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Aug 21, 08 - 04:14 pm Comment from: JAYGEE

I wonder how much they were paid to stand in line?

great! Now when you call a tech support line, odds are that person may actually use a Mac as well. Too bad they'll barely speak recognizable english.

@ Driver

Dude, don't for one second think that use of emoticons in any way diverts attention from pointless racist comments, you prick.

Just my $0.02

Alasdair Scott,

Being able to actually understand tech support on the phone is hardly pointless, nor is remarking on the ever-increasing problem of unintelligible "support" racist.

@ Big Juicy Cheeseburger

I'm sure there is an issue when tech support is outsourced to different parts of the globe, but check out both the articles and posts on MDN relating to release of iPhone in India and Poland and tell me honestly if you think there's no hint of unpleasantness.

Alasdair Scott,

Life is often unpleasant. If you're looking for PC (personal computer or political correctness) on MDN, you're definitely in the wrong place and, quite possibly, Polish yourself.

200,000 pre orders... that's a lot of cheeseburgers. Oh wait... turkeycheeseburgers.

Careful Steve or you'll be labeled a "racist".

It's not racist when you speak the truth. Last time I called Tech Support was on a ReplayTV and that was India. I just LOVE the fake names they actually give you there. The real ones are nearly unpronounceable. Several times I've actually had to ask for someone that I can understand. And of course it's less jobs for American workers. Then there's the sales calls from definitly foreign call centers.... Go hug a tree dweeb.

Indians love expensive cell phones, it is kind of status symbol to many ppl. It is going to be huge success over there. By the way Indians do speak much better English than many ppl in U.S.

Aug 21, 08 - 06:01 pm Comment from: ichi

last time i RTFP he also included the word "polite."

since you seem to know which languages tech support will speak i suggest you learn it or not call for support. or, grow some virtue.

Aug 21, 08 - 06:10 pm Comment from: nekogami13

Who cares if their English is perfect if it is masked by a thick accent-an accent of any kind not native to the caller (Irish, Fillipino, Indian)?

And if it is not a real problem-why do certain companies pay for tech support located in the US?

More on topic-what happened to the article stating no one would be in line for the ridiculously priced iPhone?

too bad they wont even get 1 bar reception.

Steve516... if you're going to make a stupid joke at least be accurate... it wouldn't be cheeseburgers or turkeycheesburgers... it would be a veggieburger or an Aloo Tikki burger.

Driver... what you said may or may not be racist but because it could go either way, history has shown that on this website it leads to a lot of racist Mac users showing their true colours. To be fair, I've gotten plenty of tech support from the deep south in the U.S. that I can barely understand... but I don't judge or make fun... it's a big world with different cultures and people... welcome to the 21st century.

no unlimited data plan :(

http://www.vodafone.in/existingusers/Products/Pages/iphone3g_talkplans.aspx?cid=kar

Aug 21, 08 - 07:05 pm Comment from: berbabed

uhhhh. who cares whos on the other end of a tech support line besides a racist xenophobe.
Indians are human beings,just like the trailer trash that made the comments.
If you think its unpatriotic to send jobs overseas,start blaming the corporations that put saving payroll bottom lines, than paying Americans to do the jobs.
Indians on tech support just happen to be well educated because of social programs promoting computer tech engineering.
Too bad the US falls short in education.

Aug 21, 08 - 07:07 pm Comment from: Olmecmystic

Getting an iPhone is their new DHARMA in life. It will definitely improve their KARMA.

Peace.
Olmecmystic

Aug 21, 08 - 08:34 pm Comment from: bobchr

I say bravo for the nation of India to finally experience the legal purchase and operation of the Iphone. I personally do not see how a comment on the thick accent of foreign tech support can be considered racist. I was born in Jamaica WI and if anyone on this message board ever saw the movie "The Harder They Run" with Jimmy Cliff, the movie starts out with subtitles because of the thick Jamaican accents. I myself have experience tech support from India with a thick local accent and it can be off-putting and tends to belay understanding of the point the tech support individual is trying to make. Check out the documentary "The other side of Oursourcing" people. Companies in India are aware of this and have been changing their ways by giving diction and speech lessons to any phone based personel that has to deal with the US public. Americans would have trouble with British based tech support if it had a thick cockney accent( I'm not talking about the gecco from GIECO either).

Jamaica Wisconsin?

Hey, at least they were relatively recently trained by the Brits to speak English, as opposed to what passes for southern/Texas American English which is the result of generations of inbreeding and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Oh yeah, here's my smiley, which proves I'm not racist.

Aug 21, 08 - 11:01 pm Comment from: Predrag

I'll assume Ya hey der meant it as a joke; for those who didn't get it, Jamaica, WI stands for West Indies.

having worked in IT for many years (in the US), I have come across my fair share of IT guys from 'South Asia' (common euphemism for India and Pakistan). Literally every single one of them had better command of English language than their US-born and raised colleagues; their only disadvantage was their often times thick accent. In written communication, though, their American-born colleagues would frequently pass their outgoing memos by these Indian guys, to check for grammar, spelling, syntax, style and form. Go, figure... (oh, and by the way, I'm neither Indian, nor US-born).

I'm not sure but I think Apple is on a roll.

She's cute. I like her smile.

Aug 22, 08 - 02:31 am Comment from: MacSheikh

Great for them. Look how happy they are now that the iPhone's arrived:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1NoOOoaNw

(no offence intended)

In India, Bramans and Sihks are very rich...

Just got the 16 gigger. A shame about the super high pricing , but it's been a long wait for me. The phone is fantastic. The launch was much smaller than it would have been had the priced it lower. Let's just hope this phone lives a long life as I don't want to be down 800 dollars anytime soon !

@ Predrag

I could not have put that better myself.

Aug 22, 08 - 08:01 am Comment from: Cubert

Indian chicks are hot! My ex-girlfriend of 3 years (affectionately known as "The Bitch") was Indian. Although, a lot are screwed up by their overly conservative, patriarchal families.

Aug 22, 08 - 08:06 am Comment from: Cubert

@Driver,

"I just LOVE the fake names they actually give you there."

No. That's actually sad. Someone is changing/dumbing down their own name to try to fit in with American culture. Feel like changing your name (first or last) to try to fit in? I didn't think so.

P.S. I have worked with hundreds of medical residents from other countries, including many from India, and I have always found this aspect to be the saddest of their own attempts at assimilation.

Aug 22, 08 - 08:13 am Comment from: ElderNorm

@dolita,
"too bad they wont even get 1 bar reception."

But that is just it. With the iPhone, even if you do not get the cell tower, you can get movies, music, podcasts (stored), and if you have a local hotspot, you can get the rest of the world!!!

Gee, what a neat phone and what it can do, even when the cell towers are down or too far away.

en

". . . just like the trailer trash that made the comments."

Hypocrite.

I've found customer support from Indian call centers to be no worse than support from US centers and often better. The accent may be noticeable, but I've always been able to understand the reps, and they never have that alienated, counting-the-minutes-until-quitting-time, it's-not-my-problem attitude one often encounters here in the US. Too many Americans seem to have the attitude that they're better than their jobs, whereas the Indians are unfailingly polite and thorough.

I live in New Jersey and very frequently I get remarks from locals that "You speak sort of good English but you got very heavy accent". Well, I'm from South London and have Oxford accent.

So many Americans butcher English language and speak only words without any emphasis on grammar. Here are couple of quotes from John McCain - words without any grammar. I expect bit more from future US President at least.

"I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain told the Politico online site when asked Wednesday how many houses he owns. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."

Aug 22, 08 - 12:34 pm Comment from: bobchr

@ Predrag
I second well said.
@ Ya hey der
If you find a Jamaica, Wisconsin they will probably award you the Ponce De Leon medal of navigation. I paced the WI at the end of Jamaica to differentiate it from Jamaica Queens, since I live in New York and I no longer have the Jamaican accent people are often confused when I speak in reference to where I was born. But pretty funny SH!T though (Jamaica Wisconsin ....Har har!!!)

"Well, I'm from South London and have Oxford accent. "

London, India, basically the same inhabitants these days.

"Feel like changing your name (first or last) to try to fit in?"

Like from Barry to Barak?