Comments for Bitenc

Comment on Portugal like a big elephant in the criris room, Germany the evil circus owner? by Matic Bitenc

Matic Bitenc — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:48:13 +0000

There has indeed been a push for intergovernmentalism in the last years and it’s a huge shame. It’s another one of those cases where pooling of sovereignty would have been in the long term benefit of people, but they instead chose to pursue partial interests.
The key question is how to make greater federalization in the interest of political elites once more?
The sad part is that this crisis is the ideal opportunity to do so as deeper political union is one of the best way to get out of this predicament stronger than before. Perhaps it’s just unfortunate circumstances with the wrong personalities in charge at the wrong moment, especially on the Paris-Berlin axis. Both conservative, yet personally incompatible.
Who shall then be our Alexander Hamilton? http://www.economist.com/node/21547253

Comment on The best computer is the one you have with you, a week with the iPad 2 by Rok

Rok — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:24:18 +0000

Interesting. I have been trying the same thing. I have an 11″ Air that I use for everything/code/design and an iPad to fuck around. And on multiple occasions when I had an iPad with me it turned out I would be off much better with the Air because I’d have to type a complex email really fast or debug something that’s too complex to do on an iPad. After realizing this my iPad mostly lies in my bed and the Air is always with me.
I honestly don’t see how people keep up with Pro models and their size/weight.

Good blog you keep here.

Comment on Portugal like a big elephant in the criris room, Germany the evil circus owner? by Jan

Jan — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:41:36 +0000

Perhaps the solidarity is no longer the question and that the real deal is no longer the project of euro-integration. EU, for quite a long time now, quietly follows the instructions and the tracks of the train Berlin-Paris. Apart from never really wanted Britons and always stubborn Balkans, no-one is saying clearly (talking about states) that EU project, led by the Germans and the French, has killed democracy in Europe or at lest the prospects of it for the future. I am starting to feel, that somewhere on the road, we did not notice and perhaps we were even not there, but EU has evolved and we all became citizen in service of the great, the Germans and the French :) and perhaps this is only my fear…

Comment on Ethical economics of Adam Smith by Ariel

Ariel — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:15:44 +0000

And I invite you to gain an entirely new appreciation of F. A. von Hayek by reading any of his works.

Comment on Freedom from “freedom” by Ethical economics of Adam Smith

Ethical economics of Adam Smith — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:17:10 +0000

[...] a new appreciation for the work of Adam Smith. The topic is deeply connected with my recent article Freedom from freedom, on how the US is ideologically trapped in misinterpreted 18th century ideology. Share this [...]

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Matic Bitenc

Matic Bitenc — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:20:34 +0000

It is my opinion of this chain and shopping experience. I mentioned in the article itself that it might be useful for families and people who don’t care about the details of the experience. I do and that’s why Costco isn’t for me. It does not fit my taste and my priorities when it comes to shopping.
I also think it could be done a lot better even for customers whose priorities it normally fits.
Zealot, since you brought up the Apple comparison, after all that’s been said, it’s clear that Costco throws up a lot of obstacles to its users. Membership being only the first and obvious one.
It’s not critiquing for the sake of critique itself. I can understand the reasons for Costco and the like. From an objective point of view, everything is understandable, neutral and has no positive or negative value. When we use our subjective opinions as we always do (being objective is asymptotic no matter how hard you try), value judgments come into play. I’m very much for praising what I like and there’s plenty of that. Costco simply does not meet my standards of taste and utility. Is that so hard to comprehend?

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Çağatay

Çağatay — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:17:32 +0000

Come on Matic, isn’t this post a little one-sided and a bit too much self-centered? Why would you expect a chain supermarket to have an architectural quality of any degree? All they’re doing is giving people what they want and people don’t seem to care the way they’re given it. And since this is no art why waste time and effort questioning this ugly figure of stupendously massive consumption? The photo of you with those huge mayonnaise jars already explains it all. I wouldn’t sell them in a fancy store! I think you should have figured out by now the extent of American consumerism unless contrarily to my knowledge San Francisco is on the edge of starvation :). They call these chains a warehouse market in the Midwest and all they visit these for is to keep their freezers and pantries full of unhealthy food and unnecessarily vast amounts of necessities. I don’t think there’s a possible way of making any business strategy of supplying mass consumer goods appreciable.

I absolutely agree about the membership policy though. This degradation of costumer is unacceptable.

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Martina Lindberg

Martina Lindberg — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:25:56 +0000

Amusing article! It looks horrible but I guess it attracts a certain customer.. Im currently sitting in a 2m2 internet hut in Bombay. Not very user friendly as I just tipped over as someone tried to pass me. I made a funny user experience this week when I noticed that basically all imported foods are taxed 100 percent. No wonder they asked me if I wanted indian gin or brittish gin…the drink ended up costing more than in Sweden…(!)

Looking forward to more US oriented hate ;)

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Ariel

Ariel — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:18:45 +0000

As the person who guided the author of this post to the temple of Costco, I feel personally responsible for this venomous yet impotent critique of the ultimate shopping spot. As many before me have pointed out, the Costco experience works exactly as intended: it is utilitarian in essence, delivering high-end goods at sometimes astonishingly low prices, all thanks to its purchasing quantities. People (families, self-employed food industry professionals and so forth) get to stock up on great products while saving time (multiple trips to the store), money etc. Trying to kick Costco in the groin by claiming that its experience ~~is the worst manifestations of rampant consumerism~~ sucks is therefore futile. I advise the author to check his premises. Costco need not be more beautiful, user friendly and exhilarating just to please the occasional boutique elitist. It does its job and it does it very well. It makes a profit and saves us time/money at the same time, it keeps the quality in check so that we don't have to worry about it. The way I interpret this post is criticism for the sake of being critical, a widespread method of the Frankfurt school that is fed to students of certain academic disciplines, predominantly social sciences. Regardless of the state of the reality, it always needs to be scrutinized. It is an exercise in thinking, not doing. In Costco's case, the putrid commentary of its interior hints to a comparison to a cross between a Parisian patisserie and Apple's latest iPad interface. But in reality, the difference is quite obvious: for example Apple created a beautiful, simple interface because it understands the importance of making its complex products usable by everyone. That means no distractions, no interruptions and no difficulties in mastering its use. And it works exactly as intended. This is what makes it exactly like Costco and not its opposite. One of the common arguments against the Frankfurt School is that criticizing (however constructive it purports to be) does not mean understanding and this post is a prime example of it. Check your premises, behold the big picture and let us then venture into the realm of plenty once more, cathartically pushing a giant shopping cart down the isles of Costco.

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Tom Onions

Tom Onions — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:04:38 +0000

Fantastic article Matic! Personally I would extend these comments to nearly every supermarket chain. It is my belief that the shopping experience of these enterprises of mass consumption are fundamentally at odds with key elements of how living things enjoy interacting with the world around them. Interaction I would argue is void from the entire experience, employees in uniform to create group identity and thus a disconnection with the consumer, an internal environment that encourages consumption without stimulation (a brilliant comparison is a North African market with a chain) and architecture that is about as inspiring as a John Mccain speech.
This is not how it has to be.
Food culture starts from the collecting process at the beginning and ends with the enjoyment of your meal. Shopping at the supermarket is like cheating at your favourite card game, the aesthetic pleasure of winning will always elude you. It is a logical choice to savor all aspects of eating and we do know how a meal alone or with people whose company you enjoy and with ingredients in which you have procured with satisfaction is a pleasurably component of life, the fact remains that it is the consumer that is chained to the supermarkets and not the other way around. For most people the supermarket is not a consumer choice but an economic and logistic one. Unfortunately it is small business and the consumer that suffers, everyone knows when they have enjoyed the purchase of a product and I truly doubt this could ever be said for a supermarket shopping experience.

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Matt

Matt — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:43:52 +0000

Somebody comes from a small European country ;) – have you seen how sparsely populated some areas of the Midwest are? Web automation is an interesting idea, and one that has been tried and generally rejected in the Northeast, at least for the time being. But for those who live further away from cities, Costco and its Walmart equivalent, Sam’s Club are often a good way for rural folks to stock up on non-perishables, or in my mother’s case, case upon case of Nutella :)

Another big customer base is actually small businesses – those giant mayonnaise jars you so enjoyed hoisting are perfect for mom-and-pop burger shops and caterers alike, especially for ones too small to get the wholesale prices straight from the companies.

Your real issue seems to be that you’re stuck on the wrong coast of an otherwise lovely country ;)

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Matic Bitenc

Matic Bitenc — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:12:54 +0000

Celia: I don’t agree, I think that you can still pay attention to details and do things cheaply. Less than if you make higher added value products but still. Ikea being case in point. When it comes to this price model, wouldn’t it be more efficient to base it on the web and they either deliver it or you can pick it up on site. They could automate more and achieve lower price points.

Mike: Indeed.

Vasko: Good point, it’s is better though. Space among the shelves could use some treatment, as well as the sorting of the shelves at my local one, but it’s still leaps better.

Kuhsay: Depends on the architecture of the lumber yard. ;)

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Kuhsay

Kuhsay — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:30:19 +0000

I bet you go to the lumber yard and complain that their selection of screwdrivers sucks too.

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Vasko

Vasko — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:50:16 +0000

And Trader Joe’s gives you a pleasant shopping experience?? :))

Comment on My first and last Costco shopping experience by Mike

Mike — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:18:27 +0000

^^ And that, my friend, is why Costco works in North America.

No expectations beyond efficient consumption. It’s practically the American dream incarnate!

You want a pleasant experience, thoughtful design, or tasteful presentation? Or even customer service?

Not a chance.

But if you’ve got an oversized SUV to fill, a small African country (or one equivalent North American child) to feed, and an insatiable urge to BUY LOTS OF SHIT, you’ve come to the right place.