An email sent to Consumerist by a Best Buy employee lays out the changes Best Buy has made in pushing their optimization service. Basically, you can't be forced to pay for optimization—but the salesman won't tell you that.

What starts out promising soon turns shitty. Before, Best Buy would often advertise computers at a certain price, but only offer them "optimized," which adds $40 for a totally unnecessary process that nobody wants. Now, Best Buy changed their policy, saying that forcing someone to pay for optimization is now an offense warranting termination. Great!

But wait, don't get too excited—the idea is that the salesman will argue, forcefully pushing optimization on you even if you say you don't want it, because Best Buy judges the performance of its sales staff by how many of these ridiculous unnecessary add-ons they sell. So the salesman is going to do everything he can to get you to buy that optimization software. You have to know enough to keep arguing until the salesman gives up, at which point they'll erase the $40 charge and uninstall the software. Of course, that means your brand-new laptop isn't exactly brand-new anymore, since Best Buy has dicked around with the settings and software before you get your hands on it. The letter:

I work for Best Buy and thought you might want to know the Best Buy internal response to the recent article criticizing optimization. The items stated here were discussed on the employee Best Buy news.

To start of with, the policy [of] how many computers should undergo optimization was restated: 40% is the guideline. This should be altered as per demand. So stores offering customers only optimized models are not being properly managed. The article continued to say if demand for optimization is only 15%, then only 15% should be optimized. This is not in the store's interest, I should note. Best Buy does not make a significant profit on computer sales (less than $50 per unit, typically), instead relying on 'services' such as the optimization for a major source of profits. The more optimized computers sold, the more profits.

The article stated plainly, in large, bold letters, that a customer cannot be forced to pay for optimization if they do not want it and that is all that is available. Anyone who forces a customer to pay for it is subject to, and I quote, termination. I should say they did not state to make it easy to get out of paying for optimization, the article encourages salespersons to explain why it is worth the money before not charging it. Management can waive the fee if the customer declines. Optimization software, if any was installed, should then be removed before giving the computer to the customer. Anyone forced to pay should contact the store's management or someone higher up the ladder.

Best Buy considers optimization an important service, and believes it has great value to many customers. I, personally, believe most people can take care of such things on their own with minimal time and would never pay for it. Judging by comments posted below the article, many other employees believe so too, but just as many fervently believe that optimization is the best thing to ever happen since the wheel.

I feel I should stress that it is not a salespersons fault to push optimization and other services strongly on customers. Hours (and this pay, we are not commission) are often determined by the amount of sales made. Someone who isn't selling any optimization will see reduced hours as compared to someone who is. Especially given this economy, many just need a job and this is all they could find, myself included. So just be polite and remember you're giving people a job.

Optimization does just consist of booting up the computer and and putting in a disc that does some random stuff. Some GeekSquad agents may do more manually, some may not. I personally would suggest downloading free software to cleans up registry errors, broken and unused shortcuts, and defrags.

As one final note, the article initially refused to link to the Consumerists for fear of giving more hits. It was later added after complaints in the comments section stated they couldn't respond to customers citing the Consumerist without having read the article.

Way to keep on fighting the lousy fight, Best Buy. [Consumerist]

The Getty Lamp, designed by Marcus Tremento and made from electroluminescent wire and perspex, is clearly the lighting fixture of choice for the Twilight Zone. Limited edition of 10, at least in this dimension. [Generate Design via Nerd Approved]

Folks at Engadget say they've confirmed that the iPhone OS 3.2 has "rudimentary" support for video calling and file downloading. The information is based on an SDK which doesn't differentiate between the iPhone and iPad though. Too soon for excitement?

File downloading and local storage in the browser could be great. Just imagine finally being able to grab a song off the Internet and actually save it on your iPhone. The daydreamer in me wants to believe that files downloaded in such a manner would be accessible by all applications. I'd download a cheesy tune from an artist's website, attach it to an email to my lover, upload it for posting on Twitter, and force my musical preferences onto the whole world without ever needing to set down my iPhone.

The suggestion of multitasking comes from the fact that there appears to be a function to run video calls in "either full screen mode or in just a portion of the screen." Engadget is interpreting this as meaning that you'll be able to "chat and do other things at the same time." As lovely as that all sounds, what's the point of video chat capabilities in devices without front-facing cameras anyway?

All the way-too-early excitement aside, an important thing to keep in mind is that the SDK this information is being pulled from is the same for the iPhone as it is for the iPad. It's tough to tell which features would apply to which device. That and the fact we're talking about an SDK and potential options. There's no guarantee that we'll see any of this in the iPhone OS 4.0. Or ever. [Engadget]

As if there weren't enough iPad jokes already, it turns out that there's a Japanese product—a high-tech adult diaper—called the Aipad. You can guess the pronunciation by the fact that I'm even writing about this.

The Aipad has apparently been around for a while and has "2 lines of aluminium [which] can be connected by clip with a small sensor unit. When the diaper soaked, the sensor notifies it via radio waves." Basically it lets people or their caretakers know when it's time for a diaper change.

Oh, and according to Jason, "ai" means "love" in Japanese. I don't know if that's supposed to be some sort of comfort or not. [Aipad—Warning: PDF via Asiajin]

There are times when I let my voicemail fill up to the point of callers getting the "Sorry. Mailbox is full. Please try again." message. This is why.

Click on the image for a closer look.

Look, I'll return missed calls even if you don't command me to do so, I promise. Unless you're annoying. [Doghouse Diaries]

Adobe is not going to take Flash's exclusion from the iPad lying down. Their latest salvo: enlisting their friends at Bang Brothers to show just how badly you're going to miss Flash video on Apple's new device.

Lee Brimelow over at TheFlashBlog provides ten examples of pages that will be incapacitated on the iPad due to the lack of Flash, ranging from Disney to Google Finance to... well, to hard core pornography. In fact, it's near the top of the list, at the intersection of Hulu and CNN.

Low blow? Possibly. But the iPad is at heart a content delivery device, and last I heard pornography was pretty popular on these here internets. Then again, given the lack of built-in kickstand, trying to watch porn on the iPad might give a whole new meaning to tablet sutra. [The Flash Blog via Wired]

Adobe is not going to take Flash's exclusion from the iPad lying down. Their latest salvo: enlisting their friends at Bang Brothers to show just how badly you're going to miss Flash video on Apple's new device.

Lee Brimelow over at TheFlashBlog provides ten examples of pages that will be incapacitated on the iPad due to the lack of Flash, ranging from Disney to Google Finance to... well, to hard core pornography. In fact, it's near the top of the list, at the intersection of Hulu and CNN.

Low blow? Possibly. But the iPad is at heart a content delivery device, and last I heard pornography was pretty popular on these here internets. Then again, given the lack of built-in kickstand, trying to watch porn on the iPad might give a whole new meaning to tablet sutra. [The Flash Blog via Wired]

In this week's pixel-doubled app roundup: AT&T's entire business model, potentially vaporized! Gears and pipes, diligently organized! Google Voice, web-ized! Restaurant menus, analyzed! Ski slopes, virtualized! "Ist" sites, app(et)ized! Ebook apps, plagiarized! And more...

If you'd like to view this gallery as a single page, click here.

Fring: It's the oldest VoIP app in the App Store, and Fring has always been pretty good, even though you were limited to Wi-Fi VoIP calls. As of Wednesday, the latest version of the SDK allows for VoIP calls over 3G. Read that again, and soak it in, because it's completely true. This means free, unlimited calls over 3G, assuming you've got an unlimited data plan.

I've tested the app and Skype calls work fine over 3G, but right now, I can't seem to connect any SkypeOut calls—that's the paid service, which would allow me to call landlines—which is worrying, since there's no technical difference, client side, between a SkypeOut call and a Skype call. Is there some kind of caveat to the new dev policy, or is this just an early version hiccup? Either way, yes. Free.

MenuPages: If you live in one of the cities it covers, MenuPages is as good as food recommendation apps gets. Nearly every restaurant listing (and there are TONS) comes with a full menu. The expected map and contact info features are all here, as well as table booking through OpenTable. Free, somehow.

Zagat 3.0: Still $10, but you get a lot more for your money now. Specifically, you can sync listings and reviews offline, and, because this is The Done Thing now, you can also view listing in a through-camera augmented reality mode. Anyhow, the real value of Zagat is the content, and, uh, that's still there. So.—Thanks, Jackie!

RealSki

Gizmodo helm-man and keen snowman Brian nearly creamed his pants when he heard about RealSki's augmented reality iPhone app, and rightly so-the app uses the camera, accelerometer, compass and GPS to map ski-trails of over 80 US mountains.

You'll need to be running at least OS 3.1.2 on your iPhone 3GS to use RealSki, and to make it work you move the phone around you on the ski-trail, so it can map the location. Then, digital overlays will appear within the app, showing you where the lifts, lodges, restrooms and restaurants are, as well as trails (and their level of skill) and any other parks or features of that resort

The real issue here is that the app isn't really going to be free for many people. That said, the map purchases aren't toooooo expensive, and the concept is co—wait, what do I say here? Rad? Rad.

Google Voice: Hey, so there's still no Google Voice in the App Store. The next best thing has always been Google Voice's web interface, but the problem is, it's never been very good. Today, it is. In fact, if you create a little shortcut launcher and can ignore the Safari's navigation elements, it's practically a replacement phone interface. A true app would be better, obviously, but this is definitely tolerable, especially if you're one of those not-as-rare-as-you'd-expect Google Voice fanatics.

Istaverse: Gothamist, LAist, Londonist, Shanghaist: This are very good sites! If you don't know whether or not you have one of these local blogs in your city and don't feel like hazarding a guess at what the "ist" suffix would look like on some variant of your city's name, just download their new multi-city app. It's free.

Guerilla Bob: A two-stick top-down shooter in the style of the wonderful Minigore, TouchArcade puts it well: Featuring multiple weapons, a level progression (instead of simply an open arena like most dual stick shooters), and even a ridiculous plot line that focuses on a battle between Guerrilla Bob and Minigore's John Gore, it almost seems like the developers of Guerrilla Bob went down a wish lists of our forum members and turned them in to a game. If you've never played Minigore, you're in for a surprise, and a treat. A surprise that is also a treat! I don't know. If you have, well, John Gore is actually in this game, so you know what you're getting in to. $3.

Cogs: Slot together a variety of cogs, pipes, bells, and various other components in a sort of 3D, steampunk-style sliding squares game. Like most iPhone puzzle apps, you can pick it up and play immediately; like few iPhone puzzle apps, you'll keep going for hours. Cogs has impressive graphics, but more importantly a coherent artistic vision. The (quality + fun)/cost quotient is very high here, though I'm not sure what the units are in that equation. Maybe I should have used a ratio, I don't know! Back to Cogs. $1.

AliceX: From the AliceX website:

On January 24th 1984, Apple unveiled the Macintosh. The one and only game Apple ever sold for the Macintosh was also shown that day: Through The Looking Glass.

Steve Capps had sketched out the game a few years earlier, but personal computers in 1980 weren't capable of the type of animation he wanted. Finally, the Macintosh was powerful enough and Capps wrote the game over Christmas 1982. The game quickly was a hit inside the cloistered Mac group and became Capps's "ticket" to joining the exclusive Mac team.

If this means nothing to you, you probably won't get much gratification out of this app. For anyone familiar with the original title, though, this partial adaptation will make you vomit uncontrollably out of pure nostalgic happiness, which is a thing that happens to old Apple fanboys on rare occasions. (I've seen it). $2.

Classics: Classics is not new. And though it's good, it's not my personal first choice for iPhone ebook apps. (I've kinda got a thing for Stanza). But here's the thing: This week, Apple introduced a service called iBooks for the iPad. The interface looks very, very similar to Classics', which is odd, since Classics has been out for months. Credit where credit's due, I say!

The Classics guys have reduced the app's price to $0 for the time being, to make it abundantly clear who came first, and to make their plight known, or something. So, enjoy? And then enjoy iBooks less, ideologically speaking? Something like that. Free.

Warheads: Missile defense, in subtle 3D. The gameplay is a lot like any other good missile defense game, and the visuals make up for the lack of variation. Well, the visuals, and the price. $1.

This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see our previous weekly roundups here, and check out our Favorite iPhone Apps Directory. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Google's CEO rarely comments publicly on the competition. When asked directly today about the iPad, though, he couldn't resist a minor jab in Apple's direction.

Schmidt was fielding questions from reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland when he made is opinion—such as it is—of tablets known. Of course, Google also has a vested interest in the space, with more than a few upcoming slates set to run Android. Still! It's actually a pretty good point. [Guardian via Business Insider]

Russia's been testing its new T-50 "Sukhhoi" stealth fighter jets and so far they're a success. This video shows the first test flight and is supposedly also the very first time the public is getting to see the bird.

With the T-50's "basic specs" including "greater agility, sustained supersonic-flight capability in non-afterburning mode, low radar visibility, low heat signature, as well as enhanced take-off and landing performance," I wonder what the upgrade options are. Either way, this successful test flight makes Russia the only country aside from the United States to have fifth-generation fighters. [Ria Novosti]