Walmart to create own brand of notebooks?
- Thread starter mubs
- Start date
Buck
Storage? I am Storage!
Wow! So, I'll be able to buy sod for the yard, baby wipes for the baby's behind, dress slacks for nights out, and a notebook for my business all at the same store for the very low Arkansas price of dirt, due to under paid employees and slave labor.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Technically, the slave laborers are actually contractors hired by temporary agencies that deal exclusively with Walmart.
Sort of like Microsoft's relationship with Volt, only even more slimey and underhanded.
I can't stand Walmart. I've been in their stockrooms. They're disgusting, and even their sales floors aren't ever clean either. Plus I get the feeling every time I go in one that I could find six or eight good guests for Jerry Springer without leaving the premises.
Every once in awhile, even though I dislike it so much, I go to Walmart (usually I drive 10 miles more to a Kmart or best of all, Target). Every time I go in there, I see someone doing exactly what Buck desceibed: Case of motor oil, 24-pack of Mountain Dew, a gross of NASCAR-branded sanitary napkins... and a $#%#$%-ing $250 PC in their cart.
Who the hell goes to Walmart and says "Ah thinks ahls pick up wun o' thum thar Compew-TARs!"
I have an interior monolog about whether to help the hapless redneck. It goes like this:
me: Boy, they're gonna have nothing but problems with that thing. $300 with a PC-Tel modem and RAM and hard disk that have "Factory Recertified" stickers on 'em right out of the box.
other me: They're clearly morons. They deserve what they get.
me: ... and just look at that SuSE sticker... Did that lady just say she needs an AOL CD? We really should help her.
other me: AOL. Need I say more? And what's this crap about ladies? She's got an unlit cigar in her mouth AND she just told her four year old to wait til he gets to the car to open his "Cope"!
me: Where the heck do they find motherboards with no USB connectors in 2003?!?
other me: Mexico, if that box is accurate.
me: Wait! She's noticed the SuSE lizard logo!
other me: ... and she's lecturing the cashier that dragons are symbols of Satan now. Figures. Self, how 'bout we go get some strawberry-flavored milk and head home for a few hours of flipping through dirty pictures on the internet.
me: Sounds good to me!
FIN
Anyway, the mind boggles at the idea of a typical Walmart customer buying a laptop. Like a mule with a spinning wheel. No one knows how get got it and damned if he'll ever figure out what to do with it. Only thing I can think of is the redneck who can't stand to be away from Solitaire or Minesweeper.
Sort of like Microsoft's relationship with Volt, only even more slimey and underhanded.
I can't stand Walmart. I've been in their stockrooms. They're disgusting, and even their sales floors aren't ever clean either. Plus I get the feeling every time I go in one that I could find six or eight good guests for Jerry Springer without leaving the premises.
Every once in awhile, even though I dislike it so much, I go to Walmart (usually I drive 10 miles more to a Kmart or best of all, Target). Every time I go in there, I see someone doing exactly what Buck desceibed: Case of motor oil, 24-pack of Mountain Dew, a gross of NASCAR-branded sanitary napkins... and a $#%#$%-ing $250 PC in their cart.
Who the hell goes to Walmart and says "Ah thinks ahls pick up wun o' thum thar Compew-TARs!"
I have an interior monolog about whether to help the hapless redneck. It goes like this:
me: Boy, they're gonna have nothing but problems with that thing. $300 with a PC-Tel modem and RAM and hard disk that have "Factory Recertified" stickers on 'em right out of the box.
other me: They're clearly morons. They deserve what they get.
me: ... and just look at that SuSE sticker... Did that lady just say she needs an AOL CD? We really should help her.
other me: AOL. Need I say more? And what's this crap about ladies? She's got an unlit cigar in her mouth AND she just told her four year old to wait til he gets to the car to open his "Cope"!
me: Where the heck do they find motherboards with no USB connectors in 2003?!?
other me: Mexico, if that box is accurate.
me: Wait! She's noticed the SuSE lizard logo!
other me: ... and she's lecturing the cashier that dragons are symbols of Satan now. Figures. Self, how 'bout we go get some strawberry-flavored milk and head home for a few hours of flipping through dirty pictures on the internet.
me: Sounds good to me!
FIN
Anyway, the mind boggles at the idea of a typical Walmart customer buying a laptop. Like a mule with a spinning wheel. No one knows how get got it and damned if he'll ever figure out what to do with it. Only thing I can think of is the redneck who can't stand to be away from Solitaire or Minesweeper.
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
Sir Merc:
I am not fond of WalMart either. But you grossly underestimate the beast. Notwithstanding everything Buck and you have said, the beast is unstoppable. Like the Borg, everything in its path will be assimilated. Someday, they'll be too big, and assuming the politicians (note I didn't say leaders) still have balls in their scrotum, they'll trust-bust the beast. You must have read Friday by Robert Heinlein? Replace all the companies referenced with one - WalMart.
Please see Boycott Wal-Mart: Why you should wipe that smiling yellow face off your shopping list.
Etc.
What I'm trying to say is WalMart gets what it wants. They eye every opportunity to make money. They're after Netflix. Industry analysts say noteook computers will be the fastest growing segment in the IT industry. So they're eyeing that now. I don't think they've ever failed (lost money) on anything they've ever sold.
Watch your back.
I am not fond of WalMart either. But you grossly underestimate the beast. Notwithstanding everything Buck and you have said, the beast is unstoppable. Like the Borg, everything in its path will be assimilated. Someday, they'll be too big, and assuming the politicians (note I didn't say leaders) still have balls in their scrotum, they'll trust-bust the beast. You must have read Friday by Robert Heinlein? Replace all the companies referenced with one - WalMart.
Please see Boycott Wal-Mart: Why you should wipe that smiling yellow face off your shopping list.
Etc.
What I'm trying to say is WalMart gets what it wants. They eye every opportunity to make money. They're after Netflix. Industry analysts say noteook computers will be the fastest growing segment in the IT industry. So they're eyeing that now. I don't think they've ever failed (lost money) on anything they've ever sold.
Watch your back.
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
No need to be your usual gentle self, Handruin. They're actually a nightmare to deal with. Initially, a business thinks, "we'll get big selling to WM". Then over time, WM becomes their biggest customer, and then often, their only customer. That's when WM makes them sing the high notes.Handruin said:
I read in a business journal that Procter & Gamble, no less, is heavily dependent on WM to move product.
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
I like to grocery shop at wallmart because they usually have a good selection, low prices, and they make it easy to compare products by labelling the price per unit along with the cost of the item.
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
But I agree they bring out the low-life people.... A "super center" recently openned up near us and I would have never thought the people that it attracts came from this state... you'd think we were from Arkansas or something.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I can actually tell when I'm near a Walmart by the increase in Nascar window decals. If more than three cars that I can see have 'em, I'm within a quarter mile of a Walmart.
I swear to Buddha that I saw a guy simultaneously prove 40 "You Know You're A Redneck If..." axioms in a Walmart parking lot once. Gun rack, confederate flag license plate, Little guy pissing on Ford Logo, coveralls with a "Bubba" nametag, over a chaw-stained sleeveless undershirt, caterpillar hat, smoking AND chewing tobacco, ancient dishwasher in the bed of his truck...
Plus he was eating a Moon pie (while chewing tobacco and smoking), which I don't think is on a redneck list, but obviously should be.
What state do I need to move to in order to not see that guy again?
OK, enough Walmart-ranting.
I like downtowns.
When I moved to Indiana, the town I moved to had a charming downtown surrounding its courthouse, with a bike repair shop, an antique store, a little hardware store, a used bookstore, office/art supply, a dollhouse shop, butch, a couple restaurants...
Now it has, hm: An antique store, a restaurant and a bank. The other storefronts are empty or rented to non-retail businesses (insurance offices and lawyers).
Same story in both the other towns I've lived in Northwest Indiana.
I liked the ten minute walk to the used book shop (er, not the walking part, but I appreciated that it was close, and I COULD do that), or stopping by the art supply place on the way home from school.
Now books and art supplies are 20 minutes away by car, and there will be 50000 people in the parking lot, and you have to remember that garbage cans are two football fields away from the other "Outdoor Housewares" in the "Containers and Kitchens" part of the store.
All of which makes "a quick trip to the store" a lot more like "a good way to waste a couple hours".
I swear to Buddha that I saw a guy simultaneously prove 40 "You Know You're A Redneck If..." axioms in a Walmart parking lot once. Gun rack, confederate flag license plate, Little guy pissing on Ford Logo, coveralls with a "Bubba" nametag, over a chaw-stained sleeveless undershirt, caterpillar hat, smoking AND chewing tobacco, ancient dishwasher in the bed of his truck...
Plus he was eating a Moon pie (while chewing tobacco and smoking), which I don't think is on a redneck list, but obviously should be.
What state do I need to move to in order to not see that guy again?
OK, enough Walmart-ranting.
I like downtowns.
When I moved to Indiana, the town I moved to had a charming downtown surrounding its courthouse, with a bike repair shop, an antique store, a little hardware store, a used bookstore, office/art supply, a dollhouse shop, butch, a couple restaurants...
Now it has, hm: An antique store, a restaurant and a bank. The other storefronts are empty or rented to non-retail businesses (insurance offices and lawyers).
Same story in both the other towns I've lived in Northwest Indiana.
I liked the ten minute walk to the used book shop (er, not the walking part, but I appreciated that it was close, and I COULD do that), or stopping by the art supply place on the way home from school.
Now books and art supplies are 20 minutes away by car, and there will be 50000 people in the parking lot, and you have to remember that garbage cans are two football fields away from the other "Outdoor Housewares" in the "Containers and Kitchens" part of the store.
All of which makes "a quick trip to the store" a lot more like "a good way to waste a couple hours".
Buck
Storage? I am Storage!
I'll have to admit, the town I live in presently, has been good about super stores. Walmart and Home Depot wanted to muscle their way in, the city council unaninmously said NO. We have plenty of small shops that already take care of everything we need in triplicate, we don't need a superstore. Plus, if we're so inclinded, the next town has a couple of them.
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
I believe more and more towns are doing the same. Aah! Some sense is sinking in at last.
Buck
Storage? I am Storage!
EDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
inclinded=inclined :roll:
inclinded=inclined :roll:
Adcadet
Storage Freak
blakerwry said:
Funny you mention that, being from KC and all. Lemme explain. The first time I went to a Wall Mart was while visiting my hick relatives in Moberly MO. I saw the people in WM and figured that was just Moberly. Then last year a Wal Mart opened up in my home town, a posh little suburban hang out for 3Mers (their national HQ is in St. Paul, and all the yuppie engineers live in my home town). After spending 5 minutes in the new WM, I thought I was back in Moberly. Strange....
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
I live in johnson county, one of the righest counties in the US... it's sad to see some of the people walmart attracts... and right next door is a target, with a completely different class of people both shopping and working there.
Dïscfärm
Learning Storage Performance
blakerwry said:
Yeh ar blakewry! Ye AR part of ar-kansas!
"Yeh see over that thar river there... that's *AR* Kansas!"
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwww! Jethro! That's Ar Kansas now! Cuz we eeestablished a sooper walmart outpost there!
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
lol
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Gary certainly does have that impression down pat. Makes me wonder what he does with his weekends.
Gary is of course from the place we need to give back to Mexico, Texas, and for some reason my mental free-association is in high gear right now, 'cause I just went from Gary's impression of a bellicose Wal-mart bumpkin to General Ripper in "Dr. Strangelove" to Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann's beautiful soliloquy in "Full Metal Jacket", which nicely sums up my feelings about both Wal-mart shoppers and Texas in general.
Gary is of course from the place we need to give back to Mexico, Texas, and for some reason my mental free-association is in high gear right now, 'cause I just went from Gary's impression of a bellicose Wal-mart bumpkin to General Ripper in "Dr. Strangelove" to Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann's beautiful soliloquy in "Full Metal Jacket", which nicely sums up my feelings about both Wal-mart shoppers and Texas in general.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
The only good things there are in Texas are the Cowboys' cheerleaders and that's it. I'm not fund of rednecks and polluters. Gary might also be a good thing though.