Tao

Greetings,

Normally I like LTT content, however today's Tech Quicky just was so far in left field that I felt I had to write a reply for the consideration of LTT.  Here is the video in question: 

This video didn't go deep enough.  It barely skimmed the surface of Apple pricing, product quality and the like, and in doing so even made some false statements (which I will go into at the end).  However I wanted to address the main, serious issues with Apple pricing that were missed, and should have been in this video. Especially looking at British Columbia consumer protection law that should have been one of the first things researched by LTT for this video.

You missed some very important points that should have been made in a video outlining why Apple products cost so much. These are not to hate on Apple, but are actual FACT that should have been stated when talking about their prices:

Apple practices are in clear violation of unfair practices under British Columbia consumer protection law, and they are also in violation of the laws we have here in Saskatchewan.  Take a look at Apple desktops and the ram upgrades: https://www.apple.com/.../buy-mac/imac/21.5-inch-3.4ghz-1tb#

$240 Canadian for 8GB more  (making 16GB total), or $720 for 24GB more (32GB total)!  Compare that with newegg.ca prices: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE...

Apple charges more than twice the price for ram. I don't know what DDR 4 ram they use, but with their DDR3 systems, it wasn't anything fancy as several videos were made by tech Youtubers showing how to upgrade ram on Macs.

Apple also charges $240 for a minor upgrade to the processor. That is like buying a whole other processor!

Here are the applicable laws:

In British Columbia:

"Unconscionable acts or practices
8 (1) An unconscionable act or practice by a supplier may occur before, during or after the consumer transaction.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the circumstances that the court must consider include the following: 
(c) that, at the time the consumer transaction was entered into, the total price grossly exceeded the total price at which similar subjects of similar consumer transactions were readily obtainable by similar consumers;"
http://www.bclaws.ca/.../document/ID/freeside/04002_02...

In Saskatchewan:

"PART II Division 2
Specific unfair practices
7 The following are unfair practices:
(r) taking advantage of a consumer by entering into an agreement if the price of the goods or services grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods or services are readily obtainable in a similar transaction by like consumers;"

http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/.../Statutes/C30-2.pdf

Further, although in some cases some statements made by Linus are true, in others they are outright false. Linus says: "..more consideration into...component quality..." This may be true for iPhone, however it is NOT true at all for their laptops (overheating), or desktops. As we saw a few years ago, Apple used lower speed DDR3 memory and the memory could easily be swapped out with memory bought on newegg.com.

Also Linus says: "...but Apple hasn't wanted to risk cheaping out to make lower end product that could compromise their brand reputation". This statement is patently false. There are numerous examples of poor build quality of their laptops (see Rossmann videos), doing away with headphone jacks, bending and breaking phones, etc

Overall this video really missed the mark.  I know Linus didn't intend to make false or misleading statements, as they were probably an artifact of trying to summarize things "as quickly as possible".  I can also see not going into detail about consumer protection laws in a Tech Quicky, but it should at least be mentioned as a foot note. However due to the false statements, I really would suggest it be taken down and redone.

Greetings,

Normally I like LTT content, however today's Tech Quicky just was so far in left field that I felt I had to write a reply for the consideration of LTT.  Here is the video in question: 

This video didn't go deep enough.  It barely skimmed the surface of Apple pricing, product quality and the like, and in doing so even made some false statements (which I will go into at the end).  However I wanted to address the main, serious issues with Apple pricing that were missed, and should have been in this video. Especially looking at British Columbia consumer protection law that should have been one of the first things researched by LTT for this video.

You missed some very important points that should have been made in a video outlining why Apple products cost so much. These are not to hate on Apple, but are actual FACT that should have been stated when talking about their prices:

Apple practices are in clear violation of unfair practices under British Columbia consumer protection law, and they are also in violation of the laws we have here in Saskatchewan.  Take a look at Apple desktops and the ram upgrades: https://www.apple.com/.../buy-mac/imac/21.5-inch-3.4ghz-1tb#

$240 Canadian for 8GB more  (making 16GB total), or $720 for 24GB more (32GB total)!  Compare that with newegg.ca prices: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE...

Apple charges more than twice the price for ram. I don't know what DDR 4 ram they use, but with their DDR3 systems, it wasn't anything fancy as several videos were made by tech Youtubers showing how to upgrade ram on Macs.

Apple also charges $240 for a minor upgrade to the processor. That is like buying a whole other processor!

Here are the applicable laws:

In British Columbia:

"Unconscionable acts or practices
8 (1) An unconscionable act or practice by a supplier may occur before, during or after the consumer transaction.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the circumstances that the court must consider include the following: 
(c) that, at the time the consumer transaction was entered into, the total price grossly exceeded the total price at which similar subjects of similar consumer transactions were readily obtainable by similar consumers;"
http://www.bclaws.ca/.../document/ID/freeside/04002_02...

In Saskatchewan:

"PART II Division 2
Specific unfair practices
7 The following are unfair practices:
(r) taking advantage of a consumer by entering into an agreement if the price of the goods or services grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods or services are readily obtainable in a similar transaction by like consumers;"

http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/.../Statutes/C30-2.pdf

Further, although in some cases some statements made by Linus are true, in others they are outright false. Linus says: "..more consideration into...component quality..." This may be true for iPhone, however it is NOT true at all for their laptops (overheating), or desktops. As we saw a few years ago, Apple used lower speed DDR3 memory and the memory could easily be swapped out with memory bought on newegg.com.

Also Linus says: "...but Apple hasn't wanted to risk cheaping out to make lower end product that could compromise their brand reputation". This statement is patently false. There are numerous examples of poor build quality of their laptops (see Rossmann videos), doing away with headphone jacks, bending and breaking phones, etc

Overall this video really missed the mark.  I know Linus didn't intend to make false or misleading statements, as they were probably an artifact of trying to summarize things "as quickly as possible".  I can also see not going into detail about consumer protection laws in a Tech Quicky, but it should at least be mentioned as a foot note. However due to the false statements, I really would suggest it be taken down and redone.

Greetings,

Normally I like LTT content, however today's Tech Quicky just was so far in left field that I felt I had to write a reply for the consideration of LTT.  Here is the video in question: 

This video didn't go deep enough.  It barely skimmed the surface of Apple pricing, product quality and the like, and in doing so even made some false statements (which I will go into at the end).  However I wanted to address the main, serious issues with Apple pricing that were missed, and should have been in this video. Especially looking at British Columbia consumer protection law that should have been one of the first things researched by LTT for this video.

You missed some very important points that should have been made in a video outlining why Apple products cost so much. These are not to hate on Apple, but are actual FACT that should have been stated when talking about their prices:

Apple practices are in clear violation of unfair practices under British Columbia consumer protection law, and they are also in violation of the laws we have here in Saskatchewan.  Take a look at Apple desktops and the ram upgrades: https://www.apple.com/.../buy-mac/imac/21.5-inch-3.4ghz-1tb#

$240 Canadian for 8GB more  (making 16GB total), or $720 for 24GB more (32GB total)!  Compare that with newegg.ca prices: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE...

Apple charges more than twice the price for ram. I don't know what DDR 4 ram they use, but with their DDR3 systems, it wasn't anything fancy as several videos were made by tech Youtubers showing how to upgrade ram on Macs.

Apple also charges $240 for a minor upgrade to the processor. That is like buying a whole other processor!

Here are the applicable laws:

In British Columbia:

"Unconscionable acts or practices
8 (1) An unconscionable act or practice by a supplier may occur before, during or after the consumer transaction.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the circumstances that the court must consider include the following: 
(c) that, at the time the consumer transaction was entered into, the total price grossly exceeded the total price at which similar subjects of similar consumer transactions were readily obtainable by similar consumers;"
http://www.bclaws.ca/.../document/ID/freeside/04002_02...

In Saskatchewan:

"PART II Division 2
Specific unfair practices
7 The following are unfair practices:
(r) taking advantage of a consumer by entering into an agreement if the price of the goods or services grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods or services are readily obtainable in a similar transaction by like consumers;"

http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/.../Statutes/C30-2.pdf

Further, although in some cases some statements made by Linus are true, in others they are outright false. Linus says: "..more consideration into...component quality..." This may be true for iPhone, however it is NOT true at all for their laptops (overheating), or desktops. As we saw a few years ago, Apple used lower speed DDR3 memory and the memory could easily be swapped out with memory bought on newegg.com.

Also Linus says: "...but Apple hasn't wanted to risk cheaping out to make lower end product that could compromise their brand reputation". This statement is patently false. There are numerous examples of poor build quality of their laptops (see Rossmann videos), doing away with headphone jacks, bending and breaking phones, etc

Overall this video really missed the mark.  I know Linus didn't intend to make false or misleading statements, as they were probably an artifact of trying to summarize things "as quickly as possible".  I can also see not going into detail about consumer protection laws in a Tech Quicky, but it should at least be mentioned as a foot note. However due to the false statements, I really would suggest it be taken down and redone.

Greetings,

Normally I like LTT content, however today's Tech Quicky just was so far in left field that I felt I had to write a reply for the consideration of LTT.  Here is the video in question: 

This video didn't go deep enough.  It barely skimmed the surface of Apple pricing, product quality and the like, and in doing so even made some false statements (which I will go into at the end).  However I wanted to address the main, serious issues with Apple pricing that were missed, and should have been in this video. Especially looking at British Columbia consumer protection law that should have been one of the first things researched by LTT for this video.

You missed some very important points that should have been made in a video outlining why Apple products cost so much. These are not to hate on Apple, but are actual FACT that should have been stated when talking about their prices:

Apple practices are in clear violation of unfair practices under British Columbia consumer protection law, and they are also in violation of the laws we have here in Saskatchewan.  Take a look at Apple desktops and the ram upgrades: https://www.apple.com/.../buy-mac/imac/21.5-inch-3.4ghz-1tb#

$240 Canadian for 8GB more  (making 16GB total), or $720 for 24GB more (32GB total)!  Compare that with newegg.ca prices: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE...

Apple charges more than twice the price for ram. I don't know what DDR 4 ram they use, but with their DDR3 systems, it wasn't anything fancy as several videos were made by tech Youtubers showing how to upgrade ram on Macs.

Apple also charges $240 for a minor upgrade to the processor. That is like buying a whole other processor!

Here are the applicable laws:

In British Columbia:

"Unconscionable acts or practices
8 (1) An unconscionable act or practice by a supplier may occur before, during or after the consumer transaction.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the circumstances that the court must consider include the following: 
(c) that, at the time the consumer transaction was entered into, the total price grossly exceeded the total price at which similar subjects of similar consumer transactions were readily obtainable by similar consumers;"
http://www.bclaws.ca/.../document/ID/freeside/04002_02...

In Saskatchewan:

"PART II Division 2
Specific unfair practices
7 The following are unfair practices:
(r) taking advantage of a consumer by entering into an agreement if the price of the goods or services grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods or services are readily obtainable in a similar transaction by like consumers;"

http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/.../Statutes/C30-2.pdf

Further, although in some cases some statements made by Linus are true, in others they are outright false. Linus says: "..more consideration into...component quality..." This may be true for iPhone, however it is NOT true at all for their laptops (overheating), or desktops. As we saw a few years ago, Apple used lower speed DDR3 memory and the memory could easily be swapped out with memory bought on newegg.com.

Also Linus says: "...but Apple hasn't wanted to risk cheaping out to make lower end product that could compromise their brand reputation". This statement is patently false. There are numerous examples of poor build quality of their laptops (see Rossmann videos), doing away with headphone jacks, bending and breaking phones, etc

Overall this video really missed the mark.  I know Linus didn't intend to make false or misleading statements, as they were probably an artifact of trying to summarize things "as quickly as possible".  I can also see not going into detail about consumer protection laws in a Tech Quicky, but it should at least be mentioned as a foot note. However due to the false statements, I really would suggest it be taken down and redone.

Greetings,

Normally I like LTT content, however today's Tech Quicky just was so far in left field that I felt I had to write a reply for the consideration of LTT.  Here is the video in question: 

This video didn't go deep enough.  It barely skimmed the surface of Apple pricing, product quality and the like, and in doing so even made some false statements (which I will go into at the end).  However I wanted to address the main, serious issues with Apple pricing that were missed, and should have been in this video. Especially looking at British Columbia consumer protection law that should have been one of the first things researched by LTT for this video.

You missed some very important points that should have been made in a video outlining why Apple products cost so much. These are not to hate on Apple, but are actual FACT that should have been stated when talking about their prices:

Apple practices are in clear violation of unfair practices under British Columbia consumer protection law, and they are also in violation of the laws we have here in Saskatchewan.  Take a look at Apple desktops and the ram upgrades: https://www.apple.com/.../buy-mac/imac/21.5-inch-3.4ghz-1tb#

$240 Canadian for 8GB more  (making 16GB total), or $720 for 24GB more (32GB total)!  Compare that with newegg.ca prices: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE...

Apple charges more than twice the price for ram. I don't know what DDR 4 ram they use, but with their DDR3 systems, it wasn't anything fancy as several videos were made by tech Youtubers showing how to upgrade ram on Macs.

Apple also charges $240 for a minor upgrade to the processor. That is like buying a whole other processor!

Here are the applicable laws:

In British Columbia:

"Unconscionable acts or practices
8 (1) An unconscionable act or practice by a supplier may occur before, during or after the consumer transaction.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the circumstances that the court must consider include the following: 
(c) that, at the time the consumer transaction was entered into, the total price grossly exceeded the total price at which similar subjects of similar consumer transactions were readily obtainable by similar consumers;"
http://www.bclaws.ca/.../document/ID/freeside/04002_02...

In Saskatchewan:

"PART II Division 2
Specific unfair practices
7 The following are unfair practices:
(r) taking advantage of a consumer by entering into an agreement if the price of the goods or services grossly exceeds the price at which similar goods or services are readily obtainable in a similar transaction by like consumers;"

http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/.../Statutes/C30-2.pdf

Further, although in some cases some statements made by Linus are true, in others they are outright false. Linus says: "..more consideration into...component quality..." This may be true for iPhone, however it is NOT true at all for their laptops (overheating), or desktops. As we saw a few years ago, Apple used lower speed DDR3 memory and the memory could easily be swapped out with memory bought on newegg.com.

Also Linus says: "...but Apple hasn't wanted to risk cheaping out to make lower end product that could compromise their brand reputation". This statement is patently false. There are numerous examples of poor build quality of their laptops (see Rossmann videos), doing away with headphone jacks, bending and breaking phones, etc

Overall this video really missed the mark.  I know Linus didn't intend to make false or misleading statements, as they were probably an artifact of trying to summarize things "as quickly as possible".  I can also see not going into detail about consumer protection laws in a Tech Quicky, but it should at least be mentioned as a foot note. However due to the false statements, I really would suggest it be taken down and redone.

In Canada we have the "Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act" (PIPEDA) protecting us by regulating how organizations gather and handle our personal information.

This act outlines how private organizations handle personal information.  Among other things, these organizations MUST have express consent from us to collect personal information on us (4.3 of Schedule 1), MUST comply with any requests we make to them to list IN DETAIL whatever personal information they have on us (4.9 of schedule 1), and MUST inform us if our personal information was breached.

I am double checking with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if these credit bureaus have any sort of exceptions, but from what I know about this law, credit bureaus have been made effectively illegal in Canada unless we give them express consent to gather information on us, and we give institutions express consent to send our information to them.

4.9 "Principle 9 — Individual Access" of Schedule 1 of The Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. 
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-8.6/page-11.html#h-26
 
I recommend that people send Equifax Canada a formal request under PIPEDA (remember to cite this legislation) to ask if their information was breached, and what information was leaked.  Equifax has been 'offering' 'services', but these are tricks to get people agree to be subject to binding arbitration and giving up their rights to be a part of a class action suit.  I would not make any agreements with Equifax, and simply make requests under PIPEDA.  If Equifax fails to comply with these requests, then lodge a FORMAL complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/report-a-concern/file-a-formal-privacy-complaint/

In Canada we have the "Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act" (PIPEDA) protecting us by regulating how organizations gather and handle our personal information.

This act outlines how private organizations handle personal information.  Among other things, these organizations MUST have express consent from us to collect personal information on us (4.3 of Schedule 1), MUST comply with any requests we make to them to list IN DETAIL whatever personal information they have on us (4.9 of schedule 1), and MUST inform us if our personal information was breached.

I am double checking with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner if these credit bureaus have any sort of exceptions, but from what I know about this law, credit bureaus have been made effectively illegal in Canada unless we give them express consent to gather information on us, and we give institutions express consent to send our information to them.

4.9 "Principle 9 — Individual Access" of Schedule 1 of The Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. 
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-8.6/page-11.html#h-26
 
I recommend that people send Equifax Canada a formal request under PIPEDA (remember to cite this legislation) to ask if their information was breached, and what information was leaked.  Equifax has been 'offering' 'services', but these are tricks to get people agree to be subject to binding arbitration and giving up their rights to be a part of a class action suit.  I would not make any agreements with Equifax, and simply make requests under PIPEDA.  If Equifax fails to comply with these requests, then lodge a FORMAL complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/report-a-concern/file-a-formal-privacy-complaint/

Yeah I have wondered that as well.  I haven't had any contracts along those lines for a while.  Also under PIPEDA, you can't just 'yadah yadah' consent buried deep in a contract.  It requires "knowledge and consent".

For the Google Heroes thing, you guys completely missed the point that they are getting volunteer staff to do labour for Google itself:
-offer technical support to users
-individually review and flag videos for inappropriate content
-add caption and subtitles

In many jurisdictions it is illegal for a 'for profit' company, to use volunteer labour, or otherwise not offer compensation for labour provided. One could argue that there is a reward system (which really isn't, see below) but many jurisdictions will have labour laws which require compensation to be solely in the form of legal tender (money).

The rewards system:
level 1
-gain access to the tools to do your work more efficiently

level 2
-gain on the job training, so that you can do your work better
-engage in communication with your peers to function better as a team

level 3
-promotion which grants more responsibility

level 4
-gain access to communication with your superiors
-get a peak at future work loads

level 5
-next promotion granting the responsibility to stress test new products
-possibility of going on a work related trip

Other than gaining access to Youtube staff directly, ALL of these 'benefits' are usually the basic resources you have access to at any job you might have. Some are a bit more advanced which normally management would take part in (such as going to a conference (summit) ).

Not only are these benefits of no legitimate value as far as compensation goes, they support the case against Google that they are committing a labour violation in many jurisdictions.

No idea, as I am not a Nintendo fan.  However it doesn't help the kids and grandmas out there who don't know any better.

It seems some Nintendo fans have found unreasonable prices for games for Canadians.   When looked at in American prices, the cost should be $80 Canadian after exchange rate, like most other games on other platforms.  However, it seems there is a $20 up charge for Canadians, and even sites like amazon.COM are charging a $15-20 "shipping and import fees deposit" for Canadian buyers.

Source: http://www.ign.com/boards/threads/nintendo-to-start-charging-100-for-switch-games-in-canada.454982173/  
Additional link to formal article included in source link:  http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2017/06/09/upcoming-nintendo-switch-games-will-cost-99-99-in-canada/260317/

 



Going even further:
I am in Saskatchewan and I believe this is illegal in our province.  The Saskatchewan Consumer Protection and Business Practices Act outlines certain 'unfair practices'  with fines for corporations being up to $100 000 for a first offence,  and up to $500 000 for further offences. http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/freelaw/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/C30-2.pdf
 
Unfortunately it would take someone who purchased a Switch game (from a retailer in the province for this price tag) to challenge Nintendo in small claims court.  However it would be well worth it as small claims is fairly cheap and informal, and would get Nintendo's attention with the $100 000 fine.

For those people out there skeptical about the Apple Watch, Tom Dickson of Blendtec does some structural integrity tests:
 

 
 
He also hinted at the possibility of doing similar tests for the Apple Car whenever it comes to market.
 
 
 
This has been the most meaningful test done by Blendtec in a while.  I just wish that they did the Edition edition version.

For those people out there skeptical about the Apple Watch, Tom Dickson of Blendtec does some structural integrity tests:
 

 
 
He also hinted at the possibility of doing similar tests for the Apple Car whenever it comes to market.
 
 
 
This has been the most meaningful test done by Blendtec in a while.  I just wish that they did the Edition edition version.

Yeah there are those people.  But what are you going to do with a drone that has an active video camer, a GPS tracker, and no controller?  Smash it for fun I guess.
 
I think it will be more of a problem in certain parts of the US, where it will be like playing DayZ where you are going along and "you are dead" happens all of a sudden because someone decided to shoot the drone down just for fun