Orbitz displaying higher-priced hotels to Macs versus PCs - Page 2

Exactly. I don't see why anyone would get upset.

It's no different than eBay showing you 'daily deals' or other featured items based on your browsing history. You still have access to all of eBay regardless of what shows up in your featured items. Same thing on Orbitz.

I think it's the part where you don't understand what's going on. Let's say that you're searching for a hotel in Chicago. Regardless of which computer you're using, the search produces the same number of hotels and the same price for each hotel. There's no discrimination.

Orbitz DOES, however, list different hotels near the top of the list if you sort by 'best picks'. If you search by price, there's no difference.

You're getting your panties in a wad over nothing.

OK. All you have to do is show me a 15" laptop with comparable display, 250 GB SSD, and weighing under 5 pounds that costs less than $2200 to prove your point.

Of course, if you don't want a state of the art machine, you're free to buy the cheaper MBP with a conventional hard disk and display for hundreds of dollars less. Your choice.

Sounds like a fair, ethical, smart way of taking advantage of user data without violating privacy.
 

Its best that the only thing you're good at running is your mouth.

 

'if you visit from a linux machine orbitz automatically narrows your search to kaczynski-style cabins'

 

https://twitter.com/paleofuture/status/217414577619607552

Totally true. Hardware profiling. Android users can't even comprehend the existence of my super hot wife.

 

What are you talking about? I have a Kama Sutra widget on my phone so when I forget what I'm doing I can look at my home screen and have all I need to know displayed in front of me. I don't have to waste time opening an App like the iPhone users do.

 

/S

Mac users get laid often enough that they don't have to consult the manual to refresh their memory every time.

User agent spoofing anyone?

 

Are you certain?

 

I'm guessing you don't run much of anything considering that you would shut out 50% of your customer base because they don't fap all over Apple gear.  Get a grip.

This can be easily checked on any Mac or WinPC.

 

I thought he might not be, on principle.

I think that the correct headline should be: "Windows and Android Users Shown Cheap Hotels by Orbitz."

 

This type of thinking is why everything costs so much in the first place.  I love America but it is overly litigious.  Orbitz is a service we can choose to use or not use.  We don't have a "right" to expect they show the same hotels to everybody. As long as the same hotels are the same prices then no one is being duped or taken advantage of.  They have data supporting the fact that OSX users tend to book higher starred hotels.  The rational thing to do then is show them those first in their search results.  If the prices seem too high then the user can adjust the price range.  Where are anyone's rights being violated there?   If I'm searching for a new car and have been searching for BMW's and Mercedes and decide to type car, should I get upset that the first result is not the same as the person who's been searching for economy cars?

Stop being rational.  Don't you know that's not allowed around here? ;)

Of course we do.

It is a matter of which side of the fence you are on. Instead of Mac users being 40% more likely to choose a higher rated hotel you could just as easily say Windows users are 60% more likely to choose a lower rated hotel. If you only want to see the lowest price hotels, book online using Ubuntu.

If you want to custom build your hotel, down to the bathroom fixtures, use Ubuntu.

 

So many myths, so little time. I challenge you to present any evidence whatsoever that shows that the cost of anything is significantly impacted by any litigation. And you can forget about health care and malpractice insurance, because the answer there is unequivocally no, it is not affected by litigation expenses. (In fact, in those instances, it's established that price increases are, historically, largely driven by the need of insurance companies to recoup losses from bad investments in financial markets.)

I'm sorry but this post is just plain stupid. People who think everyone is capable building a better laptop than an army of engineers (many who have dedicated their lives to hardware) are crazy. Your needs/wants are not the same as everyone else's.

You're embarrassing the rest of us by showing your lack of education in this post.  

I just watched one of the Orbitz execs on CNBC. CNBC brought up the fact there was a huge backlash going on, and the exec said they were going to continue using their superior technology, to give users the best experience. Another example of companies not listening to their customers, until its too late. HELLO, ever heard of New Coke, or Netflix?

Can you say "TROLL?"  Guess you haven't read the reviews. I won't be getting one, Don't need the power or graphics. But, I know some graphic designers that are head over heels on this machine.

Wrong thread, I imagine.

 

Do you suffer from multiple personality disorders? Because you are only one person and you speak only for yourself, don't pretend otherwise.

My theory is that they were responding to post #34, but didn't quote correctly. 

I'm sorry, you're right. Lawyers and multi-million dollar lawsuits have little to no impact on a company's balance sheet. And before you say "no, I said the cost" well it is built into the cost of everything. But I am a mere mortal working in corporate America, while you are smart enough to have solved health care, so I'll defer to you.

 

Guys who use the word 'Adonis' in their username probably shouldn't talk about 'embarrassment'.

 

This is one of the most laughable statements I've read for a while!

I'm flattered.

!

Edited by Radar - 6/26/12 at 6:44pm

 

Alternately, it sounds like a really stupid way to lose a Mac user base.

 

Business 101: Don't piss off potential or existing customers.

 

Buh-bye Orbitz.

I am sure this is the sort of feature Orbitz must have thought about a lot, and even got some legal opinion on, before implementing.

At one level, customers might think they are getting ripped off. But if you really think about it, all they are doing, is using User Data that the user is anyway sending them, to reorganize results. All the results are shown to everyone, and the prices are the same. It is just re-ordered.

I actually think this is a much more ethical thing than the things Google does.

For instance, Amazon has a feature where they show "people who bought the items you did, also bought"... This obviously is likely to show expensive items (better hotel rooms) to a user who has purchased expensive items (a Mac), and cheaper items (cheaper hotel rooms) to a person who has purchased cheaper items (Windows computers). But all items in the store are available to everyone. No one has complained about Amazon's methods! I is just that what orbitz is doing is even safer - they are just re-ordering results.

I can see a future Microsoft ad - buying Windows makes it easier for you to lead a cheaper life!

As an aside, should we increase the TCO of a Mac because of this?!

 

Evidence? You don't have any. This is just what you've been told by propagandists (i.e., lobbyists) and find it emotionally satisfying to believe.

 

Well, you are welcome to present your evidence. What's that? You don't have any either? Well, of course you don't.

 

Sorry, but this is just another one of those mindless thing, like "competition is always good", that people repeat over and over again until they unquestioningly believe it's true, until they can't even conceive that it could not be true.

Edited by anonymouse - 6/27/12 at 4:15am

 

I need to provide evidence that I laughed?

 

Couldn't you just accept my word? (>_<)

 

Yes, well, sarcasm is the last resort... and all that.

Does this mean that people who do not view Orbitz on a Mac will be unable to see all of the hotel choices?  Would this also apply to the Mac users here if they happen to view Orbitz on something other than a Mac?

Hi Crayon Boy

 

I think you are confusing IOS and OSX, the two are quite different. I guess that you were toooooo busy fighting off those gorgeous models to notice that it is mac vs pc.

 

Good luck with the e-commerce site :), i guess you will you be selling colouring pens?