AOL Tech

Kirk Griffiths

Member since: Apr 26th, 2006

Kirk Griffiths's Latest Comments

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Recent Comments:

Five Secrets to Getting Hired (AOL Jobs)

Jul 25th 2009 11:18PM A friend of mine was employed in the H.R. department at several companies, large and small. She told me of several overtly identified, many illegal and "not talked about but strongly enforced internally" qualities she was told to identify in prospective employees' interviews. I was somewhat shocked (but not always) at these 'job requirements' and internal confidential justifications for having them. Here are some:
1)Don't hire ANYONE - even if they are strongly qualified for the job and interview very well-if they appear to be over 50 years old. "Look for a 'thirty something' aged candidate" she was told. 2)Don't hire "plain" or "physically unattractive" men or women, regardless of how well they are dressed, interview and have strong job experience. 3)Do not hire anyone how is "short" (not tall)- again, even if they are otherwise a strongly qualified candidate. 4) Don't even THINK of hiring a woman if she appears to be pregnant - no matter how qualified and experienced she is and how well she interviews. 5)Don't hire anyone whose residence is in specific neighborhoods. 6) Don't hire anyone of certain ethnic or national origins. These are only some she identified. In other words, she told me, she was instructed to "find a way NOT to invite people back for further follow up interviews" -no matter how impressive they were in the first interview - if they met any of these descriptions. And, as a candidate, how would you ever prove you were rejected unfairly or descriminately for a job in a court of law? Impossible! Because of these experiences, she got out of the H.R. field and went on to some other field.

AT&T may lose iPhone exclusivity, CEO admits (Daily Finance)

Jul 23rd 2009 11:54PM I used to be the head of communications for a company. We paid well over thousands of dollars per month (over a million dollars a year) to AT&T for telecom services they provided to us.

The service was fair to good, but some serious problems frequently cropped up. AT&T was slow to address them and their standard response was that "...it's not our problem (fault)...the problem must be on your end..."

All too often - after repeated badgering by us and 'escalation' up the ladder of bureaucratic layers - we would finally have a satisfactory level of service restored and it was revealed it was of the AT&T end.

AT&T was technically very capable of investigating (trouble-shooting) the problems and quickly taking steps to resolve them, but - even for a large, good paying customer like us - was, typically, extremely slow to resolve technical problems and nearly always sluggish in monitoring telco circuits, as originally promised in their sales representatives, and quick to point back to their customer(s) that the problem was "on your end".

Used-car prices rise, new-car prices fall - so how much is a car really worth? (Daily Finance)

Jul 11th 2009 11:57PM I can easily afford to buy a new car every two yearsm but instead, I "drive 'em 'til they drop" and save a whole lot of money on car loan interest, insurance, etc.

I DO take care of my vehicles with regular maintenance - which is becoming more inexpensive as the quality of the average automobile has risen rapidly the past decade - particularly amongst foreign based manufacturers. Even newer cars specify they only require oil changes every 7,500 miles - even longer if you use synthetic oil.

I have a 20 year old Honda Accord I bought new in 1989 and still use daily. Runs so well, I'd drive it on a long vacation road trip and not worry about a breakdown.

Why buy new when you can easily drive a car 200,000 miles reliably - with conscientious routine maintenance.. So you have a mid-range repair here and there - it sure beats the monthly payment of a new set of wheels !!

Is digital TV the end of broadcast television? Would that be a bad thing? (Daily Finance)

Jun 13th 2009 9:12PM This "milestone" switch from analog to digital again sparked within me some fundamental observatons and questions. T.V. is such a wonderful technology that has yet to reach it's true potential. Whether it be satellite, cable or "old fashioned" local broadcasting, the lack of substance - or truly worthwhile program content - has remained elusive. Instead, we get few quality choices from broadcasters. Most programming is pure, stupid drivel. Only a few sporting events, PBS channel programming and some 'Discovery Channel' and 'National Geographic' features are the only ones worth watching. Commercials abound, repeated over and over and over again. When cable was introduced in the late 70's and early '80's, the "promise" was "No commercials for any channel except the local market channels". Well, that promise soon evaporated and the infernal commercials snuck back on the scene - along with all of those hated "Shopping channels". In effect, we are now actually paying for cable channels we don't want (and even hate) while still being subjected to the programming drivel we can't stand either!!! Long live capitalism??? That's why I don't watch T.V. much anymore.

Apple's $99 iPhone may boost market share (Daily Finance)

Jun 11th 2009 12:38AM Statistics confirm most of us only keep our cell phones about two years before opting for a new one. Therefore, paying more than $100 for a new phone is not budget wise. Second, we should all be used to the drill by now as far as electronic gizmo prices are concerned. Prices on T.V.'s, P.C's, GPS receivers - or anything electronic - soon fall dramatically after a year or two, so "being mad" about the iPhone price decreases is silly. We all knew this would happen so what's the point?

Borders to Quit Selling CDs and DVDs? (Switched)

Mar 27th 2009 12:00AM Although I like CD's, I rarely buy them since there are usually only a few songs I like recorded on them, but 10-12 songs I don't like and never listen to. I think most CD's are a waste of money as a result nowadays.

Like all electronic media, (including live T.V., recorded DVD's and CD's), there is way too much junk mixed in with a few good pieces of worthwhile content.).

T.V. - a wonderous electronic medium with huge potential - is 80% commercials, 10% crappy "who cares?" programming with only about 10% of actually worthwhile program content. That's why I rarely watch T.V. anymore because, I beleive, there is usually nothing on worth watching.

GM and GE are dragging corporate America through the mud (Daily Finance)

Mar 5th 2009 11:32PM CEO's and upper management in corporate America for too long has run their companies with one goal in mind - GREED.

And, too many of us "lower class" Americans have followed that goal as well. We signed up for loans we couldn't afford (or could barely afford), bought our big screen T.V.'s and expensive electronic gadgets, SUV's, extravagant vacations, lakeside summer homes and condo's, designer clothes and accessories, run up our charge cards, saved nothing and have "lived for the moment".

Now, we all are paying a dear price.

The end of the CD? Virgin closing more Megastores (WalletPop)

Mar 3rd 2009 1:14AM I see a lot of comments related to XM radio. Do you all realize XM is close to bankruptcy? It narrowly avoided folding entirely - going into Chapter 7 - but at the last minute got just enough money to just barely stay in business... for the time being...

Top Tech Flops of 2008 4 (Switched)

Jan 5th 2009 11:08PM With most Americans watching their finances and job status closely through 2009 and well into 2010, WHO are and WHERE are the buyers for a $40,000 Chevy Volt going to come from?

Unfortunately, I don't see demand for these "plug in" vehicles if the economy and credit markets don't come back substantially, even if there is another spike in gasoline prices. Most people simply won't be able to afford them OR justify buying one, (even if they can get financing), if the economy doesn't come back to health in a big way.

RCA Dome Implosion: In Which the History of the Indianapolis Colts Goes 'Boom' (Fanhouse NFL Blog)

Dec 20th 2008 9:13PM If we could raise the same amount of money it takes to build new stadiums for professional sports teams every twenty years or so, (and demolish and haul away the "old" stadium), we could provide thousands of people from going hungry and / or doing without health care when they are acutely in need OR build and maintain our schools, etc. We are a very screwed up country in terms of our priorities !!!