Online Retailers Brace for First 'E-Christmas' Posted by CmdrGrits on Sunday October 17, @08:20AM EDT from the ho-ho-http dept. ShopperSheila writes "Analysts predict this will be the first holiday season where millions of people do their shopping online. Toy sites like eToyz are hiring warehouse staff by the thousand, and auction sites like uBid are bracing for a flood of novelty plush toys. Shipping companies say they are ready. Shipping companies always say they are ready." Prediction: at least one large web store will promise delivery by Christmas and deliver in February. Online Retailers Brace for First 'E-Christmas' | Login/Create an Account | Top | 24 comments | Search Discussion Threshold: -1: 24 comments 0: 23 comments 1: 17 comments 2: 14 comments 3: 9 comments 4: 7 comments 5: 4 comments NestedFlatThreadedNo Comments Oldest FirstNewest FirstHighest Scores First The fine print: the following comments belong to whoever typed them. Dashdot takes no responsibility for them, and frankly, neither do most of the people who typed them. Fulfillment is the hard part by FidoFan on Sunday October 17, @08:33AM EDT (#1) (User Info) Taking orders on a web page is easy. Getting a box to a house in three days is hard. The companies that win this season will be the ones with warehouses, not the ones with the coolest Flash intro. [ Reply to This ] Re:Fulfillment is the hard part by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 17, @08:39AM EDT (#2) Says the guy posting at 3am on a Tuesday. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Fulfillment is the hard part by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 17, @09:44AM EDT (#9) This is the most sensible thing I've read on Dashdot all week. Somebody mod this up. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Fulfillment is the hard part by LawGeek on Sunday October 17, @10:01AM EDT (#11) (User Info) The parent's point stands, though: it depends entirely on the use case. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Fulfillment is the hard part by RocketRandy on Sunday October 17, @10:13AM EDT (#12) (User Info) Thanks for posting this. I learned something today, which is rare for a comment section. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Fulfillment is the hard part by HexHead on Sunday October 17, @10:26AM EDT (#13) (User Info) Whoosh. That was the sound of the joke going over your head. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Fulfillment is the hard part by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 17, @11:41AM EDT (#20) You must be new here. [ Reply to This | Parent ] I'm shopping offline by DaemonDiva on Sunday October 17, @08:49AM EDT (#3) (User Info) I'm going to an actual store, where I can touch the thing and take it home today. Call me old fashioned. [ Reply to This ] Re:I'm shopping offline by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 17, @09:06AM EDT (#4) Exactly. And the vendors know it, which is why they're scared. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:I'm shopping offline by MediaMaven on Sunday October 17, @09:41AM EDT (#8) (User Info) Did you even read the parent post? He said the opposite. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:I'm shopping offline by modem_mike on Sunday October 17, @09:56AM EDT (#10) (User Info) No, that's not how any of this works. Please read the FAQ before posting. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Year 2000 by DomainDave on Sunday October 17, @09:20AM EDT (#5) (User Info) Just wait until January. Then we'll see who's laughing. (Probably everyone. The answer is probably everyone.) [ Reply to This ] Re:Year 2000 by frostbyte on Sunday October 17, @09:37AM EDT (#6) (User Info) Wait until you see the next version. It's going to be worse. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Interesting, but... by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 17, @09:39AM EDT (#7) This is interesting, but I think the article misses the bigger picture. Technology like this only matters when it gets cheap enough for ordinary people. Until then it's a toy for people who read Dashdot. Which, admittedly, is us. [ Reply to This ] lol by modem_mike on Sunday October 17, @10:40AM EDT (#14) (User Info) lol [ Reply to This ] Re:lol by CmdrGrits on Sunday October 17, @11:00AM EDT (#16) (User Info) Real men use a magnetized needle and a steady hand. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Slashdotted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 17, @10:48AM EDT (#15) Site's already slashdotted. Er, dashdotted. Anyone have a mirror? [ Reply to This ] The real problem by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 17, @11:14AM EDT (#17) The real problem here is management. Engineers know how to build things right; management sets a deadline that makes it impossible, and then acts surprised when it ships broken. Every single time. [ Reply to This ] Re:The real problem by ClamshellCarl on Sunday October 17, @12:09PM EDT (#22) (User Info) Source? My brother-in-law says otherwise, and he has a Pentode. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:The real problem by Anthropologeek on Sunday October 17, @12:17PM EDT (#23) (User Info) Agreed. Couldn't have said it better myself. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Offtopic, but by JavaJunkie on Sunday October 17, @11:26AM EDT (#18) (User Info) Offtopic, but does anyone know how to get a Sound Blaster 16 working under the new kernel? It just beeps at me. Rhythmically. [ Reply to This ] Links by kernel_kid on Sunday October 17, @11:37AM EDT (#19) (User Info) For anyone who wants to read more, the original announcement is on their site and there's a good technical write-up in the newsgroups. Search for it, the link is too long to paste. [ Reply to This ] Hmm by Tux_Tamer on Sunday October 17, @11:53AM EDT (#21) (User Info) I wonder how long until someone ports Doom to it. [ Reply to This ] BSD: a eulogy by WindowManiac on Sunday October 17, @12:31PM EDT (#24) (User Info) Sad news, everyone. Analysts at a firm I just made up report that BSD now runs on fewer than 4% of servers, down from 4.1% last spring. Even the daemon mascot has been seen updating his resume. Gather round, friends, and light a candle for the little OS that could, but statistically shouldn't. [ Reply to This ]

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