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hb3b

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Experienced similar issues with a 20x annual spend on Apple gear. After a laundry list of issues with Apple Business and some repairs we switched to buyint from a procurement partner (CDW) and moved device repairs in-house via Apple Self Service so that we aren't stuck with overpriced flat-rate depot repairs.

Like the iPhone Upgrade Program, it's probably best for businesses to lease devices from Apple than to deal with all the nonsense around repairs.

I've worked at an AASP and managed Apple Self Service programs at two companies so I have a bit more information to what you posted.

Apple is very strict when it comes to service repairs because the supply chain and processes for receiving parts is essentially the same between AASP repairs and those done at stores and at depot centers. Nowadays, AASP repairs represent a tiny fraction of all repairs and Apple grandfathering old AASPs and allowing companies to participate in Self Service repairs is more of a courtesy than anything else.

- AASPs can order spare parts under an "exchange" option or as "new". New parts are typically ordered when a customer has lost an item (keycap, charger, apple remote). Everything else usually gets processed as an exchange repair. Apple learns a lot from the defective parts it receives during a repair. They also don't want defective/broken parts floating around eBay so it provides AASPs a monetary incentive to send back KBBs. - AASPs can keep parts on-hand. These parts can be purchased on a credit line and the AASP will receive a refund on the cost of these parts after the repair is done and the KBB (known bad board/part) is sent to Apple. Plus they will receive compensation if the product is under warranty in the amount of 75-100 bucks for doing the repair right. - I would agree that not everything in GSX should be kept highly confidential. Apple's takeapart guides are really awesome and I wish they were published freely. Within GSX is the coveted VIG (visual inspection guides) which determine which classes of repairs on an iPhone or iPad are covered under warranty. For example, a scratched camera lens on an iPhone 4S warranted a whole unit replacement back then even though no formal repair extension program was announced to customers. Maybe this was a serious problem or maybe Apple was giving customers a courtesy repair on this type of issue. But surely publishing this document would cause some people with 4Ss to intentionally scratch their camera lens to get a free replacement device. - And of course, if you aren't certified on a product line Apple doesn't want you opening repairs or ordering parts for that line. In my experience, you can't even open repairs on certain products unless you've passed an online qualification exam (for $100). I think this is pretty reasonable. I've never received parts only to be later charged for not being certified on the defective product.

I am really sorry for anyone who has piles of student loan debt. But with that said, there is no reason in my mind for someone to not consider state schools.

State University of New York (of which I'm a graduate) estimates the yearly expense of a commuter student to be $17,320 @ a 4-year school, less if you live at home, buy used books, take the bus, or go to a community college. It's really affordable!

And there are so many opportunities for part time work on college campuses. Everything from grunt work to being a TA to being compensated for working for a department. Hell, I worked in the nursing department as a comp sci student sorting files and research articles for professors.

Along with this, programs like CLEP and DSST exams that let you test out of gen-ed coursework for $180 a pop. The savings can be in the thousands!

So for those students who aren't going to an IVY on a full or partial ride, or those going to med school, I say do some research before committing to a private school. There is absolutely no reason in my mind why somebody ought to take on such massive debt and I am totally against the idea of our government being in the student loan business.

That's bad but at least they checked. Apple recently swapped out a phone for me at the store. The genius called Sprint and they activated the new phone on my Dad's line without asking me for ID or my account code.

Imagine if this were to happen to a journalist or politician. The stakes are quite high.

They use whatever tool is best for the job. Take a look at their careers site, you'll see they use all sorts of databases internally.

  Sr. Database Architect
  
  REQUIRED TECHNICAL SKILLS :
  RDBMS: Oracle
  NoSQL DB: MongoDB
  Columnar DB: Vertica
  OS: AIX, LINUX, Solaris
  Replication: Streams, Golden Gate

Google seems in the right here. The disclosure was in line with their policy and I'm sure it made management feel oh so good to burn Fortnite in public for their decision to forego distribution in the Play Store.

But here's my personal take. As a consumer I want my phones to run secure apps on secure operating systems. This has a cost obviously which is fair to pass on to developers.

It's clear to me, with all the rogue apps and crap in the Play Store that Google is not investing enough in managing app store content.

Fortnite won this battle but in my book Apple will win the war.

I joined a healthcare startup in 2014 that had a small infrastructure on Azure. Back then AWS weren't signing BAAs and Azure was the only player in town. Being an early startup, the company didn't purchase a support plan from Azure. One day Azure suffered a major outage (may have been storage related) and over an hour later, I reached out to Microsoft for written confirmation that we could forward to customers. Since we didn't have a support plan they flat-out refused to provide any documentation whatsoever about the issue. They wanted $10,000.

Azure - never again. Company moved to AWS within a quarter.

There isn't anything particularly innovative about Duo Beyond. Inspect the Docker containers and you'll see they simply rebranded simplesamlphp and wrote a custom ngx_http_auth_request_module handler for NGINX for their authenticated reverse proxy product.

If Cisco paid 2 billion dollars for this, my mind is really blown. I'm struggling to figure out how they ended up at 2 billion because I don't see it in anything material -- perhaps the patents or a play against Okta for recurring revenue from smaller companies which might not have Cisco gear?

Synology is great however I'd like to caution anyone considering their enterprise gear that they do not offer traditional 24/7 support. Regardless of which unit you purchase (in our case we purchased the most expensive RU model), all support tickets are triaged and prioritized equally, and there is no phone support (unless you scream loud).

This was one of Sun's last middle fingers to the FOSS community. They knew by licensing ZFS under the CDDL there was no way Linux users, specifically RHEL customers could benefit from it. Hopefully Apple won't follow suit with APFS.

Offtopic but do most HN'ers have NYT subscriptions or use extensions to workaround the paywalls? Anyone else wish they could filter out paywalled links from HN?

They foresee Moviepass flexing it's muscle to drop the average cost of tickets below what's already a low margin service. Also, I wonder how many Moviepass users get concessions each time they see a flick.

It's insane, right? You would think with their talent pool and billion dollar-sized budgets they wouldn't struggle with basic brand marketing. The insulting part of this change is that they are raising prices and further fragmenting an already half-baked service. Google needs to take advice from someone like John Legere and start building cohesive products.

https://www.geekwire.com/2016/listen-shut-f-tell-t-mobiles-j...

Is there a precedent for Apple enforcing this clause on providers in the CI space? I vaguely remember some cease-and-disist letters to Hackintosh vendors but I'd imagine that has to do with brand protection.

I'm your age living in the NYC metro area and had the same feelings. I opted for a renovated co-op which only cost a few hundred K and has a maintenance charge under $1000/mo. that includes all utilities. By getting a co-op or condo you limit your responsibility to what's within the walls. Sure you'll have the occasional plumbing/electrical issue but for that you can hire a maintenance guy or neighbor. No need to worry about the big issues.

Cloud Identity 8 years ago

They acquired Bitium. An identity as a service is in the works. Since the Oktas and Onelogins have virtual LDAPs I’m sure that will be coming as well.