Last year I spent a couple of nights in a Comfort Suites hotel and earned a handful of points in their loyalty program for my stay. I don’t stay in hotels often enough to redeem any rewards, but I don’t want the points to go to waste.
Many loyalty programs have expiration dates for points or miles at the end of the year. If you don’t plan on using them – or if you don’t have enough to redeem for any awards – see if they have an option to donate your points to charity. You may not have enough saved for a gift card at your favorite restaurant or store, but some programs let you donate in smaller increments to a good cause.
Sure, the $5 donation I made to the Red Cross with my expiring points isn’t a huge amount. But it’s a lot better than letting the points disappear!
Last night the Auburn School Committee decided to take a big leap in educational technology: every kindergartener in the city will receive an iPad this fall. Critics of the plan didn’t waste any time finding the comment sections of daily newspapers across the state. Can you blame them? Why would you want to give a $500 device to a kindergartener?
The answer: we don’t live in the 20th century anymore. A decade ago, Maine decided to embark in a one-to-one learning environment with the state’s seventh and eighth grade students by giving each an iBook. Since then, the program’s been extended to high schoolers.
Kindergarten isn’t the same as seventh and eighth grade. But then again, the iPad’s not the same kind of device as a laptop.
Try this: find a family with young children (under five years old) and an iPad. Ask which person in their household uses the iPad the most. Don’t be surprised if they name a child. I know at least four families with kids under five, and not only can the children understand how to use the iPad, they enjoy it and use it often. Some have even joked (or not) that they need a second iPad as a result.
The major criticism of Auburn’s plan (other than the expense) seems to be that kids shouldn’t need iPads to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, or that they shouldn’t rely on technology to learn new material. It’s important that iPads and other educational technology are used as part of a rich experience for children, particularly in younger years. Students need time to play, interact in groups, and use tactile objects to learn. iPad time shouldn’t take away recess, just as a video or book shouldn’t take away nap time.
But if you’ve used an iPad, you know the experience is nowhere near the stereotype of a workstation computer from the 1970s. Technology can supplement traditional methods of teaching and learning by offering a rich, engaging, and memorable environment that helps children learn and retain material faster and more completely. Forward-looking educators know this. The George Lucas Educational Foundation showed this brilliantly in a seven-minute video they produced from a visit to Portland’s King Middle School. Apple produced a video about fourth graders using iPod touches for improving literacy.
Maine students can’t be left behind as the rest of the world adopts technology. Is one-to-one learning the best approach at a young age? Maybe, maybe not. But I commend the Auburn School District for introducing new and modern ways of learning and helping Maine to stay on track in an ever-changing world.
I normally don’t like to rant about merchants. I know first-hand that dealing with buyers can be tough, and sometimes things won’t go as smoothly as they should. My last order from JCPenney, though, convinced me that I will never shop with them again.
Here’s a chronology of what has happened since I placed my order on November 14.
November 14: Placed an order on JCPenney.com for seven items. Six were available and one, a fleece jacket, was specified as on backorder with an approximate shipping date of November 29. (I would have ordered eight items, but the site said on the final page of the checkout that one of the items was not available even though the product page had allowed me to add it to the cart.)
November 23: Visited the Bangor JCPenney store and picked up five of the items. At this time I was informed that there was a warehouse shortage on the sixth item after the order had been placed and that I would not receive it. I was credited for that item.
November 25: Emailed JCPenney customer support about the inventory problems I’d had with my order.
November 27: Received a response back explaining the site’s inventory system (based on region).
November 30: Wrote back asking about the status of the fleece jacket after logging into the site and noticing that the jacket had been changed from “Backorder” to “Not Available” on my order.
December 3, 1:30 PM: Received a response saying the jacket was not available and asking if I wanted to reorder the item since it had once again become available.
December 3, 11:30 PM: Wrote back with the following: “Would I be able to receive the Columbia jacket for the $23.99 price at which I originally ordered it? If that is possible, I would like to reorder the item, shipped to the Bangor, ME store as I had specified on the order. If the jacket is only available at the $29.99 price that is currently displayed on the site, then I am not interested. Please let me know which is possible.”
December 10, 10:30 AM: Received a response: “Yes, if the jacket is available, we are able to reorder for you at the
same pricing you were originally charged. Please advise us how you wish to proceed.”
December 10, 5:30 PM: Wrote back: “Please reorder the jacket at $23.99 and have it shipped to the Bangor, ME store. Thank you!”
December 18, 1:00 PM: Received a response: “At this time the jacket is back ordered till 1/13/11. Do you still want
us to place the order to be shipped to your local catalog desk?”
December 18, 4:45 PM: Wrote back telling them to cancel the order.
I strongly believe that if you complain about something, you should provide suggestions on the situation could be improved. In JCPenney’s case, there are a few changes that could be done to alleviate some of the problems.
Hire enough customer support representatives for the holidays. It should not take eight days to respond to a support request. At the very least, update the customer service page on your site to provide a reasonable expectation for response time. (The JCPenney site says that normal response time for email requests is 1-2 business days.)
Put an escalation system in place for follow-up support requests. Assign priority to follow-up requests. If someone is trying to reach you again, chances are they’re getting frustrated.
Don’t use boilerplate text in responses. Every response I received from customer service included the following text: “Customers like you are our most valuable resource for creating the optimal shopping experience. Thanks again for your email. We look forward to serving you in the future.” Don’t patronize customers with text like that, especially when you know they’re frustrated. Do it if you have to on the first request, but after that, be human.
Use an online shopping system that reads inventory appropriately. I experienced a host of inventory problems with my order. First, the site allowed me to add an item to my cart but only specified it was unavailable on the very last page of the checkout (it wasn’t available in my region, apparently). After the order was placed, one of the items I ordered was cancelled due to an inventory shortage. And the status of the fleece jacket I originally ordered, due largely to the delays in responses from customer service, changed back and forth from “backordered” to “not available” at least three times in the process. If this does happen, provide clear communication with the customer about why the change happened and how it will be resolved.
I won’t be shopping at JCPenney again after my experience with this order. I hope other merchants can learn from JCP’s mistakes in order to better serve their customers.
But what if it’s not? As an exercise in complete absurdity, here’s some wild speculation about what could (theoretically) happen tomorrow at 10 Eastern:
Live, streaming concert of a major band (let’s face it, it’d be U2)
Steve Jobs chats on FaceTime with caller #52 to a super-secret Apple number
A complete archive of every major TV show and movie ever
An MP3 option for iTunes downloads
A free MobileMe account with cloud syncing for every iTunes user
A Hulu competitor1 (iAd-supported streaming TV shows)
Steve Jobs announces a new product or service via live video from his office
iTunes for Android and/or WP7
A new super-simple way for independent musicians to submit songs
Steve Jobs goes Oprah: free iPod nanos for everyone!
I realize that half of the list above will never, ever, ever happen. Complete and utter absurdity, remember?
1 I’d say a Netflix competitor, too, but Apple seems to be pretty buddy-buddy with Netflix lately.
Seems to me like we always focus on the minutiae of political races. Who’s taken money from whom? What associations might we not see with the candidates?
In reality a big part of winning a political contest is the drive of a candidate and his or her followers. To win a race, either you or your supporters (and ideally both) have to want it more than the other guys. Part of that equation is the desire to lead and inspire. Another part is a passion to change something about government — or to maintain the status quo. Together, in the right combination, the parts lead to a winning campaign.
A lot of the key players in Maine just aren’t showing this kind of fire so far in the campaign. Mitchell doesn’t seem to be making much headway in the area, and Cutler, while showing some promise, seems more caught up in a race for second place than he does about winning the whole election. The state’s Democrats, for the most part, pretty much have everything they want right now: a liberal governor, massive new programs at the state and national levels, and a pretty solid lock on federal leadership (for now).
Right now (in Maine, at least) the drive is firmly in the corner of Republican voters. They’re tired of how things have been done in the state, and they want their leadership to change. LePage, the leader of their movement, doesn’t seem as passionate as some of the voters he represents, but he’s well aware of those who want to see a different kind of government. For them, he’ll do.
Conservatives hold the fire right now, but it hasn’t always been that way. Obama’s win in 2008 was largely due to the backlash from voters who wanted to move as far away from Bush’s policies as possible. In that race, Obama had the added advantage of being more charismatic and telegenic than his seasoned opponent.
The humor of this year’s Maine gubernatorial race is that LePage may be elected because of the same idea that worked for Obama two years ago. While the substance between the two is much different, the message is the same: the voters with the most passion and desire want change, and they want it now.
Ever since last week’s introduction of iPhone OS 4 by Apple, one section number has been swirling through the heads of developers around the world: 3.3.1. In Apple’s latest license agreement for software that runs on iPhones, iPods, and iPads, Apple has restricted any software originally built using any languages other than C, C++, and Objective-C.
Adobe (among many others) isn’t a fan of these new terms. One of the most anticipated features of their upcoming CS5 suite is the ability to use Adobe Flash and convert programs into apps that could be used on the iPhone platform — well, at least before the change in terms by Apple.
I’ve been reading through developer responses over the last few days. Some people support Apple. Some think the change is a ploy by the fruit company to lock devs into using Apple products and therefore drive more Mac sales.1 Some people seem to think that Apple just flat-out hates developers.2
Personally, I’m right in the middle. I think developers should be able to use whatever tools they want to build their apps, but I also understand Apple’s position. I think it’s pretty simple, actually.
The core of Apple
To understand why Apple made the change, you have to understand Apple. Sure, they want to make money and encourage people to stay on the iPhone platform, but I believe that Apple’s desire to uphold the user experience for users of their iPhone-class devices is just as important to them.
Yes, I’d prefer that Apple would accept non-C/C++/Obj-C apps and at least give them a shot at a review. I still wish there was a way for advanced users to hook apps into their phone without using the App Store, too. Apple would prefer an experience where everything has been tested for quality before it reaches users at all. Seems like Apple’s taking the “well, if you don’t like it, nobody says you have to write for our platform” approach with this one.
Apple’s all about the experience. They’ve published extensive interface guidelines for programmers that detail how every element — right down to submit buttons — should work. They’ve decided not to approve apps based on their inconsistencies with the “iPhone’s distinctive user experience.” And now (as John Gruber explains well) they’re limiting apps that most often don’t match the quality or user experience of those built specifically for the iPhone.
A common cry from developers opposed to the change is that Apple has placed the needs of developers second. That’s true. But Apple isn’t first, despite what opponents of the change would like you to believe. The user and his experience with the product comes first. And that’s how it should be.
1. I don’t agree with this point at all. Apple has encouraged – not limited – people to build web apps specifically tailored for the iPhone, and they can be made without any review or approval by Apple. iPhone web apps can do almost everything native apps can do (less any functions that depend on hardware, of course).
2. I don’t agree with this, either. There are over 140,000 iPhone apps in the App Store, and I’d bet that many of those were made by people who wouldn’t otherwise have that level of opportunity and exposure to make money with software development. In addition Apple’s development terms are, in many ways, much less restrictive than those of Nintendo or Microsoft.
With BarCampBoston3 coming up this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to do a little introductory post for anyone who doesn’t know me.
I’m Justin. I graduated from the University of Maine in 2005 with a major in new media and minors in computer science and psychology. I’m currently employed at Sephone Internet Solutions, a Web design and development company in downtown Bangor, Maine.
One of my weaknesses is that I’ve always been interested in too many things. In addition to Web development, I spend quite a bit of time doing nature and event photography around Maine (as seen on Flickr or Pine Tree Photography, my gallery site). There’s also a lot of evidence around the Web of small projects I’ve started and all-but-abandoned due to my struggle with Application-ADD.
I love having good conversations. I love people who are passionate about what they do and people who try to make the world better. I have a wide variety of focus topics, but a few always rise to the top:
Uses of today’s emerging technologies in tomorrow’s mainstream
Organization of complex data in understandable ways
Development and applications of creativity
Want to get a little better feel for who I am? Check out my Twitterstream or Collage, my aggregated collection of posts from around the Web. You can also always get in touch with me by e-mailing mail (at) justinrussell [dot] com. If you see me, feel free to say hi!
Y’know, I was 3/4 done a post about politics and then I decided to scrap it. It just didn’t sound right. This is my second try.
I don’t enjoy talking about politics in the course of normal discussion. The simple reason is because people are often so closed-minded when it comes to debatable issues that they very seldom open their minds enough to risk a change of opinion.
As I see it, there are just too many facets of government to be able to know everything about everything. I’ve developed a set of beliefs based on my past experience, but I like to think that I’m open enough to able to change my opinion if a better set of beliefs is presented to me.
Abortion is the perfect example for me. I’m pro-choice. Laura, one of my best friends, is most definitely not. For the past couple of years, we’ve had an ongoing e-mail conversation covering just about every detail of the topic: what we believe, why we believe it, what we believe should be done. After really diving into the discussion, I realized that although our views of the subject appear to differ quite a bit at the surface, there are really only one or two differences in our beliefs… the most notable of which being the point at which life actually begins.
In the end I believe real progress on political issues will only be achieved with a through, heartfelt conversation over the differences people have on any given topic. There are a lot of smart people in the world, and not all of them share the same views. In other words, there’s a very good chance that there are some very good reasons why people disagree with you on any given topic. Shouldn’t we all invest a little time to hear why others feel the way they do?
In 2004 I thought of an idea for a site that would act as sort of a political MySpace… a place where candidates for any race could sign up for a page, list their thoughts on issues, and allow people to find the best candidate. Facebook has done something like it, but I had wanted to open it up to anyone from presidential candidates to local sheriffs or school board members. I was quite honestly tired of not knowing what any of the local candidates on the ballot really believed. In rethinking my idea, I think I’d also want to open up a sort of issues garden: a place where people could go to thoughtfully supply the reasoning for their personal beliefs without attacks on the other side of the issue.
Obama said something that resonated with me during his little overflow rally this afternoon. It’s actually the first line in this video:
For those of you on dialup:
I will listen to you even when we disagree. We’re not going to agree all the time.
There needs to be less talking and more listening in politics. Maybe that’s what would get me interested in it again.
I don’t want to be just another person spouting off my political thoughts until November. Instead, I want to start a little mini-project to cause you to rethink some of the beliefs you may have. I’ll occasionally write a blog or a Twitter post marked “Politics Unusual” (and they’ll be in Collage, of course); these will be things that I believe will either strengthen your beliefs or cause you to reconsider them. If you have any thoughts for me, let me know.
I’ll admit it: I was planning to let my subscription of Wired run out.
This month’s Wired cover story features Sarah Silverman helping readers understand why so many parts of the world suck. I’m always impressed by their stories; they’re topical, fun, and really comprehensive. This month’s issue also includes the paper version of the iPhone story, so I thought I’d flip through and see which pictures they decided to use and how they decided to lay the story out. (I’m a bit of a page layout geek, too.)
Not surprisingly, I was interrupted on my way to the story by a stupid pack of magazine subscription cards stuffed annoyingly into the middle of a story. On the facing page I noticed Sarah out of the corner of my eye. I looked down, and she was surrounded on a couch by a plethora of the very same Wired subscription cards I now held in my hands. I cracked a smile, and I couldn’t help but shake my head and whisper to myself, “There’s no way.” I read the segment of the “Why things suck” story on the page underneath the cards:
“You know all the subscription cards cluttering up this issue of Wired? Well, um… sorry … The worst part about ‘em? They cover up some really good stories.”
I think my jaw dropped at that point. I’m not an expert on magazine design, but they either had to choose that page for the placement of the cards or lay out the issue so that the story would appear at that spot. They addressed an annoyance about the medium and had some fun with it.
I wanted to cancel Wired because each issue takes me about two hours to read and I have a pile of about twenty unread magazines collecting in my bedroom. I literally enjoy the magazine too much. Needless to say, the pile will continue to grow thanks in large part to that little stunt they pulled this month.
With 
I’ll admit it: I was planning to let my subscription of 