I went to AT&T for the 3rd time in this past 2 weeks. I only apply for the "special exchange" (I bought
my 3Gs on May 11th). At AT&T they told me that for such effort they could do the whole thing without me having to pre order the phone so that I could get it on the 24th and not wait till it arrives by pre ordering it. My preocupation is that if I don't start the transaction before the 21st I will not be eligible for the special exchange. Should I pre-order it tomorrow? Should I wait in line on the 24th and get it like they said?
What's going to happen if you have to "PRE-ORDER" tomorrow? Going to get your iphone next week are you?
Pavlov really hit the nail on the head.
Pathetic..
So your assessment is that we don't have any conscious desire in the iPhone, but that we have ben trained to desire it as a conditioned reflex? I'd love to hear you explain why we really have no interest in this new device and what trigger is causing this Pavlovian response.
PS: There is definitely a lot of psychology we could discuss but a conditioned reflex is not of them.
All these companies try to get out product and never plan right it happens with every new "TOY" I wonder how many severs apple has t take a load like this. I always wonder why they only stay with one carrier, just imagine if all carries let iphone on there system I just wish I bought apple stock about a month ago it just keeps going up and up.
I got a reservation for one of my iPhones, 3G, for a pickup after failing all day. This worked with iPhone app on an iPad. However it would not let me order another iPhone to upgrade my wife's 2.5G. However, when I used the Apple Store app on her iPhone with her mobile me account, jackpot!!
Assuming the data transfer is very inefficient and we have 10kBytes of data per customer between ATT and Apple (ideally the data is only 10 Bytes (phone number) + 5 Bytes (ZIP) + 4 Bytes (SSN digits) + 1 Byte (options) + overhead (couple of Bytes) per customer - so 10kBytes is super-padded, and if we have 10 MILLION people trying to pre-order iPhones.
Then we still only look at 10kB * 10M = 100 GB of transfer data between Apple servers and ATT servers.
What kind of sub-par servers do ATT and Apple use ?!? that they can't even handle a couple of GB on a launch day??????
On the other hand, people are talking and there is excitement and sense of urgency and missing out. Ideal environment for creating a buzz!
If I was an executive at Apple, I'd run a top-secret project that requires a random amount of 10-20 retries with 1-minute time-outs per customer on launch day. LOL!!!!
Attention whiners and bitchers: Try tomorrow. It's just pre-order day, for Chris-sake!
Clearly, it's not important to you, but why do you think you have the right to tell those to whom it is important that they shouldn't be upset?
It may only be the first "pre-order day", but Apple is only going to have so many iPhone 4s produced in time for launch day, and you can bet there will be an additional number reserved so that the stores will have some to sell and display. If demand really is as high as it appears to be from today's debacle, we may not have every day from now until the launch to pre-order and still get our phones on the 24th.
It seems obvious to me that you aren't getting one, but for those who've been waiting for this day to come, especially those who've been limping along with a slow, 2-year-old 3G iPhone, this day has brought significant frustration and disappointment. What's the big deal with letting folks vent over a situation that was obviously handled very poorly?
[UPDATE] I just got my order to go through and guess what? My order, as well as the Apple Store page, now says "SHIPS BY JULY 2ND, DELIVERY JULY 6-8"! Son-of-a-Beeotch! I knew this is what would happen! That's why some of us are P-Oed that we've been trying to pre-order since the wee hours of this morning and it hasn't worked for us. Personally, I've tried to submit my order more than 100 times.
I just got my order to go through and guess what? My order, as well as the Apple Store page, now says "SHIPS BY JULY 2ND, DELIVERY JULY 6-8"! Son-of-a-Beeotch! I knew this is what would happen! That's why some of us are P-Oed that we've been trying to pre-order since the wee hours of this morning and it hasn't worked for us. Personally, I've tried to submit my order more than 100 times.
And how many times did your mother have to remind you to take out the garbage? I'll bet it's more than a 100 times.
What's going to happen if you have to "PRE-ORDER" tomorrow? Going to get your iphone next week are you?
Pavlov really hit the nail on the head.
Pathetic..
You're just an idiot. I've been trying to pre-order for 15 hours and finally got my order to go through... TO BE SHIPPED BY JULY 2ND AND RECEIVED BETWEEN JULY 6TH AND 8TH, at which time I'm planning to be out of town. So much for getting it next week. I guess you didn't realize there is not an unlimited number of iPhone 4s coming off the production line in time for delivery on the 24th, huh? Well I did, and that's why I had been trying to pre-order since 6:30 AM EDT this morning!
Why are there so many people who come to read a thread where people will obviously be venting frustration and disappointment and read until they are so irritated by the posters that they just have to make some condescending comment to them? Really now, what does that say about your maturity level? By the way, I'm 39 years old. I'm very disappointed and somewhat disgusted that I couldn't get my pre-order completed in time for delivery on the 24th. If you don't like that I'm frustrated about it, and you feel the need to continue to call me and others here "pathetic", then you can just kiss my @$$!
And how many times did your mother have to remind you to take out the garbage? I'll bet it's more than a 100 times.
I'm 39 years old. I work hard for my own money and I like the iPhone. What is your f'ing problem that you need to come here, read posts that irritate you to the point that you try to belittle the other posters. If you can't deal with people being frustrated and disappointed, why not spend your free time at disney.com?
Be thankful for the protection of the online forum! If you spoke to me like this in a public setting, where we were face to face, I'd knock your f'ing lights out.
Doesn't matter. The HTC Aria launch is going to dwarf the iPhone 4.
Seriously. Hope in the face of all facts to the contrary can carry you through the deepest denial. So carry on, carry on! If we can't dream big and ridiculous, we condemn ourselves to cynicism and jaded pessimism. You hold in your hands the means to deny each and every fact that threatens to derail your optimism and the dream of a free smartphone empire, built on the honest sweat and effort of countless devs who wanted nothing more than to make people happy! To hell with making a living off of your efforts - anyone can merely make a living!
No, these devs are part of the vast American Dream of freedom, lead by the gallant and inspired Google, whose sole goal is to turn out wonderful tools and neat stuff for everyone to use, free of charge! Leveraging their Android army, Google will build a mighty platform, spawned from the forlorn dreams of the Linux movement,and fed on the mystical and ephemeral ideologies of Open Source, this force will produce huge masses of free stuff that will be free. And everyone will be able to embrace the freeness and freedom of a garden with no walls, a garden of free stuff that anyone can use, copy, modify, call their own, and be free!
You can take away my code, but you can't take away my FREEDOM!!!
[UPDATE] I just got my order to go through and guess what? My order, as well as the Apple Store page, now says "SHIPS BY JULY 2ND, DELIVERY JULY 6-8"! Son-of-a-Beeotch! I knew this is what would happen! That's why some of us are P-Oed that we've been trying to pre-order since the wee hours of this morning and it hasn't worked for us. Personally, I've tried to submit my order more than 100 times.
So how's that aggressive rollout plan workin' for ya? We are now 2 weeks into back orders past launch day after less than 24 hours or pre-orders. My White 32 is looking more and more like August which will negatively impact my max discount date next year when the iPhone 5 launches.
Wow. Talk about demand. Hopefully Apple will get this straitened out if they haven't already. I, on the other hand, am gonna either wait for the Dell Mini 5 or a new model of the iPod Touch that HOPEFULLY has a camera this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkeath
Doesn't matter. The HTC Aria launch is going to dwarf the iPhone 4.
Then what? Honestly, they said the same thing about the EVO too.
But that's not the problem. The problem is that this is a Microsoftian fuck-up. This does not bode well for Apple's continued service to its customer base.
So it may be time to jump ship and find a company that's still got its head together in the Tech biz...if one even exists.
Seriously - if you are so completely OCD'd by this, find your happy place, wherever that is and occupy it - happily. Your rant is so completely self-centered it is breath-taking in it's self-absorption. But that's OK. For the love of all that gleams, go find an Android or Nokia piece of kit that will eagerly and happily bath in your adoration and your obsessiveness to get you past this nonsensical raving.
You all are bloody amazing. Which of you has ever handled the logistics of demand this high? Anyone? At all?? Do you even know what is IN FACT going on in the background? Other than rumors, innuendos and anonymous 3rd party crap?
Channel some of this outrage into doing something nice for the rest of humanity and stop obsessing about the bloody iPhone. Apple will keep making them and you will buy it (or not), but carrying on like a bunch of spoiled post adolescents simply makes you look silly. Just stop now. Deep breath. Happy Place.
There you go. Trolls line up quietly and leave by the back entrance you entered by.
At another level, it is deeply embarrassing for Apple and ATT. The fact that they could not get their act together with yet another launch is getting a bit tiresome. Granted, the feeling will soon pass, but it still rankles.
Very well said. You covered all the bases... I think this is exactly what stevo is thinking....I know I would!
You do realize there are development and marketing costs with each handset and that longer runs make for greater ROI? (See, anyone can sound like snarky a-hole when they pretend thier audience is an idiot) Apple has anywhere from 12 to 18 months on a single handset design, Sanyo, Samsung, Nokia, Sony, etc 6 to 8 months on dozens.
Tell that to HP and Dell.
Quote:
That people think they are buying "Google phones" will be news to Google, HTC, Moto and others, since these companies are spending truckloads of money to brand these devices and count on consumers factoring in the OS, manufacturer and model to differentiate one Android handset from the other, and from the iPhone. Your assertion that the "average consumer" refers to these as Google phones is rather interesting since the Google logo and name do not even appear in any of the Android related advertising. Early adopters may think of them as Google phones, but even you referred to it as the "HTC Aria," not the next Google phone. I think you sort shot down your own argument.
By people I mean average people. I think you knew that since you recognized that I meant that. So no I didn't shoot my argument in the foot since I am not the average consumer. And after the Droid Does campaign focusing on what the OS does instead of the device itself, people see Android or Droid and think Google. I have seen several instances of friends of mine refer to their phones as Droids, Androids, or Google phones. Just because these companies dump truckloads of money into advertising and development to differentiate themselves from one another doesn't mean that it's working.
So how's that aggressive rollout plan workin' for ya? We are now 2 weeks into back orders past launch day after less than 24 hours or pre-orders. My White 32 is looking more and more like August which will negatively impact my max discount date next year when the iPhone 5 launches.
I'm not convinced that the dates I saw on my order, or for that matter, the Apple Store page, are accurate. The reason I'm not convinced is that I haven't received email confirmation from Apple regarding my order. I'll just have to wait for that email to see if the dates are accurate or not. Usually, the email arrives within minutes of placing the order, so I have some hope because of the delayed email.
At first, I thought that a lot of complaints were from those that never got caught in a traffic jam during rush hour.
But then it would imply that most of you are old enough to drive.
As one of my profs used to say when he heard such assumptions, "Wishful thinking young man. Wishful thinking."
Now I have to apologize to my nieces, their friends and all the other thousands of kids who camped out all night so they could get tickets to see Justin Bieber in concert. Obvious they are far more mature that much of the lot here.
Let's let the children fuss and bother while the rest of us discuss the potential scope of the logistics that produced this little phenomenon - shall we?
I wondered early on - given the enthusiastic plans to upgrade of so many around me, what the likely impact to the pre-order process was going to be. Given some of the issues experienced a year ago (and the year before that, etc.), whether ATT and Apple had developed a solution. It's hard, because these are essentially yearly events which makes them unique and difficult to profile. Unlike the opinion of many other armchair CEO's here, there is no way I could see ATT or Apple being able to field enough service provision to cope. Whether it was an issue with ATT's security patches complicating matters, we may never know. However, the question remains, how can you gather enough data on events like this to be able to forecast demand - and then come up with a solution that wouldn't cost millions to implement, but then have to quiesce it for a majority of the next year - which is terribly costly anyway.
Adults: Any ideas? Children shush. No mention of "Microsoftian, or other equally inane comments.
Seriously. Hope in the face of all facts to the contrary can carry you through the deepest denial. So carry on, carry on! If we can't dream big and ridiculous, we condemn ourselves to cynicism and jaded pessimism. You hold in your hands the means to deny each and every fact that threatens to derail your optimism and the dream of a free smartphone empire, built on the honest sweat and effort of countless devs who wanted nothing more than to make people happy! To hell with making a living off of your efforts - anyone can merely make a living!
No, these devs are part of the vast American Dream of freedom, lead by the gallant and inspired Google, whose sole goal is to turn out wonderful tools and neat stuff for everyone to use, free of charge! Leveraging their Android army, Google will build a mighty platform, spawned from the forlorn dreams of the Linux movement,and fed on the mystical and ephemeral ideologies of Open Source, this force will produce huge masses of free stuff that will be free. And everyone will be able to embrace the freeness and freedom of a garden with no walls, a garden of free stuff that anyone can use, copy, modify, call their own, and be free!
You can take away my code, but you can't take away my FREEDOM!!!
You know you could have been condescending and smug in fewer words with less effort.
Comments
my 3Gs on May 11th). At AT&T they told me that for such effort they could do the whole thing without me having to pre order the phone so that I could get it on the 24th and not wait till it arrives by pre ordering it. My preocupation is that if I don't start the transaction before the 21st I will not be eligible for the special exchange. Should I pre-order it tomorrow? Should I wait in line on the 24th and get it like they said?
-Thanks advanced.
Good grief!
You lot are a bunch of chimps aren't you?
What's going to happen if you have to "PRE-ORDER" tomorrow? Going to get your iphone next week are you?
Pavlov really hit the nail on the head.
Pathetic..
So your assessment is that we don't have any conscious desire in the iPhone, but that we have ben trained to desire it as a conditioned reflex? I'd love to hear you explain why we really have no interest in this new device and what trigger is causing this Pavlovian response.
PS: There is definitely a lot of psychology we could discuss but a conditioned reflex is not of them.
Let's do some guestimates:
Assuming the data transfer is very inefficient and we have 10kBytes of data per customer between ATT and Apple (ideally the data is only 10 Bytes (phone number) + 5 Bytes (ZIP) + 4 Bytes (SSN digits) + 1 Byte (options) + overhead (couple of Bytes) per customer - so 10kBytes is super-padded, and if we have 10 MILLION people trying to pre-order iPhones.
Then we still only look at 10kB * 10M = 100 GB of transfer data between Apple servers and ATT servers.
What kind of sub-par servers do ATT and Apple use ?!? that they can't even handle a couple of GB on a launch day??????
On the other hand, people are talking and there is excitement and sense of urgency and missing out. Ideal environment for creating a buzz!
If I was an executive at Apple, I'd run a top-secret project that requires a random amount of 10-20 retries with 1-minute time-outs per customer on launch day. LOL!!!!
Attention whiners and bitchers: Try tomorrow. It's just pre-order day, for Chris-sake!
Clearly, it's not important to you, but why do you think you have the right to tell those to whom it is important that they shouldn't be upset?
It may only be the first "pre-order day", but Apple is only going to have so many iPhone 4s produced in time for launch day, and you can bet there will be an additional number reserved so that the stores will have some to sell and display. If demand really is as high as it appears to be from today's debacle, we may not have every day from now until the launch to pre-order and still get our phones on the 24th.
It seems obvious to me that you aren't getting one, but for those who've been waiting for this day to come, especially those who've been limping along with a slow, 2-year-old 3G iPhone, this day has brought significant frustration and disappointment. What's the big deal with letting folks vent over a situation that was obviously handled very poorly?
[UPDATE] I just got my order to go through and guess what? My order, as well as the Apple Store page, now says "SHIPS BY JULY 2ND, DELIVERY JULY 6-8"! Son-of-a-Beeotch! I knew this is what would happen! That's why some of us are P-Oed that we've been trying to pre-order since the wee hours of this morning and it hasn't worked for us. Personally, I've tried to submit my order more than 100 times.
I just got my order to go through and guess what? My order, as well as the Apple Store page, now says "SHIPS BY JULY 2ND, DELIVERY JULY 6-8"! Son-of-a-Beeotch! I knew this is what would happen! That's why some of us are P-Oed that we've been trying to pre-order since the wee hours of this morning and it hasn't worked for us. Personally, I've tried to submit my order more than 100 times.
And how many times did your mother have to remind you to take out the garbage? I'll bet it's more than a 100 times.
Good grief!
You lot are a bunch of chimps aren't you?
What's going to happen if you have to "PRE-ORDER" tomorrow? Going to get your iphone next week are you?
Pavlov really hit the nail on the head.
Pathetic..
You're just an idiot. I've been trying to pre-order for 15 hours and finally got my order to go through... TO BE SHIPPED BY JULY 2ND AND RECEIVED BETWEEN JULY 6TH AND 8TH, at which time I'm planning to be out of town. So much for getting it next week. I guess you didn't realize there is not an unlimited number of iPhone 4s coming off the production line in time for delivery on the 24th, huh? Well I did, and that's why I had been trying to pre-order since 6:30 AM EDT this morning!
Why are there so many people who come to read a thread where people will obviously be venting frustration and disappointment and read until they are so irritated by the posters that they just have to make some condescending comment to them? Really now, what does that say about your maturity level? By the way, I'm 39 years old. I'm very disappointed and somewhat disgusted that I couldn't get my pre-order completed in time for delivery on the 24th. If you don't like that I'm frustrated about it, and you feel the need to continue to call me and others here "pathetic", then you can just kiss my @$$!
And how many times did your mother have to remind you to take out the garbage? I'll bet it's more than a 100 times.
I'm 39 years old. I work hard for my own money and I like the iPhone. What is your f'ing problem that you need to come here, read posts that irritate you to the point that you try to belittle the other posters. If you can't deal with people being frustrated and disappointed, why not spend your free time at disney.com?
Be thankful for the protection of the online forum! If you spoke to me like this in a public setting, where we were face to face, I'd knock your f'ing lights out.
Doesn't matter. The HTC Aria launch is going to dwarf the iPhone 4.
Seriously. Hope in the face of all facts to the contrary can carry you through the deepest denial. So carry on, carry on! If we can't dream big and ridiculous, we condemn ourselves to cynicism and jaded pessimism. You hold in your hands the means to deny each and every fact that threatens to derail your optimism and the dream of a free smartphone empire, built on the honest sweat and effort of countless devs who wanted nothing more than to make people happy! To hell with making a living off of your efforts - anyone can merely make a living!
No, these devs are part of the vast American Dream of freedom, lead by the gallant and inspired Google, whose sole goal is to turn out wonderful tools and neat stuff for everyone to use, free of charge! Leveraging their Android army, Google will build a mighty platform, spawned from the forlorn dreams of the Linux movement,and fed on the mystical and ephemeral ideologies of Open Source, this force will produce huge masses of free stuff that will be free. And everyone will be able to embrace the freeness and freedom of a garden with no walls, a garden of free stuff that anyone can use, copy, modify, call their own, and be free!
You can take away my code, but you can't take away my FREEDOM!!!
[UPDATE] I just got my order to go through and guess what? My order, as well as the Apple Store page, now says "SHIPS BY JULY 2ND, DELIVERY JULY 6-8"! Son-of-a-Beeotch! I knew this is what would happen! That's why some of us are P-Oed that we've been trying to pre-order since the wee hours of this morning and it hasn't worked for us. Personally, I've tried to submit my order more than 100 times.
So how's that aggressive rollout plan workin' for ya? We are now 2 weeks into back orders past launch day after less than 24 hours or pre-orders. My White 32 is looking more and more like August which will negatively impact my max discount date next year when the iPhone 5 launches.
Doesn't matter. The HTC Aria launch is going to dwarf the iPhone 4.
Then what? Honestly, they said the same thing about the EVO too.
I've been waiting for it for more than a year.
But that's not the problem. The problem is that this is a Microsoftian fuck-up. This does not bode well for Apple's continued service to its customer base.
So it may be time to jump ship and find a company that's still got its head together in the Tech biz...if one even exists.
Seriously - if you are so completely OCD'd by this, find your happy place, wherever that is and occupy it - happily. Your rant is so completely self-centered it is breath-taking in it's self-absorption. But that's OK. For the love of all that gleams, go find an Android or Nokia piece of kit that will eagerly and happily bath in your adoration and your obsessiveness to get you past this nonsensical raving.
You all are bloody amazing. Which of you has ever handled the logistics of demand this high? Anyone? At all?? Do you even know what is IN FACT going on in the background? Other than rumors, innuendos and anonymous 3rd party crap?
Channel some of this outrage into doing something nice for the rest of humanity and stop obsessing about the bloody iPhone. Apple will keep making them and you will buy it (or not), but carrying on like a bunch of spoiled post adolescents simply makes you look silly. Just stop now. Deep breath. Happy Place.
There you go. Trolls line up quietly and leave by the back entrance you entered by.
At one level, it is a great 'problem' to have.
At another level, it is deeply embarrassing for Apple and ATT. The fact that they could not get their act together with yet another launch is getting a bit tiresome. Granted, the feeling will soon pass, but it still rankles.
Very well said. You covered all the bases... I think this is exactly what stevo is thinking....I know I would!
You do realize there are development and marketing costs with each handset and that longer runs make for greater ROI? (See, anyone can sound like snarky a-hole when they pretend thier audience is an idiot) Apple has anywhere from 12 to 18 months on a single handset design, Sanyo, Samsung, Nokia, Sony, etc 6 to 8 months on dozens.
Tell that to HP and Dell.
That people think they are buying "Google phones" will be news to Google, HTC, Moto and others, since these companies are spending truckloads of money to brand these devices and count on consumers factoring in the OS, manufacturer and model to differentiate one Android handset from the other, and from the iPhone. Your assertion that the "average consumer" refers to these as Google phones is rather interesting since the Google logo and name do not even appear in any of the Android related advertising. Early adopters may think of them as Google phones, but even you referred to it as the "HTC Aria," not the next Google phone. I think you sort shot down your own argument.
By people I mean average people. I think you knew that since you recognized that I meant that. So no I didn't shoot my argument in the foot since I am not the average consumer. And after the Droid Does campaign focusing on what the OS does instead of the device itself, people see Android or Droid and think Google. I have seen several instances of friends of mine refer to their phones as Droids, Androids, or Google phones. Just because these companies dump truckloads of money into advertising and development to differentiate themselves from one another doesn't mean that it's working.
So how's that aggressive rollout plan workin' for ya? We are now 2 weeks into back orders past launch day after less than 24 hours or pre-orders. My White 32 is looking more and more like August which will negatively impact my max discount date next year when the iPhone 5 launches.
I'm not convinced that the dates I saw on my order, or for that matter, the Apple Store page, are accurate. The reason I'm not convinced is that I haven't received email confirmation from Apple regarding my order. I'll just have to wait for that email to see if the dates are accurate or not. Usually, the email arrives within minutes of placing the order, so I have some hope because of the delayed email.
At first, I thought that a lot of complaints were from those that never got caught in a traffic jam during rush hour.
But then it would imply that most of you are old enough to drive.
As one of my profs used to say when he heard such assumptions, "Wishful thinking young man. Wishful thinking."
Now I have to apologize to my nieces, their friends and all the other thousands of kids who camped out all night so they could get tickets to see Justin Bieber in concert. Obvious they are far more mature that much of the lot here.
Let's let the children fuss and bother while the rest of us discuss the potential scope of the logistics that produced this little phenomenon - shall we?
I wondered early on - given the enthusiastic plans to upgrade of so many around me, what the likely impact to the pre-order process was going to be. Given some of the issues experienced a year ago (and the year before that, etc.), whether ATT and Apple had developed a solution. It's hard, because these are essentially yearly events which makes them unique and difficult to profile. Unlike the opinion of many other armchair CEO's here, there is no way I could see ATT or Apple being able to field enough service provision to cope. Whether it was an issue with ATT's security patches complicating matters, we may never know. However, the question remains, how can you gather enough data on events like this to be able to forecast demand - and then come up with a solution that wouldn't cost millions to implement, but then have to quiesce it for a majority of the next year - which is terribly costly anyway.
Adults: Any ideas? Children shush. No mention of "Microsoftian, or other equally inane comments.
Sounds like a typical apple launch.
Seriously. Hope in the face of all facts to the contrary can carry you through the deepest denial. So carry on, carry on! If we can't dream big and ridiculous, we condemn ourselves to cynicism and jaded pessimism. You hold in your hands the means to deny each and every fact that threatens to derail your optimism and the dream of a free smartphone empire, built on the honest sweat and effort of countless devs who wanted nothing more than to make people happy! To hell with making a living off of your efforts - anyone can merely make a living!
No, these devs are part of the vast American Dream of freedom, lead by the gallant and inspired Google, whose sole goal is to turn out wonderful tools and neat stuff for everyone to use, free of charge! Leveraging their Android army, Google will build a mighty platform, spawned from the forlorn dreams of the Linux movement,and fed on the mystical and ephemeral ideologies of Open Source, this force will produce huge masses of free stuff that will be free. And everyone will be able to embrace the freeness and freedom of a garden with no walls, a garden of free stuff that anyone can use, copy, modify, call their own, and be free!
You can take away my code, but you can't take away my FREEDOM!!!
You know you could have been condescending and smug in fewer words with less effort.