Reposted by Kyle Brickman
Well of all the ways to do layoffs… that sure was one is them.
I was spared this time, but if you’re looking to hire, MAN do I have some incredible people I can point you to. Managers, junior to staff level engineers, test engineers.
So many good people.
![A screenshot of the AT&T customer support chat, which wouldn’t have been possible before designers invented rounded corners during Web 2.0.
I ask the following question:
“The phone associated with [OMITTED] has been broken beyond repair. I am trying to set up an eSIM for that number on the replacement phone. However, it is texting a verification code to the broken phone.”
The response from Andi, AT&T’s AI assistant, is prefaced with an ominous “Some responses may be generated by AI.” warning. It proceeds to point me to their “battery and power help page”, offer me a link to “improve the battery life of [my] device”, and suggests to start an insurance claim for a “damaged or defective battery” if I’m covered by “AT&T Protect Advantage”, which sounds like a scam antimalware malware from 2004. It concludes by reminding me that Apple no longer ships chargers with their devices, but you can buy one from AT&T.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5pdzjwkxx3shfxulqmajowb2/bafkreicqus3oz3n3ds5vdoz4njvg2646zkmdjlfsjspon7fxen5qon65n4)
![A Hewlett-Packard Pavilion PC case from ~2000, featuring the “fuck it here’s some translucent plastic since everyone loves iMacs” and “we’ve put a custom round bubble plastic button over the optical and floppy drive buttons so that you’ll never be able to replace them successfully” design aesthetic of the time. A badge proudly declares that it was designed for Windows Me, and includes a Pentium III processor.
The case is also covered in stickers declaring its features and functionality like it’s a store display unit but it almost certainly came out of a factory-sealed box looking like this. Apparently “record[ing] your own music CD’s” is “Fun and Easy!”, and kids today will never know how much that sentence is a lie.
Also if I worked on this particular one there’s probably trace DNA from when it cut the back of my hand open or something.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5pdzjwkxx3shfxulqmajowb2/bafkreicrxhjrzkauho3q75w3m2urahdbcn2xp6d5ctosdf7y4f44s5dxza)
![A screenshot of an email from the Apple Store about an order change being successful. Inexplicably for one of the most brand-forward companies in existence, the email is entirely plaintext and in a monospace font.
The text of the email reads:
“Apple Store Order Change
Order Number: [REDACTED]
Hello Kyle Brickman,
Thank you for shopping at the Apple Online Store. Your order was successfully updated and your changes are reflected below. If you requested additional changes, you will receive a separate email confirmation for each.
To check the current status of your order, please visit our Order Status website at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus.
Thank you for shopping with Apple.
The Apple Store Team”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5pdzjwkxx3shfxulqmajowb2/bafkreiffb4qsxhqyjn7e7fjln6keuan3ni73qoslkglymmz7y2ajv5sw24)
