Re: Opinions on Presario laptop?

[billtroop@xxxxxxxx]

This is all I know about laptops:

1. Dell offers best value for money.

2. No matter what company you buy from, insist on
a (more or less unconditional) 3-year, on-site
warranty, and pay whatever it takes. It will be
the best investment of your money you can
possibly make.

3. If you do something stupid like spill orange
juice on your keyboard, on no account discuss
that with the company. Simply tell them, "my
computer doesn't work" or "the keys are stuck,
I don't know why" -- that is the _only_ way
to get past the occasional glitch in these
"unconditional" warranties whereby an exemption
for user imbecility is raised. As long as you
keep mum, they can't touch you. I had this straight
from an IBM PR person whom I had to use to get
IBM to fix a keyboard that I had cleaned with
alcohol and which had shorted out. They wanted
$800 for it. I wouldn't pay it. It took 3 months
to get straightened out. Finally, the PR person
called me and said, "You know, we've had twelve
executives working on this, and we finally realized
it would be cheaper to fix your computer. And by
the way, Bill, you would have had it back the next
day if you had just said, "the keyboard doesn't work,
I don't know why."

Companies can get very dishonest when it comes to the
crunch. IBM insisted that I had spilled Coke on my
keyboard.

"How do you know it was Coke?"

"That's what our technicians have determined."

"I haven't drunk soda in at least 10 years."

"Our technicians are certain it was Coke."

"Really. Diet or Regular?"

"I have no information on that point."

I'm not making this up. Get a 3-year warranty, and
keep your mouth shut when the inevitable happens!
Above all, invent some good story to make sure you
get the computer completely reconditioned when the
warranty is close to expiration.

I've been happier with Dell's warranty service than
IBM's, but most IBM laptop owners I know have had
much better experiences than mine.

Finally, I would get the largest, most hi-res screen
I could afford. Yes, such systems weigh 7 or 8 pounds,
which is a bit of a drag, but they also essentially
eliminate the need for another computer.