Marc's CV, click to download

#6 “I attached the edited version of my ‘Apple’ CV and resumé in Adobe PDF format for managers to review. I was going to attach as Microsoft Word 2007 format which is PC format, but I instantly thought if I did, they may not be able to review it due to file interruption or I just lose my first impression to them. Now, I’m a little concerned that I have attached it as Adobe PDF format, since iPhone has issues with Adobe flash player. I should have used iWork to attach it but I could not wait to apply. Will attaching my Cover Letter and Resume in Adobe PDF format can hurt my impression due to these facts? And which file format have you used to apply?”

Long Answer: This question personifies ‘over thinking’; you’re concentrating too much on the little details that are meaningless. Thinking too much of the theatrics and drama that doesn’t concern actual business people is just how you come across as neurotic and unstable. PDF is an industry standard that is wildly recognized that is natively viewable on a Mac – and that’s besides the point, Apple isn’t holding some childish grudge against Adobe as a whole – they’re saying “Flash isn’t good enough right now so we aren’t supporting it” – PDFs are still viewable on an iPhone.

P.S. a “Microsoft Word 2007″ document can be opened on a Mac or PC.

Short Answer: I submitted my CV as a PDF document; you MAY get brownie points for submitting your CV as a .pages document, but I seriously wouldn’t bank on it.

#7 “Do you think I should like modify my black and white version CV and resume to colorful, attention-grabbing look like Apple, which is like the extravaganza in designs? Also I was thinking about wearing a black shirt like Specialists but custom that to like “Hello, my name is Michael. How can I help you today?” and just kind of being “different” so I will be remembered. I’m worried that this may be appealed as ‘cocky’ or ‘emo’, ‘freakish’ person but I just want them to know that I have sense of humor and wittiness to show them I am ready to work and can build a great relationships with anyone in short time and try to appeal as “trusty” person which it is very important as Specialist.”

Answer: My B&W CV was suitable, but it wasn’t of much importance – I made a good first impression in an Apple store and was essentially recruited right on the spot (pending the formalities of the interview process). I’m sure you could score some creative points if you make a really unique looking CV – it might help you stand out when you’re just applying online without any additional influence to give you points. I believe that your CV should be icing on the cake, it shouldn’t operate on it’s own, statistically you won’t succeed – if you ask me, the CV is a formality, they read it for 2 minutes to learn a little about you, then you get a chance to communicate all those “words” and turn them into experiences and paint yourself as a great candidate… without some “extravaganza in design”. As for the rest of the rambling in your question, you’re over thinking, dial it down a notch.

#8 “Do you regret not negotiating your wage and just accepting what they offered you?”

Answer: It is my understanding that the Apple Retail has certain guidelines as far as to set starting wages. You get paid a little more if you have finished high-school, or if you have a post-secondary degree. If you have previous retail experience, or tech experience it may weigh in your favour – these are all at the discretion of the store’s manager.

Do I regret not negotiating? When I got the call saying I was hired, and that my pay was going to be $13.50 and a “How do you like the sound of that?” I responded with a charming and slightly joking “Well I would like it a little more if it was closer to $14 or $14.50”. In turn, I was told that the rate was very competitive and that this was starting pay for someone of my caliber.

“My caliber.” Well, the first thing I thought was this woman has no real idea of what my caliber is at all.

This sort of thing is really subjective – would you work the job if you weren’t paid a certain amount? My advice to you is (and not just for working at the Apple store) is to forget what you’re worth to yourself – it’s not about what you’re worth, it’s about what you can negotiate.

Let’s think for a second, do you think that the Apple store is desperate for employees? Do you bring something special to the table? Do you have something that is considerably valuable within you that you could apply to your position? Pitch it, and tell them what you think it’s worth. I think it would be really challenging (less than 5% occurrence, if even that… and I’m pulling a number out of the sky) to get an increase in wage over what you’re offered initially, before you even start working, but at that point, they’ve dismissed other candidates and offered you the position, they aren’t going to take it away from you just for asking.

Apple Corporate - 1 Infinite Loop in California

#9 “Any info at all on getting an interview for corporate positions at Apple?”

Answer: I don’t have any special advice here – but I can tell you that Apple loves promoting from within. Retail positions that are posted on http://cooljobs.apple.com are first posted internally for consideration – I imagine that corporate positions follow suit. If you see Apple as part of your long-term plan, and you can’t find your way into a corporate position off the bat – it isn’t a bad idea to jump into retail to get your feet wet. However, this CAN work against you, if you perform poorly in the retail environment it will work against you when you’re applying for a corporate position thereafter. Make sure that you’re strengthening your candidature by being a team player, taking strong initiative when appropriate, and developing skills to stand out amongst your colleagues. Getting your foot in the door (by working retail) will not work if you happen to be an awful retail employee, or don’t get along with your superiors at work (when you’re applying for a greater position, your bosses will be weighing in with your interviewer).

#10 “How difficult or what does it take to go from Specialist to another position? I’m particularly interested in becoming a ‘Creative’.”

Answer: It’s not what I would call difficult, but it is time consuming – a lot of patience is involved.

You can’t be considered for a different position within your first three months of being newly hired (this is typical, it’s up to the managers obviously, but they’ll hide behind this guideline as an excuse not to consider you immediately, if they don’t want to).

You need to prove that you’re a good fit for their store – the Specialist position has more turnover than any other position – so they want to see if you’re committed or not – they don’t want you to just start doing it, not like it, and then quit. From my recollection, you’re also required to be ‘certified’ in two or three of Apple’s iLife apps (iMovie, iPhoto) and one of their pro apps (Aperture, Final Cut Pro, Logic). This needs to be verified, though, so don’t quote me on it, but it’ll be somewhat accurate.

What you should do is wait until you get some positive reviews, develop a positive rapport with your superiors, and then express your interest in the position, and tell them why you think you’d be good at it – being genuine is key here. Keep in mind that you can’t just be promoted to the position without there being a need for one. If a Creative quits or gets fired, expect a posting for it internally, and soon. Even if nobody is leaving, don’t sweat it, Apple store’s are growing constantly, and when the word comes down from corporate that they’ve been approved to hire more staff, they’ll inform everyone.

#11 “How many hours a week did you work there? I just got hired but they are taking so long to process everything and all I want to know is how often I’ll be working. I’m shocked by the large amount of employees they have.”

Answer: When I first started working I gave my managers a blank slate for my availability, and they were scheduling me for the full 44 hours a week. However, I was still just a part-time employee – so they were getting full time hours from an employee they weren’t paying benefits or a full-time wage – unethical, but I hadn’t made any complaints either. After 3 weeks, I restricted my availability to 4 days a week and my hours scaled back accordingly. I wasn’t the only part-time Specialist being worked 40+ hours a week either – they were still trying to hire many more people so a lot of us were being ‘taken advantage of’.

As far as the large amount of employees – Apple’s retail stores have 3 kinds of customers: 1) High maintenance people who have a billion questions and no direction 2) People who know exactly what’s going on and don’t need anyone 3) 10-17 year olds who go in there to waste their time on Photobooth and make me question humanity as a whole. As per Apple’s mantra, the customer is their most important asset, so the more Apple promoters/lovers they can create out of potential customers, the better. As a result, they need a lot of staff on the floor.

#12 “I applied for full time because I wanted to make some money to pay for school but they offered me part time and the same pay. What’s the norm? I thought the amount seemed pretty decent for a part time retail job in Toronto.”

Answer: It’s rare for Specialist applicants to jump directly into a full-time position, unless they’re older (this job is going to be a long-term commitment) or they have a connection with the managers. Full-time positions are given away to employees who are more valuable, and long-term committed employees are more valuable than younger employees/students who are MUCH more likely to jump ship when a better opportunity rolls around (and it almost usually does). However, you’re right, they offer GREAT pay for a part-time retail job, you’re unlikely to find better.

#13 “What is the average age of an Apple Retail Employee? I find myself very passionate about Apple generally and it would be my dream to work for the company itself but there is one snag, I’m 16. Is there any sort of age they prefer or past experience they require?”

Answer: They have no preference for age, above the regulatory legal requirements of your region. However, most 16 year olds aren’t developed enough to be tasked with all the responsibilities of an Apple store employee (above being a Concierge). Previous retail experience helps, but really, the only requirements are having adequate communication and social skills to handle the variety of customers that an Apple store handles daily. Apple’s ‘adequate’ sets the bar pretty high – and while there are many high-functioning idiots who staff their stores, the bar is constantly being raised because more and more people are applying, and fewer of that large pool are getting the job. You may find that you need further grooming before being worthy of a position they’re offering.

The late Steve Jobs, smiling. One of Marc's role models.

#14 “I have a driven passion for the company. Does this drive for the company help? I know you (Marc) said its more to do with the personality and outgoing trait of the candidate than the professional drive but could you reflect a bit more on the subject.”

Answer: I, personally, have a great passion for Apple as a company – but it’s only because I greatly admired (and continue to) the recently late Steve Jobs (Co-founder and C.E.O.) as a business man, and passionately driven entrepreneur. If Apple was a person, his name would be Steve Jobs. So naturally, my admiration for the man, carried over to the company. The iPod, iTunes, the iPhone, OS X, the aluminum MacBook Pros – all rockstar consumer products that other businesses are stupidly jealous of – and a lot of the credit belongs to Steve. I communicated this a lot in my interviews and my answers to questions. Not because I was sucking up, but because I really believed it. The iPod changed the game, a stale mp3 player market was transformed by the iPod and iTunes, the iPhone (and then the App store) was the first of it’s kind – the MacBook Pros (have been) and MacBook Airs (after some tweaking) are the best computers on the market – all revolutionary products – and without Steve, Apple would have almost surely fallen flat and failed miserably.

When asked why I wanted to work for Apple – I told them Steve Jobs knows what he’s doing and I want to be a part it, I couldn’t agree more with how he did business. His obsession with excellence, ruthless honesty, extreme attention to detail and perfection are rules that I model myself after, I respect him, I admire him, I want to learn more, I said.

This attitude coupled with my strong communication and people skills made me a very strong candidate for the position. My own technical experience helped also, and the fact that I used many Apple products probably did as well, but don’t let that hold you back. Don’t act all “Unfortunately I don’t know anything about Apple products”, instead “I’m actually looking forward to learning, I haven’t had much opportunity to look deeply into it, but I’m a quick study and I can’t wait to get started”.

#15 Question from the UK: “I’ve been trying to get a job now for 3 months but not heard much back from applications. Any help would be greatly appreciated!”

Answer: If you aren’t hearing back at all – investigate. Go into the stores you’re applying to and ask for feedback. Be respectful, professional, and probe as to what you could do to become a better candidate. Is there a reason you’re being overlooked? Or are there just too many people applying?

It’s difficult to stand out if you JUST apply online – you’re one of thousands of resumes they’re combing through, and maybe there’s somebody out there who’s better at formatting their online profile, or putting more lies (or not) up to attract the managers.

If you want to make an impression, you need to go into the store, shake someones hand, and communicate to them why you want the job, why you deserve a chance, and what you bring to the table that isn’t easy to come across. Simply “not hearing back” and continuing to wait for someone to bring you the job is the exact opposite of what Apple stands for. Nobody is handing you a job for free, work for it, earn it, or you don’t deserve it anyway.

#16 Is it common for Apple to hire people 55 and over? I’m looking to stay in corporate I.T. or trying to get into get into Apple retail but I have to admit I haven’t used a Mac for two years do you think this may hurt my chances? Is there any further advice you can give to an older candidate w/ a disability and the desire to succeed?

Answer: While I was attending core (Apple’s mandatory training before you start work), among our group was a 60 year old gentlemen who was heavily experienced in graphic design (he had his portfolio with him and everything!). As far as disability – it would really depend – I’m sure Apple is equal opportunity as far as employment, but it would need to be a handicap that doesn’t affect your job. For the record, I’ve never seen someone in a wheelchair or crutches working at the Apple store – I’m not sure of their policy in regards to this. Sorry.

#17 “Hey Marc, I really want to work for Apple but it seems no matter what I do I never get a call back. Can you please describe your prior work experience and if its no trouble a sample of your resume.”

Answer: A link to my resumé can be found here. In order, but not necessarily one at a time, I’ve been: a paper boy, a clerk at a coffee chain called Tim Hortons (very popular here in Canada), a computer specialist at a kids day camp (making stickers, playing games, simple stuff – we used Macs!), an I.T. consultant (schools, small business, private home clients), a baby sitter, a bartender, and then an Apple Specialist.

During my time as an I.T. consultant I was essentially a walking Genius bar techie, but also had to support the PC platform – it was just time spent learning about Apple products and computers in general – it prepared me well.

#18 “I was recently in a seminar with Apple, and it was so clear that with the exercises and the form they had us filled out that I knew what was required to flourish in Apple and I had the tools. Now given I may not have the Apple “look” (I’m a 6′5 black guy with tattoos) but still came to the seminar well dressed, smiled and all that razzmatazz but none the less I still got shafted the very next day via email. It just confirmed my feelings like I didn’t “belong” there no matter how tech-savvy or experienced I was/am.”

Answer: Well, looking at your comment I’m going to say your written english isn’t as strong as you think it is (if you thought it was). So maybe you’re filling out the forms and in your head you’re doing great, but you aren’t communicating your thoughts properly, and it’s hurting you. Apple doesn’t have a “look” – there are nerds, jocks, hippies, goth, black, white, yellow, purple, virgins, players, cool guys, losers, winners (and the list goes on) who work at the retail store, whether you have one or one hundred tattoos. That definitely isn’t it. You may be getting passed up because there are better candidates available, or because the hiring managers didn’t like you, or because you’re missing something. If you get the rejection e-mail, I encourage you to follow up with someone and get some feedback. Hopefully you left the seminar with some contact information or met a few people you could get in touch with.

#19 “I have applied literally over 1000 times in multiple positions, have gone to eight one-on-one interviews, had four phone interviews, attended three group seminars, and even submitted multiple personal pleas to Apple managers. This all has been futile because in the end I simply have been rejected. The larger insult is that I was nominated by three current employees to their managers and still was ignored. I am an emotional guy and am starting to take this personally even though I know it’s wrong. I just really would love to work for them so bad, I’m willing to sell my soul for them. Not only do I use an iPhone 4 and a MacBook Pro 17″ (unibody), I have successfully converted my entire family to Mac Users and iPhone users with accessories and protection plans throughout the product line. And yet, somehow, this is all insufficient for employment at Apple. I am going to attempt in full force once again following your advice to the letter. (Don’t worry, I won’t hold you accountable or anything!) I will let you know how it goes. I am currently studying Management Of Information Systems at the University Of Phoenix.”

Answer: Hey friend. I’m sorry to hear about your trouble. One thing you need to know is that while Apple is a company that’s ideally run by a set of rules, it’s retail operations are run by simple every day people – nothing very special about them. They could be biased, they could just not like you, they could just be having a bad day. They may see repeated attempts as incremental failures; they might be looking at your file and just not agreeing. You can’t at any point take this personally – either they’re doing the best they can, or they’re crappy at their job, or you might just be missing a piece of the puzzle… or they just may need a different candidate at the time being. It’s possible that the lengthiness of the process has worn on you and maybe you’re losing your spirit, or getting visibly frustrated.

If you still want the job, don’t give up – keep at it – but improve yourself, if you haven’t adjusted between rejection #2 and #3 then there’s nobody to blame but yourself – acquire feedback and build on top of it. If you’re passionate and you believe you deserve it, keep at it and you’ll eventually get it. I know I know, it’s easy for me to be all idealist and say it, but keep at it and I think you’ll be happy you did.

As for converting your family to Mac users… it’s not really relevant. Don’t focus on it, it’s fine to share that info with the crew who are interviewing you, but it’s not much of a selling point.

#20 “Thank you for the insightful article. Any tips on the dress code for these interviews? I ask because I see how the employees are dressed and it seems real laid back. I don’t imagine wearing a suit and tie to these interviews will help. It seems like jeans, a t-shirt and a comfortable pair of sneakers is the norm. Am I right?

Answer: Norm? I couldn’t say – I doubt it, but acceptable? Totally.

#21 I’m hoping my age (17) doesn’t entitle me to automatic rejection. I’ve been looking for a job since last year and have yet to find any luck. I’m hoping this guide will help me land a dream first job. Thanks for the help.

Answer: I know 16 and 17 year olds who work at Apple retail stores, it’s not incredibly common, but it happens. Hopefully you’re a special kid.

#22 “Do they give you a drug test?”

Answer: No, I don’t think they’re allowed to – I believe it would be discriminatory? Someone enlighten me.

#23 “I am trying to find out why I was not hired by Apple, IE why I was rejected. Every question they ask I answered not the technical ones but the ones considering customer service. Every answer I gave the questioners were nodding with approval but I did not make it past the second round. I would like to know why is there any way to find out.”

Answer: Perhaps there were applicants who were able to “answer every question they had been asked” INCLUDING technical ones. If you want to find out more, try getting in touch with the interviewers. This seems like a pretty simple question; If you don’t know how to get in touch with anyone, go to your local Apple retail store and ask for one of the team leaders (managers). Ask them for some contact information which would put you in touch with hiring managers or seminar managers.

#24 “I applied today for a retail position. I am not in school, and therefore I am not in the area. Any advice for me on how to make myself known to the staff there? I have electronic retail experience (I’ve worked at Best Buy). I know I have the personality for it.”

Answer: The stores staff doesn’t really need to know you, just one or two important people – the store’s head manager, the hiring manager, and perhaps a senior member of the store who would give you a good recommendation (don’t worry so much about the third, you’re not likely to just drop into that last one). The store manager isn’t going to have much time for you, so when/if you do make interactions with him/her, make sure they count. Be professional, courteous, and concise. Pretend you’re meeting your girlfriends parents for the first time and you want to make a good impression – within the first couple minutes they’re going to make their mind up about you. The hiring manager is someone you can allow yourself multiple interactions with – you want to show them your commitment, gentle persistence, and seriousness about your application.

“I’ve been thinking more and more about working here [the Apple Store], and it would really please me to be here. I think that enjoying your job is really important, and I know that I’d have fun here. I want to know what I can do to make myself a strong candidate – would you please share with me what you think is important?”
Let them answer.

“I understand, and I appreciate your help. I’ve put my resumé together and a cover letter explaining why I think I’d be a really good fit. Can I leave this with you? Are you currently hiring? I think I’d be a really good Specialist, I enjoy interacting with customers and have a lot of retail experience. I know that you’re very busy here, but would you mind if I followed up with you in a week?”

#25 “I’ve actually had to go to the Genius Bar at my local Apple store a few times in the past couple weeks (everything is working now though!). While there, I really got a feel for the place and realized that I would love to work there. I was always friendly with the employees and quite a few of them recognize me on sight now. Do you think this will influence my chances one way or the other? I’m not sure how involved current employees are in the hiring process, since it sounds like such an upper level management decision, but I’m curious. Alternatively, would it look bad that I had to take my computer in to the Genius Bar, and that I couldn’t figure it out on my own? (turns out I needed replacement parts, but it took about 5 trips to figure it out). I’m applying to be a Specialist so hopefully none of that will matter.”

Answer: Excellent questions, really – this stuff is important. I’ll answer the second question first. If it took you 5 trips to get everything figured out, then that’s a poor reflection on them, not on you. It could have been the sort of thing that needed time to get sorted out – but at the very least, looks bad on them, not you, so ignore it, especially since you’re applying for the Specialist position.

Getting to know the staff is almost always a bonus (it’s easy to make a good impression with a few minutes, and it’ll be the only impression if you don’t give them the chance for a second or third). There are senior staff who are allowed to weigh in on hirings, if it’s their place to. There are “leader” geniuses who are pseudo managers of their group. Creatives may also have this sort of employee as well, but it’s not confirmed. Ultimately, the hiring is really up to the hiring manager and above him/her, the store manager – these are the people you should be focusing on. You really won’t have spent enough time with random employees in the store for them to make strong recommendations or oppositions to your hiring – so again, don’t focus on it.

#26 “I couldn’t put my finger on it, and couldn’t figure out whether they’d call back all the over-achievers that spoke at every chance they got, or if they’d go for the middle 50% that were more timid but easier to mold.”

Answer: The MAJORITY of people speaking just for the sake of speaking aren’t going to get called back. Some phonies will get called back, and even hired (oh man, some of the people I worked with at the Apple store made me sick to my stomach) – but I made a fun game of mocking them from a distance with a few other employees who saw through their bullshit.

Part of this I just can’t answer – I don’t have their guidelines written out – but you could argue both sides – and I think that you could overcome regardless of what the rule was (if they were to have one). Speak as much as you want, but don’t hog the spotlight, and be genuine, that’s the most important thing in the world. Don’t be a liar, don’t be a cheat, don’t be a weasel. If you’re a good person, these sorts of things will haunt you, and you’ll definitely regret it when you’re being rejected because the interviewers see right through you – they almost always will. They’ll avoid people with bad habits, bad attitudes, closed minds.

#27 “Was the core and in-store training “paid training?” It’s been a long time since I worked in retail. Thanks for all the info, it was really helpful!”

Answer: Yes, two 8 hour days of paid training at your hired waged.

#28 “I just got hired at Apple quick question I’m going to be a part time specialist anyone know what the hours look like for part time specialists?”

Answer: Many variables here, how many hours are available, what you submit for availability, what time of year it is (summer, back to school, holiday, new product launches). When I was working there as part time with full availability, they gave me 40 hours (this was in the October/November period).

That’s it for now!

I hope that these questions answered will be of further help to you in your job hunt, I appreciate people commenting and reading and it motivates me to do more work on here (when I find the time for it). If you ended up getting hired because you took some advice here (and you feel that I was of valuable help), please consider making a donation, part of proceeds go to a local animal shelter near my house which feeds hungry cats & dogs . If you’d like to make a full donation to them on my behalf, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the coordinator so you can contribute yourself.

Apple’s iOS 5 change log updates

Marc Cizravi — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:41:37 +0000

According to MacRumors and my own iPhone 3GS that’s currently updating (I’m picking up a 4S in two days), Apple has released the anticipated iOS 5 update which is now available through iTunes.

iTunes iOS 5 release prompt

If you’re curious about the changes, I’ve posted the change log that accompanies the update when you’re running the update. It is as follows:

iOS 5 featured update icons

This update contains over 200 new features, including the following:

• Notifications

◦ Swipe from the top of any screen to view notifications in one place with Notification Center

◦ New notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen

◦ View notifications from lock screen

◦ Slide the notification app icon to the right on the lock screen to go directly to the app

•iMessage

◦ Send and receive unlimited text, photo, and video messages with other iOS 5 users

◦ Track messages with delivery and read receipts

◦ Group messaging and secure encryption

◦ Works over cellular network and Wi-Fi*

• Newsstand

◦ Automatically organizes magazine and newspaper subscriptions on Home Screen

◦ Displays the cover of the latest issue

◦ Background downloads of new issues

• Reminders for managing to do lists

◦ Syncs with iCloud, iCal and Outlook

◦ Location-based reminders when you leave or arrive at a location for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4

• Built-in support for Twitter

◦ Sign-in once in Settings and tweet directly from Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari and YouTube

◦ Add location to any tweet

◦ View twitter profile pictures and usernames in Contacts

• Camera improvements for devices with cameras

◦ Double click the home button when device is asleep to bring up a camera shortcut on iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS & iPod touch (4th gen)

◦ Volume Up button to take a picture

◦ Optional grid lines to line up shots

◦ Pinch to zoom in the preview screen

◦ Swipe to camera roll from preview screen

◦ Tap and hold to lock focus and exposure, iPad 2 and iPod touch (4th generation) only support exposure lock

• Photo improvements for devices with cameras

◦ Crop and rotate

◦ Red eye removal

◦ One tap enhance

◦ Organize photos into albums

• Mail improvements

◦ Format text using bold, italic, or underlined fonts

◦ Indentation control

◦ Drag to rearrange names in address fields

◦ Flag messages

◦ Mass mark messages as flagged, read or unread

◦ Customize mail alert sounds

◦ S/MIME

• Calendar improvements

◦ Year view on iPad and new Week view for iPhone and iPod touch

◦ Tap to create an event

◦ View and add event attachments

• Game Center improvements

◦ Use personal photos for your Game Center account

◦ Compare your overall achievement scores with your friends

◦ Find new Game Center friends with friend recommendations and friends of friends

◦ Discover new games with custom game recommendations

• AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2 and iPhone 4S
• Multitasking Gestures for iPad

◦ Use four or five fingers to pinch to the Home Screen

◦ Swipe up to reveal the multitasking bar

◦ Swipe left or right to switch between apps

• On-device setup, activation and configuration with Setup Assistant
• Software updates available over the air without tethering
• iCloud support

◦ iTunes in the Cloud

◦ Photo Stream

◦ Documents in the Cloud

◦ Apps and Books automatic download and purchase history

◦ Backup

◦ Contacts, Calendar, and Mail

◦ Find My iPhone

• Redesigned Music app for iPad
• Hourly weather forecast
• Real-time stock quotes
• Wireless sync to iTunes
• Keyboard improvements

◦ Split keyboard for iPad

◦ Improved autocorrection accuracy

◦ Improved Chinese and Japanese input

◦ New Emoji keyboard

◦ Personal dictionary for autocorrection

◦ Optionally create keyboard short cuts for frequently used words

• Accessibility improvements

◦ Option to light LED flash on incoming calls and alerts for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4

◦ Custom vibration patterns for incoming calls on iPhone

◦ New interface for using iOS with mobility-impairment input devices

◦ Option to speak a selection of text

◦ Custom element labeling for VoiceOver

• Exchange ActiveSync improvements

◦ Wirelessly sync tasks

◦ Mark messages as flagged, read or unread

◦ Improved offline support

◦ Save a new contact from a GAL service

• More than 1,500 new developer APIs
• Bug fixes

Products compatible with this software update:
• iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS
• iPad 2, iPad
• iPod touch (3rd & 4th generation)

* Normal carrier data rates may apply. Messages will be sent as SMS when iMessage is unavailable, carrier messaging fees apply.

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

To find out more about iOS 5, head over to Apple’s iOS features section on their website. Video also available.

I.T. Consultant – What Do You Do?

Marc Cizravi — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:23:11 +0000

People are always asking me: “You have clients? What do you do for them? Oh, you’re an I.T. consultant? What kind of I.T.? What can you do?”

The main thing to take away is that a consultant is someone who has answers in a specific field. People are always trying to narrow down exactly what it is I do and it’s sometimes a challenge for me to sum it up.

Right now, I have a little over two dozen clients that pay me for my knowledge and services. They value my expertise, my resourcefulness, and my advice and they count on me to steer them in the right direction. They pay me because I have answers to questions, and I facilitate what they would otherwise not be able to, or don’t want to put the time into. They pay me also because sometimes it’s more cost efficient, and I’m able to provide solutions at a much cheaper rate than the general consumer would expect from department stores or big business.

I strive to provide a service that’s superior in three main regards:

Cost: In the long run, I’m going to save you money. You’re not going to spend anything on the unnecessary, and you’re going to put money in the right place so you get the most value out of what you buy, and how you use it.
Efficiency: Every client of mine gets personalized treatment. I cater to your specific needs and put the extra time (without extra billing) to make sure the job is 100% complete. Examples being data transfers and personal setups are done to your satisfaction. GeekSquad, Futureshop, or the Apple Store won’t do it as well as I do. I’ve seen it done, I’ve seen them leave huge gaps in transfers leaving a customer completely unsatisfied. I guarantee you’ll be happy with my service, or you don’t have to pay me.
Knowledge Base: The reason I hold myself at a much higher esteem is that I’m well versed in numerous different subjects. Your Futureshop employee won’t have the greatest advise for you Mac purchases, your Apple store genius won’t have the answers to your home networking issues, and your GeekSquad will give you scripted answers that you would expect from a company, not a person. I’m the only resource you’ll need to handle your wide array of issues, and best of all, I’m honest, up-front, and direct. No run around, and no B.S. responses from me.

Having said that, I’d like to share with you a list of the recent work I’ve done for my clients, to give you a better understanding of how simple (or complicated) the service I provide can be.

To protect client’s privacy, I’ll simple refer to each individual client as a number:

Client #1:
- This family had been filming their trips and vacations for more than 10 years, and had all their footage stored digitally across 3 different hard drives (2 external, and 1 internal). They wanted to backup all the footage, and make better use of the space. I helped them decide where/how made the most sense. After all was said and done, they had all footage stored on the hard-drive, a backup running every hour to make sure everything was safely duplicated, and an extra drive to make use of elsewhere.
- They wanted to be able to showcase their final-draft footage on their TV, and also share it on the Internet with friends, securely – I showed them how this could be best accomplished.
- Their son casually plays a game called Warcraft 3 on the internet. He was having issues with wireless dropping, connection slowing down, and the inability to host custom games himself. Based on symptoms he described, I was able to fix half the problem, and instructed them on how to resolve the other half through the support of their ISP (Internet service provider). Within 3 days, everything was running optimally.
- Their daughter was having problems with a Powerpoint presentation she was designing that wouldn’t play music properly. Certain files weren’t playing on the school computer, and I taught her a quick work-around that allowed her to present her final work as she designed it at home.

Client #2:
- When I first arrived at their home, they sat me down in front of their computer and showed me, rather than explaining to me, what the problem was. I turned on the PC and I was over-run by spam messages of what was obviously a virus that had taken over. The virus prevented task-manager, control panel, and other integral Windows processes from running (it would close them a split second after being opened). After taking a closer look, I found that the firewall was disabled and the machine wasn’t sitting behind a router, and was clearly exposed and vulnerable (regardless of the robust “Rogers Online Protection” software that her internet provider installed).
  I explained to her that because the virus had such a profound impact on the function on the computer, the safest (and most efficient route) would be to back up personal files, wipe the computer clean, re-install the operating system and all software, and restore backed-up files. This process typically takes me 3 to 4 hours to complete, and gives the client an added bonus of having a freshly formatted computer. I left with her computer, and returned 2 days later with the machine in it’s most optimal form, with all other files exactly where she left them.
  special consideration: It’s important to note that with Windows XP and Vista, (I can’t speak to Windows 7 yet, hasn’t been out long enough) the operating system degrades over time. When I was playing video games professionally, I needed my computer running at 100% at all times. To be sure of this, I would format my computer every 3 to 6 months. Reason being, I noticed that after 6 months without a format, I would lose some performance (loss of frames per second, slowness in loading programs, delay in simple functions). Now, you can imagine how slow a computer that’s had Windows XP running for 7 years can be. People think “Oh, well, my computer is so old, it’s obviously going to be slower.”
  
  This is a misconception; the computer’s hardware hasn’t changed – ideally a computer should run the same way it does on day 1 and day 1000. Software that comes out long after a computers inception date obviously won’t run optimally, but for the simple stuff, your computer should be performing to a certain standard.
  
  A re-format is usually the best course of action – you clean the computer completely (100% ridden of the virus), but also get the added bonus of a ‘fresh’ computer. A virus that can’t be removed with one simple scan usually requires hours of effort anyway – it’s a better use of my time to format the computer – more value for you.
Client #3:
- One of my long-time clients had decided she wanted to make some web changes to the site for her business (that was put together before we were in touch). I facilitated these layout, media, and text alterations, even though I was initially unfamiliar with the particular architecture of her website.
- After inquiring a little further, I found out that she was paying much too high a premium for her monthly hosting service (that gives her a custom@domain.com email and website services). I performed a total site and email transfer to a different server (cutting her monthly cost from $44 a month to $12 a month), saving her $384 a year, indefinitely.
- She also was looking to generate a little more traffic on her website – I advised her that Google Ads may be the way to go – we put a couple ads together and it’s helped to increase the traffic her website receives by up to 400% (on a good day). Granted she’s paying a small sum for the increase in traffic, but if she attracts new clients (like I have for www.marcitpro.com) it’s well worth the advertising cost.

All this is a short description of some of the services rendered lately – there’s much more, but I don’t want anyone’s patience to wear thin. I wanted to share some of this stuff to encourage people to contact me for anything (small or large) problem or project they’d like me to help them with. As usual, if you have questions, feel free to contact me on www.marcitpro.com/contact.

Until next time,

Marc

iPad to launch in Canada on April 24th 2010?

Marc Cizravi — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:53:35 +0000

**UPDATE April 14th: Apple has announced a delay due to a large number of sales in the United States. Whereever the bottleneck, Apple is unable to keep up and is delaying the Canadian (and international) release of the iPad by about a month. It’s been also announced that details of the availability will be made clear on May 10th, so stay tuned for more specifics as they develop.

“A magical and revolutionary product starting at an unbelievable price.” This is how Apple has chosen to market it’s latest invention, the iPad (www.apple.com/ipad). Will it live up to the hype? Nobody can say for certain… but we sure can speculate!

It’s been a buzz for a while, and everyone has been waiting patiently. Unfortunately however, everyone outside the United States has had to wait a little while longer before getting their hands on the device.

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in January, he noted that the first wave of devices (WiFi-only) would be available late March. This was eventually pushed back to early April and then set in stone for April 3rd, 2010. The catch was that the WiFi + 3G version of the iPad would be available sometime after the WiFi-only device, estimating about 30 days. At this point, we still had no idea when the device (either version) would become available to the rest of the world, and no intelligence to suggest that a Canadian launch was imminent.

A press release by Apple on March 5th, indicated that the iPad would be available outside the United States near the end of April. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK are the countries that made the cut for the “outside of the U.S.” list.

Until today, there has been no other confirmation, or specificity to when exactly the device would be ready. It’s come to my attention, however, that Apple retail store employees here in Canada have been instructed that the weekend of April 24th, 2010 will be a “blackout period”. This means that nobody is allowed to book the time off. I don’t think anyone could look at these two pieces of fact and decide on coincidence. This has also been rumoured/confirmed by iPadinCanada.

Will the iPad Succeed?

Steve Jobs showcasing the iPad in San Francisco on January 27th

There are a couple factors that could affect the iPad’s success, one of which will unfortunately rely on your geography.

Carrier rates and quality will play a heavy part. Thus far, the only confirmed carrier to host the iPad’s 3G wireless services in the United States, is AT&T. They offer two plans (that are both contract free) which you can sign up for directly on the device – you never need to phone anyone or spend more than 5 minutes to sign up or cancel. You can pay $15 a month for 250MB of bandwidth transfer per month, or $30 for unlimited data… an incredible offer. It’s a little upsetting for dense metropolitan areas however, that so far AT&T will be the only confirmed carrier, because there have been numerous reports of New York and San Francisco experiencing poor performance with their service due to congestion. In response to this, AT&T has been working tirelessly to improve network performance, and I imagine that since it’s been a known issue for so long, the worst is probably behind them.

On our side of the fence, wireless customers have been abused as 3G smartphone consumers. Rogers felt it could take advantage of it’s exclusivity of the iPhone and overcharge customers for small amounts of data. The prices and plans that were announced by Rogers when the iPhone was coming to Canada were outrageous. Extortion would be nothing short of appropriate to describe the communication giant’s initial approach to their newly acquired Apple product line. Shamelessly, they tried passing off their pricing scheme based on supply and demand and competitive rates and whatever other garbage industry terms they could throw to try to dupe the customer.

It didn’t take long for Rogers to respond to the online uproar of infuriated would-be customers and current loyal consumers; they quickly re-evaluated their plans and made available larger amounts of data (up to 3 times more) for a much cheaper price. At the time of launch, you could get 6GB of data month for an extra $30 a month to your plan, if you extended your term by another 3 years of course. While Canada still lags hard behind the United States and most of Europe in pricing, exclusivity no longer lies with Rogers – Bell & Telus are now running a joint network which supports the iPhone and other high speed GSM/HSPA devices. Those of us who do not miss being Rogers customers (amen), need not worry about our future with wireless technology.

iPad on display after the special event, shown in landscape orientation.

Application support and availability is another strong factor that will play a role. It’s no secret that the iPhone is a (and excuse me for this) unique and revolutionary device, but one that would certainly not earn the title without the beloved application store. Currently, there are more than 150,000 applications available to download. While I’m sure a small percentage of the apps (I’ll be generous and assume 20%) are less than attractive to the average consumer, it’s still an insurmountable amount of helpful, useful, innovative, and ultimately valuable utilities that make the iPhone as special as it is. While I can do the iPhone’s capacity as a whole no justice with one simple blog post, it’s without a doubt in my mind that the device is unparalleled in the smart-phone market.

This Saturday [at launch], the iPad will have access to almost all existing iPhone/iPod applications, but will also offer 1000 iPad-specific applications to choose from. Due to it’s larger size and longer battery life (amongst other hardware improvements over the iPhone/iPod), it will have the capacity to run newer, more elaborate applications. Access to the iBookstore (60,000 books currently available, half of which will be free at launch) is an added incentive to purchase the new device, one that can’t be overlooked. Continuing development for the iPad will be an integral part of it’s success; Apple will need developers to feel the next gold rush, so to speak, to fuel a real boom of iPad applications that make the device really worth buying, because as it stands now, no matter how magical, it’s still a luxury device that I view as an unnecessary purchase if you own a decent laptop.

What Else Do I Need To Know?
It’s been a huge topic of discussion: Will the iPad replace the laptop? Is it competing with netbook computers? What ‘category’ do we place it in? Who has this device been designed for?

Numerous questions beg for numerous answers: The iPad, while new and innovative in design, doesn’t have the full function of a laptop or desktop computer. You can’t run Adobe CS4, play real video games, manage or edit your iTunes library, video chat (although it’s rumored to be in a revised edition of the device) and there’s no upgrading from the meek storage. You wouldn’t find someone sitting for a couple hours typing on the virtual keyboard – it’s good for a couple quick emails and small document edits, but if you’re doing real work, you’ll either want something that sits on your lap, or easily on a desk with a full functioning software set. The applications you can install are also obviously limited, but that’s a idea – you’re not supposed to be able to install Firefox or Bit Torrent software – it’s a different niche. For all these reasons and more, the iPad will not be replacing your computer.

Who will get the greatest value out of the iPad? Commuters, travelers, loungers, and those with some extra pocket money who want to be part of the newest-toys club. Commuters who spend anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes (or more) on public transit every day are wasting a lot of time if just sit there waiting to get to work/school/destination. Assuming a normal work schedule, 60 minutes of commute time a day turns into more than 250 hours spent on the bus. Even after subtracting a little for sick and vacation days, that’s a lot of time that goes to waste. At the very least, you could at least waste the time entertaining yourself (playing games, watching movies or TV shows), or you could choose to read a book, surf the internet to learn or inform yourself, or be productive through the many outlets that the iPad provides. Do you know that the average university course is about 80 hours in length? Think to yourself, if you’re not putting that commuting time to good use, you’re burning 3 classes worth of learning a year… that’s a lot.

People who travel will be quite impressed to say the least, that preliminary hands-on testing of the iPad reveals greater than 10 hour battery life while watching movies; this is incredible. A gorgeous display that will let you watch a movie, work, read and play for the duration of a trans-Atlantic flight… and then some. Think of how long your iPod or iPhone lasts while watching movies and how much less of an experience it is on those small-screened devices. In addition, battery life is more than double some of the top portable DVD players and other entertainment device – the iPad is easily an industry leader as far as that’s concerned.

For those who enjoy sitting in Starbucks reading the paper, or having a beer on a Patio just to enjoy the sun and some light reading, this device may be for you too; add 3G connectivity or a WiFi hot-spot for even greater results. You’re able to hold the iPad in your hands so comfortably (from watching Steve Jobs’ keynote) that being out with the iPad can still feel casual and calming. Even when you’re in the living room watching TV, and you need a resource for checking… anything! The family room iPad is a handy well rounded device for those households which are technology driven, and love having gadgets strewing about for… again… anything!

The iPad surfs the web, checks your email, stores your contacts and calendar events, showcases your pictures, lets you watch movies and T.V. shows, browse YouTube, has a built in iPod, lets you purchase media, applications, books; it has Google Maps built in, lets you write notes, or use iWork to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations… does anyone else think it isn’t worth the money? The value is there, it’s definitely there. Have you seen how hospitals take advantage of iPhone technology? Just wait and see what new and innovative uses are developed for the iPad…

At this point, it’s difficult not to admire and respect the potential for good that Apple has released to the world with this new invention. Will the iPad succeed you ask? Without a doubt in my mind.

Using a Mac without Snow Leopard?

Marc Cizravi — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:28:46 +0000

It’s a documented fact that (and excuse the lack of references, you’ll have to take my word for it) Apple has been on the rise as of late. There are more Macs than there have ever been, and with exciting new announcements about Apple’s iPad, and other looming upgrades to other devices (iPhone, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro), it’s a good time to be an Apple groupie.

Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard

I’d like to shine the light on a release that was made more than 6 months ago, because I’ve recently encountered a few people who were very much of the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” opinion. While in theory, this mentality typically does hold true, in practice it sometimes seems… a little less than practical (har har).

Snow Leopard is/was Apple’s most recent release of their Mac OS X operating system (10.6) that was available to the public as of August 28th, 2009. For those of you who are less familiar with Apple and Macintosh computers, think of Snow Leopard in congruence with Microsoft‘s latest release of Windows, 7.

A new operating system’s (OS) release usually commands a lot of attention; it’s a new and exciting time to marvel at the cool new features, fancy aesthetic renovations, and hopefully added functionality.

Normally, with a new OS comes the need for faster, stronger and better hardware. The new operating system takes up more room, needs more memory, and a faster processor or it doesn’t run properly. This is sometimes a cause for concern. “You’re telling me I need to pay a couple hundred dollars for this new version of Windows that is going to make me want to buy a new computer because my two year old machine all of a sudden doesn’t match up?”

A new OS is supposed to be an upgrade right? Normally an upgrade doesn’t turn into a burden, it’s supposed to make things easier. For some of us, upgrading ram or clearing hard-drive space is an arduous and costly task. If only someone out there would try to break the trend…

Apple did.

To name a few:

Snow Leopard was the first-ever operating system that actually cleared up hard-drive space after you installed it – users reported anywhere from 5GB to 15GB of additional free space on their drives after installing.
A lot of the essential applications and processes that run have been recoded from 32bit to 64bit. What this means is that applications make better use of the hardware (mainly memory) in your computer to function MUCH faster. This means that the computer you bought 2 years ago, runs faster after you install Snow Leopard, than it did when it was brand new out of the box. No need for new hardware, just a $29 upgrade gets you a face lifted computer.
Safari 4 (Apple’s internet browser), officially released with Snow Leopard, sets a new industry standard in performance; six months later, it’s still leading in load times and benchmark performances vs. other popular browsers. Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Internet Explorer all pale in comparison.
With Snow Leopard, users could experience faster start-up, shutdown, and wake from sleep times than ever before no more wasting pesky seconds, we’ve got stuff to do!

If you want to learn more about Snow Leopard, visit Apple’s current Mac OS X page on their website. note: this link will be valid until the day Apple releases (presumably) the next version of Mac OS X.

For those of you who have not yet upgraded and are trying to decide if it’s worth it – take it from me, it is. For those of you who are actively opposing the upgrade because “10.5.8 works just fine for me”, you’re not getting the full value out of your computer. For $29, you could turn your computer into a faster, more efficient device, and keep up with an industry that demands you be up to date to function with the newest and best this world has to offer.

One objection that may have held you back from upgrading immediately, would be third party support: printers, cameras, old software that might not operate properly… right away. Now, 6 months later (even 2 weeks after I upgraded) you can rest assured that anyone who’s anyone, has caught up.

note: Apple released the latest version of Snow Leopard, 10.6.3, yesterday which was accompanied by many improvements and bug fixes. Read more here.

Marc Cizravi In The Past 12 Months

Marc Cizravi — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:56:31 +0000

It seems that with all the new people I meet that I happen to have an extended conversation with, they ask me “So… Marc, what is it you do?” and sometimes it’s less than easy to tell them everything it is that I spend my time on. I’ve always thought of myself as a really well rounded individual – I retain talents in many different fields, and as such, I’m currently exploring many different paths to many different goals, all to one end: early retirement with financial security beyond any doubt.

Some might say, that it’s less than efficient to spread your efforts so thin; I’ve come to realize this myself, however, I still pursue many different endeavours simply because I still maintain a genuine interest and have yet to make a final decision as to what it is I want to do with the future.

If you look at the following picture, you’ll see a visual representation of almost everything I’ve been a part of in a professional (or pseudo professional) capacity within the past 12 months, and for a select few, a little longer than that.

Marc Cizravi's involvement in the past 12 months...

University of Western Ontario (Undergraduate student)
I’m currently between my 2nd and 3rd year of my undergraduate degree (Major in Biology) at Western (www.uwo.ca), located in London, Ontario. I decided to take the 09/10 academic school year off so I could work to save money, and pursue a couple personal projects (this website being one of them). Ideally, I’d like to attend medical school (or so was the dream a couple years ago) but it’s become painfully apparent that to get accepted to medical school, you need to have a laser-like focus on your academics. Outside distractions such as work, volunteer, social activities, and life in general need to be properly balanced to achieve such results.

Student Emergency Response Team (Emergency Medical Responder, EMR)
SERT is a volunteer group of approximately 50 undergraduate and graduate students who are trained in advanced first-response emergency medicine. SERT runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the school year, and 8 hours a day through the summer term. Anytime a 9-1-1 call is made on campus, it gets routed to Western’s campus police dispatch, and they’ll send a page to the three EMR’s on call at that time. Successfully joining SERT (when I did) meant you had to be trained in at least First-Aid by a recognized organization, pass a vigorous application process, and then undergo more than 50 hours of training before officially being on-call. In the picture you can see: my uniform that was mandatory when on-call, campus badge with identification, emergency medical responder patch from the Canadian Red Cross, and numerous cards representing all my certifications. Emergency First-Aid and CPR/AED (automated external defibrillator), Emergency First Responder, Emergency Medical Responder, and after having done all that I also completed a course so I would be able to teach Emergency First-Aid and CPR/AED use. Learn more about SERT at www.uwo.sert.ca.
Apple Retail (Mac Specialist)
In October 2009, I got a job working at the Apple store in Fairview mall as a ‘Mac Specialist’. This title is essentially that of a glorified salesman, however, additional responsibilities such as technical support would randomly fall into my lap (and having that prior experience) I wasn’t opposed to the change of pace.

My goal when I started working at Apple was just to absorb as much as I could in a short period of time. I’ve been an I.T. consultant for quite some time, and having some time behind the scenes at Apple would just add to my repertoire. I knew it wasn’t going to be a long-term engagement, as such, I took advantage of my discount while I was there and bid my farewells when my new job was lined up and ready to go. In the image above you can see my lanyards, two t-shirts, business card, and other purchase consultation cards.
2006 Mazda3 GS (New car post-accident)
In December of 2006 I was involved in a collision that was ruled not my fault. A women had failed to yield to a stop sign and forced me to collide with her, damaging my car beyond reperation. The damage to my then 1997 Ford Escort LX (valued by my insurance company at $2,000) was over $5,000. As such, I was cut a check for my vehicle and had to say my goodbyes. A little over a month later, I purchased a used 2006 Mazda3 GS, pictured here. In the image above, you’ll see the key to my old Escort, and my new 3.
My Own Blog (www.marccizravi.com & www.marccizravi.net)
A little under a year ago I decided I want to invest a little time to establish a presence on the internet. I started investigating the best way to go about putting a blog together, re-learned some HTML and CSS, and (with the help of WordPress) put together this website that you’re currently browsing. The goal was to have something online so that a) I would have a forum to talk about whatever I wanted to, and b) a small website that generates a some traffic that I could dedicate to marketing my book, when I finish writing it. Above you’ll see the main page printed out (just one page).
Marc I.T. Pro (www.marcitpro.com)
I’ve actually been a “computer guy” aka I.T. consultant for numerous years. In a couple months I will have spent more than 10 years fixing computers for myself, family, friends, and clients. I thought it would be good to take my “side income” to the next level. I decided to put a website together for my own consulting firm. I took the experience I had received from putting this blog together, and applied it to www.marcitpro.com. Again, pictured above is a printed out page from the website which lists all my references.
Bartender for Liberty (Splash Patio @ Harbourfront Centre, Flow, Ciao in Yorkville, Toronto)
In the summer of 2009 I landed my first bartending job (after having worked the previous summer as a server) at the Splash Patio (Liberty Group Entertainment). I quickly took to it and after a week or two I found myself making good money (weather permitting) preparing drinks for a 70+ table restaurant, in addition to tending to walk up customers. I questioned why I didn’t try harder to get behind the bar sooner, as it was clear that bartending was a much more lucrative position than serving… so much so. After receiving this promotion, I made the transition to bar work at a couple other nice places, gaining further experience with a more exotic menu. Bartending is something that I’ll always be able to “fall back” on – easily the highest income potential for the least challenging work. Pictured is one of my Liberty Group t-shirts, celebrating the 20 year anniversary of the company in 2007.
Catherine
Last but definitely not least (quite the opposite) centered you see a picture of myself with my beautiful girlfriend Catherine. It’s been more than 2 years since we first started seeing each other, and I can honestly say that nothing else in my life has yet to bring me the satisfaction of a fullfilling relationship with this incredible girl. I love you with all my heart Catherine :]

10 Must Have iPhone Applications

Marc Cizravi — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:08:04 +0000

Facebook – FREE
This one goes without saying. You’re probably using facebook, and if you have an iPhone you may as well have the Facebook app so you can respond to messages or view them quickly in a pleasant interface. While viewing www.facebook.com is pretty seamless through their ‘mobile’ version, or even the full site through Safari, the Facebook app sometimes makes it faster and easier to do what you want to do!

Shazam – FREE; Shazam Encore/RED – $4.99
Shazam is an application that will listen to music that is playing (for about 15 seconds), creating a ‘tag’, and then scour it’s database, and give you an artist, album, and title (if it can find one. So, you’re in a bar, club, or in your car listening to the radio, a song comes on that you wish you knew the title to. Instead of trying to remember lyrics, asking friends, or searching the internet later, just pull your iPhone out, click Shazam, click Tag, and let it do the work for you.

I have a 95% success rate with this, and very rarely is Shazam unable to tag the music that’s playing. This app used to be ‘unlimited’, but recently the free version became a limit of 5 tags per month. Those who ‘purchased’ the app when it was unlimited, still have the benefit of that feature even with updates, but new users have to pay $4.99 for the ‘Encore’ version. They also have a RED version, in case you would like to donate money to help fight AIDS; a worthy cause.

Things – $9.99
I very rarely buy paid apps, it’s a slippery slope. However, Things for iPhone and Things for Mac make it really easy for me to manage my upcoming tasks. This is an application that I’m far from qualified to fully describe, as I use it in a very rudimentary fashion, but I do however find great value (at least $10 worth) being able to organize my to do list, add/remove/check items completed, reminder and other such tasks that were left out of the Calendar app.

Air Mouse – $1.99
This is a really cool app that lets you use your iPhone (or iPod) as a trackpad (like on a laptop). Two different functionality modes which allow to use it traditionally, or take advantage of the device’s accelerometer. You must be on the same WiFi zone as the computers, and need to install the software (free) for your computer, PC or Mac, and have it running for this to function. I have it setup at home with 3 different computers, and can control them all from the comfort of my bed, with my phone. Can also be used in boardroom presentations or other such scenarios.

Flashlight – FREE
Simple application which will turn your entire screen into either a solid or flashing or patterned colours. Handy when you’re in a dark spot and need a flashlight. Turn your iPhone or iPod’s brightness all the way up, launch flashlight, and find your way through a dark room or alley easily!

Urbanspoon – FREE
You’ve no doubt seen this one advertised on T.V. With urbanspoon, you can just shake to find a new place to eat tonight. You can set region, (or have it find you automatically), price range, style/culture of food, or have it shuffle all three categories. You can lock it to low priced Greek food, and find all the cheap Greek places in your area – really handy for couples who are looking to eat someplace new every night! Information returned includes phone number, address, reviews and an easy link to bring up the maps application so you can direct yourselves there.

Bump – FREE
This one is super cool. All you need is a friend with an iPhone, with Bump also installed. You both launch the application, bump your fists while holding your phones, and it will exchange your contact information (as much as you’d like to share). Ideal for people who have iPhones who want to quickly bump their phones to exchange contact information. Share phone numbers, pictures, addresses, emails, web addresses and anything else you can fit on your profile. Really unique application that makes the iPhone worth having.

WhatsApp – $0.99
The equivalent of “BlackBerry Messenger” – free texting through data anywhere in the world. It’s a good App WITH push notification, but it’s only here because Blackberry users are always crying about how amazing BBM is and how they don’t have to send any text messages. I’ll tell you something, it’s 2010, if you have a blackberry or an iPhone, 99% change you’re paying for more text messages a month than you could possibly use. For those of you who enjoy “knowing when they’ve read my message”, you’re insecure, and you need to get a grip.

Traffic Rush – FREE
A game where traffic is traveling in four directions and you’ve got to be the one to govern it’s speed and make sure to avoid all collisions. A good time waster in case you’re on the bus or in the doctors office and need to kill a couple minutes.

The Imbecile Test – FREE
This one is actually indescribable, you need to play it to understand. A series of random questions (and sometimes not) designed to trip you up and make you feel the fool. Learning curve of about 30 seconds, and that’s probably how long it takes you to lose your patience and decide you need a 3 week break before playing some more. Still, a real popular application that deserves your attempt.

My Car and My iPhone 3GS, CBHSOL2, iTrip, Griffin Mount

Marc Cizravi — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:39:57 +0000

I’ve always been a real gadget-guy. Technology opens doors and creates possibilities, facilitates what would otherwise be impossible, or illegal. I thought I’d share not only my hands-free setup, but other gadgets I’m using in the car that are making driving easier, and more of a pleasure.

My iPhone 3GS playing music through iTrip

First, I needed a mount for my iPhone 3GS – recently the province of Ontario joined the hands-free while driving movement, so it was necessary for me to purchase something to hold my phone up, stationary, if I wanted to control the music or GPS functions. Naturally, my local Apple Store had something for me, and I picked up Griffin’s “WindowSeat WindShield Mount” for $29.95. I decided to install it directly on my windshield. Image Below.

Second, I wanted to play the music from my iPhone 3GS through my car’s stereo; I did this with my old car by connecting it directly, through the means of a cassette tape adapter. Unfortunately, my new car didn’t have a tape player, but only a CD, so I had to go the route of the FM Transmitter.

note: FM Transmitters are devices that block out external radio stations, and broadcast a frequency that you choose, which your car picks up. So when you have your music players FM transmitter set to 92.5, and your car tuned to the same station, your car transmits music from your music player, rather than the native radio station that’s broadcasting.

Previously to purchasing the iTrip, I hated the FM transmitters, all of them. I had tried 2 or 3 of them in the past and they all worked horribly. Constant static interference, poor reception plagued proper use, so I always ended up returning them, and just keeping the tape adapter. Audio quality on the tape was also superior… it was an easy decision.

A view of CBHSOL2 solar powered speakerphone, and Griffin Windshield mount from outside the car.

When I got the iTrip, I was pleasantly surprised with the improvements over previous models; it was smaller, with a nicer design, and because I was mounting my phone directly over my cars dashboard, it turns out that the reception from the iTrip to my car’s radio was much greater. This specific device I have has a couple buttons to control music (I don’t use them, I control my music through the iPhone directly), control frequency, and load ‘favorite’ stations. Other added benefits to this device is that it’s small and doesn’t get in the way; some may complain that it’s a little flimsy, but hey, you can’t have it all – it works great for me.

Third, I had to purchase a bluetooth hands-free solution for telephone calls. I got Scosche’s CBHSOL2 device. A hands-free, bluetooth, solar-powered, speakerphone device designed to simplify in-car use. I have another article which speaks solely to this device in a little more detail. One push button to answer and hangup on calls, turns off automatically when I leave my vehicle (with my phone), and charges automatically with the sunlight (even if there’s no direct sun) so I rarely have to charge it. It also comes with a car charger (just in case) which I’ve only had to use twice in 4 months. The device speaks the names or numbers (if they aren’t a saved contact) that are calling me, and can hold up to 1000 contacts.

Interior view of the car - iPhone 3GS, iTrip and CBHSOL2 in the top left corner.

I strongly recommend all of the products that I’m using above, as a tech geek and as regular consumer who’s extremely happy with his purchases. Any further questions can be directed to me, I’m happy to help.

The Truth About: AppleCare

Marc Cizravi — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:31:22 +0000

AppleCare Protection Plan

I’m going to apologize in advance for the lack of visual stimulus, I don’t have any repair invoices to scan, or any helpful aids to break from all the words. I unfortunately have to fit all my experience on the matter in one post, which is unfortunately going to come close to 2000 words.

If you’re reading this, I will hope that you’re fairly familiar with Apple as a company, and AppleCare as a service. Having spent a couple hundred hours in an Apple store, I can tell you that I’ve had lengthy discussions on the matter, and I’d like to clear the air. I hope that my words can now come as an impartial as I have been both an employee and customer of Apple in the past. I can also let you know that I currently hold no shares of Apple‘s stock (AAPL), so there is no hidden agenda… I promise!

The Facts

AppleCare is more commonly known Apple‘s extended warranty, or “extended coverage plan” for their hardware. In case you’re curious, the reason they call it an “extended coverage plan”, and not an extended warranty, is for liability purposes. Let’s say you buy a Mac today, and with that Mac you purchase AppleCare, and Apple goes bankrupt tomorrow and decides to close up shop, they don’t hold any legal liability – it’s not an extended warranty, it’s a service plan as long as Apple is in business; sneaky eh? To be honest, Apple is such a powerhouse that you’ll never have to worry about it, but it’s still interesting to know.

iPods, iPhones, Computers can all be covered by AppleCare. This service extends the 1 year limited manufacturer warranty of the hardware, and 3 month complimentary phone support that you receive when you purchase an Apple product. For iPods and iPhones, AppleCare gives you 2 years total of hardware coverage, and 2 years total of phone support. For all Macs, you get 3 years total of hardware coverage, and 3 years total of phone support. It should also be known that for iPods and iPhones, the phone support is a single incident, you get charged if you have to call about two different issues.

The prices vary, with AppleCare for iPods and iPhones pricing from $49 to 79$ (different devices and models), and AppleCare for computers pricing between $179 and $399.

note: AppleCare for computers comes with an education discount if you qualify, making the range $119 to $279.

They also have AppleCare that provides training and software support. Meaning you can get AppleCare Professional Video Support which will essentially give you access to your own trainer over the phone, whenever you’re having an issue – however, not something that’s typically for the every day user like you and me, so we won’t talk about it today.

You can buy AppleCare at point of sale, or up to a year after your purchase. Once your limited warranty expires, you can’t get AppleCare anymore for your device. Exceptions have been made; but they have to be made by headquarters; you have to call 1-800-MY-APPLE and plead your case. If you’ve spent a lot of money with Apple, if you’ve just missed the 1 year mark by a week, you can tell them that you’re a loyal customer who doesn’t even have anything wrong with your device, and just want to be pro-active and be protected. I’ve done it, and I’ve had it done for friends – it’s totally possible.

If your computer is stolen, or broken beyond AppleCare‘s scope (water damage, physical/accidental damage) you can get the remaining amount refunded, which is a perk. Call AppleCare in your region to do so.

Does my computer need it?

You should know that labour alone on any repair that your Apple computer will need, costs more than AppleCare itself – a simple hard-drive replacement breaks the $500.00 mark. There’s no sense buying a computer for $1500.00 and then needing to put another $500 (and that’s one of the cheaper repairs) to keep it running. If your computer needs a new logic board, it breaks the $1000.00 mark – would you repair your computer? No, you’d probably buy a new one – prematurely.

Now… I’ve made it clear that it’s necessary for your computer, but the initial cost of your computer should also be considered. If you buy a MacBook for $1,049.00, you might think that spending $299.00 (a third of the price) to cover the computer for an extra 2 years might not make much sense. You might be right (I did the same thing, I have a MacBook, and because I didn’t have the money at the time, I didn’t buy AppleCare right away. I also let the 1 year pass without purchasing it. If you’d rather gamble and have the computer potentially break down, and put that money towards a new machine, you can do that. It’s risk taking, however, remember that. My MacBook is going to be 2 years old in May, but the hard-drive gives me trouble sometimes. I’m able to manage it because I have the know-how, but someone else might be more troubled.

On the other hand, if you buy a 15″ MacBook Pro and spend more than $2000.00, it makes sense to buy AppleCare. You spend $399.00 (or $279.00 if you qualify for the education discount) and you triple your computers lifetime. You get more value out of your money if you spend the little extra on AppleCare. Divide the cost of your computer by the amount of days it’s guaranteed, and you can see how your money is working for you. Would you rather spend $2399.00 for a guarantee of 1068 days, or $2000.00 for 356 days?

Does my iPod or iPhone need it?

note: Keep in mind that AppleCare for iPods and iPhones only lasts a total of 2 years – and that no iPod or iPhone has gone a year without being updated/re-invented.

The iPod Shuffle costs $69 (2GB), $89 (4GB) and $109 (4GB Special Edition), Shuffle AppleCare costs $49, it’s not worth it – under any circumstance – you’re throwing money away.

The iPod Nano costs $169 (8GB) and $199 (16GB), and Nano AppleCare also costs $49. This also covers battery replacement, which can be handy. If you plan on keeping your Nano for 2 years and want it to function after 2 years, it’s a good idea to have it. If you’re ready to buy a new iPod after a year IF this one breaks, then put the 49$ towards that. Remember, it’s not necessarily going to die after a year – I’ve known iPods to last for five or six, it’s a gamble and it’s about how you treat the device. Still, if you ask me, not worth it.

The iPod Classic costs $279 (160GB) and AppleCare costs $69 – this one I think is a little worth it. If you’re using your ipod every day, chances are your battery is going to die within 2 years. The AppleCare covers the replacement (which would otherwise be more than $100) and in the meantime any other failures are also taken care of. Worth it if you ask me.

The iPod Touch costs $219 (8GB), $329 (16GB) and $429 (32GB), and again AppleCare costs $69. This one is a tossup – if you’re buying one of the lower end models, I’d say no, if you spend $429 + taxes, you may want to consider it. Just ask yourself: A year from now, will the $69 be better spent towards a new iPod, or extending it’s guaranteed lifetime?

The iPhone… $599, $699, $799, at least without a contract. If you purchase it at it’s subsidized price with a 3 year contract, and your phone breaks after a year and a half, you have 18 more months of an expensive monthly contract, without a phone to take advantage of it. Now you have to spend money on another phone before you’re eligible for an upgrade – that’s costly, much more than $79. For gods sake, if you have an iPhone, go purchase AppleCare… now.

Customer Objections

Customers would always come into the store and throw an array of objections my way when they didn’t want to pay for AppleCare, I’ve got an answer for them all. The only time I agree with someone who doesn’t want to buy AppleCare, is when they have a cheap computer (MacBook), and have enough money to ‘gamble’ if the computer fails and needs to be replaced.

“Apple is a superior brand, nothing should go wrong.”

First of all, whether it’s Apple or Dell – it’s still electronics. Spontaneous failure isn’t common, but it’s not unheard of either. The stuff is designed in California, but it’s assembled in China. You think that Mercedes or BMW never have issues? Stuff happens, you can’t blame defects or problems in the future on Apple; it’s life, shit happens. It’s less likely to happen when you buy Apple, but that’s why it’s so expensive to repair them, and that’s why it’s a good idea to have AppleCare when it does.

“Something is either going to wrong right away, or never at all”

This is a common misconception – it’s true that some machines will go a lifetime without any problems, BUT, don’t be fooled; people would come into the store with a year and a half old machine or two year old machines – failing hard drives, logic boards, dead pixels on the LCD, usb or ethernet ports not functioning. Lots of AppleCare, and lots of not. The people who didn’t have it would be leaving upset, and the people who had it would be receiving our congratulations because they avoided a land-mine. It can happen after 2 weeks, after 2 months, and after 2 years. It’s improbable… but again, not impossible.

My brother’s uncle’s mother’s husband’s son’s brother runs a computer store. He can handle my repairs.

You do NOT want someone other than an Apple Store or an Apple authorized service centre handling your repairs. Replacing a hard-drive, or upgrading ram is easy, and simple but anything else requires the insider training that can only come from California. Having an amateur handle your equipment can only lead to further damage.

All other objections about price, worth, value have all been previously explained, so I won’t repeat myself.

When Should I Buy AppleCare?

Since you get 1 year hardware coverage with all your products, there’s no point rushing to this purchase. The only thing you miss out on, is the 9 months of phone support between the beginning of month 4, and the end of month 12. In all honestly, AppleCare phone support is amazing, but it’s very rare that you need to use it if you have an Apple Store nearby, or if you have an internet connection with which you can just Google an answer.

The benefits of buying AppleCare at point of sale are as follows:

Auto enrollment: If you buy AppleCare when you buy your device, it gets automatically added. No need to call in and ‘register’ it or have it activated. It’s done for you, saves you the extra work.
Additional Coverage: If you buy a Mac and decide to also purchase an Airport Extreme Router, or an Apple Cinema Display, they also are covered by your computer’s coverage – an added bonus. If you buy AppleCare after the fact, it only covers your singular machine.
Save Time: You don’t have to worry about coming back to the store and purchasing AppleCare on it’s own. Some people resent the feeling of having to spend money on something without actually physically getting anything. You walk in and out having spent X amount of dollars, but don’t go home with anything… apart from ‘peace of mind’… pfffft, scam I tell ya!
Extra Phone Support: If this is something you value, then all the more reason to jump in.

That’s all for now… contact me if you have anymore questions!

Upgrading from the iPhone 3G to 3GS

Marc Cizravi — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:34:13 +0000

Apple's 3GS iPhone

I recently purchased a new 16GB iPhone 3GS, to replace the old 8GB iPhone 3G that I had been using since it’s release in July of 2008. I had long been coveting the upgrade, and was a little reluctant because I expect a new iPhone to be launched this June 2010, only 5 months away. I can’t say for certain, but I know that for the past three summers, 2007, 2008, and 2009, there has been a new iPhone released to the public; we can only assume that in the fast-changing environment of the ‘smartphone’, Apple isn’t going to ease up on the race to majority marketshare.

Let’s have a closer look at all the differences between the 3GS and the 3G:

one: Speed.

The most considerable difference between the two devices is the “S”, which stands for speed. There is a substancial difference between the two devices in network transfer. I unfortunately don’t have a screenshot of the speed test I ran with my old Rogers 3G iPhone, but if you have a look at my Bell 3GS iPhone speed test, shown on the right, you’ll see that I’m getting close to 7Mbps, whereas with my Rogers phone I remember getting speeds closer to 3.2Mbps. This isn’t to say that Bell’s network is faster (I can’t speak to whether that’s true or not), because two different devices are being used. I imagine you would get the same speeds with a 3GS phone on the Rogers network. Regardless, the jump between devices is more than doubled in bandwidth; this makes a big difference for me, someone who uses his laptop on the road a lot and needs internet access on demand, through the iPhone’s tethering feature.

The second ‘speed’ upgrade is within the device itself. The processor (I know) and other components (I’m assuming) have been upgraded within to make the phone a faster computer. Starting up is faster, launching applications is quicker, games don’t lag as much. You don’t get any choppyness when you’re multi tasking on the phone (browsing maps, while tethering, and listening to music, while a youtube video is uploading). It’s a much better user experience, and makes for a happier customer. It might not seem like much, but if you compound all the tasks you perform on your phone in a day, and address a proportion of time saved by using the 3GS over the 3G, you’d probably be impressed.

two: 3.2 Megapixel Camera. Picture & Video Recording.

Snapshot of my 3GS phone recording my computer (low-light)

The upgrade to the camera is always nice, pictures taken with adequate lighting come out really well. For a phone camera, it’s pleasently surprising at how nice the pictures come out. In addition to the increase, the camera also comes with a new auto focus feature, that’s activated simply by tapping a certain area on the screen. You can focus on any viewing area on the screen before taking a picture, and achieve greater results.

You’re also now able to now record video; super handy. History is being made every day and it needs to be captured. Spur of the moment or not, it’s useful to have a video recorder if you’ve gotten in a car accident and want to capture the scene; you see a crime happening or abuse occuring and need to record the evidence; someone is giving you a 5 minute tutorial that you wish you’d be able to re-watch later, for further review. Even if you’re just hanging out with your friends and you want to be random and film for a couple minutes – it’s all possible thanks to your cell phone. Think about that for a second. Pretty cool.

three: Voice Control.

It’s a little funny, because I know people who have 5 year old phones that are capable of voice-dialing; however, it’s probably not as sophisticated. When they released the 3GS iPhone, they also released the 3.0 software which came with many other perks (that applied to both phones), however voice dialing is one of those features that only the 3GS is capable of. You hold down the ‘home button’ for 3 seconds, a blue screen pops up awaiting your commands. You can say “Call Catherine mobile”, “Call Catherine home”, “Play music”, “Play more songs like this” and so on and so forth. You’re even able to speak “Dial 416 499 9999″, in case there’s a number not in your list, or someone in your car has a new number for you. A significant, and necessary upgrade for our soon to be hands-free while driving continent.

four: Directional GPS Maps & Compass.

When the iPhone first came out, it had this wicked “Locate Me” function in the maps application. You push it and whereever you are (in the world, with cellular data reception or WiFi) it would find you. When you’re on a 3G or Edge (2G) network, it’s able to pinpoint you, however when you’re using a WiFi connection it’s more of an estimate, based on the internet connections location. Anyway, when the 3GS was released they added GPS coordinates (for your information) as well as directional support. If you were in a foreign city and needed to orrient yourself, you’d just tap the “Locate Me” ‘button’ on the phone twice, and it would find you, then assess your direction. This is something that also allowed developers to create turn-by-turn GPS software, so that you wouldn’t need to purchase an additional Tom-Tom Car Kit, for example. Money saved, yet again. Thanks Apple.

five: The Not-So-Small Stuff

A lot of other not-so-small changes came into play as well. VoiceOver will read what’s on the screen for your accessibility needs, white-on-black display, mono audio, screen zooming, “speak auto-text” (which has the phone speak any auto corrections that are made whilst typing), improved battery life (hoorah), arsenic-free glass, mercury-free LCD, battery percentage display, built in nike app for runners and last but not least, greater third party application support since it’s faster, with a better camera, along with voice control and a compass.

iPhone Maps Application being used with the compass function.

Final Thoughts

When the 3G iPhone came out in June of 2008, it was available in 8GB and 16GB; priced at $199 and $299 respectively. When the 3GS came out a year later, it was available in 16GB and 32GB, the same prices held. The 3G dropped to $99 for the 8GB, and the 16GB model was discontinued. Today, if you are a current 3G user, I would personally tell you to hold out until June and see what your options are. If you don’t yet own an iPhone, and you can’t wait another day, I’ll tell you the 3G is a complete waste of money. For the extra $100 you get so much more function, and so much more performance. It wouldn’t make sense to purchase the 3G, unless you’re a total idiot. The difference in price is equal to a month to a month and a half’s bill. Why wouldn’t you double your productivity, performance and function, let alone capacity for such a small amount, it’s beyond me.

For those of you who are eagerly awaiting the new iPhone, you may not need to wait much longer. It’s been rumoured that the 4.0 iPhone software is coming out on January 27th (credit www.macrumors.com, which should be accompanied by the new iPhone itself, this June.

Link on Apple’s website comparing the differences between the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

update: the announcement on the 27th was just for the iPad, which is running modified iPhone/iPod software, but no confirmations have been made for the new iPhone, stay tuned.

What Makes Apple So Much Better?

Marc Cizravi — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:55:25 +0000

During my brief time at Apple, it was this question that I probably answered more than any other. Sometimes they’d be referring to the iMac (the all-in-one desktop unit), the Macbook, Macbook Pro, or Macbook Air (the laptop selection), or perhaps the iPhone/iPod (portable phone and music players); nevertheless, some answers applied to all three, and some were a little more specific. Let me explore some of the answers I threw out, to customers who were looking at any of the products I’ve listed above.

one: The Store.

Apple Store on 5th Avenue, NYC

Regardless of what Apple product you purchase in the store, this place becomes a resource for you. Even if you buy your Apple gear at Futureshop or BestBuy, as soon as you’re an owner this place becomes a place for you. Everyone who works here is super friendly, and wants nothing more than to please you. When we see someone walk in with a laptop or desktop computer, (working or not) we pay double attention because we want those folks to know that the relationship doesn’t end with a purchase, it only begins.

If you’re ever have issues, questions, or just want to brainstorm something Apple you were thinking about this morning, we’re all here for you. Half of our Specialists are knowledgeable enough to fix random issues you’re having, so you can walk off the street without an appointment and pull one of us for 5 minutes. I’ll be honest with you when I say that I spent more than half my time at Apple, answering technical questions or applying quick fixes for people who were in a rush or without an appointment. We’re all here to help, and we’re happy to do it. If you ever are having legitimate repair-worthy issues (rare) that are beyond us, the Genius Bar takes appointments… right here in the store. Repairs are all done here, and your computer never leaves these doors unless it’s in your hands. All of our Genius’ (technicians) have had hands on training in Cupertino, where it all began.

note: It’s worth mentioning that we also have world-class phone support which you can access from the comfort of your home. More importantly, our phone support is located in NORTH AMERICA. You’re not calling India, Pakistan, or any other random outsourced region.

I’ve since realized that the benefits of the store really deserves it’s own article, so I’ll be putting one together. For now, I’ll be focussing on the question at hand.

two: Hardware AND Software.

Genius Bar in The Apple Store

If you buy a Toshiba computer with Windows Vista from BestBuy, and start having issues 2 years down the line… who do you go to? Do you call Microsoft? Toshiba? BestBuy?

We do our absolute best to provide the most Apple software relevant to your needs so that you don’t have to look elsewhere. That way, when you have a problem, we’re not going to be giving you the run around.

“Well… you should talk to Microsoft about that one, I’m just a Toshiba guy, and all your hardware seems to be working fine. This is definitely a software problem.”

“Sorry, it’s been more than 45 days since your purchase [From BestBuy], you’re going to need to call Toshiba regarding your computer not starting up. I can’t help you.”

Apple has been and for the next little while (at least), will continue to be the only major computer organization developing all the software, and assembling/supporting all the hardware without third party support.

three: Mag-safe Laptop Adapter.

Apple magsafe adapter connecting to a Macbook Pro 2006

This is one of those brilliant ideas that Apple came up with (and subsequently patented) that makes their products superior. All Apple laptops since 2006 have shipped with this technology, and if you take a second to think about it, hundreds of thousands of computers have probably avoided a disasterous demise because of this simple yet elegant product.

The Magsafe benefits me in two ways. Before I was used to having it, I was always super conscious about my laptop and made sure I didn’t knock it over or do something stupid to damage it; this includes being weary of the power adapter. Obviously, at some point you will become careless and cause the accident you’ve been dreading. When I first tripped over the cable, I laughed. My computer obviously remained unharmed, and since then I actually stopped caring about it. Not only does it protect my computer, but it allows me to stop thinking about it; I don’t have to be careful. I appreciate that, greatly.

For arguments sake, and in the interest of not exagerating, we’ll say that the Magsafe adapter has saved me from having to replace my current Macbook…prematurely.

four: The Operating System (Mac OS X).

One thing that Microsoft does that really bothers me, is release numerous different versions of their operating systems. Windows XP had Home, XP Professional, XP Media Center Edition. There was an XP Tablet version as well, but I’m not going to comment on that; I don’t know if Apple will release a modified Mac OS X Snow Leopard with their tablet, tentatively being announced on Tuesday January 27th, when they announce the device. Windows Vista had Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, and Vista Ultimate. Windows 7 has Starter, 7 Home Premium, 7 Professional, 7 Ultimate, and 7 64bit.

Microsoft's idea of the joy that accompanies a new operating system: a chart. They sure don't make it difficult for Apple to be #1, do they?

Excuse my language, but are you fucking serious? Not only do I have to go through the rigamarole of finding a computer that will suit my needs, but I have to sift through the 17 different versions of the operating systems you make to see which one will work best for me? Let’s put aside the fact that most computers you buy in a store come with a specific version, and no room for upgrade or exchange; I’m going to get home and in 6 months realize I need to do something, but it’ll be missing from my revised edition of the garbage operating system that comes with my computer.

You will never run into that issue with an Apple computer. They make one version of each operating system, and then release updates adding/fixing anything that needs to be done. Everything comes with your computer; you don’t need to worry about getting “Snow Leopard Lite” or “Snow Leopard Home Premium Upside Down Question Mark” or whatever other stupid variation Microsoft could possibly come up with.

What else is great? When a new Apple operating system comes out, it’s EASY to upgrade. You stick the DVD in, click upgrade and watch your computer do the work. What happens when a new Microsoft operating system comes out? Everybody scrambles and panics… as they should.

In the interest of your attention span, I’ll leave it at that. Expect further volumes of this same article; I will have given you 50 reasons to choose Apple over anyone else by the time I’m done writing on the matter.

A Lesson in Customer Service: Canada Computers

Marc Cizravi — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:59:55 +0000

post temporarily removed until I consult a lawyer, RoFL at me, stay tuned

update January 25th 11:33am: I’ve got two people currently looking into this, an estimated week before this post gets a modified version restored, my voice will be heard :]

Why Anti-Virus Software is The Biggest Scam

Marc Cizravi — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:30:48 +0000

You may want to reference this previous article that I wrote about computer virus’, before reading on; it would be beneficial to have a little background info before reading on.

Computer virus’ aren’t even a threat anymore; it’s a thing of the past. Your Mac doesn’t need AV software, nor has it ever, and your PC’s operating system (if it’s up to date) can protect itself. Unless you go looking, and finding, and executing a virus, you’re safe.
You can’t buy anti-virus software; you have to make on-going payments. It’s typically subscription based and you have to make payments once a year so that it’ll keep updating itself. On top of updating your operating system a couple times a month, you have to either remember to, or deal with updating your “anti-virus definitions” so that it can keep up. Can I ask why? Why are you updating two independant pieces of software to perform the same task? Does that not seem incredibly stupid?
If you’ve ever used AV software before you know that it has to be running at all times to perform. It’s “silently” running in the background, eating away at your processes; scanning and checking everything single little thing that you do. Believe me when I tell you that it isn’t a small piece of your computers strength; it’s very significant, and I can tell right away when I’m sitting at a computer with Norton “Protection Center” (as I hold my laughter back), or AVG, or some other garbage installed. It’s ridiculously slow.
note: something tells me the two people in that image on Norton’s website are reading a big sign that reads “smile, if you’re a sucker”.

You’re paying for software that provides you with a feature your now-handicapped computer already comes with. It’s like paying someone $1000 a year to coat your cars tires in cement, so that you don’t get a flat. Just stop driving over pot holes you idiot.

Worst part of all, you’re misguided as to why your computer is slow and now you think you need to upgrade. You’re paying money so that you can cripple yourself into thinking you need to pay more money. Congratulations anti-virus user, you’ve been officially scammed, Darwin would be proud.

Virus: What/How/Where and What You Need to Know

Marc Cizravi — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:00:29 +0000

Even your computer can get sick sometimes

There are many misconceptions out there regarding computer virus’. I’d like to clear some things up, and set the record straight for those of you who are less than fully informed.

What?

A virus is a piece of software that attaches itself to your computers operating system, and runs (usually) silently in the background. The nature of the virus can be:

Annoy & Scam: Your computer will receive random internet pop ups; some will be for services or products being sold (sometimes legitimate, sometimes not), and the end goal is to produce profit. A small percentage of people will follow these pop ups, and either generate revenue by clicking the ad, or paying for a service/product that’s being offered. It’s often that you’re paying for something that doesn’t even exist; you run your credit card for a small (or sometimes large) amount, and receive nothing. gotcha!
Disable: Your computer’s operating system loses certain basic functions; copy & paste, opening My Computer, running your task manager. Essentially making it difficult to fully use your computer. These sorts of virus’ don’t pose any other risk apart from you either needing to fix it yourself, call someone to do it, or pay someone to do it. Inconvenient… really inconvenient. These kinds of virus’ can also disable your operating system entirely, preventing you from even using your computer at all.
Destroy: I’ve only ever read and heard of this kind of virus, and never really experienced it nor seen it in action. Essentially this virus will manipulate your computers hardware (your fan in this case) to stop functioning, causing your computer to overheat and most likely damage itself. This is where you can find yourself spending excessive amounts of money to fix your computer because… some skinny nerd is sitting in his parents basement hating his life because he can’t make any friends. This kind of virus isn’t really a problem anymore because computers are now made with temperature guages that have safety shut-offs when a certain level is reached. Your motherboard will just start beeping and just turn itself off if it thinks any components are overheating.
Attack: Some virus’ attach themselves and sit idle on a computer until they’re called upon. When the controller wants to summon the virus, he usually calls hundreds if not thousands if not tens of thousands of computers which are infected, to start sending packets (small pieces of random irrelevant non-information) to a target. This sort of attack is called a Denial-of-Service (DoS). There are many different types of DoS attacks, but the jist you need to understand is that the end goal is usually to render a target inoperable. With a large amount of computers sending many packets continuously, a server (for example www.cnn.com) would become inoperable, and nobody would be able to load the website to read the news.

How?

It’s become virtually impossible to get a virus unless you execute one. Back in the day (let’s say around 2000 or 2001) it was really easy to get a virus. If you weren’t behind a firewall, or a router, you could load up Internet Explorer and right away, you’d be infected, without doing anything. Since then, software developers have smartened up and updates are being released weekly to prevent this sort of damage to occur… easily. Microsoft and Apple are always releasing updates that address vulnerability or susecptibility of their operating systems. Like I said, nothing bad can happen unless you execute a virus (or allow it to execute itself). That’s to say that you download a file, and double-click (execute it), or load a website which runs an allowed script to install something on your computer. This typically happens to novice users who are innocent and ignorant, and don’t know proper internet safety usage, and find themselves in trouble as a result. The frequent user knows not to visit sites that are not trusted, or to run strange application files, or to allow scripts to execute from shady web pages. This “web sense” if you will, comes only with time and experience; you need to make a few mistakes before you can be well informed.

Where?

Peer2Peer programs, untrustworthy websites, Internet delinquants. If you’re using LimeWire (a Peer to Peer, p2p application) sometimes you’ll download a file you think is a music file, but it’s actually an application in disguise, waiting to be executed. You run it, it installs itself, and sometimes it’s uncleanable; damage is done and you pretty much need to format your computer (reinstall the operating system).’Untrustworthy’ websites consist typically of sites that host illegally shared content, or some mature adult content. They perform an assault of pop-ups and run scripts that allow a virus to install itself.Internet delinquants consist of nerdy kids who sit behind their monitor and get off at inflicting… inconvenience. They get an internet address through whatever means and target specific people just to mess with them, just for fun.

What You Need to Know.

Getting a virus isn’t as easy as it used to be. Times were, you would start your unprotected computer and attacks would just flow in and you’d be screwed. Since then there have been developments. Firewalls, routers (which also act as/provide a firewall), and developer awareness makes it near impossible to ‘contract’ a virus these days, unless you go looking for one. If you’re using a Mac and you get a virus, you’d be the first person I’ve known (10 years in the industry) to have gotten one. If you’re using Windows, don’t worry; Microsoft has learned from their mistakes. Operating system updates for XP, Vista, and 7 are being released on an almost weekly (sometimes more often) basis. Virus makers aren’t ahead at all, and as such the “computer virus scare” gets much more attention than it should. It’s true that it used to be a big problem, but take it from me, it’s not anymore.

note: If by some miracle you get a virus or you think you have one, go to http://housecall.trendmicro.com, and use the housecall tool to clean your computer. This will fix 99% of the virus’ out there, for the rest that it won’t, you’ll need to re-format your computer.

6 Most Useful Websites On the Internet

Marc Cizravi — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:33:34 +0000

I use the internet a lot – every day. Anytime I need to look something up, or I need an answer; It’s no secret that it’s a tremendously useful resource, but I’m certain there are people out there who don’t use it to it’s full potential. It’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be half the guru I am today without access to the internet. Let’s talk about a few sites that have made my development possible.

6 Craigslist.org

craigslist classifieds

If you’ve ever needed to sell something quickly, or buy something for cheap, you probably would have succeeded (or done so much faster) had you had Craigslist at your disposal. Craigslist is a free classifieds website where you can go to find, or to post, anything from sales of random household objects, to full job listings.

To use Craigslist efficiently, you have to be an educated consumer with enough patience to not let the scammers and fakes get to you. Unfortunately, since craigslist is free, online, and has little to no moderation, there are many people who post or try to buy with the intention of defrauding someone. The site does have a section on how to avoid/spot the scammers, which is worth a read if you’re a newbie. Not to worry though, a little common sense goes far; you’re likely to be able to weed them out yourself. I’ve personally gone through dozens of craigslist transactions, worry-free, with the occasional haggler who gets on my nerves, but can happily report that it’s been something that has helped me, tremendously.

note: for Canadians, Kijiji.ca can also be consulted, it’s a little more annoying with ads and an optional pay system, but should be recognized as a notable resource.

5 Linkedin.com

Relationships Matter - Linkedin

Linkedin is social networking website for professionals – essentially a Facebook for all the working men and women of the world. A user’s profile essentially becomes his or her pseudo resumé. On Linkedin, you’re able to view someone’s current and past work experience, recommendations from peers and colleagues, and connect to interact in any capacity (hopefully professional).

You should know by now that people you’re acquainted with are one of your greatest resources. One day you may need to find a lawyer to help you out of a tight spot, or a contractor to commission some work that you’ve never had to do before. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could find someone that you know, or someone who comes highly recommend by your peers? Possibly read a couple recommendations and reviews at the same time?

What if job hunting starts to take it’s toll? Maybe you wanted help from someone close to you; Linkedin will show you if there are people who are in powerful positions with certain employers, who are in your immediate network. They themselves may even have positions for work, short term or otherwise, available to you.

If you happen to be an employer, Linkedin can also help you check up on someone before making a big hire. It’s obviously no substitute for a background check or a personal reference, but it’s a good piece of the puzzle.

4 Facebook.com

Facebook

Facebook comes out a head of Linkedin a little bit, just because of it’s sheer popularity. It’s a simple yet complete social networking website, for you to make connections with friends and family. You put up some information and a couple pictures if you want, and you’re ready to go.

The reason I believe Facebook is handy is because you’re able to find anyone in your life, quickly, no matter who or where they are. It’s safe to say that anyone and everyone you’ve had any prolonged exposure to is going to be on your Facebook list. It’s easy to look someone up, find an email or a phone number, or just send them a message in Facebook to get in touch with them. Whether it’s a friend from university or high-school that you happen to know has a specialty in computers, or a friend from elementary school that you’d like to reconnect with. It’s easy to find people from your past, and make connections for your future.

I currently have something in the 800s of Facebook “friends” on my list, and anytime I need someone or something, the first thing I do is think about whether I have them on Facebook or not. Sometimes I’ll need to address a large group of people or organize an event, and I’ll use Facebook to set it up, and send out invitations. Rather than hunting down everyone’s email address, I use Facebook and it saves me a lot of time. I’m currently part way through writing a book, and I’ve surveyed dozens of people on my list to help me with content, or to help me find a resource that will allow me to further logistics for publishing.

3 YouTube.com

Broadcast Yourself.

YouTube is a popular video website which allows users, networks, and even major corporations to upload movies visible to the public, absolutely free. Your little brother can upload a video from his hockey practice, and BBC can post an interview with one of your favorite celebrities so you’re able to re-watch. Sometimes you’re in the mood for a random or quirky video, or you just need to kill a little time; sifting through YouTube videos allows you to do just that. YouTube can also be accessed on your blog by simply embedding videos on your site, or on your cellphone (if your manufacturer supports it).

YouTube is handy because sometimes reading and learning on the internet can get stale. Sometimes you want to listen to someone’s voice or you want to see someone demonstrate. I’ve watched videos that have taught me how to upgrade memory on my laptop, exchange a hard-drive, and even repair my iPhone. There are also videos that teach you how to drive a manual transmission, how to dance, demonstrate proper form for weight-lifting and body building, and so much more. It’s likely that if you’re looking for a tutorial for something – someone has made a YouTube video to show you exactly, step by step, what you need to do.

2 Wikipedia.org

Wikipedia

Remember that old dusty encyclopedia collection your parents have sitting somewhere in the basement? Imagine if within those 26 books, you could fit more than 3.5 million articles. Wikipedia answers that call. Anything under the sun you need to read about, exists on Wikipedia.

Traumatic insemination, the Humanzee, and Larry Walters are three articles that jump out at me (100% random) that I’ve learned of today, which are all informative and interesting in their own way. You can search for anything (and I mean 99.9% of anything you can think of), and it’s likely to have a Wikipedia page.

The bittersweet reality of Wikipediahowever, is that it is a user-edited publically accessed database; so it is within the realm of possibility that you’re to read information that isn’t 100% accurate; but it does serve as a good start. Using Wikipedia can be a good resource to begin work and/or research, only to confirm further through outside sources. It’s my go-to lookup tool!

1 Google.com

It’s no surprise that Google is at the top (or bottom, har har) of this list. It requires no introduction or explanation; without a doubt one of the greatest organizations of our generation, which is to be written into the history books. It would do Google no justice if I were to list a couple of their services, so if you do want to know more (than I’m sure you already do) just head over to Google‘s About page and read up for yourself.

Google

Bookmark all six of these sites, and make one of them your homepage; you’re sure to thank me someday.

MobileMe for Apple’s iPhone

Marc Cizravi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:21:47 +0000

MobileMe is a nifty little feature that’s taken advantage of predominantly by (but not limited to) iPhone 3G & 3GS users. It offers a nifty little way of keeping everything in your life synced up, while adding some cool innovative (and oh so Apple worthy unique) features.

We’ll get to those, but first let’s take a look at how it works:

MobileMe uses ‘push’ technology, which means that it forces new data to your phone when it becomes available. This means that e-mail, contacts, calendar events, and more are all being sent to your phone in real time. No need to worry about connecting your phone with cables, or waiting for annoying sync times to process to add a simple phone number, or calendar event.

On top of this, you’re also granted an email account (a.name.of.your.choice@me.com), and 20GB of personal hard-drive space for your ‘cloud’. This cloud is what keeps all your information up to date and current. It means that no matter what happens to your personal computer or iPhone/iPod, your data is being stored somewhere ready to be downloaded should you lose/damage/get robbed/accidentally delete it. Oh, and I did say ‘personal computer’, it’s PC and Mac compatible.

This space isn’t just for all I’ve stated before though, you’re also able to store any types of files that you wish (that are also allowed, no storing unlicensed media or software!). With MobileMe, you get what’s called an iDisk, that is space for you to keep other files backed up. Pictures, music, movies and anything else you want to backup can be stored here, and ready and remotely accessible from any location. Think of it as your own personal USB stick on the internet, viewable by you, and anyone you choose.

Now… I want to get to what I call one of the best ten year old ideas, that has finally been implemented. Phones have been using GPS and data services for a long while now, but I’m sure many of you (myself included in this group) have misplaced your phone somewhere in your house, had it on silent or vibrate, and not been able to find it for hours. Better yet, how many of you have had a hectic day, gotten home and realized it’s quite possible you left your phone behind at one of twenty different places you were today, and have no feasible way of backtracking within any reasonable time to find your phone? Well, watch onward and be amazed at what Apple is bringing you.

(Also enjoy a small demo of other features I’ve spoken prior, plus a couple more).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtcKZsduvns

The cost is $99 USD / $109 CAD annually for the service; Apple graciously also offers a 60 day full-service trial for you to check out for yourself. No obligation, can cancel anytime, but when signing up a credit card is required, and a day past your trial you’re charged for the year, so make sure you know a week in advance whether you’re going to commit to the service or not.

A Lesson in Customer Service: Koodo Mobile

Marc Cizravi — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:44:14 +0000

Say no to bigbillification - says Koodo

Recently my girlfriend had run into a little trouble with her cellphone service provider; having moved recently (with a less than functional phone), she had to get a new phone and a new plan. Long story short, she racked up a $600 phone bill due to a small error in setting her plan up. She wasn’t the only one to blame, but had been stuck with the final due, and after speaking with three different customer service representatives, each being increasingly ‘ranked’ with the company, I came to nothing short of a resolution.

Furious with the last person I spoke with on the phone (also known as ‘Warren’, floor manager’), I asked to speak to someone he was accountable to; not only because I wasn’t getting what I wanted, but because I was being treated poorly. He sent me to Koodo’s website informing me that “If you want to complain about me, you can email us through our website.” That I did, Warren:

some names, numbers and locations have been changed to protect privacy

The following was e-mailed to customerservice@koodomobile.com.

This is a serious & urgent matter that I expect to be addressed by the office of the president of customer service for Koodo mobile.

This matter is in regard to the customer service call that was made by me on behalf of account holder ‘Regina Lasko’ for Stephanie Birkitt (her daughter) who manages the account. Phone number is currently 123.456.7899. I’m speaking on both of their behalves in this matter, they’re being CC’ed and are aware of the situation, and are as infuriated as I am.

Stephanie (who the phone belong’s to) moved to Frenchville, Quebec at the end of August. Upon arrival, she purchased a new phone because her old one had stopped charging. She went to a Koodo Mobile location in a local mall and also decided adjusted her plan to better suit her needs. The major change made was the adding of the ‘My-5′ plan. When asked how to program the numbers, she was instructed to go home and do it online as it would save her money (since self-serving online saves money). After the activation of her new phone, she was unable to access her old phone’s address book. It’s important to note here that her old phone was de-activated WITHOUT warning. Stephanie went home and added her boyfriends number as one of her ’5′ (or so she thought) but accidentally entered a 416 area code instead of a 647 (both Toronto area codes). So for the following month every time she called her boyfriend (which she thought was on her plan) she was being charged minutes in overage, and long distance. As soon as she got her bill she realized what a horrible mistake she had made. Stephanie had racked up more than $540.00 worth of overages, and was quite overwhelmed when she discovered what she had done.

I called Koodo trying to resolve this misunderstanding, I explained that it was clearly a mistake, that at no point had Stephanie tried calling “416.123.4567″, but was only calling the intended “647.123.4567″. She wasn’t trying to scam the system, wasn’t trying to take advantage of anyone, she was just using what she thought was part of her agreement. I tried being diplomatic, explaining that she had never called Koodo in her year of being a customer for some sort of credit, but got little to no help.

The first gentlemen I spoke with was useless, he said it was Koodo’s stance to not provide any credit for this error, which was entirely her fault. I asked to speak with a supervisor, and he told me the same thing, but said he was willing (upon receiving his superior’s approval) to provide a “$100.00 goodwill credit for the trouble”. I still, was unsatisfied. It’s unreasonable to not see the tragedy of the situation and be empathetic and grant some clemency here and credit the entire amount which this one minuscule error has caused. I asked to speak with the supervisor’s superior, and he put me on the phone with a man who referred himself as a the “Floor Manager”. His name he would only give as ‘Warren’, his “XID” he gave as 121523.

I made the following points to try to convince him to make a one time exception in this case:

It was a simple mistake, that would not be repeated; she didn’t access the number she put in because it wasn’t her intention to put 416, it should have been 647.

Her old phone (with the correct number) was inaccessible at the time of entry because her old phone had been deactivated, by one of your agents. Your agent did not warn her that her old phone would no longer be accessible in any way shape or form, after de-activation.

She wasn’t using her phone to get something she didn’t think she already had active on her plan. There was no malicious intent.

There has never been an issue with her bill in the past, she’s had overages and has paid them willingly, even though the plan she was on wasn’t suited to her needs.

Offering a $100 ‘goodwill credit’ is just a weasely way of trying to trick her into paying the rest of it. Koodo would still be receiving an extra $440 for something Stephanie didn’t know was costing her anything. Offering ANY CREDIT AT ALL, is admitting that you agree with our position and arguments, but still want to try and sneak some extra money to pad your bottom line. While I understand it’s a business, your customer’s loyalty should come first. Without all these people who are putting their faith into your new company, there wouldn’t be any money coming in to pay YOUR bills.

She’s been a good loyal customer for almost a year; this was her first cell phone and she chose Koodo because she wanted to deal with a smaller company who wasn’t going to treat her as just another number, just another payout; she wanted to be a valued customer, and wanted her hard-earned money to be appreciated. She’s a student full-time and works an erroneous amount of hours to support herself; she’s the first person who would be granted some sort of leniency in this sort of situation.

Stephanie’s cellphone usage is fix cost; she would be paying a extra $540.00, but it hadn’t cost you any extra money for her the entire month she was using the phone; crediting her bill for this amount wouldn’t cost you any loss; you just wouldn’t receive any surprise ‘gain’ at the hand of an innocent consumer.

Koodo is getting a nice $540.00 bonus from a simple mistake, one that I firmly believe if was made with a small company of a small personal clientele, they would rush to fix the error. A good business man values his clients, and sees them as people, with individual needs. A corporation is nothing without business ethic, and charging Stephanie for this amount would be nothing short of criminal; I’ve personally been handed a $1500 rogers bill before for cellphone data usage, one that came in error, and they rushed quickly to fix it for me, because I’ve been a customer for 5 years. The Vice-President of Rogers customer service handled that specific incident personally. When I call, they listen; they’re receptive to my individual needs. If this amount isn’t credited you’ll be losing a customer as soon as she’s out of her contract. I, would personally advise her to refuse payment immediately. If you credited this amount, she would be overjoyed and would feel compelled to remain a Koodo customer much longer than her agreement dictates. Instead of losing her business tomorrow, you’d be pleasing a potentially long-term customer. Knowing her personally I’d tell you, you’d get another 4 years of service (finishing university), 48 months * her current plan, exceeds $2000.00. It only makes sense for you to keep customers happy, to have them in the long run. You can either lose $540.00 today (an amount you would make back in a year, easily, which you would otherwise not since she would abandon her service with you), or make more than $2000.00 over the next couple of years, which makes more sense?

Setting my arguments aside, I wanted to make special mention that the ‘Floor Manager’ Warren was LESS than helpful. He repeated his database of responses from a script like a robot, used phrases like “I appreciate and understand your frustration but offered no more than a $100 credit, which he called goodwill” as if we were needy and desperate. If you appreciated or understood someone’s frustration, then you’d be quick to help, he was not. He spoke down, wasn’t respectful, and would not dignify questions I was posing with legitimate responses. I wanted to speak with one of his superiors or a supervisor, and he instructed me to contact this e-mail address on your website. He said “It’s Stephanie’s fault for not putting in the right number, she made the error” “I could understand if it was one digit off, like a 9 instead of an 8, but she clearly put the wrong area code, that’s her fault.” This man was even trying to mock the situation telling us that if she had made less of a mistake, it wouldn’t be a problem, but because she put 416 instead of 647 (which I maintain, is an understandable mistake – both being Toronto area codes) she was stuck to pay the bill herself.

I would be satisfied with nothing less than a phone call from someone with some certain authority. Head of customer service of Koodo should be made aware of this, and contact me immediately. I want to speak with someone who is going to reprimand this employee, and assure me that his behaviour was an error in judgement.

You may reach me at 416-123-4567, a message may be left for Marc if I’m not available.

Kind regards,

Marc Cizravi

Within minutes I received a reply telling me that this matter was being taken seriously and was being addressed by one of the managers. The next day, I received a call from a man who will remain nameless, from Koodo who discussed the matter with me for 15 minutes. At the end of our talk, he asked me what I thought was fair, I told him (entire credit), and within two days Stephanie only had to pay her intended $50.00 monthly fee.

KoodoMobile

At this point I’d like to make special mention and commend the manager who was cooperative. This shows that through the proper channels you find that there are good people working for large organizations like this, who are looking out for the little people, and keeping your best interests at heart, while they protect their own.

The lesson to take away here is that you can’t take no for an answer. The customer is always right, and she/he should always be appreciated.

Make sure you formulate several rational arguments, and present them clearly. Be firm of your position; as soon as you show weakness or admit fault, you lose.

You need to be passionate about what you’re trying to defend, but you must also remain calm; if you become emotional they’ll stop listening, and will chalk your behaviour up to irrational moodiness, and won’t take you seriously.

Maintain a professional attitude, and you’ll be treated as a professional.

5 ‘Rules’ to Being a Better Driver

Marc Cizravi — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:34:42 +0000

Even the calmest of drivers can get annoyed. I’ve been known to be a not-so-patient driver, and I’ve maybe vocalized my frustrations on the road once or twice, but there are some things that people do that just boggle my mind. Some habits are just irrational, and some are probably the result of drivers being less than confident on the road, or inconsiderate; never the less, following these 5 ‘rules’ will make you a better drive, and help improve the flow of traffic in your city.

1. Respect the passing lane.

The furthest left lane anywhere on the road (residential, downtown, or the highway) is always the passing lane. If you’re driving the speed limit you shouldn’t be driving in the passing lane; you driving 60km/h in a 60 zone, taking up the passing lane, is a nuisance. You’re obviously supposed to be following the law, but we’re all human and it’s up to us whether we want to drive faster, and risk the consequences. No cops are writing tickets for driving 10km over the limit, or 20km over the limit on the highway anyway. If for some reason you are speeding in the passing lane, and someone is still tailing you, that means that they’re willing to drive faster than you are, and you’re holding them up, change lanes, merge right and let them pass you, then get back to the left lane if you wish.

The one argument I hear is “Oh well you shouldn’t be speeding anyway, it’s dangerous.” That may be true, but you’re not a police officer, if you have a problem with people speeding, go talk to your mayor and have him make speeding a $1000 fine, maybe people wouldn’t risk it. All you do by trying to slow people down by being a turtle in the passing lane, is anger people, and enable road rage that some people are quite prone to. If you need to make a left turn up ahead, wait until you absolutely have to be in the left lane to make your turn, don’t be proactive and block traffic for 3 blocks.

2. Merging on the highway.

It becomes apparent that some people don’t know you’re supposed to drive the speed limit of whichever highway you’re about to merge onto. If you don’t, you’re either: A) Being unsafe because merging 80km/h when everyone else is driving 100km/h can cause an accident. B) Being rude to the drivers behind you who are trying to follow the rules and can’t because you’re being a monkey. C) Risking your own safety since you may not be able to merge at all, and run out of onramp since everyone is zooming past you while you think about what a terrible driver you are.

3. Right on red.

In most cities, states and provinces (pretty much all of them except for Montreal island) you’re allowed to make a right turn on a red light. This means that if there are numerous lanes on the street which you’ve chosen to use, you should avoid clogging up the right lane if you aren’t planning on turning. This also means, that you should be aware that if you’re not making every effort to turn (as soon as possible) you’re creating traffic. I would be a millionaire if I received a dollar for every time I got stuck behind some hesitant idiot not being able to put his foot on the gas and take a quick right, helping everyone out behind him. Yes, you read that properly, a millionaire; and I’ve only been on the road for 5 years. Do the math, or better yet, just make a quick right instead of slowing us all down; you’re killing me, slowly.

4. Only enter, if you can exit.

This is a great one. Have you ever seen some idiot drive during rush-hour traffic, try and make it to be the last one to cross an intersection before a red light, just so he can be at the end of the next line? What happens? He gets stuck halfway in the intersection because there’s no room on the other side. What exactly are you rushing to? The red light? The huge lineup of cars on the other side of the intersection? Well, good job, not only have you screwed yourself further because the pedestrian traffic is now crossing, but perpendicular traffic can’t cross anymore; you’re congesting the city you drive in even further, and inconveniencing everyone in the near vicinity. In case I need to remind you once more, you’re a big idiot, good day.

5. Enter the intersection if you’re making a left turn.

If you’re in the left turn lane, and the light turns green, that means that you enter the intersection and wait until it’s clear to make a left turn. In a minor intersection, one vehicle enters, and in a major intersection, two. This means you don’t wait until the yellow light to get in the intersection. You wait until the yellow to make your left, and anyone behind you is forced to wait another cycle. More time wasted, more cars on the road, more congestion.
In case you’re one of the clueless ones out there (don’t worry, I can keep a secret) a major intersection has an island in the middle of the road, facing you, when you’re trying to make a left turn, and a minor one doesn’t.

follow these simple guidelines, it makes for a happier, more efficient road.

Racism, Quotas, and More

Marc Cizravi — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:52:21 +0000

Recently, my friends and I got into a heated debate regarding the presence of racism in our world, but more specifically our proximal society. We were talking about affirmative action in the 1980s and how it opened the doors to the pseudo equality that we enjoy today.

As we progressed, we started talking about social quotas and I was a little surprised to find out that they still exist. The specific example brought to my attention was of certain medical-schools requiring 5% percent of their admissions to be of African-American descent, and 10% required to be East Asian (the races and figures I’ve chosen are arbitrary, just for arguments sake).

Now let me address why I think this is quite possibly one of the stupidest systems that’s in place, and how this is actually promoting, and sustaining racism in our current time.

Let’s say that there are 100 ‘white’ people and 100 ‘black’ people applying to a specific school and there’s room for 50 students; this school decides that it’s a good idea to have at least 40% of their applicants be black, just because they want to be fair and allow everyone a chance at acceptance. While they think they’re “evening the playing field”, all they’re doing is sending a message saying: “Without this quota, you probably wouldn’t have a shot.” Now, assuming that of these 200 applicants, all of them are more than qualified, but because you want to feed from the top rather than the bottom of the class for obvious reasons, you’re going to choose the best of these 200 applicants.

Let’s say that this particular year (again, this is JUST for arguments sake, I’m trying to illustrate a point) the 40 best students of the 200, were white, and the next 10 were black; in a perfect world we would assume that these 50 guys & girls would receive an acceptance. Now, because of the required 40% acceptance rate for ‘black’ students, you need to have at least 20 of these students be black. Because of the “affirmative” action that this school is supporting, there are 10 ‘white’ students who have earned the spot, and merit the acceptance, who are getting screwed out of it because of their descent or skin colour. All you’re doing is supporting the racism that you’re trying to eradicate. There are 10 ‘black’ students who are getting into this school, despite not being as qualified as the 31st-40th ‘white’ students who have applied. Does that seem right?

To look at it a different way… what if a school has a quota that stipulates: 20% of acceptance must be given to east-Asian students, but of all the applicants, east-Asians only account for 5% of the group. Now you have students who might surely be at the bottom of the barrel getting in, just because the school has to uphold a certain image, and maintain their position that they are a multicultural, diverse institution which supports all and provides no favouritism; yeah, nice try.

I’m not going to pretend that certain races are availed benefits in certain places in the world. It’s an unwritten rule that people tend to stick to their own… to an extent. It’s unfortunate that in the past certain races have had to face injustices, and had to endure hardships, but the reality is: if you want to live in a perfect world, you have to let go of all the bad that you’ve had to endure, and set an example. The old saying goes “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

The advice I have to anyone who’s treated differently or treated poorly because they’re of a different race, or because they’re different in any way, is just to ignore it. Feel bad for the person who’s still racist in 2009. People are allowed to have reservations, but if they’re under the impression that superiority comes from skin colour, they’re lost; they’re idiots, and they’re really weak. I don’t think you need any further explanation; just live your life and do so believing that everyone deserves an equal shot, and that merit should be earned, not handed out.

Scam Alert: Make Fast Cash On Google!

Marc Cizravi — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:17:50 +0000

Tony's Money Blog... A Total Scam!

You’ve no doubt seen one of these websites advertised on Facebook or other popular forum, and a few of you may have been close to being pulled in as I have; hopefully you realized before it was too late. Popular “I make $5,000/month” websites have been popping up lately trying to spark some hope in the desperate by offering them some salvation.

These websites usually start out with a picture of a nice family sitting in the park, with the bread-winner telling a tale of what troubles he had at one point, until he enrolled in a shockingly efficient money making program called the Google Cash Kit.

They’ll even try to sell you the product with some encouraging comments at the end of the page, from other enthused users.

This poor guy either doesn't know that his picture is being used... either way, nice try Eric!

They’re all fake, all fabricated, and even the link that says “Get Your Free Kit Now” directs you to a page which asks you to make a small $1.99 payment for shipping, or more, to send you the amazing change your life completely kit, which by now hopefully you’ve deduced, does not exist.

The added danger that some have fallen victim to, is that once you’ve made one payment with a credit card, they’ll come back at you and make multiple withdrawals at random intervals, at random amounts until you go to your bank and get something done. Even if they’ve only gotten your $1.99, go to your bank, cancel your credit card or get a new one, get something changed so that they can’t strike again.

The reason these scams work even a little is because they’re trying to mask themselves as Google’s Adsense opportunity. Content-targeted ads are put on your personal website (after you sign up on Google for free), and if they’re receiving legitimate inquiries, you’re compensated with any amount between $0.01 and $1.50 per click (don’t quote me, this is what I’ve read elsewhere). You can see these ads displayed at the top, side, and bottom of this page; these are legitimate ads that Google places after having “crawled” (examined) my site, to match content on all the pages. Do not confuse one with the other, Google will never charge you money for advertising, they’ll be the ones paying you after you sign up for free, and earn their customers some revenue. If you’re interested in more details, see www.google.com/adsense

I’ve taken the liberty of starting a list of all these scam websites and have listed them below for your convenience: expect further additions as I continue to run into them; don’t be fooled!

Maybe if there was more fire on the page we'd all fall for it...

Avoid At All Cost: Online Dating & Internet Personals.

Marc Cizravi — Sun, 24 May 2009 21:37:25 +0000

Internet dating has been on the rise as of late; I’m sure you’ve seen an e-Harmony commercial or two advertising couples who were matched online, and got married and have a happy life together. It’s the sort of thing that wasn’t around ten years ago because the internet wasn’t as accessible as it is today. Lavalife, Plentyoffish, Match.com are all popular sites, and only a few of the options people have to start with.

It’s a new way of meeting people, it’s a little exciting for the users I’m sure, and it’s extremely efficient because you can spend an hour going through matches, listings, personals and easily clear through hundreds of potential partners.

There’s plenty of good going on, and I’m sure that there are some couples that have met through the internet who experience successful, long lasting relationships, but I want to focus on all the reasons you should be avoiding trying to find a date online.

Nobody wakes up one day and enters the dating world by signing onto the internet. As strange as it sounds, you learn much of the joys of interacting with the opposite sex in elementary school, sometimes (if you’re lucky) even in kindergarten; that’s when the wonderful journey begins. You progress to middle school and eventually puberty hits (happens younger and younger these days) and you start to really pay attention. For the most part, you really start to care about what the pretty girl or the cute boy in your class thinks.

A lot of us blossom early and become the attractive sexual beings that we’d like to be in high school; some of us wait until college, and unfortunately for many we go through three or four years of an undergraduate degree and don’t learn the pleasure of an intimate relationship.

It’s a universal truth (and don’t try to argue with me on this) that normalpeople always resort to the internet as a desperate and final measure (If they ever get that desperate). If I took a survey of 100,000 people and asked of ten different locations, where would you most like to meet your future mate, I’m confident to say the internet would come dead last. People need to recognize that this is in-fact true. It’s a Hail-Mary, last ditch, ‘I’ve tried everything else’ attempt.

I’m positive that there are some good seeds out there, and if you’re to find each other then great, but more than 99% of the people who are using the internet as a dating circuit, are damaged goods.

They’re compromised in one way or another, and because they can’t function socially and meet someone through the usual means, they advertise themselves like a used car. They’re unhappy with the way they look, the way they walk, the way they talk; whatever it is, there’s something that they’re hiding, otherwise they wouldn’t be online. They’ve emotionally compromised, socially inadequate, fundamentally flawed but would rather look outward than resolve their issues.

If you try to tell me that you don’t have time to meet people, then realize that you don’t have time for a relationship either. Look inward, balance your life, take care of all the loose ends, address your issues, and go out into the world and learn to forge relationships as the majority of the planet does. If you find yourself without the adequate tools to accomplish your goals on your own, then seek the wisdom of someone who knows what they’re doing. Everyone in the world has at least one friend, and if that friend can’t help you out, I’m sure that his friend probably can.

I could write an endless amount of words on the many more reasons to avoid the internet personals, but take it from me, they’re a pathetic, weak bunch (99%) that you don’t want to be a part of.

Failures of The Auto Industry

Marc Cizravi — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:14:42 +0000

It seems that everyone is so quick to talk about how the recession is affecting them; “oh the economy is so bad right now, I can’t find a job, things are difficult” and such, are words of the people who are living through hard times. While I am of the firm opinion that you’re in control of your own fate, and that people of such a mentality above are whiners that should be doing nothing less than putting more effort and creating their own opportunities, I’m going to shed some light on the recent attention the Canadian Auto Workers union has earned on the daily news.

Consumers beware: General Motors, Chrysler and Ford might not be worth your business.

In case you’re not aware, “the big three” – also known as General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler have all been failing as of late as companies because, well, nobody is buying their cars. At the same time, because most of their employees are unionized, they’re forced to pay ridiculous salaries to people who are essentially… just putting large puzzle pieces together.

Now because of the recent trend, these companies have started making numerous job cuts, sold assets, close production plants, and are even seeking the Canadian and American governments for ‘bail outs’ in the form of a large loans (billions of dollars), should the companies need to access some cash flow. Some of the concessions that these companies are trying to make, is the wage and compensations that the members of the auto unions are awarded; of course… they don’t feel like they should be losing work, or money… after all, they’ve just been doing their jobs, why should they be punished?

They’re all up in arms because they’re getting fired and losing money and they’re taking to the streets causing an uproar because their world has been turned upside down. Someone is at fault, someone must suffer; but surely it shouldn’t be them…right?

Wrong, you have nobody to blame but yourselves – in any given industry there is always a chance of failure; job security and assurances are what drives complacency and creates comfort in the workplace. People who work the same tedious job for years (who stagnate in their efficiency five years into it), are the cause for all the current ‘hardship’. Unions are working hard to provide benefits and certain protections to the little people, but at the same time, they’re fighting to increase salaries for these simplistic jobs; not so suddenly you have below average high-school graduates making money that, frankly, is undeserved.

It’s not all their fault; you can’t blame the monkey for being greedy and wanting more and more bananas. His job is tiring, it’s tedious, it’s downright boring; but they do it because they get paid really well; you can’t blame them for wanting the money; you can, however, when they cause an uproar because they’re being “abused”.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler aren’t collectively failing (entirely) because they’re overpaying their plant workers; for a while now their vehicles have had sub-par appeal, poorer performance, lesser technology, and haven’t even come close to competing in the fuel efficiency. The executives and higher-ups have done a terrible job competing with Mazda, Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Mitsubishi. You look at one of the vehicles from these companies I’ve listed (with one or two exceptions maybe) and you see a vehicle that you’d like to drive. You look at a vehicle from the assembly line of Saturn, Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Ford, Mercury, or Dodge, and you see an eye-sore that you would immediately regret spending money on. Most of the previous brands produce overall lesser vehicles, that consumers don’t want to waste their money on. I don’t know if I’m the only one ‘in the know’, but it seems to me that when your company stops selling units, and you’re still paying your pawns like kings, you’re going to start circling the drain pretty quickly.

I’ll be honest, the people who are running these companies don’t bother me as much; the only reason that there’s as much coverage on the situation as there is, is because it’s affecting so many little people – and because they can’t help but cry out for aid.

By now I’m sure I’ve sufficiently illustrated my distaste for the weak; I can’t understand how someone with little to no merit is allowed to make a scene because he and half a million of his buddies are all of a sudden at risk of losing their not-so-deserving lifestyle. You’re working in an assembly plant; you perform the most medial of tasks which requires far from a substantial amount of know-how, and because you happen to have a powerhouse of a union you’re constantly getting your salary bumped and benefits lavished. To the Canadian Auto Workers – I ask you: Do you think that if you weren’t so protected by policy and protocol that we couldn’t find adequate replacements in hard-working 21 year old men and women? Do you think it’s adequate that your average pay greatly exceeds that of a fire-fighter or a nurse? Are you not expendable? What is it that you do that makes you such an asset, and deserving of the compensation that you’re rushing to defend?

Plenty of people do their jobs for twenty years and don’t take it for granted that their salary increases are going to come just because time is passing; they work hard and distinguish themselves as individuals and employees and rise in the ranks to become the bosses, instead of generously paid workmen.

You shouldn’t be afraid of losing your job, but when your comfort leads you to greed, there’s a real problem. You should always be driven to do better; you should be pursuing a better form of yourself and looking to perform above your expectations, and only then should you see the reward. Foreign companies that operate in North America, for example Toyota, don’t operate with unions and it’s clear that the company has extra money to throw into their research & development and consequently remain a strong entity in the industry, one who’s market-share’s ascent sees no end in near sight.

Amidst all my negative thoughts, I do however believe that there are victims who are suffering. Retired workers who are elderly, who are at risk of losing their pension, and who are stressed out at the thought of having to return to work to support themselves and their families have a right to be a little upset. You work a lifetime towards a goal, reach & achieve, all to have it taken away; for those with little to no strength left, it’s a shame.

While I’m more than aware of the repercussions of closing a big part of the auto-sector and how our governments, economy, and massive populations would be affected – I find it nothing less than imperative that either these companies fail so they can give rise to future successes, or that the Canadian Auto Workers realize that they’re nothing more than glorified puzzle piece pushers that need to take a step back for the good of us all, and assume the modest role and salary of the blue collar employee.

10 Things You Should Never Waste Money On (Pt. 2)

Marc Cizravi — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:47:16 +0000

View Pt. 1 of this article here

Unsatisfactory Service

For some reason, a lot of people I know don’t like to stand up for themselves. Maybe it’s apathy or they lack the strength to do so, but you have to realize that when you pay for a service and it’s not to your complete satisfaction, you’re entitled to some answers, and some credit.

Customer service should be accommodating your every need... and doing so with a smile!

If you pay $100 for business internet and suffer an outage, you’re entitled to some answers. Your business relies on the internet to function, and if you’re experiencing downtime, you’re not only being robbed of you $100, but you’re in turn losing business or making your customers unhappy, that’s going to cost you money. Call your provider and tell them you’re costing me hundreds of dollars for unscheduled downtime – I’m a professional and I expect the same from you, if you can’t make due on your commitment then I’ll take my business elsewhere. They’ll be quick to credit you for half a month or a month’s service.

If your cellphone isn’t working 24/7, if your car breaks down 10 minutes after your mechanic has cleared it for the road, if you’re out for dinner and your food arrives cold, make a complaint, make your voice heard. You’re not being a whiner or a bitch for speaking up; you’re simply not allowing other peoples incompetence slip through the cracks. The way you should look at it is: you’re getting something for yourself, and at the same time you’re providing negative feedback that is clearly necessary if they’re delivering service that is unsatisfactory. You’re forcing them to improve, bettering them as an organization, and ultimately aiding their success in the future. They should be thanking you for not keeping quiet.

…But after you’re done being the most honourable consumer you know, make sure that you’re getting yours – you’re not working hard for your money so you can throw it away to less than satisfactory merchants, if they’re not pleasing you, they don’t deserve your money. Make your reasonable demands, and hold firm; the customer is always right.

Geek Squad is a service provided by Best Buy... fair prices... far from it!

Geek Squad or Nerds On Site

This seems foreign to me since I’ve been a nerd in training since I was thirteen years old…but when house-call services like Geek Squad and Nerds On Site started popping up I thought to myself: “Oh… well I guess that’s a good idea; not everybody knows someone who’s good with computers.”

That was more than 5 years ago. What impresses me is there are still people today who don’t have someone to go to when they have a problem with their computer. What startles me even more is how much these services charge for simple tasks like setting up a wireless router, backing files up, or even just doing data transfer from one computer to another. Speaking as an experienced I.T. consultant, I’ll tell you myself that the prices are far from reasonable. I have several clients that call me frequently for jobs similar to what is offered by these companies, and take it from me, if I was charging an hourly rate comparable to Geek Squad, I’d be driving a nice convertible.

Nerds On Site

There is no good reason for you to be flushing your money down the toilet to have these under-qualified, overpaid monkeys plugging in cables for you and making you think that what you’re doing is worth the money.

An easy way to avoid having to do this is to either search the internet (that has an answer for every problem – I promise you), or search through your Rolodex and find a family member, friend, friends child who knows a thing or two about computers (I guarantee you have at least one). Even if you’re not a great acquaintance and you feel it would be asking too much of some distant friends, you’re always able to pay them a small fee for their troubles – nobody is going to turn down $20 an hour to help you out of a tight spot.

Sometimes you’re in a situation where you have absolutely no choice, but don’t think that you’re without options; exhaust the smart choices before resorting to the desperate ones.

Credit Card Interest/Fees/Insurance

It’s a slippery slope kids; your credit card gives you the illusion that you’ve got more to spend than you actually have. The banks are trusting you with ‘credit’ and letting you spend assuming you’ll have the money coming to you. Unfortunately, you’re running a high risk of spending a lot of money on charges you’re not aware of you might not expect. I won’t go into details, but if you currently have a credit card, call them and ask them to explain to you the following possible charges:

Typically 19.5% interest rates, and annual fees, is it really worth it?

Interest Charge
Interest Purchase
Over-limit Fee
Credit Insurance

On top of these fees, make sure you’re not paying the annual charge for a special card that let’s you accumulate air miles or other extravagant benefits; you have to be spending a lot of money to gain anything significant, all the while paying upwards of $120 every year. If money is a concern, you should cut the luxury and use a free credit card (if you really need to use one) and afford yourself the special card when you have money to burn.

ATM Fees:

Where do you draw the line? I'm guessing if you had to pay $9.00 you wouldn't be using this machine.

I know you were expecting this on the list so let’s just get it out of the way. It’s stupid to have to pay to access your own money; granted there are costs for banks and ATM companies and such, so it’s justified – but from your point of view, you should just be organized and saving yourself the trouble (and money).

ATM fees are on the rise due to inflation this and higher costs of whatever other maintenance. Years ago the charge was a quarter, or a half dollar, and now you’re be lucky to find anything cheaper than $1.50 just to take out $20 – and for that reason alone, people are taking out more money and wasting it on whatever other impulse purchases… since you know, people generally have no self control. How high does the charge have to climb before you change your habits and organize yourself enough not to flush your money down the toilet?

A year of ATM usage can easily reach $50-$100; that’s a lot to spend on…well…nothing at all.

Music

iTunes offers singular song downloads for $0.99

It’s hard to come out publicly against the music industry and condone the illegal acquisition of music, but if you’re not swimming in loonies (had to be said) then you should be avoiding spending money on music, especially since it’s so easily accessible. I’ll throw out www.limewire.com and www.acquisitionx.com as great resources for avoiding that pesky $0.99 fee on the iTunes store. If you want to download full albums, check out my rookie’s guide to Bit-torrent and enjoy giving your bank account a breather.

Some people will feel bad that “we’re stealing from the artists” and “they’re losing money because people download their stuff for free”, and well… while there’s much truth to it, you have to understand that they’re making millions regardless. We’re making the difference between them being able to afford four or five Lamborghinis. Merchandise, concerts, endorsements, celebrity appearances, are just one of the many other forms of income that these guys exploit so they can afford themselves that the cushy limitless lifestyle that regular folk like you and me won’t have a chance at anytime soon.

It doesn’t seem like small purchases of $0.99 per song or $15 for a whole album would make a big difference, but it adds up – especially when you consider that you could be getting everything you pay for, free, it’s hard to let go of your hard earned cash for something like that… so don’t waste it!

10 Things You Should Never Waste Money On (Pt 1.)

Marc Cizravi — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:00:09 +0000

We all do it, spend money senselessly – however, we would all benefit greatly if we could control ourselves a little better. You always think back regarding purchases after the fact, and while we are all blessed with 20/20 hindsight, it would be pretty handy it we could sense in advance that spending weekly amounts of hard-earned money on meaningless, trivial purchases. There are even expenses that we are forced to spend money on, which are easily avoidable, if you know what you’re doing.

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned.

I bet you didn't know software could get this expensive...and this isn't even close to the top of the list

Software

I hate to advocate piracy, but I see some of the prices on certain pieces of software and it really gets me thinking. Markup on computer video games runs close to 40%, Microsoft charges $649 for their Office 2007 package, while Adobe makes a slight bound ahead at an even $700 for a singular copy of Photoshop. Microsoft even puts out multiple versions of their latest failing operating system, Vista, at varying prices, skimping out on arguably bare essentials in lower versions to push consumers into paying a pricey $320 just so your computer will have an interface to function.

There are all excellent counter arguments to ‘pirating’ software, which I would address, except I’m trying to keep this short and sweet, so I’ll leave you with a few points:

An operating system should come free with a computer; Apple’s current OS X has only one version, which is updated frequently for your benefit, free, with your purchase of a new Mac. When you buy a PC you get the worst or second worst version of Vista, which runs terribly – and when you have an issue, you have to bang your head against the wall talking to tech-support which occupies a timezone twelve hours ahead of your own. Yeah, in case you didn’t know, Microsoft sends their phone support to India to save money; outsource to a poor country so you can pinch every penny – you think they have your best interest at heart?
Microsof Office and Photoshop for upwards of $700? Are they serious? Let’s do some math: there are 340 million people in Canada and the US, let’s say just 0.5% of the population (I’m being generous for their sake) use Office or Photoshop, they’re making 1.2 billion dollars (new versions of Office come out every three or four years, and Photoshop follows a little closely with new versions less than every two). So… assuming each company has (again… I don’t know for a fact, so I’ll throw a number out, again – generous) 50 developers on each project, working annually on a salary of $200,000 over 4 years, they’re left with more than a billion dollars to manufacture and distribute their product – nice try you greedy Adobe executives – I’ll be sure to invest my time and not my money into worthy alternatives, such as www.openoffice.org, or just head on over to www.mininova.org and Bit-torrent my way to financial freedom; don’t worry, you can explain to your kids that stealing software from large corporations is actually a victimless crime…wink.

Most of us regular folk just can’t afford to spend hundreds, and possibly thousands of dollars on software, especially with cheap or free alternatives so conveniently located, it just doesn’t make sense.

TD posted a first quarter net income of $712 million in 2009

Banking Fees:

You know that there’s free banking available? I’m not just talking about small or ‘lesser’ banks that specialize in free banking, or advertise free banking. One step above clerk at the bank, let’s call them associates – you know, the people you open your account with, they are well within their power to grant you free banking, and just waive all your fees. I have Branch and Assistant Branch managers at two different major banks, and they both acknowledge (anonymously) that their associates are free to give their friends, family, and even disgruntled customers free banking to appease them.

Your monthly service charge, your surcharge for not maintaining a certain balance, your transaction fees for using your debit card more than forty times in a month – all arbitrary fees that climb every couple of years when the bank sees fit just so they can afford themselves a little extra income, and pad their bottom line. Remember, banks make hundreds of millions in net profit every quarter – some of the bigger banks in North America even net a couple billion per quarter, ridiculous isn’t it?

Bank of America posted a $4.2 billion 2009 Q1 net income...impressive?

I don’t know if you understand, but that’s profit, extra money that they can use for whatever they see fit – a fraction of it will go to advertising, spamming television, the internet, and the newspaper attracting you to them so you can make them more money. Where will the rest go? It’ll pay for ridiculous salaries, over-padded bonuses, floor seats for all the concerts in town, and catered boxes for all their home games. They’re making billions in profit every year, living the lifestyle, and in the mean time, you’re paying them anywhere from $100-$300 a year..? Why? So They can use your money to leverage more loans in a desperate market, and charge you for it at the same time?

Granted they aren’t going to agree to waive fees for everybody, but chances are you’ve been a customer long enough, and you can bring it to the attention of someone who matters, and tell them that if having your money to play around with isn’t important to them, that you’ll just take your business elsewhere.

Service Activation Fee

This one is funny because big companies are so quick to relinquish the charge; and they do so because they know how arbitrary it is.

Here in the southern Ontario region, large media and telecommunications corporations such as Rogers, Bell, and Telus, all charge “one-time activation” fees for their services. Whether you’re getting started with a new internet connection, high-speed internet, or cell phone, they’ll charge you a one-time fee which I’ve seen climb as high as $55.

It's no mystery, they're quick to waive it for your business.

“Yeah, we’d love to have you as a customer, but before you join the exclusive club, pay us money so that we can offer you the privilege of paying us money every month, for the next couple of years.” Kudos to the executive who thought it up, and nice attempt trying to justify it, because whether they send you a do-it-yourself kit to set it up yourself, or have to send a technician out to setup your cable or internet, the fee is the same, they’re trying to squeeze money out of you, but who can blame them, right?

Next time you’re signing any of these services up, no matter where you are, tell them that you recently saw a promotion that waived the activation fee. If they tell you the promotion is over, then tell them something along the lines of: “Well, I was planning on being a customer for a while, and I mean… I’d be paying $30 or $40 a month for at least a year… I could just as easily spend my money with Bell if you’re not interested; they’re actually not charging for an activation fee right now, but I prefer your (Rogers) superior service… but if I’m not going to be appreciated as a paying customer, I’ll take my business to them.”

Even if you’re not signing a contract; you’re a student with eight months in an apartment before you go home for the summer, I’ve still done this the past two years I’ve been away from home, and I do it for all my friends and family when they’re setting something up.

If you’re still not getting the co-operation you desire, or the operator is just telling you that it isn’t possible, ask to speak to his or her supervisor – it’s never impossible, they can always do it, you just have to be persistent, and show them that you want it.

A New Car

This ‘waste’ will probably of the biggest magnitude compared to anything else you’re likely to encounter in your lifetime.

20% of a five digit purchase is quite the hit...whether you're driving a Saturn or a Beemer.

A car’s depreciation is pretty steep; in-fact, as soon as you drive a car off the lot after your recent acquisition – it will usually lose close to 20% of it’s value…on the spot. For the cheapest car you can find new, that’s $2,000, instantly. For something reasonable like a new Civic or a Corrolla, that’s close to $6,000; wouldn’t you like to save that kind of money… and only have to sacrifice that new car smell? Lucy Lazarony from www.bankrate.com writes an interesting article further explaining the intricacies of depreciation, have a look.

The ‘new car’ waste doesn’t stop with the depreciation – used cars are cheaper on insurance (because they’re typically older), so you’re not paying higher premiums for… well… nothing really. If you want to buy a new car, you invariably have to deal with a dealership: licensing costs, freight, P.D.I. and taxes; extra cost that someone else would be paying for if you were buying their car. That and… well… dealerships usually don’t budge much.

If you deal privately, you’re likely to be able to haggle with the merchant, whether it be an small-time independent dealer, or just any random person looking to unload their vehicle; and if that does happen to be the case, dealing directly with someone, usually saves you the tax too.

Speeding & Parking Tickets

Pricing Scheme for Speeding Fines in Ontario - www.torontotraffictickets.com

Parking and Speeding tickets are always an inconvenience; I think the only people in this world who aren’t bothered by tickets are those who have more money than they know what to do with.

Chances are if you live in a big city, your government is making millions a year in profit…from absolutely nothing. Expensive tickets (less than 10% of which ever get challenged in court) are being written daily, just so that the government can profit.

Rather then getting into a lengthy rant about how slimy and malevolent the speed and parking enforcement officers are, I’ll make it clear that you speeding or leaving your car parked illegally is never worth the risk.

It’s an understanding between motorists and police officers which allows us to drive 10 over in a city zone, or 20 over on the highway; being ticketed for such a mild offense is rarely worth the officers time or the courts time should you decide to fight the ticket, so they don’t do it.

Should you decide to speed any faster, realize that you’re liable to get caught eventually, and you’ll spend at least $100-$200 should you decide to pay the ticket, and suffer a 30% increase on your insurance for each minor conviction (lasting 3 years), on top of the loss of your perfect driving discount you’re sure to receive.

Fighting the ticket is a good idea, but realize that you’ll have to go far out of your way to process the paper work, and take a day off the day of your hearing, and waste countless hours in between trying to make all the arrangements; even at that, you’re not guaranteed to beat the ticket. Sometimes the cop shows up, sometimes they reduce the charges marginally, still affecting your insurance, and sometimes you run into a judge who doesn’t see fit to give you any leniency.

Parking tickets are less of a sting, but all the more annoying. You’re potentially gaining a couple bucks for parking without paying, and looking to pay at least $30 if you’re caught. If parking costs $6 and you can dodge the ticket 4 of the 5 times, by all means go for it, otherwise, you’re just not playing the odds. Believe me when I say that parking attendants are the vultures of our society, and literally lurk in the shadows and the distance waiting for you to leave your car unattended, so they can flex that little power they hold over you; they’re watching and you’ll get caught, and it’ll be your money down the drain.

Continue to Pt. 2.

Tip Your Servers!

Marc Cizravi — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:30:36 +0000

This subject is usually not up for discussion – because the majority of people who do decide to dine out, usually are set in their ways (for whatever reason) as to how much of an amount they tip. Whether it be a set monetary amount, or a percentage based on the final bill, people generally already know how much they are going to tip, pending the quality of service.

Don't forget to tip your servers!

Now, take it from me, people should be tipping more than they are. Unfortunately for us servers and bartenders out there, people have a skewed vision of how the service industry functions. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes than you know, so allow me to enlighten you.

First of all, understand that every server and bartender has to ‘tip out’ at the end of a shift. This rule is set-up to maintain a level of balance between other employees in the restaurant, who aren’t on the front line having the chance at receiving tips. For example, the hosts, hostess’, bar-backs, kitchen staff, dish washers are in no position to score any tips. To clarify, sometimes bar-tenders are strictly service-only bar-tenders (they make all the drinks for servers who are taking orders from tables – they see no customers directly – so they require a tip out to make anything supplementary to their own wage). Bar-backs are staff who during busy hours, keep the bar stocked with liquor, beer, ice, and whatever else may be needed.

Now, tip out is usually based on a percentage of a servers sales (I’ve yet to run into a place that does it differently, but who knows, it could be out there). An outdoor patio where I worked last summer ran things with percentage: 1.5% would go to our bar-tender, 1% to each bar-back, and 1% to our singular host/hostess at the time. During an eight hour shift, if a server were to sell $1000 worth of food and drinks, 4.5% (forty-five dollars) would come out of our pockets. This means that if this particular server had made (for arguments sake) let’s say 15% tips based on his sales, he would have $150.00 before tip out, and $105 after tip out. This is of course assuming that every customer on that given day is generous enough to tip an adequate 15%. You wouldn’t believe it, or maybe you would, but more than a year and a half of being a server has shown me that even when you provide a great dining experience, people are quick to stiff you.

Think about this for a second… what do you think were to happen if a server went an entire day without being tipped? Unlikely, but… what if he only received an average of 5% tips for the day, not particularly because of his performance, but just because of an unlucky streak? He would essentially be taking money out of his own pocket to tip-out (in the event of no or little tips), doesn’t seem fair does it? Usually establishments have some rules that say if you didn’t sell enough, or didn’t make any tips you don’t have to tip out, and usually your fellow staff members are quick to understand that it’s been a bad day, and wouldn’t punish you further.

“But Marc, why do servers deserve the tip? Why should servers get 15%? They’re not doing anything I couldn’t do myself.”

Well, let’s take a closer look at some of the challenges a server faces, daily:

1. Most places when you’re working, you’re busy – constantly. You don’t have time to eat, and if you do, you can’t eat properly – you’re usually stuck eating fast-food or something that lacks any nutritional content what-so-ever. There’s no time for a break because you can’t simply pass all your tables off during a busy period. Each server usually has a personal code in the computers that manage orders and such, to keep track of his/her tables, and there’s always something pending to come out, and more orders that need to be made – to ask a server to double his workload is just out of the question, it can’t be done. How comfortable do you think it is being on your feet for eight hours? How often do you think a busy place keeps their servers working for more than such a time period? Last summer I worked numerous 12+ hour shifts, too many to count on fingers and toes – it takes a physical toll – believe me.

2 – Without tips, do you know that a server is usually making at least 10% less than minimum wage? Up until March 31st, 2009, minimum wage for a server/bar-tender was $7.60/hour. If you were to work forty hours a week, you would make $1216.00 in a month, before taxes. $14592.00 in a year, before taxes. The slight adjustment that has come in (that doesn’t just boost minimum wage for liquor servers, but for everyone, still leaves servers out in the cold). As of April 1st, 2009, liquor servers now make $8.25/hour; $1320.00/month and $15840.00/year, still isn’t much, is it?

Minimum wage for a server won't pay the bills alone - they're working hard for you... support them!

3 – People who serve, part-time or full-time usually have their entire lives revolve around their jobs. Since working for a restaurant usually means that you’re working when the restaurant profits (usually weeknights, weekends), servers sacrifice their social lives (among other things) and stay up late into the night, usually three or four nights of the week. It’s difficult to work more than one job, in an effort to balance expenses since hours of operation are so taxing. Not only are you potentially finishing at 2:00AM, closing by 3:00AM and getting out of there, but sometimes you’re starting the next days work at noon, doing this a couple days in a row can really take a serious toll.

4 – To be a good server, you’re required to be quick on your feet (both literally and figuratively), highly adaptive, and able to please people. People are typically difficult, making all sorts of random requests. You’re not only taking orders, you’re creating a pleasant atmosphere for people to enjoy their night out. People are out with groups from work, family, on dates, and so much more; you may go so far as to call your waiter an entertainer; it’s not much of a stretch. This person is doing much more than just serving you food, they’re creating an experience… as long as they aren’t too busy!

Now, remember that the figures I used above (for example, $1000.00 in sales) is extremely generous. I recently finished working at a popular restaurant in London, Ontario, and found that it was difficult to sell a great amount in a typical 5:00PM or 6:00PM shift until around 1:00AM. As a result, my tips also suffered. This particular restaurant was actually ranked in the top ten for beer sales in this small city – it was upsetting for me to find out that it wasn’t as easy to make money due to the nature of the demographic that would frequent the restaurant.

I implore you not only as a server myself, but a fellow functioning member of society – find it within yourself to be generous the next time it comes to tipping your server, he or she goes through a great deal to please you (even if it isn’t evident), and will be quick to accommodate you in any way you may request if it’s within him/her to do so. Is it that big a deal to leave an extra $6.00 on a $30.00 bill? You can spend $100.00 on food and drinks for you and your date, but you can’t find it within yourself to give your humble server who’s been at your beck and call for the past hour and a half a $15.00 or $20.00 tip?

I’ll be honest, if you can spend that kind of money on an outing, but decide to turn into Scrooge McDuck when it comes time to pay the tab… well… If I were like you I’d share my personal opinion, but in the hopes promoting the “you catch more bees with honey” technique, I’ll leave you with your thoughts, and allow you to make the right call.