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Staples and I

9/29/2011

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Often I talk about software and the goodies in the embroidery world. Today I thought I would tell you about a great experience I had…and how it has made me reconsider what I will buy for my next computer.

I am a Mac girl. Most of my friends, clients and students know that. Ever since Apple rolled out a real honest to goodness retail store, where you could walk in and get real help, I advocated and evangelized the purchase of these wonderful machines. I mean, I have loved Macs for years, but it was always the "odd machine" out.  Once the Apple retail stores came in to Massachusetts, I was sold. I went so far to spend more than I should have on a top of the line 17" MacBook Pro 5 years ago.  The fee based Apple Care, although an additional expense, it was a godsend. Walking in with an appointment , you could place your computer down on the Genius Bar, and having a tech look at what you were looking at right infront of you. It was a huge relief after having to remove chunks of hair in frustration trying to work someone via phone in a foreign country for any type of support. The only draw back I could see were the limited number of Apple stores in the Worcester area. Choices for stores were all an hour or more away from where I live in Northern Worcester County.

Enter Staples. That's right…the paperclip folks.  For years they have been selling technology. In the early days, it seemed like they were selling slightly lower end machines,  or older models. Employees hadn't a clue when you asked them if it had an Intel processor or an AMD one (which was comically followed by them asking "What is AMD? And then me then having a facepalm moment ).
In the year of our tech gods  2011, that is not the case any more. The latest and greatest machines line computer isle and helpful employees jump to talk to you (and wow you with their endless knowledge) at the slightest inkling of your interest in the silicon bling! At first, these repurposed associates were a bit suffocating.

 I ended up by telling one of them to back off as I was Ex-Cisco and having a CCSI meant I could figure out what kind of machine I needed all on my own (I was  looking for a AMD Vision laptop one day as Electric Quilt 7 hated VMware.  Must keep the money in the family you know!). In recent months, they have achieved a zen like balance of customers service and sales. Instead of hounding customers for "What kind of computing do you do", they quietly come up, ask if you would like help, and either go away with your response of,  "I  am just browsing" or really dig in when you say: "well, you know I am a graphics nut…".

It seems like Staples has put quite a bit of intelligent thought  into what works and what  people are really looking for: Customer Service. Its the kind you really REALLY want, not what THEY think you need. With the introduction of "Easy Tech", their version of Apple's "Genius Bar", the service has reached such a high level that Apple I think is going to have some real trouble with these guys.

This new service going to make my next computer purchase a thought process. Do I go for Apple and buy something I have to drive an hour out of my way to get help for?…Or do I buy a PC (any OEM with a Vision cpu/apu) and have service down the street or in any three of the surrounding towns around me? I don't need to make an appointment for these folks. I walk in put a computer down on the counter, pull out my paper work and I get instant assistance less than 15 minutes in almost any direction I drive.

I recently had this experience as I had to bring in a client's computer in for service as they had just bought it at Staples and had indeed purchased the Easy Tech service. The turnaround time was less than 24 hours (Had to leave it with them for a virus issue that my trusty latest virus removal software knew nothing about).

As far as I can see Apple's loosing ground with some significant mile stones: The Ipad 3 is already being panned in favor of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet, Amazon's Kindle Fire having a killer low price tag with a new epicness of content to draw from, and let us not forget visionary Steve Jobs leaving the company. And to really put the screws to them, Staples is now a true threat to their cutting edge service model.

There will be some tough competition for my next purchase… and now I really have a true choice for both support and computers. I couldn't be happier!

Now if we could only get the PC operating system programmers to make a better OS…

Oh wait, Windows 8 is coming out….

As my computer chip verification engineer husband just said with a confident look on his face "8 will be different"

"Yeah", I replied. "So was Vista".
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And Embroidery Software for All...

9/22/2011

2 Comments

 
Ha! Twice in one week! How about that! For me, I think it is a blogging record!

My latest post is courtesy of Mark J., who let me know this past weekend about the inroads that have been made for the mac enthusiasts with embroidery. The .exp files for a long while have been associated with another file in the world of Apple... Now you can view .exp and all other files by BriTon Leap Inc, in their Embrilliance program! With Embrilliance you can edit motifs, do lettering and much more in BOTH PC and MAC platforms!

Check it out:
  • Merge embroidery designs in almost any format, even while they are in .ZIPs.
  • Resize, with stitch recalculation.
  • Colorize.
  • Convert Thread Brands on your designs.
  • Add lettering in Multi-Line, Monogram and Circle modes. You can even spiral text or make really LARGE letters.
  • Save in your machine’s format.
  • Save working files so that you can edit text later.
  • Overlap designs and have significant understitching removed.
  • Run a simulator to show how your designs will sew out.
  • Group/ Ungroup
  • Change or remove individual colors in a design.
  • Have many chances to Undo your work.
They also have a program that is similar to Embird's Iconizer that is called Thumbnailer. This program allows you to see a mini image of your motif as you browse your files in your computer!

The price point of this software is generously under the $500 line, which for me makes it a great affordable option to play with!
I have not downloaded it as of yet, but I will keep you posted as I explore this piece of software!

Check them out at http://embrilliance.com/
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On The Blog Again...Can't Wait To Get On The Blog Again...

9/19/2011

1 Comment

 
As ever, it takes me a while to get back here and to write...and every time I promise it won't be so long until I write again. My life has gotten crazy and I do apologize! Hopefully going forward I will be more regular about adding information.

I am still testing out Pattern-File. They have made great progress on a mobile app and are almost ready to release it! Unfortunately, I have a first rev of an iphone...so I will not be getting the pattern-file mobile until I upgrade. Hopefully soon I will be able to so I can give you my 2 cents!

Will keep you posted!
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