Dell Sucks big time

[GingerSnaps]

My Dell laptop burned (almost caught on fire) up last weekend and as it was heating up my legs got some blisters on them. I could have been the next McDonald's coffee victim if i hadn't gotten up when I did because the computer was pretty close to the area that she was burned in.

The computer had been acting up since I got it and I kept calling Dell and telling them that the fan keeps coming on and the computer is overheating. I got this call from Dell yesterday and I wasn't home to answer it but they left a message. They said that it had a spill on the hard drive and said that I must have spilled something in it.

At that point I told Dell that the computer smelled like smoke and I got off of my chair and I could have possibly spilled something at the moment that smoke was coming out of it and I told the guy in India that I mentioned it to the lady that took my call when it burned up inside. He looked into his records and told me that I was right. He now tells me that I have to take the computer back and he will replace it with another computer that is used :argh: because it's 6 months old.

I had to threaten them with a lawsuit before his manager promised to replace the POS. :grr:

So how was your day?

[aquart]

1. My cousin just bought one. I'm a little alarmed.

[pinkpops]

2. You shouldn't ever give Dell a nickle

Name, Occupation, Employer Contribution Address
Mrs. Susan Dell
C.E.O.
RNC
$46,500 3400 Toro Canyon Rd
Austin, TX 78746
Mr. Michael S Dell
Chairman & C.E.O.
Dell Computer Corporation RNC
$25,000 1 Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78682

And their service stinks.

[diplomats]

10. So what kind of computer do you recommend?

I have an iMAC and it needs replaced. I don't want to get another MAC and I was thinking of getting a Dell. Now, after reading the post, I'm not sure.:think:

[pinkpops]

11. I generally build my own - You probably have a few

independents in your area. For my college student daughter who is away from home I bought a Compaq/HP notebook with extended warranty.

[Wcross]

16. http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/

I bought one (a desktop) last week- still waiting for delivery. Prices are 10-20% less than dell, they offer many more specific options than dell and the last system I bought from them was excellent. They have been in business for over ten years.

[IronLionZion]

24. yup, CyberPower rocks!

I love picking exactly what I want and you get high quality parts for way less than Dell.

[DS1]

33. WOW

That's a great site

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. I love my Mac

but I am shopping for a decent PC because more and more websites are not accessible to Macs. I can no longer use my on line banking program to pay bills on my Mac. I have never been able to watch many videos on line and I can't pick up the stream for Air America anymore on my Mac.

But Macs are awesome because they always work, no viruses, they are fast and so much easier to use than a PC. So I hate to go the PC route, but feel I have no choice. My Internet access is so limited on a Mac.

If any of you sophisticated Mac users know how I can remedy these problems and save myself some money, let me know. A couple of you have answered questions for me before, and your advice is always right on.

[CanuckAmok]

40. It's too bad Toshiba no longer makes desktop PCs.

I've had a string of excellent Toshiba laptops. My lat one was an Acer, and I bought it because it had more power and features than a similarly-priced Toshiba. Big mistake, the Acer was a POS, and I'm back with Toshiba again. I'll never buy anything else.

But, they don't make desktops anymore :(

[HEyHEY]

3. Him and his Funky Homosapiens!

[NNadir]

4. Let's be clear: Michael Dell is one of the Bush promoters who made a shit

Governor of Texas golden by anointing his empty little head with greasy money.

I bought a Dell back in the 1990's and it was a piece of shit. The owner of the company is a piece of shit.

Buy something decent from someone decent.

[GingerSnaps]

5. I told them that they will replace it or i will sue them

I still have the blisters on my legs from the burn. All I want is my computer back in working condition so that I can use it for my classes before they end.

[RebelYell]

12. Have an attorney send them a letter about your injuries

Bet you'll get a new one.

[miss_kitty]

6. so when they send you a new one

take it back get a full refund and tell them: "Now I'm going to get something GOOD!"

[GingerSnaps]

7. Not new

Refurbished :argh:

[miss_kitty]

14. bastards. eom

[GingerSnaps]

15. Dell told me

That my model is obsolete and it's only 6 months old. Dell keeps changing the names on their computers so that they won't have to replace the ones that go bad with new ones.

[Guy Fawkes]

8. two things:

1. Tons of people get bad burns from laptops every day. In tech-heavy areas, its common to see them in ERs. A lot of people are even made sterile because of laptops.

2. As laptops go, a lot can be said for Alienware and Apples' iBook. Even though I haven't really liked an Apple since my Apple IIgs, the iBook is a nice little laptop. And you could always run Linux on it...

[Downtown Hound]

9. Switch to Macintosh

you'll be glad you did. My experience with a Gateway was similar to yours, and my girlfriend's Dell is almost exactly like yours. Both my Mac's though, have been truly awesome machines.

[Deja Q]

26. Why are they awesome?

"Oh yes, they are great" is hardly an excuse - in any argument except for frivolous ones.

If I learned only one thing in debate class, that was it. (the other being 'never think of the opponent's viewpoint during a debate, stick to your message.)

I obviously flunked debate class.

[Downtown Hound]

34. They never crash

they are as stable as a rock, fast, both the graphics and the hardware look cool, they are incredibly easy to use, Apple's tech support is top of the line and has won awards, but in my four years of Mac usage I have only had to use it once. That should tell you something right there. Their politics are Democratic (Al Gore is on their board of directors). You don't have to worry about viruses for two reasons, number one is that OS X is built much better than Windows XP and is harder to penetrate. Number two is that because Mac's make up only a small percentage of the market nobody bothers to write viruses for them.

I used to own a PC and use them at work. There is no comparison between the two. Macs are infinitely better. I always tell people if you really want to know which platform is better talk to people that use both on a regular basis. I guarantee you that an overwhelming majority of them will say the Mac is.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. You are right about Macs being better

but read my post above about problems I have on the internet with my Mac. Any ideas?

[Downtown Hound]

38. The only times I have ever had

any online disadvantages with a Mac are when I tried to play at some online casinos. They are PC only. To solve the problem I ordered Virtual PC. If you don't know what that is, it's basically Windows for your Mac. Yes, you can run Windows on your Mac, and surf the web through it as a PC user. This may solve the problem with your bank. It retails for about $240 on Apple's website, a lot cheaper than buying a whole new computer.

As for downloading videos, I have never experienced any difficulties or drawbacks from being a Mac user in this department. Are you sure you have the correct players installed on your computer? Mac's come with Quicktime already installed, but you have to add Macromedia Flash player, Windows Media Player, Real Player, and DivX if you want to view files in that format. All of these are available for the Macintosh. I have all these and I am able to load virtually all video that is on the web with no problems at all.

On edit: I listen to Air America every day on my Mac. Like I said, make sure you have either Real Player or Windows Meida Player installed, becuase those are the only two formats that Air America is available in.

[proud2BlibKansan]

39. Thanks for the advice

I will look into that virtual PC.

It is nice not having to worry about viruses. And the higher cost is worth it. My hubby is a PC person and he went through 4 different computers in the time I had one Mac. So he spent more money on computers in that time than my Mac cost brand new. And I only had to have my Mac serviced once - and it only cost $35. So the higher cost is a myth.

[PBX9501]

37. $$

Mac costs more. The hardware is proprietary.
Ox10 is a very pretty UNIX front end. OS9 and the other lower versions had problems. osx has had serious holes plugged.

os10 is a BSD front end. This in not a bad thing but macs are usually several times more expensive than an a PC.

Linux is also a great OS but harder for normal people to use. It runs well on lots of platforms.

All operating systems, including risc systems can be compromised.

[Downtown Hound]

41. They do cost more

this is true. They also come with much more software pre-installed. When you buy a Mac you are ready to go: imovie, idvd, iphoto, itunes, quickbooks, Appleworks, web browsers, all that stuff is there. And when you use it, you will know where that extra money went.

It's true that OS X could be compromised. It's certainly not invincible. But it has yet to happen, and like I said, the motivation for hackers to do so isn't that great when Mac's make up such a small percentage of the market. Still though, I'm certainly not saying its impossible.

[flordehinojos]

13. Yes... and when I bought my Dell with a $100 mail-in rebate ...

they made lots of excuses not to send in the rebate money back. Actually, they kept my rebate money. next time around, i will be looking into Hewlett-Packards...

[Zero Division]

17. Currently using a 3 y.o. Dell. I will never buy one again.

They once had a great reputation for customer service. Now, no more. Add the bad politics and it's no more Dell for me.

[sallyseven]

18. Buy a Compaq I did it cost 600 . Had my own monitor.

I have been very happy with it for several years.

[Baja Margie]

19. How bizarre,

This weekend ours freaked out too. The fan kept coming on real loud like a vacuum cleaner. Turns out it was from the excessive moisture in the air due to the rainstorm here and being on the ocean...

It's a bitchen computer, but now I'm sad we got it after I found out that Dell is major contributors to Bush et al.

Anyway, they do have a good warranty, but you're supposed to run the diagnostic tests before you call them. Have them give you those disks.

[GingerSnaps]

20. It shut down

I couldn't run the test because in a matter of speaking the computer was fucked.

It did sound like a vacuum cleaner and it was driving me nuts. If you own a Dell they have a faulty fan unit in the notebooks and the only reason that I know this is the person in India admitted it to me over the phone.

[ldf]

21. "Dell Sucks big time"

well, i suppose you mean that in a bad way, huh?

:7

[GingerSnaps]

23. It you want to get "Snotty"

:7

I spent 3 hours on the line with a lady from India that admitted that Dell's had faulty fans in their notebook computers. :P

[kiahzero]

22. I've had nothing but good experience with my Latitude D800

Bought it last May. Had a minor issue with the pointing stick malfunctioning intermittently - I had someone on campus next day to fix it.

[Deja Q]

28. Better look for a recall on their batteries (or was it the power supply?)

I recall they had a recall for that component due to overheating problems.

Still, as long as they hire US citizens at home and pay them reasonable, they can paint Smurfs bright pink for all I care.

[GingerSnaps]

31. The battery wouldn't come out

It was so hot that the door to the battery melted shut. On Friday Dell tried to blame it on me by saying that I spilled something into the computer. I shot back at them and told them that I thought that it was on fire so I had to jump up out of my chair and at that moment everything that I had on my lap spilled.

My computer was 6 months old and they are going to replace it with a refurbished one because they don't make that model anymore. They upgrade their computers names every month so that they can play the same trick on everyone if something goes wrong. They told me that the fan unit was faulty and it was nothing new to the lady that filed my complaint and sent me a box to return my computer in.

[Deja Q]

25. IBM brand laptops are better built; they don't get warm underneath AND

the newer ones (R- and T- series) have a nice 'air bag' (sic) mechanism to protect the hard drive in the event of a fall.

I'm surprised Dell still uses folks in India. Last I heard, they were re-hiring techies in the US and building a manufacturing plant in the US too.

May the US workers show they're better or else we're all fucked.

[GingerSnaps]

29. I could have heated coffee up

My Dell Notebook got so hot that if I had placed a cup of coffee between my legs "McDonald's" it would have heated up.

[PBX9501]

35. IBM made in KOREA.

Stamped on the bottom of my laptop.

I don't know if dell manufacturers its laptops in the states.

[HuckleB]

27. Yes, Dell sucks.

So does Microsoft. And both of 'em support Bush.

It's a sad, sick world.

[pstokely]

30. Dell is also a big Chimp donor

nt