Why the INQ is so good

So, the retailers feel they need to charge that much? I guess supporting the government suveillance infrastructure over there is cranking up the ol' overhead, eh?

..wow. I'm not sure whether that was neocon or hard left. Any ideas?

David W.

Subject: Why is the INQ so good?

I've been an avid reader now for about 4 years. Every morning I check the INQ and get real news with such strong opinions that most of the other big tech news sites aren't worth their weight (eWeek, InfoWorld, Information Week, TechWeb, SiliconValley, etc, etc). All those other sites report the news and about 1% opinion/wit.

Is it because they stay afloat by advertising dollars and couldn't even fathom writing a negative review or opinion on a vendor that could potentially buy advertising from them?

Your opinions on major brands such as nVidia, AMD, Intel, HP, Seagate, Samsung, (and so on) are so insightful that on many occasions your articles have given me insight that Wall Street could never produce, and I've made a bundle in the stock market because of it. Instead of just reposting press releases that vendors send out to every publication, your team actually reads the release and produces an article for the tech community that goes into "what it all means" area.

I especially like your insight into the console wars. Every other site I see just spits out number of units shipped, expected shipped, and total % marketshare. Your team goes into the details of the manufacturers that provide the components, shortages of certain types of parts, consumer views, and the real nitty gritty tech behind it all....The article about IBM laughing all the way to the bank was great. I have no idea why any other publisher didn't think of writing something similar.

Thank you again and keep up the good work.

Vince

Subject: DoJ AMD

In your article you mention that AMD is being examined by DoJ for anti-trust issues.

Why did you *not* mention that Intel is one of the largest graphics providers in the world and has potentially the same Anti-trust issues as AMD?

Further, I would have noted that it is very strange that DoJ did not investigate Intel previously for the same reasons, and I would have asked why it is investigating AMD now, but not Intel.

It seems there is something not quite just, about the DoJ's actions.

Tg

Subject: Man of certain age discovers brain of computer

Sheesh - take down that photo of Clown Henri - everybody will figure out we bought an Intel Quad Core and took it apart.

We don't want the world to know we're paranoid.

Heil Hector

Subject: Apple Display Flicker Issue

So I read your "MacBook screen gets the flickers" story this morning and decided to try to help get the issue resolved (I am in the market for a MacBook Pro, or at least I was). You see I was at a party a few weeks back with an Apple Product manager for some of their hardware line. At the party I asked him about the heat sink paste issue, the yellow color case issue, etc... What I got back was an insight into the Apple culture.

Quote "I spoke with the engineers and the heatsink didn't hurt anything." "Apple customers are fanactics." "We get more complaints then other computer companies because our customers are nuts."

He would never, ever admit he was wrong. There was no "We messed up. We are sorry. We will fix it." I pushed him pretty hard and the conversation just became confrontational at the end.

I tried to educate Apple about their culture in the Apple Desktop forums you listed. But, they deleted by post (not locked it, but deleted it).

Well, I tried.

dicen

Subject: Lamers just don't get it

The Lamers just don't get it...

Wasting your time playing online games is for losers.

Bandy

Subject: US Iraq secrets leaked onto Interweb

You may want to mention that you're talking about JASDF (as in Japan ASDF), not just the ASDF, although it becomes semi-obvious in the last paragraph with the mention of someones name.

Yonzie

Subject: EVE

Haha, you puzzle me. Why not do a story about how the new patch added a shitload of new game content, how it went relatively smoothly, how it was free, etc. instead of a 'magically' locked post which accomplishes nothing by whining about issues that don't really affect gameplay, the developers are working on and the general player base is already aware of? Do you know how many unconstructive posts like that exist on forums around the world? By closing it, at least they know that the post has been read and they've been told to shut-up.

*whistle* Look... over there... it's WoW... and a lot of people still fooled into paying a subscription fee for it! Go do a story! C'mon, go boy...

Dilbert

Subject: Built by AMD (ATI)

ATI and many mobo companies have never made a good transision from OEM supplier to end user supplier, aka retail. As a result consumers have suffered from a great LACK of tech/customer support. The ATI website is an insult to anyone with a clue and should be scraped IMO.

In another example of an OEM who has been unable to buy a clue when it comes to end user support, Sapphire who has a great production facility, can deliver good video cards but can NOT copy an ATI reference mobo and get it right. In addition Sapphire's Customer Support is NON existent. They refer you to ATI's website for tech support... Well ATI didn't produce the defective Sapphire mobo, Sapphire did so you get zero support from ATI and zero support from Sapphire. And they wonder why no one will buy their over-priced mobos that have a laundry list of NEVER fixed problems???????

Quite honestly it's a huge embarrassment or it should be if ATI/Sapphire stopped counting their money long enough to comprehend that they are walking over dollars to pick up pennies.

Oli

Subject: Again

"Users of the Basic (free) editions will now only be able view their scores online"

Well, the privacy Nazis have struck again. If you're a nobody, you cannot just test your PC and keep track of its evolution in the privacy of your own desk tower. No, now you actually _have_ to send your results online to view them and that, even if you don't want them published.

That's just so that FuturMark can stuff its database full of info that you don't get a penny for, but it can wield like a great marketing tool and milk it for money.

Man I'm getting sick of this rape-the-consumer mentality.

Pascal