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Why is that a horrible note? The truth is, people these days are just flat out lazy, rude, and disrespectful and think that they are OWED a tip, for barely doing their job.

I do not think the person that wrote that note was "horrible" at all, if they service was THAT bad then yes, the note and "tip" was justified.

Agreed 100 percent

They get tipped/paid what they deserve. If I don't like them., they don't come around enough, don't keep my coffee hot or if I have to track them down then I don't care if they have the biggest smile in the world. I just saved some tip money for myself.

I would like to point out, as I have many times before, that the price of eating out in the US is quite cheap compared to what it is in other countries. Really, food + tip is still sometimes cheaper than what one pays for food only in countries where tipping isn't compulsory. You are just giving part of it separately, to the person who is taking care of you (if they are doing it right, anyway). I dare say that anybody in the US who doesn't tip is just a tightwad and kind of spoiled, try going to the UK and paying something like 45 quid for a steak and a beer or two :laugh: If you can't afford to pay for the whole experience, don't go out. It should be part of your budget for the meal.

Again, I dont HAVE to tip if I don't want to. The whole concept of tipping is based on its voluntary nature. Food in US is pretty expensive for what we get. A burger and fries for $10 + taxes in the cheap places... Thats a lot compared to other countries. A proper meal with starters and main course with drinks is well above ~$18/person at those cheap places. Thats expensive for college students. I cant imagine tipping above $3 if the bill comes to that. If I had a continuous source of good income, I might. So I dont consider bad tippers spoiled. It's their situation.

I didn't say it was an Obligation, it is a reward, especially if you're doing a good job. BUT some people just refuse to tip at all, even when the server IS doing their job well. And like I said before, if you know you're not going to tip at all, stay your ass out of a full service establishment.

Why? It isn't law that you must tip unless you know going in that it is an added gratuity. I'm sure everyone who has a job, any job would like to get tips for working.....

Again, I dont HAVE to tip if I don't want to. The whole concept of tipping is based on its voluntary nature. Food in US is pretty expensive for what we get. A burger and fries for $10 + taxes in the cheap places... Thats a lot compared to other countries. A proper meal with starters and main course with drinks is well above ~$18/person at those cheap places. Thats expensive for college students. I cant imagine tipping above $3 if the bill comes to that. If I had a continuous source of good income, I might. So I dont consider bad tippers spoiled. It's their situation.

Where the heck are you eating where a burger and fries is $10? That isn't a "cheap" place. Anyway, if you're eating in a sit-down, be-served place and the bill comes to $10, but you can't pay $12 total with a tip in there, you should have just went to Burger King or something. As I said before, it should all be factored in before you even decide to go there. I've been poor, very poor, and when I couldn't afford to do what I should do, I didn't eat out, especially at those kinds of places. Period.

Anybody who doesn't understand this should have to work at that type of job for a while, then they'll get it.

Where the heck are you eating where a burger and fries is $10? That isn't a "cheap" place. Anyway, if you're eating in a sit-down, be-served place and the bill comes to $10, but you can't pay $12 total with a tip in there, you should have just went to Burger King or something. As I said before, it should all be factored in before you even decide to go there. I've been poor, very poor, and when I couldn't afford to do what I should do, I didn't eat out, especially at those kinds of places. Period.

Anybody who doesn't understand this should have to work at that type of job for a while, then they'll get it.

Most burger places here in Texas have just burger themselves that cost $10. Even a large combo at like Jack N Box is around $8.50 depending on what you get. It isn't hard to find a place to eat where you will easily pay $15+ per person for food and drink, that isn't a fast food chain. When I go out to eat with my girl, I usually calculate on spending about $40. But that's just because when we go out to eat, we don't aim for that fast food. We want something hearty and big.

In Canada tipping is NOT mandatory BTW, its considered a bonus for exceptional service.... terrible service = terrible tip. Seems this person went 'above and beyond' as thats an EXCELLENT (non-monetary) tip which will likely make the waiter/ess more money in the long run.

That is completely incorrect. It's expected in Canada just as it is in the States.. There's a reason why there's a server minimum wage compared to a regular minumum wage. Not tipping results in someone making less than minimum wage.

I never said it was a LAW, and I even said if they service was good ... BUT you're not a stupid person, if you go to a full service establishment, you know you're supposed to tip. If you know you're not going to tip, stay your ass at home, cook your own food and clean your own mess.

Those sorts of costs are incorporated into the food prices and as was mentioned by others, you shouldn't have to tip when you go out to eat. That being said I rarely ever don't tip (can think of 1 time when I didn't as the service was atrocious). though when I do I'm usually tipping about 15-20%. I think it's ridiculous that you think I should stay at home if I don't want to tip the server when I'm already paying a premium for the food. It's not my fault they chose to work at a restaurant that pays them minimum wage, because they assumed they'll offset the lower wage with their tips.

Charisma, you can't directly compare countries and go on about how cheap it is over here. When our family moved over to Europe, the wages increased as well as the cost of living. It's all relative, so I don't really understand the point you're trying to make by comparing the US to Europe.

The thing is they are paid BELOW minimum wage, in some States 70% lower. The culture in North America is to tip to at least make up the difference. You may dissagree with how NA culture is presented but not tipping is putting people at wages below the minimum.

The thing is they are paid BELOW minimum wage, in some States 70% lower. The culture in North America is to tip to at least make up the difference. You may dissagree with how NA culture is presented but not tipping is putting people at wages below the minimum.

No, it's not. The business is required to make up for any difference between the wage earned and tips if the total is below minimum wage

I see absolutely nothing wrong with that note. It's fair and honest.

Among the many things I hate about restaurants is the waiters that want to be your friend (while they are serving you) and want nothing to do with you once you have paid.

One of my other annoyances is when the nosy waiter comes over, interrupts your conversation, before you have even tasted your food and asks you, "how is your food?". I don't frakin know, I haven't tasted it yet; if you paid attention to me you would know. Way to kill your tip.

The thing is they are paid BELOW minimum wage, in some States 70% lower. The culture in North America is to tip to at least make up the difference. You may dissagree with how NA culture is presented but not tipping is putting people at wages below the minimum.

You can't be paid below minimum wage, that would defeat its entire purpose. It's not a recommendation, it's the law.

The truth can sometimes hurt, if she is busy with other people she should be talking to her boss to hire more staff, improve other staff that aren't keeping up with the pace or change the shifts.

But you should be complaining to the owner if you think it was under staffed, a member of staff degraded the experience you paid for or most of the other issues. I've never given a tip unless I have change unless it's an exceptional experience eg a friend or someone I knew in the past and I have a conversation with etc.

As I've said before, their low pay is not my problem, I pay what's on the bill, that's what I'm supposed to pay. If they have a problem with to low pay, they need to do what everyone else did decades ago, organize and force the employers to change.

The problem is of course that servers don't want to change, they'd rather have lower pay and the possibility of high tips than good pay. In which case they should also expect some won't tip and it's not their job to punish or force customers to tip.

That is completely incorrect. It's expected in Canada just as it is in the States.. There's a reason why there's a server minimum wage compared to a regular minumum wage. Not tipping results in someone making less than minimum wage.

Total rubbish. Born and raised in Canada mate, I might live in Australia now, but I am a Canadian, tipping is not a normal thing. At least not in B.C. and Alberta. Maybe you come from that french part? If that's the case you're doing what the French Canadians have done for years, assuming the rest of Canada is just as confused as they are. :p

Well, when you go out to eat in a service restaurant, they are expected, that's why they do those jobs ... and that's what they're there for, to wait on you and your family ... if you don't feel like tipping, go to Burger King or another drive through service. I hate when people come out to eat to a service establishment and don't think they're supposed to tip, especially if the server is doing a good job.

WTF?

lol man, you completely missed the meaning of tips.

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    • Nope. That lack of surround sound capability (analog) won't fly with me. Sure, I use headphones most of the time, but still.
    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
    • $80 or 90%, anything else would be financial suicide one way or another.
    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
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