Despite having written for the Internet the last four years, I’ve never been particularly tech–savy, so you might think I’m unqualified to write a column comparing Dell’s computer repair customer service to Apple’s. But this is no tech-head review. Instead, I’m only reporting the events of my last week when a perfect storm of mishaps combined to break both my Dell laptop and Mac PowerBook. The timing was especially cruel as I’d just fired up my Twitter account and now my ability to recount my glorious life in real time was more limited (jumping into the void with opportunistic greed was my co-columnist Dan O’Brien, selfishly sucking up all the twitciples he could find while I was away. You’re welcome, Dan!).
Anyway, here’s my story…
Dell PC
The Breaking
I bought my Studio Dell laptop halfway through the run of Hate By Numbers™ and I gotta tell you, it started falling apart instantly. The screws came out, converting the the cheap plastic casing into a snap trap for my arm hair. Nevertheless, because I am a professional (and because I now no longer have any arm hair) I kept using it. Shortly thereafter though, the hinges gave way and the screen got all wobbly. Still, I remained undeterred until last week when the computer suddenly stopped charging. I decided to remedy all these problems at once. I knew that meant I might be without my laptop for a few weeks, but I still had my Mac. What could go wrong?
The Call To Customer Service
I called Dell’s 800 number and was instantly directed to India. Apparently, Dell has found a way to make money off of America’s racism and/or xenophobia because now –for an additional fee– you also have the option of being connected to a customer service technician “right here in America” (I think this ploy will be more successful than the automated message they had first considered: “If you hate talking to brown people, push ‘1′”). Anyway, because I love people of all races and creeds and because there was no way I was paying Dell one more cent for their crap laptop, I opted to hold for an Indian technician. I was greeted by a “Raj” who filled my head with Slumdog Millionaire images. (no, Raj was not gouging out a singing boy’s eyes with a spoon. I meant the tech support scene.) Raj quickly displayed his near-perfect English and startling systematic diagnostic prowess:
Raj:
Good morning, sir. What seems to be the problem?
Me:
My computer won’t charge. I’ve tried several outlets. But the light on the plug’s not lighting up. So I think it’s just a plug problem.
Raj:
I see. Very good, sir. Have you tried more than one outlet, sir?
Me:
Yes.
Raj:
OK, very good, sir. Now if you look at that plug, You will see a little green light. Do you see it?
Me:
Yes.
Raj:
Is it lit?
Me:
No.
Raj:
Is it plugged in?
Me:
Yes.
Raj:
OK. Very good, sir. There are two options. Either there is a problem with the computer or with the plug. At this point, I think it’s the plug, because the green light on it is not lit. Is that correct?
Me:
Yes.
Raj:
OK, then at this point sir, I am 99 percent sure the problem is with the plug. I will mail you a new plug –that is no problem, sir– and when you receive it, plug it in and if it works then everything is fine and there is no problem sir.
I should have left it at that, but sensing the possible return of my Hate By Numbers™ series, I thought this was the perfect time for me to get the whole unit serviced. Apparently, that posed a dilemma for Raj. For reasons I still don’t understand, I couldn’t mail the whole unit back to Dell until we solved that one percent of doubt as to whether the plug or the computer was the problem. Accordingly, Raj suggested he ship the plug, I try out my computer and make sure all works well, and then ship the whole unit off to Dell. He also stressed that I not ship back the good plug (”I fear the techs will lose it, sir”). And lastly, Raj suggested that I remove the hard drive before sending. Accordingly, he walked me through the removal of eight screws (four external and four internal) and the disconnecting and removal of the hard drive from the memory board. That took about 10 minutes. After the procedure, this exchange occurred…
Raj:
So you’ve now removed the hard drive, sir?
Me:
Yes. Now what?
Raj:
Very good, sir. OK. Now put the hard drive back and close up the computer.
Me:
What?! Why?
Raj:
Well, you’ll need the hard drive to test out the computer when the plug comes.
Me:
Then why did you make me remove it right now?
Raj:
Well, I wanted to make sure you know how to remove it for when you have to.
Raj then took another 10 minutes to give me an ID number for the plug repair, an ID number for the hinge repair, an ID number for our call and his personal extension should I need further care. In total, the call lasted 58 minutes.
Two days later I received the plug (yes, Raj, turns out the plug was the culprit. Rest easy). Oddly enough, the Dell mailing box also included mailing instructions which specified that I should include both my plug and hard drive — completely contrary to Raj’s suggestions. I decided to split the difference: kept the hard drive and mailed the plug with the computer. What could happen to a plug?
That was five days ago. I have not seen my Dell since.
Mac PowerBook
The Breaking
I never had much of a problem with the Mac. I always thought it was a sturdy little guy. And with my Dell in the shop I started using it for all my needs whether they be updating my Twitter account, Facebook account or latest Cracked offering. And then I dropped it. Mind you it was closed and only fell about two feet to the carpeted floor, but that’s all it took. Complete hard drive failure. Also, like my Dell, I’d noticed some plug problems with intermittent charging in the days leading up to the fall.
The Call To Customer Service
I called Apple’s customer service and was pleased to see that their support had not been outsourced to a foreign country. Ever resourceful, however, Apple found a way to make extra money even without Dell’s “racists pay more” angle…
Chip:
Hi this is Chip. I see you are not registered for our warranty plan that would allow you to have repairs made free. Would you like to join?
Me:
But this Mac is six months old. Isn’t it still under warranty?
Chip:
Yes.
Me:
So the repair is already free?
Chip:
Yes. So would you like to purchase and additional warranty?
Me:
No.
After failing to accomplish that attempted financial rape, Chip advised that it sounded like my Mac was suffering complete hard drive failure. He recommended I take it to the Apple store, and so, last Sunday at 10:30 a.m., I hit my local mall. I was pleased to see almost no line for the Genius Bar. Three modern day wisemen ready to help me.
But before I reached salvation I was intercepted by an Apple concierge who informed me that the store was only open for service calls.
Me:
Oh, that’s OK. That’s what I’m here for. I called the help line and they told me to come in.
Concierge:
Did they make an appointment for you?
Me:
I don’t think so.
Concierge:
I’m sorry. Appointment only. You’ll have to leave your computer and someone will call you in 24 hours. Is that OK?
I consented and filed out some paperwork, including a provision where I agreed to a $100 diagnostic fee.
Me:
Why do I have to pay a diagnostic fee if it’s under warranty?
Concierge:
You don’t. We never charge that, but we have to put it.
Me:
Why?
Concierge:
So that your order gets processed, but I promise you won’t be charged.
Me:
But I’m signing a piece of paper giving you permission to?
Concierge:
Yes. You have to give us permission to charge you so we can service it without charge.
I knew that didn’t sound right, but I was tired and the concierge had really bad breath so I didn’t feel like arguing. Accordingly, I took my revenge by converting my last name to Scottish before signing the paperwork.
The Follow Up
Despite the promised 24-hour contact time, I did not receive my call from Apple for another 36 hours. Sure, they claimed there was some mix up with differing names on the account (Gladstone vs. MacSucks) but that’s hardly an excuse. The phone rep predicted full hard-drive and plug repair in three to five days. Yesterday at 2 P.M., I received a call that the Mac was fixed. I drove to the mall and picked my bad boy up, but realized (just before leaving) that they had neglected to return my plug. Apparently the tech guys had lost that. And after just 10 more minutes of waiting they found a new one for me.
Final Analysis
I’m not going to pick a winner. I mean, yeah, Apple has more repair outlets so I avoided the mail and their turnaround time was pretty impressive–a total of three business days. But both Dell and Apple tried to screw me out of money. Both were bogged down in bureaucratic procedure. And most importantly, both manufactured a laptop that fell to pieces in under a year. Like I said at the start, I’m no expert. Just a man who lived through the cataclysmic events of dual laptop failure. I’ve waded through the morass of customer service and lived to tell the tale. Does that make me a hero? In a way. Yes.
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 3:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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October 27th, 2009 at 7:24 am
>Carson
Winner
October 26th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Uh… the Mac didn’t fall to pieces, you dropped it. The dell, it sounds like, literally fell to pieces.
I think that’s a meaningful distinction.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:42 am
@negativecreep
i agree desktop ftw sure they are big and heavy but you cant match the pricing and ease of repairs/upgrades
October 26th, 2009 at 8:36 am
I’ve had my Dell XPS for 4 and a half years now and no problems. It’s on 29 days a month straight without being turned off at all and is always running at max and its been through a whole lot. Spills, drops, and punches, people were so surprised to see the hell it goes through and still gives me no problems. I guess I was lucky to get a well built one.
October 25th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
I have an IBM Thinkpad T40 that has been through everything (spilled beverages, drops from a few feet in the air) and it hasn’t caused me one ounce of trouble…
October 24th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I have a friend whos dad threw around his ThinkPad when it froze. It still works perfectly fine.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:36 am
What the hell is wrong with IT guys!!?!?! They are useless! What ever you give them they will lose! I have sent in Various electronic equipment, and they always seem to lose shit!!!! MY GOD MAN GET ORGANISED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whether its plugs or Hard drives and memory cards.! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU TAKING OUT MY MEMORY CARD WHEN I SENT MY MOBILE PHONE IN COS MY VOLUME SIDE BUTTON WASNT WORKING???!
ANyway… hahaha!
October 21st, 2009 at 5:53 pm
i had the same problem with my Dell. I told them that the laptop wasn’t charging, and that I thought it might be the cord… they had me mail it out 3 times, all three times they replaced my CPD and motherboard, had someone come out and replace it again, only to forget the cord (that I was sure was the problem), they came back two days later with the cord, and plugged it in and it was fine. With the money for the shipping back and forth, the replacement for the parts and the labor, they could have just sent me a new laptop (which I suggested. The man on the phone said “Well, Ma’am, if I do that you will get a refurbished laptop as opposed to a new one”. My response was “well, will that one work?” “Yes, but it won’t be new.”)
This was a 6 month old laptop.
October 21st, 2009 at 8:47 am
I have had my MacBook for well over 2 years now and have only had one minor problem which was a known issue and covered without charge even though it was out of warranty. I disagree with the statement that both computers were falling apart only a year after purchase - your computers are electronics and must therefore be treated with care. I’m not saying tuck it in at night and wrap it in bubble wrap when not in use, but to DROP your computer and then claim it’s falling apart? Come on.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
HP has a pretty good deal going on. They have sturdy products. If you buy it at best buy then you can deal with the geek squad who are pretty awesome bastards in Jehova’s Witness uniforms. I had a plug problem once with my laptop but they fixed it so fast i barely had time to seduce the hot nerd and promptly do him in the back where all the “repairing” gets done. And by “barely had time” I mean I screwed him. And by “do him” i mean i screwed him. and my “‘repairing’” i mean repairing my laptop. They did it really fast.
October 15th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
The answer is not to buy a laptop.
Laptops are designed for hardware failure. Since they’re expensive and hard to repair, most people will buy a new one. This offsets the cost inured by those that break down before the warranty is up.
If you do need a laptop, buy one that’s cheap enough that you can throw it away after a year and not feel bad about.
If you need a computer with power, make that a desktop. They’re easier to fix and their parts are cheaper (and mostly very easy for even non-techies to replace themselves.)
September 27th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
nothing is better then my tough book with ubuntu
September 25th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
no mac or dell for me, personally spec’d pc and the only problem i’ve had was a bad power supply, to which i took it in to the shop that built it for me and they fixed it for free within three hours
September 19th, 2009 at 6:41 am
“I run linux so thats a contributing factor.”
LINUX USERS EVERYWERE! UNITE!!!
September 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Holy crap, i have dropped this HP pavilion notebook COUNTLESS times thanks to clumsy mentally retarded rediculously reckless friends.. and also forgetting the notebooks on the bed when my gfs over O_O. Still works pretty good..though the fan is ALWAYS RUNNING MAX SPEEED.
I used to use it at school and everyone would just stare at it, like it was singing racist folk tunes.
I’m going to sell it soon </3
September 12th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
They lost the plug! Like Raj said!
September 11th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
I’m not all Mr. Mac Apologist or nothin, but the Powerbook didn’t exactly “fall to pieces,” you dropped it and the hard drive popped. Apple uses the same hard drives in their laptops that Dell, HP/Compaq, Toshiba, and Lenovo do. They don’t take shock well.
The rest of your story was funny though. Scripted phone support sucks.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Toshiba FTW, I’ve had mine for 2 years now, and I’ve not had a single problem with it. Of course I run linux so thats a contributing factor.
September 10th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
I am not a Mac fan but Dell almost converted me. I went through four laptops in two years. Two of them exploded while in use, in my lap. I have scars and burns that will never go away now. (THANKS DELL). I am considering going the route of HP with my next computer purchase, but I at least got a nice desktop (for free) from Dell out of my horrific physical mutilation. It works fab, but is far from portable.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Your first mistake was getting a laptop.
Desktops are the way to go! I’ve had a Dell desktop for 9 years, adding my own upgrades to it to keep it somewhat on par with today’s technology. Only had trouble with it twice in all that time. I’ve finally gotten another one the other day, upgrade!
September 8th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
you shold have bought a hp laptop i droped mine down a flight of stairs and it still works without any problems
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:43 am
Comparatively, that all sounded fairly painless. Last time I had this sort of problem, it took months to get anything done. Documented at http://jestbuy.com of course.
August 27th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Ive dropped my laptop plenty of times and the only time i needed to send it is when wine spilt on my laptop and fried the RAM sticks (im just glad it didnt touch the hard drive) but no one asked me for an extended warranty, although all they said was, “YOUR MAC BROKEN… GIVE HERE WE FIX!” and i got it after 20 minutes.
August 20th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Lol.I’ve had a budget level inspiron fron Dell for 5 years. This stupid thing has survived at least 5 falls(the highest distance was about 3 feet), viruses, bad handling, spilling coffee, and various broken keys. It still works and I’ve never had a problem with the plug or battery. I still have the first plug. I love Dell.
August 18th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
I’ve had my MacBook for 2 1/2 years and I’ve never had a problem.. I take it everywhere with me, and I have 2 dogs that are constantly knocking it to the ground and stepping on it.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
First mistake… sending the Dell back. Dell send you the parts to replace yourself… even if the motherboard fails, they send you the parts.
Why the hell would you VOLUNTEER to send the laptop to them when you don’t need to?
Bro you’re not that bright
August 13th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Dude, the plugs on all the Dell laptops fail. I’m on number four myself. The computer still works totally fine, as long as I reinstall Windows every year or so.
What? I’m not bitter.
August 12th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
All Starwars fans are Mac fanboys.
All Startrek fans are PC diehards.
So its Borg Cube (PC) vs Deathstar (Mac)?
Hahahhahaha!
August 7th, 2009 at 12:39 am
Perfect example of why i prefer building my own desktops (Which I did for the low price of 1600 dollars, which a computer like mine from a manufacturer would cost anywhere from 2000 to 4000 dollars) and I get laptops such as Asus or Toshiba.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:55 am
I love mountain dew
August 4th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
This case of Apple product lifetime was definitely not typical, not sure about the Dell, but considering the problems he was experiencing with the units, its short lifetime was probably due to his own carelessness. I’ve had the same PowerBook G4 for 5 years, but that’s probably not typical either
July 29th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I have recently decided to stop using tech support altogether for anything short of hardware failure for the exact reason listed above. I have an apple laptop, and they have succeeded in making it cost hundreds of dollars for any sort of repair. The fuckers make you buy a $300 “service plan” even for simple advice. Fucking ridiculous.
July 26th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
good gravy, my laptop (bob) lasted 3 years and several falls. and the computer guy came over here and was able to resuscitate him. he lasted an additional 6 months before death claimed him for real. but you… you make my experience look like nothing.
July 25th, 2009 at 10:22 am
How do you have a 6 month old powerbook in 2009 when they haven’t been made for 3 years?
July 21st, 2009 at 11:04 am
Why did you send your Dell away if the plug fixed it? That’s pretty g0ddamned stupid.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Are you fucking retarded or just can’t read, fitzergerald? He said his Dell wouldn’t charge anymore, you cunt nugget. It had nothing to do with Windows.
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Fix your own damn windows
That is the advantage of windows, you can do it at home if you are not braindead
Instead of paying a 100$ diagnostic fee, 300$ cerebral gargle fee, and 53$ pink ape consignment fee
in after huge clusterfuck
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
i have noticed that in skateboarding, pc’s grind better and longer.
July 3rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
wow how many of u work for apple…
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:56 am
I bought a used ipod touch off amazon for about $250. i ltr found that the internet didnt work. i then sent the ipod back and got a replacement. that ones wifi thing didnt work. i went to apple and they gave me a brand new one, free of charge, no questions asked. i basically made $150 off of apple
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:17 am
in a way, yes.
priceless, 2 fingers up
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
If you’re apple is under warranty, they shouldn’t have charged you or claimed that they were gonna charge you.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Apple can fix any software problems as I found out when I accidentally formatted the wrong partition -_-. 15 minutes over the phone, and 10 terminal commands later it was all good. gotta love apple
June 28th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
@Azanoth
I’ll remember that. Macs are great, but I’ll need a reliable (enough) PC for gaming someday
Awesome article, even if it is a bit old.
June 27th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
What you do with Dell is, when the adapter doesn’t work (which is inevitable), you take the battery out the laptop and see if the adapter works. If it does (it probably will), there’s a problem with the adapter. Yeah, that doesn’t make sense, but it’s true. Dell will then ask you to download the new BIOS and do the BIOS flash (which doesn’t work for me, but oh, well). After these steps, they’ll end up giving you a new adapter, anyways, and tell you to keep the new one.
I would have NEVER, in hell, given the laptop up.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
btw, all faggots in list saying “dell sucks x brand rocks etc.” when your computer is “fucked” it’s your goddamned fault, 90% of the time, and is fixable 100% of the time. This is with any brand. The os may be jampacked with shit from the manufacturer, but the hardware on all computers is all basically the same. Unless there’s a factory recall you got not bitch.
I’m not starting a flame war here either, this is the last time I’ll set eyes on this thread. I’m just giving you guys the facts so you can quit being pantywastes about your computers as you’re supposed to be intelligent people if you’re reading cracked, not granny’s who don’t know how to “open the internet.”
It’s shit like this that makes my job a living fucking nightmare sometimes.
Fuck off.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
HOLY SHIT. What do you just attach a chain to your laptops and use them as nunchucks? This article blows, mostly because it’s full of misinformation. Granted it wasn’t a “tech head review,” I’ll acknowledge you’re lay, but to be a shit customer and follow extremely shitty maintenance procedures then blame the laptop for “failing,” it’s inexcusable for a cracked staff writer.
I mean, if you have screws falling out and hinges getting shitty and the “plug” failing, well, that shit doesn’t just happen. The fucking laptop isn’t made of goddamned legos. If you have lose screws it’s because you don’t carry your laptop in padded bag and it gets knocked around. If you have lose hinges it’s because you carry your laptop around open. If you have a bad “plug” (it’s actually called a power supply unit and took me till the last fucking paragraph to understand that THAT’s what you were talking about, rather than a DC power jack). If you don’t do any of these things, you’re wrong, you do, and you just don’t notice it.
The mac failure was your fucking fault as well. I mean just 100% entirely. Jesus H. Christ you can’t just drop a laptop and expect it to work. Hard drives are like record players. Drop a record player with your favorite Abba album inside on the ground, watch the needle fuckin bury, and guess at how well your record player/abba record is going to work afterward. Not too fucking well. I’m pretty sure macs even have a “do not drop” type warning label somewhere in the packaging just so you don’t make that fucktarded mistake. Dell makes a solid product, at least in the studio models. Maybe if you had a budget level inspiron you could pass this off, but that’ DEFINITELY not a budget level laptop you bought.
Your fault. Tech support bs was expected, it’s a fact of life. Pointless article.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:19 am
@4815162342: are you a retarded mac fanboy?
June 15th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Last year, my Lenovo laptop fell onto concrete from about 5 feet up. This didn’t break it, not entirely, anyway. It took a few more knocks to finally crack the motherboard.
So anyway, I call up Lenovo customer service and they send me a box. After taking out my hard drive, (’cause of stuff on it I didn’t want them seeing), I sent in my laptop.
I get it back three days later completely repaired and cleaned, and they even sent me back the game that I had accidentally left in the CD drive in a new jewel case. Didn’t cost me a dime, since I had accidental damage warranty on it.
So, Lenovo customer service is awesome, and the laptops are fucking tanks. All in all, I am pleased.
June 12th, 2009 at 9:57 am
IF YOU DROPPED YOUE MAC IT’S NOT APPLES FAULT FOR IT BREAKING, verses the dell breaking BY IT’S SELF
June 5th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Great article, I think it defiantly shines a light on the mac vs dell/pc war. After reading this I came to conclude that no matter what the brand wear and tear always happens, and buying a lap top should be based on your personal preferences on what you need program wise.
May 26th, 2009 at 8:56 am
That does suck. I’m far from a fan of Dell, and I don’t even own an Ipod much less any other apple product. My Toshiba laptop, after two years of faithful service, began exhibiting the exact same symptoms of not charging (unless I jiggle the plug around a little.) The good thing for me was that all it took was a 5 minute google search on my desktop (another windows machine) to find out not only the problem but an illustrate guide on how to fix it. I’ll let you know how that turns out when I finally work up the courage to crack the thing open.
All i’m going to say is learn how your computer works and how to fix it. This will save you oodles of time and money.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:47 am
Not sure if he’ll see this, so next time anyone talks to Gladstone tell him he may have a wiring problem in his house. It’s fairly unusual for two different power adapters to from two different manufacturers to show the same symptoms at the same time. In any case, a good UPS will take care of any line voltage fluctuations and noise.
May 19th, 2009 at 10:49 am
As a general rule I only trust two names when it comes to laptops, Toshiba, and Lenovo\IBM, anything else is a waste of money as they generally fall apart or have issues that requires taking the thing apart.
As a general rule you can’t send Apples back as they live in this alternate reality where if something is so severely wrong with your mac book, they won’t replace it, nor will they supply spare parts…something along the lines of “our stuff doesn’t break”.
I don’t hate Apple because of the people that own them or the elitist attitude that some of them have (the so-called genius bar doesn’t help), I hate them because they are overpriced chunks of metal stripped from the earth and they come off as being gods gift to the environment, the battery is ending up in a landfill regardless of how long it lasts, and the screen and mainboard still contain hazardous materials like mercury and lead.
May 18th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
people are assholes about computers. if you have an extreme preference of one to the other then fuck you, you’re probably an asshole.
May 17th, 2009 at 7:27 am
This article is terrible and Macs are for faggots.
I’ve been running XP since it came out and have never had a problem, or a need (as of yet) to switch to a newer Windows product. PC pwns all you faggots paying $2500 for what I can build for $800.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
yeah IMO these warranties are bullshit anyway. There’s always “fine print”, like if you damaged it yourself then the thing’s not covered. Or else you have to ship it away and wait like 2-3 weeks. Which sucks.
May 11th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
I know it’s old hat news by now, but IBM/Lenovo has always been excellent for me. My girlfriend recently had her laptop gpu go out, and had to wait almost a month to get it repaired through HP. Similarly my friend sent his dell in for repairs (HDD replacement) and got it back ten days later. I’ve sent the T60p I’m writing this on into IBM twice, never had it take longer than 18 hours to get a mailing box, and never had it gone for more than 72 hours from the time it was sent.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:30 am
well i have rarely heard anything good about Apple anyway. And as for the person below me, all HP computers suck. But the Dell falling apart is a shock
May 1st, 2009 at 5:29 pm
If you’re gonna buy a laptop, whatever you do do not buy a HP entertainment notebook. My second one just failed.
And by the way, VISTA SUCKS AND WHOEVER CREATED IT DESERVES TO GO LIVE IN MEXICO AND GET THE SWINE FLU AND DIE A SLOW AND PAINFUL HIGH-FEVER INDUCED DEATH!
April 30th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Absolutely great article! Thanks for taking the time to rant!
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Yeah, but a 2ft drop onto carpet shouldn’t cause hard drive failure… Have you ever seen what they put hard drives through to test their durability? It’s certainly no pansy 2ft drop onto carpet…
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:47 am
Dude, the mac didn’t “fall apart” on its own, you dropped it.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Wow, I sure do possess an irrational hatred of macs. Just the mere mention of “mac” or “apple” in any article or posting sends my inferiority complex into overdrive, forcing me to label any person with a mac a “fanboy”, and accuse them of shilling for apple even when the word “mac” is not used in any fanatical way.
I, however, will fail to grasp the irony of plugging my favorite pc, all the while condemning mac “fanboys” under the same breath. I also enjoy seeking out any articles on the web containing the words “mac” or “apple” so that I may unleash my furious dweeb rage upon them.
I’ve never been laid.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:28 am
I worked for Dell doing tech support as a lvl 1 and then moved up to a lvl 3 the end of the line, very few customers get to talk to a lvl 3 tech usually its a lvl 2 asking if its OK to do this or that.
I am not racists but there are just somethings that escapes people that do not speak or live in that environment all the time. When I was a lvl 1 most times first thing I would hear are you American do you speak English and I would laugh and say yes.
Dell has a computerized script that the computer forces you to follow and god forbid if your sup was listening and you didn’t follow it.
I was better off then most people in Dell tech when in training because I had years of computer repair experience under my belt.
One thing that was funny is that all through training they were like own the call; when you get off the call with the customer the problem is resolved or has to be escalated. As soon as we hit the floor my first sup was like OK forget what you just spent 3 weeks learning in training here is how it is done on the floor.
We were expected to answer the call diagnose the problem and close the call with in 5 minutes if it goes over 10 you would have a sup over your shoulder asking why you are on the phone for so long.
There was a big board on the wall were you could check your stats daily and we were required to put are initials by it saying we have seen them. If are stats went over because we had a customer that had no clue and was like wheres the power button or have to say “left click not right” 10x’s, then that eats up your stats. And yes I have gotten the call of people not knowing that the CD tray is not for their coffee or drinks. Mostly what I would hear if a customer did call back after the part being sent out was that we sent them the wrong one or companies calling saying they needed one replacement hd but got 20 or something stupid like that.
I would think damm how can this company stay in business I mean for every one that calls and lets us know how many just keeps them? When the Dell battery recall was going on a few years back I would get customers calling in saying they would get 5 or 6 of them one woman called because she would come home to a UPS package setting at her door every day for the past 2 weeks and didn’t mind it at first but was getting ticked off now lol.
I have nothing against some one else working but I think that if 80% or what ever is sold here then 80% of your work force should be here too.
But oh well just some of my thoughts from the other side if you will.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:06 am
Dude, you dropped your laptop. That doesn’t qualify as laptop failure.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:11 am
The Mac Store service in St. Louis is second to none. They have always addressed my repairs as quickly and professionally as possible. They know how to treat a customer, and it’s a reason I keep going back. If you have ever worked tech support, you know how much of a hassle it can be when it’s user error vs. the real thing. Even with user errors, I have seen the staff go above and beyond to help. I guess it varies from location to location? I know this sounds like I’m a sold-out fanboy, but I’ve owned about 3 Dell and 2 IBM laptops before switching to Apple (I’m on my 2nd mac mini and first MacBook Pro. Had an iBook but sold it…) Dell was great in the mid-90’s…but now sells total garbage.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Gladstone, as a Mac and a Dell user I found this article very entertaining.
April 20th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I don’t really think they were trying to screw you out of money, I mean there are perks with the AppleCare, and I think what the dell plan was the “gold support”.
Apparently they have different kinds of support, personally I would never buy a dell computer even though I’ve heard (surprisingly) that their support is amazing.
But a friend of mine is incharge of the IT-dept at his company and they’re using dell computers, there are several different plans for support there…. then again who the fuck knows =/
April 20th, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Tough luck with the Mac, but never, EVER buy a Dell. I bought a Dell desktop and it fucked up so much that I eventually took all of the components out of it and put them into an Asus barebone system…no problems since then. Within a week the hard drive malfunctioned, and then after that I seriously went thru like, 3 motherboards. Of course, Dell’s motherboards are proprietary so I had to keep getting the same crappy one.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I work for a tech support desk (I do free consultations and send hardware issues to techs for repair), and I have to say that the apple service you got was about as good as it’s gonna get.
They’re a major corporation, of course they’re going to have bureaucratic bullshit. You’re actually lucky they didn’t charge you the hundred dollars.
The dell bit doesn’t surprise me at all. Dell’s laptops look nice, but they’re pieces of shit. Their warranty is a joke (doesn’t cover ‘customer replaceable’ parts under their warranty but doesn’t tell the tech desk (who acts as an intermediary between the customer and the warranty guys) what that list consists of), and their batteries are obscenely priced.
That being said, apple hardware is notoriously expensive, but it’s usually the only thing that breaks down, and not very often.
All in all, this article was a waste of time. I kept reading in hopes of some horror story that no one should believe, but all I got was two typical stories of tech support.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I’ve had a Toshiba laptop for the last 2 years, with no problems at all. We’ve been through a lot together.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:02 am
you had so many problems with the pc side because you bought a dell you fucktard they just got subjected to a class action lawsuit because of poor customer service faulty products and misrepresenting interest rates
April 20th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I’m surprised that Apple repaired your Powerbook at all considering you dropped it. You should count yourself lucky in that respect.
As for the Dell falling apart, I’m pretty sure that’s one of the features that Dell touts about their machines. Every Dell I’ve ever seen generally behaves like a leper once it’s out of the colony.
April 19th, 2009 at 10:39 am
Ah, Gladstone, I love the articles and I’m quite pleased that HBN is running again. My opinion on the whole Mac vs PC is pretty on the fence. Neither are great but PCs are better for programming and office things but Macs are good for artsy stuff (and their simple enough for a three year old to run). Anyways, keep up the good work.
April 16th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
nice, really nice!
April 14th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I gotta say, compared to some of the crap I’ve slogged through/seen others slog through, this is pretty tame.
April 12th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Hey, speak frankly, sometimes that isnt company procedure.
Always contact higher dealer / authority, if you feeling dissatisfied with local (small) store. Why? Because they play dirty work.
Or if needed, dirty officer needed to be fired!
For MAC, my macbook unibody, got charging problem (everytime about 10hours, and the battery time status is error).
Going for the OFFICIAL APPLE store, they accept it, and no charge at all. The result: Free Logicboard replacement.
Just showed my warranty card.
Quick & professional!
Please posting the dealers number and the person full name, so everyone will know which dirty store they shouldn’t deal with.
April 12th, 2009 at 8:53 am
I own a Dell and a three year warranty. After a little less than a year of ownership, my battery completely failed. When I called Tech support, he quickly took over my desktop remotely, went to the battery indicator in the bottom right clicked on it and then said, “See you need a new battery, which is not covered by your warranty.” And then he began to push a new battery purchase on me very aggressively.
As it turns out, this is run of the mill for my model Dell (XPS-M1530), and the cheapest battery Dell.com offers for my laptop is a $149.99 6-cell lithium (the same battery that failed in less than a year). Basically, for the “privilege” of owning a power sucking Dell laptop, I get the added pleasure of shelling out $150 a year for a new battery. It’s absolutely absurd if you ask me. Oh, did I mention that you have to purchase a certified Dell battery or else have your warranty revoked.
April 6th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
I love it how some people think its worth while correcting somebody on the internet because their use of the English isn’t perfect.
Apart from it being unimportant, the reason we are all hear is to read about how this dumb shit dropped is laptop, the other conveniently ‘fell apart’ and the service that he may or may not have recieved.
I don’t give a shit if this guy is Edward scissor hands or his sister, he comes across like a complete moron (low and behold, so do I).
Please don’t waste your time rebutting me and focus you’re rage towards this silly man and his silly action/thoughts/behaviors/beliefs.
April 5th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Zack, you were saying who needs tech support when there’s google…
How do you google tech support when your computers messed up?
Although I agree on the homegrown computer point. I’ve never bought a prebuilt PC. Me and my sister put this one together in 2000 for less than 200 quid, and it’s still running fine. Yeah, I can’t play any fancy games, but I can browse, download, IM and listen to my music.
As for tech support? whenever it messes up I just wipe the hard drive and start again. No need to call anyone.
April 5th, 2009 at 4:23 am
Still chugging away with an old T23 IBM Thinkpad I bought over 3 years ago for $350 second hand on ebay (and definately not refurbished!). Never had a single problem with it except the odd virus prompting a fresh reinstall and then I’m up and running again - the Sherman Tank of Laptops. Replacement time is upon me and I’m seriously considering going for (after a stupidly excesive amount of research) a new (or newer) T series Thinkpad, although this link suggests their service is no better than Gladstone’s experience:
http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?message.uid=105085#U105085
I have a 3 month old Apple iPhone and, whilst not a computer, had a small glitch which spiralled so far out of poor-customer-service-control that I will believe I would be mad to put my fate in their hands again.
I’ts cheap computing now for me; I’m keeping away from the bright lights *bling* of shiney and new. I do not give a flying fish for talking to an Indian Helpdesk jocky to solve a warranty covered technical issue when I can use my own ‘gumption’ (remember ‘Robert M Persig’ anyone?) to resolving issues I already know the answer to. It’s called not playing the warranty victim and taking responsibility. The only way this can be achieved is to maintain my own second hand laptop or build my own desktop. And you know what? Both are thoroughly rewarding computer experiences that leave you more empowered and knowledgable with every technical experience you encounter.
Answers can be Googled, and parts can be replaced. And when they are, using my computer feels so much more rewarding.
March 31st, 2009 at 3:40 am
I’m surprised you had a bad experience with Dell. I own about 40 of them and my experience has been stellar. On the rare occasion they need service it is prompt and effective. Even when my call goes to India it is pretty good! I used to build my own PCs (like one of the other commenters) but found it much more economic to buy Dell, mainly due to the 3 year warranty, solid construction, quiet operation and competitive prices. Maybe I am not so good at building them myself, my home-builts were always flaky in operation and had a lot of fan noise.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
You dropped your Mac, that would be an out of warranty repair for the HD, you’re lucky they didn’t bill you for it. The power adapter though, yeah warranty.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Zack, it’s kinda’ hard to check Google if your PC isn’t working. Don’t you think?
March 30th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Oh, and Mac sucks my Shitty McTesticles. It’s not even a goddamn Mac anymore, it’s PC hardware with a different operating system and glossy jizz-white plastic case, presumably so Apple fanboys can hide their ejaculate when they lose control listening to the latest Maroon 5 single on iTunes.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
See, this is why I build my own system. Though I’ve only ever owned a desktop, so I’ve never attempted to build a notebook. I think I could figure it out, however. It’s just great to be able to build a fairly sweet gaming rig for 600-800 bones, compared to the exact same thing being sold for $1000-1700 pre-built. Who needs effing tech support anyway–it’s called GOOGLE.
March 29th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I personally have only owned a macbook pro and an acer aspire one netbook, the macbook pro was the cheapest macbook pro i could afford, refurb to top it off, however you can be sure I got the extended warranty if nothing other then the extended tech support however with my tech knowledge my last couple of calls have been mere checking for idiocy on my own end or a method i hadn’t thought of. So far with the macbook pro its taken 1 logic board failure to the shop and a few minor issues which I’m considering building up some cash to fix on my own. a keyboard replacement and cleaning/replacement of affected parts from a soda spill. (yes i know thats not covered under warranty which is why I’m saying pay for it out of my own bloody pocket.) and the latch which keeps it shut is finicky and rarely keeps it shut.
The logic board replacement took a little more then a week but that involved complete removal of everything inside it just to access the logic board to replace it so i can’t hold that against them.
as for the netbook, I have abused it even more then my macbook pro, (other then the soda spill on the mbp) so far its still in perfect working order.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
You must have left out the fact that you dropped your laptop when getting it repaired. Maybe Mac is different, but with Dell or HP you get a 1-year defect warrenty, but you would have to pay extra for accidentel damage, IE drops and spills.
i worked HP support and what I found is the service centers are just filled with underpaid bitch interns who don’t do any troubleshooting and just do what it says on the ticket. If I say its the motherboard on the phone and put that in the service ticket and it turns out it isn’t the motherboard, there is a chance they will just swap out MB and send it right back with out looking at it further. I would get calls pretty often of people getting thier notebooks back and they still aren’t working after having three components changed out.
March 28th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
coool guyy.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:57 am
300TH!!!
March 27th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Seriously, that wasn’t even that bad. Haven’t seen your computer in 5 days? That’s because it often takes a week for something to get shipped from one place to another.
I’ve heard pretty terrible things about Dell and HP laptops in general. Right now I have an Asus EeePC and the hardware has been really sturdy and dependable thus far.
March 26th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Do any of you douchebags get out of the house much? Who gives a fuck, its just the internets. Everything eventually dies, computers included. noobz
March 26th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
I lived through a dual laptop failure too, but both of mine were Macs. I don’t know what happened to the first one, considering I had it repaired for about $300 six months earlier, but the second one had a dangerous design flaw that caused it to overheat and shut off at random. Apple said they would fix the flaw that they designed into the computer if I had gotten the extended warranty (I was about 3 months out of regular warranty at this time), but since I hadn’t gotten the extended warranty I must PAY, PAY, PAYYYYY them sweet, sweet monies.
I opted to sell the laptop, advertised as “broken”, on ebay. Oddly enough, somebody bought it.
All I can say is never again, Apple… never again.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:15 am
I ordered a DELL Media Center desk top and let me tell you that the first year I owned it I thought I was going to go nuts! This was my first computer and it was bought with the help of my IT boyfriend so I figured I’d be safe- I mean it’s a DELL. By the beginning of the 2nd year of buying this computer this motherboard was replaced 2 times, both harddrives replaced, both cd/dvd readers, the Processor and the videocard. I thought the blue screen of death was just a normal thing that happens once a day! I bought a new computer 2 months ago, one that was just put together from parts bought off NewEgg. Save yourself a headache, find someone who knows what they are doing and just build your own.
March 25th, 2009 at 12:32 am
I have a dell studio too - which went haywire after exactly 30 days (which, coincidentally is the exact number of days you get on the software malfunction warranty - AND the exact number of days that the trial version of McAfee was installed…)
I got a special, one-time “good-will” allowance of this 30-day rule, after 45 minutes of being transferred around and talking to absolute morons. This offer would restore my computer to factory standards, and save me the $80 they would normally charge.
What $80 would get someone who was less pissed off or determined than I was: “Yeah, so, um, like press F8 repeatedly as the computer starts up, and follow the steps”.
Save yourself some money, folks. A tip from me to you.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I recently had to call tech support to set up an mac airport router. I found the support quite helpful and pleasant. Although I was told my warranty was almost over and that I could not renew or extend the warranty. Now I am afraid it is going to fry as soon as the warranty is up.
Either way, with “tech support” it’s fun to just ask them funny or embarressing questions while they’re helping you in the odd moments of silence, “is the green light blinking?” Uhm, hold on let me check….” Oh man I just sharted, has that ever happened to you?
March 24th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I’m suprised so many people have had bad experiences with Dell. I got mine right before going off to college and in the last three years (despite me repeatedly dropping it, on concrete, more then once) it’s only ever had a problem with the power cord (only a $30 fix). I’m also college student cheap so mine was one of the cheapest labtops Dell was selling.
March 24th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
this is surprising because i have an 06 macbook and its still works perfect.
n i take it everywhere in a regular big satchel bag thing…
you would think it would fuck up due to all the times ive dropped it and stepped on it.
but its my little trooper.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:21 am
Customer service sucks in general these days…regardless of brand. I spent 5 years working a tech support call center and the people I deal with now would have been fired “wif da quickness” back then.
I’m generally a PC guy (because they’re easier for me to fix myself) but I had a mac a while back that was having trouble with it’s connection to my wireless network. The guy, who was outsourced, first tried to sell me the extra Apple Care support service like they did to you. Then spent 15 minutes going back and forth between telling me that my problem could be with my router or it could be the Ethernet cable. All my other computers worked fine on my WIRELESS network. Yet he still kept telling me that it could be the cable. Eventually…I gave up on him. I had never been so disgusted by service in my life.
March 24th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Real question. a hassle for both, but i bet you paid alot less for the dell(still crappy company) than you did for the mac. and if it wasn’t hardware failure, you probably could have looked up the fix online.
March 24th, 2009 at 1:14 am
Compaq’s own those computers
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Compared to NZ this is the best service I have ever heard of. We have 2 to 5 week wait times.
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I like how they sort the guys at the genius bar from skinniest to fattest.
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
They never charge the diagnostic fee? And here I thought I just lucked out with all gay techies whose hearts melted when I looked sad. But that Concierge was a dick. The first time I had to get mine fixed they guy helped me make an appointment right there for the next opening when I showed up not knowing that I needed one.
They also make it impossible to even know what the issue is without going in there. My comp has been having issues with sudden shutdowns, and when I ran the hardware test program it gave me a meaningless error message which a little research showed is in some super secret code. Apparently their “no Byzantine error messages” policy only applies to their exquisite OS. For all I know it’s just the issue with my webcam that I don’t care enough about to get fixed and the shutdown problem is something software related. Or it could be my cooling system.
March 23rd, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Well thank God, cause I was really worried!
March 23rd, 2009 at 4:43 pm
FYI, both computers are back and working perfectly.
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Toshiba, my friend. I’ve got a Toshiba Satellite from 2001 that’s still running, albeit I have to run it on low power only nowadays (overheats otherwise). Never had to make a single service call.
The Dells at work, though, go bad pretty much annually. Dell’s CORPORATE customer service is great, mind you, they just skimp on the regular douchebags.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:50 am
Dell laptops, and most laptops in general(unless you’re willing to pay $1200+ for it), are just bad. I have never owned or known anyone who owned a dell laptop that lasted longer than 6 months without it breaking down in some way. IMO the best choice if you want your computer to last is to build it yourself.
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 am
Can’t really do much with hardware failure, but I will be damned if anybody touches my hard drive. That suckers gets replaced by one person, me. Of course, I am technical, and I realize that most people aren’t, but seriously? never let your hard drive out of sight. I would have REQUIRED the mac repair techs to hand me my drive before i left.
Anyway, on the software front, I only run Linux, so support calls are out of the question on OS troubles anyway (try installing Linux then have a hardware problem. the conversations I have had..(hint: changing OS does not mean you break your hardware warranty, just OS support is out))
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:58 am
I know that you had some bad experiences, but the truth is that Windows is not to blame for any of this. Unlike Mac, Windows sells an operating system only; they are not to be held responsible for hardware failures. Mac makes both the OS and the computer, and so they are to blame for their failure. But if you buy a Windows laptop under a different manufacturer, like Acer, for example, you will not have this kind of issue.
Another smart thing to do in this type of situation would be to learn how to repair a computer yourself. Turns out it’s pretty easy, and I have been able to save hundreds of dollars by not only building my own computer but doing all repairs myself.
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:46 am
Fucking Mac fags. Rip off artist extreme. Yeah, I know Windows blows, but most problems even a normal Joe can fix or diagnose. And why the hell do people buy Dell’s, any computer shop can make a system better that Dell.
March 23rd, 2009 at 7:03 am
You are my hero….you proved that both of these jackass companies are willing to rip you off with out hesitation.
March 23rd, 2009 at 5:42 am
lol…really? I found a place that many players are hoo king up with h ot mo dels, seems the club called: http://tallconnect.com , do you hear this before?
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Yes… I joined in the war.
Swords at the ready!… unless it’s over. Hooray! I’m like an Arcadian in 300!
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Excuse me… is everyone forgetting the purpose of a laptop? It is meant to be a “portable computer.” Meaning it gets moved around frequently. Movement may lead to bumping, knocking, or even dropping.
Accidents can happen. Companies understand that. Or they should at least.
Dropping your laptop once, especially onto carpet, should not kill it. I’m not alone in this thinking. Living in a dorm while using a laptop almost guarantees the machine will suffer some abuse. I own and use a (*gasp*) HP that works great even after the torture of college.
Despite technical advances and ease of applications, a laptop that cannot deal with hectic real life is sadly not that great. THAT IS REGARDLESS OF MAKE OR BRAND.
March 22nd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
To me it seems like you got a pretty kickass treatment both times. Raj was more patient and understanding, without at least blatant condescention, than any service rep I’ve ever spoken to. And Mac fixed your computer in 3 days? After you dropped it on the floor, which blatantly violates warranty? That shit is awesome. If they charge you $100, that’s a whole lot cheaper than paying for the repairs yourself.
March 22nd, 2009 at 1:23 pm
The article is obviously meant to indirectly praise how good Mac’s service is! Stupid trick, most certainly paid for by Apple or something!
Now as for my experience with laptops so far -
1) Dell Lattitude - worked for 4 years with zero problems and I used to carry it to work everyday. I gave it to someone else so not sure if it ever failed or not.
2) Dell Inspiron - 3 years old, still works fine and I have DROPPED it TWICE. Recently I spilled half a cup of coffee on it a few weeks back and it STILL works except for one key on the keyboard that probably needs cleaning. I’ve NEVER seen a sturdier laptop!
3) HP - was cheaper bought to replace Inspiron and it started crashing within 5 minutes of bootup after a few weeks of use. Total crap.
4) Dell XPS - Went back to Dell and got XPS. Found it heats up a bit too much so got a cooling fan for it and been playing high end games for 6-7 hours a day on some weekends. No problems yet.
Haven’t tried a Mac yet but I’ve found Dell to be exceptionally sturdy so sticking to the tried and true brand. All that said, I think that some higher end laptops will invariably end up with issues regardless of the brand if the user doesn’t know what he is doing. The main problem being overheating when people run the laptop 10 hours at a stretch putting on their laps! Again the article is bollocks and the writer (Gladstone) must be accepting some cash from Apple (seeing Cracked’s humongous reader base)
March 21st, 2009 at 10:39 pm
So, to preface this I worked on Geek Squad for two years and hated every second of it, so I want you to know there is no corporate bias in this.
You lucked out that Apple fixed your laptop, don’t whine about it taking three days (which honestly is amazingly fast considering repairs take place out of state, considering it is 1 day out 1 day back your repair was completed within a day at the repair location do a little happy dance and move on with your life) you broke the laptop, yet they still fixed, stop being ungrateful.
Dells were one of the computers I repaired most (as our service center did not support Dell repairs so they had to be done in house usually taking a week or more.) Sure, they are one of the top selling computers in the world and that likely had something to do with it, but still they broke more then normal.
Raj was a freaking champ if that was an accurate portrayal of the call. He was honest and warned you that the techs would lose your plug (which they do as you learned with apple) he went above and beyond and even told you how to remove your hdd, which I would have laughed at you and said “i will have no part in explaining how to do your own repairs, as then I am liable for any mistakes you make.” If you are complaining that he double checked on what exactly the problem was by checking the plug ect, that is just petty.
Bottom line is, I know you think the world is ending because your computer is broken, but it’s not. If a company stands behind their product and repairs it if it breaks due to structural defect and what not, you don’t get to get angry because it is not fast enough to suit your needs. Turns out every product breaks, lots of people buy things, thus lots of people are getting their products repaired.
Did I mention Raj was a champ? Well, he was. He even tried to send you an adapter in order to make it so you had as little down time as possible… yes I know I brought this up before, but it bothers me that you were such a racist twat about it.
As much as i hated Best Buy, wanted to gut and dance among the entrails of my managers, and in general think extended warranties suck… I can’t fathom why people do not get the accidental damage plans. Even if you are a champ and never do anything stupid, a friend of mine knocked a glass of OJ on my keyboard, and as I said many times with a sympathetic look that never reached my eyes as someone came to my counter all sad face because they were just drinking cocoa and the mug tipped over; “I’m sorry liquid damage is not covered by your warranty as it qualifies as accidental or intentional physical damage. If you want I can take you back to PCs and we can look at new laptops you can buy.”
If you insist on being that customer I enjoyed working within the rules and giggling like a school girl as I watched more and more veins appear on their forehead while telling them all the ways they are fucked… Buy a micro screwdriver set, an external hdd enclosure, and learn how to repair it yourself.
Because I promise you, as the service people are angry and bitter, that the more you come in acting like it is the schlub behind the counters fault your computer broke, the more miserable of an experience we will make it for you.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Honestly for all you mac lovers. Him dropping the Mac 2 feet on to carpeted floor should not have completely fucked the computer, I myself have personally dropped my computer from my bed(somewhere around 2 1/2 to 3 feet from the ground) to my hardwood floor, 3 times. And I have 3 corners of the case missing to show for it. It was running each time and it is no worse for the wear. It’s a Compaq Presario F700 that I picked up for $600 a year ago.
And the bad costumer service had nothing to do with them giving him crap about it being his fault. But that exchange where the guy was telling him that he needed to sign a paper that would let them charge him $100 when they weren’t going to do it is out right retarded.
So get your heads out of your asses and stop throwing a hissy fit everytime someone talks bad about Macs.
March 21st, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Wow… it’s as if Gladstone insulted everyone’s mom and kicked their pet.
This is how you start a troll war right!
March 21st, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Personally, I don’t like either. Mac’s don’t have a CD drive on many, and Dells? I once had to use my mom’s Dell while I was getting a new charger for my 3 year old Acer lap top. I swear they’re amazing. Only problems were with the charges I didn’t buy from Acer and when my brother used it and punched the screen. Even then it was only half broken. Plus my brother’s older than me. I’ve had my laptop for 6 years and it was faster than the new Dell.
I’m going to stop promoting Acer now for free.
March 21st, 2009 at 12:50 pm
We (the commentators) don’t know what type of warranty Mr. Gladstone purchased when he bought his computer. Both computer companies offer an accidental damage warranty. If Mr. Gladstone has accidental damage coverage on his computers it wouldn’t matter if they were dropped or if a pet peed on them or if space aliens landed on them, his warranty would cover it.
March 21st, 2009 at 10:28 am
Hey Gladstone , did you know that dropping the Mac did not qualify as a warranty repair?
Do did you know that Mac is just the greatest and nicest company in the world for going ahead and fixing it anyway and you are a you are total tool for dropping it?
You probably jumped up and down on the Mac after you dropped you and most likely pissed all over so the “Geniuses” at the “Genius” bar bar would get your piss on their hands and you could laugh about it all the way home.
Did you know that Genius Bar is a very oxymoronic word?
Did you know that Steve Jobs shoots rainbows out his ass and the fact that they went ahead and fixed your computer anyway may seriously jeopardize his rainbow shooting out his ass ability?
I didn’t think you did because there is no way a total jerk like yourself would have read the 919 other comments here that say just that, FOR THE COMEDY COLUMN THAT YOU WROTE, because that just how assholes like you roll.
Did you know the Mac user are a very sensitive lot and that if someone ever says any thing bad about Mac it seems to totally invalidate their self worth?
I bet you do now!
March 21st, 2009 at 10:07 am
DELL computers suck… Never had an Apple, but might try one… My Sony Vaio rocks and would recommend it… 4 years strong baby and runs like a little workhorse… will probably upgrade to Sony solid state drive w/in a year…
March 21st, 2009 at 9:34 am
You were lucky with Apple. Your dropping the MacBook did not qualify as a warranty repair so you’re damn lucky it was on carpet. I wouldn’t bitch too much…of course you just gave your name and how it really broke. I would expect a letter soon with a bill from Apple for what should have been repair not a warranty replacement. I’m going to send a nice screen shot of your little bitch session because people like you that lie and then complain about the service deserve what they get. Good job there Jerky!
March 21st, 2009 at 8:48 am
Gladstone, were you trying to provoke the ire of Mac fanboys? Swaim said it best,
“Macintosh is elitist. That’s its thing. That elitism may come in the form of family-friendly machines with bright colors and giant buttons, but it’s still an elitism, simply because of the level of image involved.”
And God forbid you tell an elitist his 500 extra dollars spent on a laptop was for image alone.
March 21st, 2009 at 5:09 am
The Dell fell to pieces within a year.
The fucking DROPPED the Mac.
Not the same thing.
March 21st, 2009 at 4:59 am
“And most importantly, both manufactured a laptop that fell to pieces in under a year.” So the Dell died on it’s own, while the Macbook was dropped. Apple then fixed your computer even though it was caused by you dropping it, which is not normally covered under warranty and then you still whine about it, while your heartbreaking Dell story ends with you still not seeing your laptop, with no repair so far. You poor poor baby. So you basically now have a working Apple laptop that you broke yourself and Apple fixed in 36 hours and didn’t charge you, and a Dell that is MIA, yet it’s a toss up for you. You are hero for all retards.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Well, to be fair - the Mac didn’t “fall apart” so much as being dropped.
This is my issue right now; my MacBook Pro was dropped on Valentines day and all but 25 gig of the hard drive are now corrupted - so basically I’m screwed as I’m not under warranty.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
I had to send my Macbook back to Apple a few months ago because it developed a blue discoloration on case(back by the exhaust). Also, there were cracks that developed on the palm rest due to the poorly designed lid.
They sent it back looking nice and new, but the battery was fucked. It didn’t hold a charge and the macbook didn’t even recognize a batter was in there.
I called back and they made me make an appointment for the Genius Bar. I have yet to go to my appointment, but we’ll see if they fix my shit.
March 20th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Ive had shit support from dell in the past, same with gateway, never use macs
Hp had amazing support though they sent me a new plug in 2 business days and I didnt have to call anyone just sent then an email with my address and warrenty info
March 20th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Actually the bit about the Apple concierge, goes to show what a bunch of suckers apple fan boys are. If any other store had the arrogant attitude that you have to make an appointment for service, they would be greeted with the sight of the customer laughing as they left the store. Sad thing is these dimwits suck it up, and allow themselves to be raped like this.
March 20th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
You know, I don’t much like laptops. I get better processing power and features in a desktop for the same price, and I don’t feel the need to move about when typing, so a desktop works fine for me.
That being said, I have an IBM thinkpad and it has been tremendous. It has really stood the test of time. Of course, when I got it originally, it had Windows for Workgroups 3.11 loaded on it, so it is beginning to show its age. And with a Pentium 150 and 64MB of ram, it had just a wee bit of difficulty in handling some of today’s webpages.
Its important to note, though, that the power adapter works fine.
March 20th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Okay, I think saying the mac broke in under a year is going a little far. There’s a difference between something breaking and you breaking it.
If you drop any laptop - any at all - whilst the hard drive is spinning up, you will almost undoubtedly get a hard drive crash. There are a few laptops out there built to be sturdier that have some suspension or padding, but still that only decreases the risk a bit. The most recent macs (You said you had a PowerBook? How long ago was this? They haven’t made PowerBooks for three years) have a sudden motion sensor that stops the hard drive spinning when it detects an impact.
Of course that didn’t stop my hard drive from crashing eventually, but who knows how many times I’ve dropped this damn thing and the SMS has saved my ass. I’ve had my MBP for nearly three years, replaced the hard drive once, and managed to recover all the data from the old one (save a few songs). You know what you should really be worried about? the god damn power adapter. Mine has melted - I shit you not, actually melted, the plastic bubbling off the cable - THREE TIMES. (Though I think they’ve fixed it in the new ones… this one’s been fine for over a year.)
smcFanControl is a very useful program to stop your Macbook doing the same thing to your legs, desk, coffee table.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
thus the reason i went back to desktops.
March 20th, 2009 at 9:29 am
A N Says:
March 19th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
“Oh boy.. As an IT Professional I guess I’m morally bound to weigh in on this.”
No, you’re NOT. Go back to your hole. NOW.
Ah yes, I just knew there was gonna be at least ONE fucktard trying to call bullshit on me. I’m just surprised it took as long as it did.
Well, sorry to burst your silly angry posturing but actually, yes I am I probably have been for longer than you’ve even been alive and have forgotten more than you’ll ever know, your feeble attempts at saying otherwise not withstanding.
You may go fuck yourself now. lol.. dumbass.
@Christopher.
Spot on. The thing is, though, he said the lid was closed which typically means the drive IS parked, however…
1) As previously stated I don’t know shit about Macs so I don’t know for certain if they by default go into hibernation mode when the lid is shut.
2) Assuming they DO by default go into hibernation mode when the lid is shut it’s possible it happened right after he shut the lid and it dropped WHILE going into hibernation mode. In that case the Mac would still be writing its hibernation file to the drive before shutting down so that right there would be the disk activity you mentioned. Good spotting on that one. I think it likely this is what happened.
Still I think it’s pretty piss-poor shock absorption considering how expensive these things are. Thinkpads survive that kind of “abuse” on a regular basis so it’s not as if there’s no way to protect against it.
As an afterthought I pose this question: Why is it that it seems as if everyone calling everyone else an idiot spells like, well, an idiot?
March 20th, 2009 at 9:12 am
I’ve had an ACER for 2 years now that I picked up at Walmart for $400. Its been carried in an unpadded backpack, sandwiched between books, dropped, spilled on, burped up on by my nephew, and just generally treated like crap. The only thing that has gone wrong is the rubber pads on the bottom falling off.
March 20th, 2009 at 8:54 am
The very DAY I read this, I went home to discover the power adapter on my laptop died.
Curse you HBN!!! You’re contagious!!!
March 20th, 2009 at 8:44 am
I have an ACER that I bought a couple summers ago. Last August I moved to Japan and brought it with me. In January, the backlight burned out on the monitor. Now, you would think that a country such as Japan, that has such a reputation for quality in technology and pride in its service sector, would be able to provide good customer service to fix a laptop, especially such a trivial fix as replacing a backlight.
Well, if you thought that, you’re wrong.
Tried calling to several electronics stores and repair shops, and ACER’s Japan hotline, and it went down the same way every time:
Tech guy: Is the computer Japanese?
Me: Nope, it’s American.
Tech guy: We’re not gonna touch it. Sorry!
They won’t even look at it because it’s not Japanese. Not even the company that built it. And the problem is a hardware problem that’s easily fixable no matter where you are or where your computer came from. No language barrier involved at all.
Worst. Customer service. Ever.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Most. Comments. Ever.
In other (old) news, I have a Dell Inspiron 1500. Three years of tip top service, I’ve dropped it everywhere, bashed it about, bounced it off things, spilt curry powder on it, no breakage. OK, it now has a crippling virus but that is because it’s owner is a moron.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:06 am
Kinda think Chip was trying to upsell coverage from 1 to 3 years - which for me is a no brainer. Having said that I bougth a macbook pro 3 years ago and have editied video for 8 hours per day ever since with out missing a beat………kinda think you trying to mislead people but hey your a journalist so guess it goes with the territory
March 20th, 2009 at 3:08 am
Don’t buy a HP - rubbish tech support, the standard answer, use the factory reinstall - no actual support to fix the problem, never again.
Also for apple here in australia, no email support wtf is that about? you can call them during standard business hours - not a fan
March 20th, 2009 at 3:05 am
Germany is legendary for it’s bad tech support. Basically, if you want something to be repaired here, you’ll better be prepared to a) invest a LOT of time into getting them to repair it for you b) never seeing it again or c) taking it to a computer technician who’ll repair it for a fee.
So the tech support in your article sounds like the most wonderful service i’ve ever heard of. Except Apple really tried to screw you.
March 20th, 2009 at 2:59 am
Get an Acer. I have it for a year, I’ve dropped it on concrete and ice and it works.
March 20th, 2009 at 2:35 am
what a fuckin waste of time
March 20th, 2009 at 2:20 am
I bought an HP laptop back in November of 2006 and it had a one year warranty. January of 07 the motherboard failed and I got it fixed for $60. In January of 08 (2 months after the warranty expired) the motherboard failed again. HP wanted nearly $500 to fix the thing. My wife and I told them to go to hell and we won’t buy another one.
Last year I bought a Dell desktop and 6 months later the NIC on the motherboard messed up and wouldn’t let me online. I called Dell and they said that they would send a tech out within 3 days to replace the motherboard here at my house. so I waited, and waited and waited. a week goes by then I call tech support back and they apologize that the tech never called me. Well, I was working at Dell at the time in build. I replaced motherboards all the time so I just said “I build at Dell. Just send me the thing an I will do it myself. I need my computer.” 36 hours later I was on my bed installing the new motherboard and got back online.
March 20th, 2009 at 2:09 am
It’s rare that the comments under Gladstone’s articles make me laugh as much as the article itself, but there you have it. It’s like a Digg microcosm in here today!
I am possibly the least tech-savvy person I know for a person who spends the amount of time on my computer as I do…. luckily I have MJ-89 for free support should I hypothetically break the shit out of my laptop (she’s hot too)
March 20th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Im still running an IBM Thinkpad t30, I have put this through some serious stress and we have occasionally had our differences, but I bought this laptop 4 years ago, and my brother has been through three ‘high-end’ laptops since.
Go Thinkpad. This thing is fucking tank.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:38 am
Or where the company( i.e. Dell, HP, Acer, Vaio and even godallmighty fucking Mac)
are getting their parts from.
A lot of people here seem to be under the impression here the there are factories somewhere that make these laptops( desktops too for that matter) all at one place. Not true. These companies all contract out to other companies to supply them with the cheapest internal parts. Even then the suppliers are not exclusive to the companies. Say when the inventory is low at these assemble plants on hard drives and they have been buying from hdd maker x and hdd maker y offer them a better price, who do you think they’re are going to buy from? They’re are exceptions to this but they are far and few between.
What the above companies make are cases with their logo on them to house internal parts that come from all over. So it is wholly possible to have two brands of computers, that internally are absolutely identical.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:22 am
I’ve got an HP that I’ve owned for 5 years. I payed $500 for it and so far it’s managed to survive pretty much constant abuse. It made it through highschool, I routinely knock it off my bed, desk table etc. I spill water on it regularly and I have not spent a dime on repairs. It’s in perfect running order and I am using it right now.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:43 am
When it comes to electronics, it’s really luck of the draw, you can get shitty ones or good ones depending on which way the wind is blowing for Manufacturing Robot and Corresponding Engineer. Just pray to the god of electronics that you get a good one. These days its all about cutting costs. There is little value in arguing with members cult of Apple or any other fanboy for that matter for nothing objective will emerge from their gaping maw. Seriously dude, take care with yer stuff, get tech savy or get a tech savvy friend so you wont have to deal with this kinda hassle too often.
PS…Toshibas are rocks, period.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:32 am
@DarkView You’re damn right. Also, the Sony Walkman seems to be pretty durable. At least compared to the iPods I’ve seen people go through.
-A.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:30 am
My laptop has seen a lot of shit. Actually, I’m looking around for a way to get all these crumbs out from under the keys, since I can’t replace the keyboard should popping a key out result in not being able to put it back as it was.
But yeah, this laptop should be dead, what with all I do it. It’s a Toshiba Satellite, so it’s great for WiFi.
But that’s just my experience.
-A.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Personally, I’d recommend you to get a Thinkpad for a laptop (they’re semi-rugged as per the US military spec). Study little laptops ^^
Of course, now all the dell-fanboys (do they even exist?) and the mac-fanboys are going to start hating on me.
*puts a hard-hat on*
March 19th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Bad manufacturing on both parts. I abhor Macs for their OS, but generally find the hardware to be stouter than most of the PC laptops I’ve had. In the end though, the point of the article is that both items failed him. We don’t know that he necessarily abused the things and to me it just seems indicative of the overall shoddy manufacturing we see in just about anything electrical these days. I’ve gone through 2 xbox 360s in under a year, I’ve had computers crap out in short timeframes, but to this day I can pull out my 8 bit Nintendo system, toss it in a bucket of water, shoot the damn thing, and still plug it in afterward and save the princess.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
@youradouche:
Go ahead and stop reading cracked.com
You not reading will not make the articles any less funny for the rest of us and will free up space for dating service robots to post.
Asshat.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
@youradouche: blame the victim all you want, but laptops are supposed to be carried around, taken outside the house, set down on things, and so on.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Mac’s suck. PC’s suck. O’Doyle rules.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Macs and trendy and sophisticated. stop hating
March 19th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
The good news is that the you can get 2 PC’s for the price on 1 mac
March 19th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
The retard below needs to read the title first “Mac vs. PC: Either Way You’re Screwed When It Breaks”
WHEN it breaks. Get it fanboy ?
March 19th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Mac is still obviously way better than the rest. The Mac didn’t break on it’s own, you dropped it. That’s not the computer’s fault, it’s yours for being a dumbass. Plus the Dell was falling apart, and you didn’t mention the mac coming apart even though you dropped it. Sure it got shook up inside, but it’s still of a better quality.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Man, laptops don’t just “fall apart”! What the fuck are you doing with the damn thing? Actually, I see this shit all the time. Some smacktard treats their fucking laptop like it’s a god damned hockey puck then wonder why it doesn’t work. Anymore articles like this will make me stop visiting cracked.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
You dropped it you fuck-rake, you’re lucky they fixed the thing at all.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
It’s a bit sad they don’t make durable laptops (and phones, and MP3 players). You would think the first rule of designing a portable computer would be ‘make sure it can take a bump or two’. As it stands your average laptop will break when you take it on the plane as carry-on, when really you would expect to be able to put it in your standard luggage and have a functional computer come out at the other side.
Seriously, it’s not that hard to make a laptop that can survive being thrown at a wall a couple of times. Increase the size 5mm, use solid hardware that isn’t designed to compete with desktop PCs and put a little work into case design (outside of just making it look hip).
March 19th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
You know, if you had paid like an extra 50 bucks when you bought Studio Laptop from Dell, they would have come to your house to fix it after your phone call. I don’t know anyone that will come to your house to fix your laptop for $50, including Apple.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
This article wasn’t funny, but it was well written - also, macs and Dells are overpriced POS computers.
I have had the several Toshiba laptops and they have all been solid as a rock - despite rough treatment.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
My friend has a toughbook, and those thinks can take a beating. I’d recomend picking one up. We actually threw hers in the pool to see if it would work afterwords, and it fired up without a problem.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Blam that’s the funniest shit I’ve heard in a while. Batarang. Lol.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I like Gladstone, but I have to agree with MeowMix, both because he’s right, and the way he expresses his opinion is hilarious.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
To rturner522
that hilarious i was going to write about my compaq presario and the constant abuse it went through. Its like 5 years old almost runs fine except recently half the screen stopped working. Other then that it went through a lot im surprised to see these Dells and ShitBooks fall apart so fast.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I am with Blam Walker. I bought an Acer 5100 in 2005 and it has been through the sh*t. I have dropped it out of my backpack, out of the car, it has even gone down a flight of stairs and it is still going strong. It is a little banged up and scratched on the outside but i have NEVER had to call for tech support on it. On the other hand I spent over $1200 for a dell the year before and had to chuck it.
I too am staying with acer!
March 19th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I left my compaq presario on top of my car one day and drove off. I realized this a few moments later as I heard it crash onto the ground behind my car. i pulled the car over, grabbed the laptop, said a little prayer, then turned it on. it worked fine. there was a few pieces of the case broken off even and still it fired up without a problem. I throw my support behind compaq, even though they are not the best.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
My advice to you? Buy an Acer. Sure, I know what you’re thinking - “cheap knock-off laptop they sell at Wal-Mart? PSHAW!!!”
Hear me out - I of course bought one due to budget constraints ($350 laptop? Sold!) to replace the high-end Dell I had that died in much the same way your Mac did - tiny drop that wrecked the motherboard beyond repair. It had served me quite well, nothing remarkable, until last night, where in a drunken rage I PUT THE FUCKING THING THROUGH A WALL. Seriously, just chucked it frisbee-style right into the dry-wall like a goddamned batarang. After passing out on the bed for a few hours I got up, brushed the dry-wall fragments and dust off it, and attempted to fire it up. Fucker worked just fine, and still is, as if nothing even happened.
Cheap and largely indestructible - this brand has my loyalty.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
MeowMix, can you do me a quick favor? Go back and read the title of this article. You seem to have missed something.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Cast not the first ‘you can all go suck a dick’ stone, les ye have not sinned and dropped a laptop before also!
March 19th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
The posts are ridiculous because it makes people look like fucking retards, for making serious complaints against HBN. He is writing an article for (get this) a comedy site.
Maybe you can all go can suck a dick.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
So your logic behind why the Mac sucked is because it broke when you dropped it? I mean, that’s what you’re saying when you claim that “both manufactured a laptop that fell to pieces in under a year”, is it not? Basically because Apple didn’t have the foresight to glue your computer to the ground where your stupid little fingers couldn’t pick it up to drop it in the first place, it becomes an inferior product.
Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand Apple products to begin with. I’m not sticking up for them in any way, but what you’re doing is the equivalent of saying that the Focus is a terrible car because you managed to wrap it around a tree while dunk.
I’m sure that at least one other person has commented on this, but I can’t help but point out again how incredibly stupid your entire rant about this is when it’s your fault to begin with. Maybe next time you buy a computer you should just seal it in a titanium vault deep within the earth so nothing bad ever happens to it you idiot. But until then you can always keep busy by sanding all the corners off of everything in your home. You know, to avoid any future hate by numbers that might cause. Just make sure to wear a helmet while you do it.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Worrying thing is you baught a Mac (childrens computers) and then a Dell (worst PC’s going)…
By a good solid PC ( an acer maybe?), and never ever touch an iShite thing again!
a duff plug you can fix yourself, £20 on ebay, hell a duff HDD you can fix, £20, ebay
pretty much any PC fail you can repair yourself cheaper than any store, and if your Mac fails, well more fool you for paying them thousands of £/$ for a Linux system running on PC hardware.
remember, you are not an iHuman and you want a computer not a compensation for a small penis
March 19th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
First, happy birthday. Second, the only thing I actually got out of this article was “return of my Hate By Numbers™ series”. So… uhm… get on that.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Moral of the story: Hey America! Quit buying crap you do not understand. Or at least get a sweaty nerd friend you can pay in Yohoo!
March 19th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
to: Alex.
you managed to spell warrAnty wrong twice, using an e rather than and a. After which you linked to the definition of warranty on wikipedia (why not just use a dictionary? or even dictionary.com) which even has the correct spelling in the url. I mean you managed to find it on wikipedia could you not have spelled it correctly in your attempt to be insulting?
bad spelling is really my pet peeve. especially when assholes spell bad.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
God, I love the smell of geek-rage in the morning…
March 19th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I agree. I really don’t understand peoples overt loyalty to mac. Yeah, they look sexy but with the amount of KNOWN issues (on macs end and having to fucking deal with them every day) your probably better off with something else. As well, since he dropped the computer (which by the way almost always end in hard drive failure) even though he’s within his first year he’s still probably going to have to pay for repairs since it’s “accidental damage” which is not covered under ANY apple warranty. As for me I may just pour some water on my HP and get a new one for free under warranty.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
That was a war too easily started. Mac faithful VS run-of-the-mill programmer. I like the Mac Faithful here, as they seem to be blindly doglike-self-sacrificing loyal to the Mac.
For my own two cents (which is more like 0.02 pesos because I have no idea what I’m talking about) I own an IBM Thinkpad and have had no complaints.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Man I completely support Monte(The first comment? Any?). But instead of loving it I “freaking” hate it…
March 19th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
oh man i love when they post uninteresting stories… why does cracked post this guy’s stuff? he’s not going to magically become funny.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
I’ve worked with Macs at school, both desktops and laptops; but i own PCs at home. NOT because I’m a fanboy, I was raised in a Windows environment so I feel more comfortable with it; not to say I’m not comfortable with Mac. I recieved a Dell laptop for my 15th birthday, and I STILL have it. It’s been dopped from >3 feet a couple times (by accident) but I’ve never had a problem with it ever. The plug broke once but I had a pleasent experience on the phone with the rep, and 1 week later i had a new plug. Iwouldn’t buy a Mac for home use simply because I don’t need to do any of that kind of work at home. I like apple, I just hate ipods.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Mac fanboys:
You buy into an image and defend it because you think it’s cool.
It’s not. It’s a corporate image.
Get a sense of humour. I know it’s hard: you’ve invested a lot of money to look like a trendy young designer. But at least Windows users can laugh at themselves sometimes.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
I love my mac, but in the first month of owning it I had full kernel panic and recently the case almost fell off. I had to super glue it back together. Good luck with the Dell.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
The plug not working IS Apple’s fault, so its justified you were disappointed in less than a year that was crapping out on you.
But if you drop any electronic device, and it breaks, it is your fault. I am surprised that was under warranty in fact…it sure isn’t for the phones I drop! I buy the screens and replace them myself!
There’s no “how far can you drop it without breaking?” warranty that I know of.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
You dropped the MacBook - it hardly fell apart. Hard drives do not like a sudden stop at the speed of gravity. That is a cardinal rule. Dell’s support sucks compared to Mac. Mac would like you to purchase an extended warranty prior to your 1 year warranty expiring. I think that if you had signed you correct name, you would have had your mac back sooner - like a day sooner. In regards to the Dell, I would have taken a screwdriver and tightened the screws when they came loose so as to not harm anything on the inside of the computer. How hard is that really? Just a silly little girl, but I at least can turn a screwdriver and not screw with the tech help at the mac store.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
But in a a way, G-Stone, in a very real way aren’t we all heroes?
March 19th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
“You broke your Mac and you expect Mac to fix it.
So when you crash you car - do you take it back to GM and say ” Fix it dumb ass - bloody stupid GM crap “.
Dude - responsibility, look it up then try it.”
When you buy your car, you have insuarance.
When you buy a computer, you have a warrenty.
Dude - warrenty, look it up sometime. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warranty
March 19th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
it may seem like apple just wants to “swindle you out of all your money blah blah” by offering you the applecare, but it seriously makes repairs 1000x easier. i’ve had hard drive failure too and gotten my computer totally fixed, free of charge, without even having to leave the house, within 5 days.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
I too am no expert with computers, but I’ve had my Dell laptop for 5 years now, and it has never crashed or had any physical problems (like the hinge problem you mentioned). I’ve heard people say Dells are notorious for hardcore sucking, but mine has served me well this far, and my firnds with HPs, Gateways, Compaqs, and Macs have all had to get repairs. I think a lot of it is just luck of the draw.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Dell’s phone RMA really does make me wonder why I have to talk to different people in at least two countries until the I get the guy in USA that authorizes the return. In the end the guy offered me a price reduction, that brought the external HD down to within $35.00 of the best deal on Amazon.com.
Prior to that I waited many, many weeks for a Dell netbook to arrive. I hope someday these the price performance ratio is so good you won’t care if they last only a year.
The Apple Genius Bar will help you long after the 90 support period is over. For me Apple Care is worth it as I can call and get software issues or hardware issues taken care of right away. Frankly, I doubt Dell can match that even for “paid support” like Apple Care.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Settle down people - it’s Friday afternoon and almost beer o’clock!! Perhaps some of you should have your beer with a chill pill….
March 19th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
That was probably the least amusing article i have ever read. It read like the blog of a 17 year old with nothing to write about. There was nothing in that article that would even suggest poor service from either companies?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I had 2 mac repairs in the first year (wireless went out and screen died)
Neither were my fault. The repair process IS a nightmare. This is not to say Mac does not make a good product but they do not make an infallible product.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I still say PCs win.
Because it’s John Hodgman vs. a college age douchebag who looks like he REALLY NEEDS to wash his hair. No contest.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Oh, and as a reply to Mike, who commented a bit earlier, I have one of the first IPod Videos. 30 gig. I bought it pretty much as soon as itcame out. Never, read this carefully, never had a single problem with it that wasn’t most assuredly my fault. It was left out in the rain once. Apple had it fixed for me in less than a week, as it was still under warranty.
Maybe I’ve just been extremely lucky with my electronics.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
awe, poor little macs rule tike over there was hurt by gladstone’s attacks
i think soembody needs a hug
March 19th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
1. You should’ve gotten an HP or a Compaq. I’ve had my Compaq for over two years now, and it’s been fine. Plus, Dells are notorious for sucking.
2. Customer service reps from India call everyone, “SIR” I’m a woman, and I was called SIR like three or four times before he switched to MA’AM. I don’t have a man-voice.
Your experiences further confirm my suspicion that corporate America blows.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I have an Asus Laptop, and it is certainly better than those two. I’ve had it six months, and the only problem is it occasional suicides with a good ‘ol blue screen saying that it has suicided, but that only happens once a month. On the other hand, I have Vista.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Wow. These fanboys really get angry when you make one tiny, rather funny joke, huh?
I’ve never owned a Mac laptop, but I’d like to say that my experience with Dell was far better than Gladstone’s here. I purchased it online, about two years ago. Inspiron 1720. As I got it during a special offer I also got a free digital photo frame (as yet unused as I have no life, ergo no photos). They promised delivery withing 5 business days, so at 6:30 am on the 6′th, I sent a rude email to the publicity guy, who said he was very sorry, but one of the two packages had been lost by the postal system. (Dammit, AustraliaPost) He also said that he would senda replacement Digi Frame for the lost one. Two days later my shiny new laptop turned up with two little friends. Only had one problem with it, which was originally thought to be a problem with the RAM, but turned out to be a pesky virus. So, good experience for me.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
As I’m currently still waiting for my brand new computer to actually work properly I’ll skip usual “Fuck you Gladstone you hack!” with a I feel your pain (you dick).
Ordered it six weeks before Christmas.
Arrived six weeks after.
Missing a critical part.
Part arrive four weeks after that.
Hard drive replaced two weeks ago after repeated blue screens.
Currently won’t open more than one PDF file at a time or it restarts itself…
Dell can tongue my butt after a few hours after a mexican feast for their resounding lack of adequateness.
I’m not asking them to jump a fucking shark - I just want the computer I paid for up front to arrive in a timely manner and for it to work properly!
March 19th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
These Macfags are taking the internets way too seriously.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Laptops break, that’s what they do. They’re like Ipods. Buy a desktop.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Dear god people, get over the fact that someone had a bad experience with a Mac…certainly not the first person in my experience.
And as far as Gladstone causing the damage himself, if a piece of equipment can’t survive a two foot drop onto carpet, it’s either a) poorly manufactured or b) designed for form not function.
My Lenovo Thinkpad got dropped on asphalt when i had my backpack slashed 4 months ago, from a height of at least 4 feet. The total damage: a scratch on the hinge.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
‘macs rule’ is exactly the kind of sanctimonious neckbearded Apple-fanboi that makes people get tired of Apple products - I have used and owned them for work, but I would never buy one with my own $$$ - what overpriced, underperforming, fragile pieces of ‘geek bling’. For around half the price of your average Apple iMac I can build a PC that is around 50%-75% faster.
Plus, that Applecare thing is a ripoff out and out - if they make such quality products why not give a blanket 3 year warranty to begin with.
More functionality, less wank please Apple.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Wow, Mac fanboys and fangirls sure lose their sense of humor when you talk about their favorite brand.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
You broke your Mac and you expect Mac to fix it.
So when you crash you car - do you take it back to GM and say ” Fix it dumb ass - bloody stupid GM crap “.
Dude - responsibility, look it up then try it.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
“Possible return of Hate By Numbers”? Okay, here’s what I want all the commenters to do: just ignore that line completely. He’s playing with us. Don’t let him think we want Hate By Numbers to return. We’re fine without it.
What is Hate By Numbers, anyway? It sounds crap.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
So wait, you accidentally dopped the notebook on purpose?
I’m impressed with how many people hate on HBN for that..lol
I say fuck warranties, just buy life insurance for your laptop so when it dies you can just cash in.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
My laptop lasted a whole 2 years before it went to shit. It was a Gateway.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Apple did you a favor by fixing your Mac. Your warranty doesn’t cover accidental damage. They could’ve and should’ve told you to go pound salt.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
<3 HP
I have never bought a Dell, and i never plan to. We have them at school and they are the slowest things on the planet.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
1- when you buy an apple you get a 1 year warranty, but only 90 days of phone support, after that you should be charge $50 per incident. within the 1st year you can still purchase applecare (the 3 year warranty which is service and phone support) - they weren’t trying to screw you out of money. if you get applecare and something else like this happens after your 1st year, it’s free. if you don’t (which you didn’t), you could easily spend hundreds on a hard drive/display/etc
2- how do you have a powerbook that’s only 6 months old? apple hasn’t made those in years, you probably have a macbook pro
3- the phone support should have (and probably did) suggest you make a reservation, check out apple.com/retail and it even says you’ll be helped sooner if you do have a reservation at the genius bar
4- the concierge should have offered to make you an appointment at a time convenient for you instead of doing a quickdrop, which you can do if you just want apple to take your computer and you’ll get it back whenever it’s done. where if you actually made a reservation they would have looked at the issue right then and probably started on it within the hour
5- it’s your own fault for dropping the computer. you should have actually been charged for the repair. apple’s warranty does not cover accidental damage so you just screwed apple out of money
6- it’s also your own fault for not putting your real name, possibly resulting in the delay. who’s funny now?
7- the charge is state law. if when the technicians do diagnostics/work on the machine and then either discover it was accidental damage (once again, feel lucky they didn’t), or that you then change your mind and refuse repair..you may be charged the fee because there was labor involved
8- you should not have given them the power adapter. what in gods name does that have to do with the computer/hard drive/problem/you dropped your &@#$’ing computer!? it was the concierge’s fault for accepting it, but your fault for bringing it in in the first place
9 - once again, the computer did not fall to pieces … you dropped it
March 19th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I wonder when the over-reacting mac fans are going to realize that they are reading an article on freaking Cracked.com and stop wigging out that someone talked a bad experience with Apple.
Probably never.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite of 1.5 years, and I’ve never had a problem other than it was running really hot. Once I blew the dust out it was fine though. I’ve dropped it three times from heights larger than what Gladstone did, and there have been no issue.
Also, every Apple product I’ve ever had broke just past warranty, and all the customer service calls I made basically told me to get bent.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Gladstone…are you back? Like, officially?
March 19th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Genius bar? what the fuck is that? it is a tech team that fixes computers specifically targeted at (and designed for) morons…
and laptop computers suck by the way.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
It’s funny how many little Mac bitches are getting their feelings hurt because he made fun of Apple. It was funny, learn to take a joke.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Yup. I work for Apple. And we’re totally trying to fuck you.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Not only did I drop that mac. I left an electromagnet on it too. And smeared peanut butter all over the keys. Stupid Apple crap!
March 19th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Dell sucks. My parents bought me a Dell desktop when I got into high school, and it died completely on me after about eight months. Tech support didn’t help. My sister’s Dell laptop fell apart after almost a year. They mass produced their computers without any effort. Bastards.
And dropping your Mac and having it die on you is sad. A computer should be able to take not being handled like a piece of porcelain. I have a Toshiba laptop now and it fell off the table, a whole foot to the carpeted floor, same bloody thing happened to me.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
So many Apple users getting their feelings hurt. LOL
Hey BIGRich, if you’re saying someone is stupid, you probably should spell things correctly. It’s “too stupid to live,” not “to stupid to live.” LOL
I’ve had to deal with both of these places and I think the author hit the nail on the head. This article was funny, and certainly made yet another day at work a little brighter. Thanks.
This is definitely the best comment of this entire thread, “I like how the guy with the username “Your retarded mate” leaves the comment “Your just a retard mate” LMAO
March 19th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
“So you might think I’m unqualified to write a column comparing Dell’s computer repair customer service to Apple’s”
Yes. It appears that given 2 bad experiences you’re trying to create a generalization about two large companies.
“I’m only reporting the events of my last week when a perfect storm of mishaps combined to break both my Dell laptop and Mac PowerBook.”
How about labelling your article appropriately then?
“And most importantly, both manufactured a laptop that fell to pieces in under a year.”
You DROPPED your Mac. It didn’t simply fall to pieces.
“I’ve waded through the morass of customer service and lived to tell the tale. Does that make me a hero?”
No. It makes you human.
Build a bridge and get over it.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Wow. Just…. WOW!
YOU DROPPED the Mac, the hard drive broke and you BLAME Apple? Yeah. That goes beyond stupid. IS there another level after “beyond stupid”? I’m thinking “To Stupid to Live”.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
HBN,
Your MacBook has a motion detector that notes sudden acceleration like dropping it. I can only assume that the .1 seconds that it fell wasn’t enough time to retract and lock the heads.
Your conclusion, however, is hard to comprehend. The Apple failed because of your negligence, but was still covered under warrantee even though you disclosed your negligence. I can’t see how you can call this service comparison a toss up. I really can’t.
I don’t call “social site trolling shenanegans” right off the bat, but I will venture a “biased”.
And, for your future service pleasure, I suggest that if you receive a foreign representative on the Applecare support line that you can simply hang up and redial. I use Applecare very frequently and only receive a foreign rep on approximately two in ten calls. Normally during business hours. From my experiences, I assume they provide supplemental representatives during busy periods.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
As someone who takes advantage of their accidental damage warranty as often as possible (ie… my screen is wobbly: FIX IT! my mouse button isn’t as resisty as it used to be: FIX IT!), I can honestly say you just have to play the game, man. It is SO worth it to buy accidental damage on any computer, because shit, accidents happen. Yes, they have to read from a script. If you think talking to them sucks, imagine having to BE the tech guy - and talk to know it all’s all day long, who think you’re a moron because you have to do the script stuff
Yes, they’re always gonna ask stupid, repetitive questions. Yes, its slightly annoying. You want your computer fixed? Cope. They’ve sent a tech to me every time something was wrong with my computer, I didn’t have to send it in once… don’t be cheap, buy the insurance and cover your ass.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
MacGuy, i agree with you that apple gave gladstone the better service. however you don’t know about his warranty since most companies have DIIFERING WARRANTIES based on what you pay. That one statement pretty much nullifies the rest of your argument.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Apple, more specifically iBook G4s, suck balls. In 18 months I had a failed display, 3 complete hard drive failures, and a defective keyboard. I still have an IBM 240 from 1995 that not only still boots up, IT NEVER HAD ANY OF THOSE PROBLEMS.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I need to get a better job, I can barely afford one laptop, let alone two. And I don’t even have a good one.
March 19th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I have a Dell that I got for Christmas, and I’m just surprised that you had so many physical problems with yours. Albeit I’ve got this irritating touch pad mouse (it is quite finnicky), but my friends with Dells have only reported software problems (like their documents won’t save or print).
Personally, I just don’t like that Dells require Dell parts and Dell parts only (I think that’s a bigger way of screwing you out of your money than a “I hate talking to brown people” fee), whereas with Macs I have a lot of friends that are good with computers, but have little knowledge in the realm of Macs so if I had a Mac and it was giving me problems I would be forced to go to customer service.
Just my two cents, good article and I appreciate the twitter link, I’m following you
in the best of ways.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
I’ve had a Macbook since 2006, never had a single, solitary problem with it. My mother has had a Dell XPS since 2006 and has sent it off to be repaired 4 times in the past 3 years, one from a virus that wiped everything out basically and others for just shit that malfunctioned, one being the screen completely stopped working without any trauma, like dropping it etc. In my experiences the past 3 years, Mac is infinitely better than Dell, guess that just makes me another Mac tool. At least I am not having the headaches my mother has with her computer!
March 19th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I’ve owned three MacBooks in the last nine years. My son and I have combined to drop all three, most were dropped more than once. None of the laptops have failed yet. The first one lived for nearly six years before finally dying of extreme use and old age. It also suffered a ton of abuse. The second one is now about six years old and still kicking. It is on my son’s desk since it has wi-fi and I don’t want to wire his room for internet. The mac also makes it easy to use Safari as an easily modified browser. I can set just what site he would see.
Finally, I’ve had great support from Apple. I bought an Apple Mac Mini about three years ago. Out of the box it didn’t want to start up - no happy Mac sound. With a quick call and 20 minutes later, the mini was humming along.
I’ve ordered more than 50 computers from Apple in the last 14 years and only one - the mini didn’t work right out of the box. Only a handful of eMacs didn’t live for more than four years of useful lifetime. This is in a school setting where they suffer a lot of abuse at the hands of students. They are on and being used for nearly 10 hours every day.
We were recently using a nine year old iMac (Bondi Blue) as a print server. We only retired it to replace it with a five year old eMac that has more horsepower. I really don’t think you can judge a company based on one computer and the actions of a few retail store employees.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
So I have had a Dell and a Mac and while after having my Mac I will never go back to anything else I just thought it should be known that Apples extended warranty is amazing. After having my iBook for 2 years it completely died to the point that they couldn’t figure out what the hell was wrong with it (I have mad computer breaking skills). Since they couldn’t get it working they gave me a completely brand new MacBook and I was able to purchase the extended warranty on that as well so belittle Apple all you want but they are far superior in service to a Dell.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I’ll never own a Mac (don’t like the interface at all), but I do own a Dell. I’ve had to reinstall the OS twice, and I’m almost finished paying off my 3 year financing plan for it, and it’s about ready for the trash heap. My last Dell was much more reliable, hardware and software wise, but their quality in terms of everything is in the gutter at this point. I’m sticking with my DIY desktop from this point onwards.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I really hate the whole “MAC vs Anything” by the law of probability eventually you will get a bad or defective version…just because your mac works fine for you does not mean that 10000 other people will have it not work for them and vice versa STFU with defending a company like its the damn gospel, every brand screws up eventually, and as for the whole flaming because it was dropped thing, its time to leave the basement and go outside, seriously. accidents happen I have accidently dropped my computers as well one continued to work, the other ceased to do anything but be a paper weight both were the exact same model and brand. Stop being a corporate fanboy and realize that shit happens and it doesnt always happen the same way for everybody…
March 19th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Your post is non-sense. First off, you admitted to dropping your Macbook which you complain “is all it took to break the hard drive.” Under Apples warranty it specifically states accidental damage is not covered including dropping the unit. It appears however, Apple stood behind you and covered the repair regardless of the damage your irresponsibility caused- mind you, that repair would have normally cost you a pretty penny as it would normally not be covered under warranty.
Secondly, the AppleCare Protection plan they were asking you to purchase is to protect any future hardware failures or calls to their technical support department as once the warranty expires anyone who isn’t covered by this plan is charged for the call. Lets face it, nothing is free especially when you get the high class support Apple offers- every penny is worth it.
Lastly, you are ungrateful for the service you received and I am ashamed that I wasted two minutes of my life reading your post that I will never get back. Not to mention responding as if you are the bully and I am the nerd in the playground. Maybe you should treat your computers like an investment and not a toy. You are pathetic.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
That’s why I say IBM ftw.
I love my ThinkPad, even if it is ugly as sin.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
@your a retard:
You’ve got a lot of nerve (or a corresponding lack of brains) to insult G-Stone with that pre-pubescent, poorly spelled, a-grammatical rant. Then YOU called HIM a 13 year old?! That’s hilarious, man. That is down right hilarious.
Because your teachers obviously didn’t, I’m going to correct your statement for you:
You(’re) just a retard mate(; I)f (you) drop your shit of course
it(’)s (going to) break!
I find i(t) hard to believe that you call yourself a profession(al.
Y)ou come across as a 13 year old boy.
(P)lease stop wasting people(’)s time.
D- due to stupidity.
I’ve put my corrections in parentheses.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Yeah I work for a local pc repair shop. We have quite a few customers who have had similar issues. Sometimes talking to Dell, HP, or Gateway reps they lose part of their soul and will to continue, so they bring in their equipment for us to basically middle man their transaction
Good luck on your Dell return.
And no, don’t get an HP hehe.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Man, the new website sucks.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
did you guys even read his article? I hate all you people and your half ass comments. if your to stupied to understand what hes talking about ,then we dont need to hear your opinion “I find i hard to believe that you call yourself a profession”? nice buddy you sure got you’re point across by looking like a moron with your improper grammer.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
First of all: it happens.
people drop laptops constantly I used to work for dell I know, don’t act like you stuck up losers haven’t done it.
Second: becuase I did work for Dell ,before they removed all Normal xps agents (aka: laid off) for indian ones (yeah you dell owners truly got screwed by them as they planned that)
and the reason they did that is becuase their All-american support wasn’t selling well enough in their eyes.
As well as Dell phone support agents (no matter who the outsource) we all have the same script to read that makes us all look like incompitent morons. so sadly raj was just doing exactly what the screen told him to do.
Good article Gladstone.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I have had three mac laptops in the last three years. All were junk. Apple has gotten really bad in the quality department. I finally got sick of it and just use a lenovo with linux for my daily stuff.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I had a toshiba laptop for five years, dropped it numerous times and never had any problems with how it ran…. but then the screen started turning funny colours so i replaced it.
five years is a pretty good run though.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I like how the guy with the username “Your retarded mate” leaves the comment “Your just a retard mate”
March 19th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
The big reason that the Apple Care technician was positioning the Apple Care was also because of the phone support. Most people don’t realize this, but when you get a computer through apple it comes with 90 days of LIMITED phone support. In those first 90 days you get 1 free phone call to apple. After that: BOOM! $50 charge.
The apple care not only gives you free repairs for defects, but also three years of unlimited phone support.The combination of manufacturing defects and phone support is why Apple care is one of the only warranties that Consumer Reports recommend.
On a related note, I have had two repairs to my MacBook Pro. The LCD had to be replaced on the first one and the second repair was a logic board replacement. Both times the repairs would have cost upward of $700. Apple Care for a MBP? $349. I think its worth it.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
“And most importantly, both manufactured a laptop that fell to pieces in under a year.”
Hum… didn’t you say you dropped the Mac? By that logic you could go buy a brand new one today and smash it on the floor, and Apple would have only made a laptop that could only “last a few hours”. :-/
March 19th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Ok, so, a couple things. First off, despite the stupid instructions, leave the adapter and the HDD at home. If you send the HDD they will likely wipe it, and external parts get lost quite easily at depots. Second, the usual turnaround for a depot shipment is 2 business weeks. I work at that American department, and if I got you on the phone, I would have suggested not sending it to the depot for that very reason. Core loves to send laptops to the depot.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Dev Patel also makes me remind of those indian guys on help desks LOL
March 19th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Your just a retard mate, if u drop your shit of course its gonna break!
I find i hard to believe that you call yourself a profession, you come across as a 13 year old boy.
please stop wasting peoples time.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Sure is /g/ in here.
Also, a future note for dealing with Apple Stores. If you ever show up to one on a slow business day, and you haven’t made an appointment, you can schedule yourself for one on one of the many functioning Macs lying around the store. Seriously. Just set it up for like 5 minutes in the future, and they’ll just take care of you. Saves a lot of hassle on both ends, since you don’t deal with their red tape, and they don’t have to deal with extra paper work from customers who didn’t make appointments.
March 19th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Nonsense, I own a Dell studio laptop and it works jxs fnone thjeshgs0p
March 19th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
There is a huge difference between dropping a laptop and one falling to pieces because it is crap. I’ve had an ibook and macbook for well over 5 years now, and have never - NEVER - dropped either one.
And of all the extended warranties out there, the Applecare one is totally worth it. Esp if you are an idiot who drops laptops.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Maybe don’t treat your computers like shit.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
# joe dance Says:
March 19th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Clearly you are an idiot if you think that dell is any way shape or form a posterchild for PC’s and PC users.
generally only people that know next to nothing about computers get a del.
and suprise!
you know nothing
stop posting on blogs.
good day.
^^ says the nerd living in his parents basement playing WoW all day…
March 19th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
you’re a complete idiot.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
“And most importantly, both manufactured a laptop that fell to pieces in under a year.”
No… Apple manufactured a laptop that survived. The hard drive manufacturer made a hard drive that failed WHEN YOU DROPPED IT.
Because whatever reason, YOU dropped it. It failed. When the frak was this not your fault?
March 19th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Per dell:
If the tech is telling you it is likely just a plug, why are you requesting a full computer check? Then when it turned out to just be the plug, why did you still send the whole machine in?
Per mac:
You dropped it - they still fixed it, and you are complaining about the process? especially when you provided a fake name in an effort to be cute? seriously?
March 19th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I find it strange that some people are being a bit weird about the dropping thing, so much so I had to comment. Things drop, whether its a dish or a laptop, I’ve dropped mine 5 times already(possibly more since it spends its days mostly on my bed). These things happen, so I don’t get why some people are making a big deal out of it. Some people may take care of the junk like they are babies(advice: get a real one) and some of us like to think our stuff isn’t just flimsy plastic, and should be able to take a beating now and again. No one intentionally wants to destroy their stuff unless they are idiots. I have had the Dell charger malfuntion problem before, I’m on my third charger^^.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
You had some bad luck there man, but yeah Dell does try the whole pay to talk to an American rep. Is that bad? Probably not but there is nothing wrong with the Indian ones either atleast you can understand them….for the most part. I got an XPS laptop that’s about a year and a half old, the screen has a problem with it though, too lazy to call for servicing lol.
Either way all companies will have problems with their product, you can’t defend it Mac boys. I mean look at the Xbox with the red ring lul.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
Clearly you are an idiot if you think that dell is any way shape or form a posterchild for PC’s and PC users.
generally only people that know next to nothing about computers get a del.
and suprise!
you know nothing
stop posting on blogs.
good day.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Apple laptops don’t fall to pieces that easily. I’ve had mine over a year now, and I’ve kicked it and it still works. Your Apple was just a wimp.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Fair review I think I’ve always used a PC though.. My mums laptop still works find after a year but its a Toshiba..
March 19th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
This guy is one of those customers who beg technical consultants to treat them poorly. What person would think signing Mr. MacSucks would be treated as anything other than the duchebag he is.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
this is a comedy article…damn. lol
March 19th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I think there are some miss-understandings about the difference between a short drop that physically damages a computer, and a drop that causes a hard drive failure.
What people need to understand is that a hard drive is a physical device that moves. There are readers that literally site less than a millimeter above the platter that stores the data (the distance is actually measured in microns). These are called “heads”. If they touch the platter, it is know as a “head crash” and it destroys any data where the contact is made. This can damage or destroy the platters, the heads, the drive units that manipulate the heads, or all of the above. There is a sensor in the computer that actually docks the heads to protect them in the event of a drop, but a drop of two feet is probably not enough to trigger it.
What most likely happened is he dropped his laptop while he was accessing the hard drive, be it playing music, saving a file, copying a file, etc. Since the heads were above the platter and the platter was spinning at the time, the drop caused them to impact the platter and be dragged across it…this either damaged the data or the drive or…likely both. it is COMPLETELY reasonable for the drive to fail in this situation. You can’t blame it on apple…you couldn’t blame it on dell if it was a dell, or any other manufacturer, this is a fact of how hard drives work. If you don’t want this to happen, then pay up for a solid state drive.
The fact is, his Dell fell apart due to poor manufacturing, his apple failed for a completely legitimate reason - he dropped it. he should be impressed by the fact that it was only the hard drive that failed (which would happen to any other computer)…what do you think would happen to his dell if he had dropped it? I bet that would have been it for those hinges that were loose…
March 19th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
you suck-
and you have a bad attitude. i think the word is “tardacity”. If you’re calling in for warranty work before the year is up you should be thankful you have the chance to get that piece of shit into extended coverage.
you are why the internet sucks. it isn’t cool to think you’re cool because you find new ways of being a dick. i’d rather go camping with derek zoolander vs meeting you.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
I as well have had both a mac and pc, but it seems to me that you’re really the one at fault for the Mac failure. That aside, the Apple service is great. As for trying to screw you out of some money, I’m not entirely sure he was really trying to “screw” you. I imagine ALL companies try to sell warranties for their product. Seeing that your laptop was almost up on warranty and that you were already utilizing the warranty, I don’t think it was a stretch to offer one up. I bought an extended warranty at the time of sale and my Mac has malfunctioned probably about 3 times, all repairs were made within 2 days at most. Once was a hard drive failure (not from dropping), one was a USB drive, the other was an overheating plug/power supply, but in that instance, one of the Mac Geniuses saw my trackpad and keyboard were worn down from use and offered to replace the whole top side of my laptop… free of charge, noting that it was a “defect,” even though it was obviously just standard wear and tear. In my humble opinion, Mac service is one of the best I’ve encountered, though Dell’s replacement warranty is great, cause you can beat the hell out of the computer and they’ll replace it…. with another crappy dell.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Yeah, Apple is much better. Sorry.
Well written article. But if you consider $150 for a 2 year extension to your CPU’s warranty (the average repair w/o warranty is $500) financial rape, either Cracked pays you nothing, or you propbably consider someone giving you a high-five a near rape experience”.
Your mom,
-Balls Dude
March 19th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I love how all the mac fags are trying to defend mac for trying to screw this guy out of money and saying that clearly he MUST have dropped it down a flight of stairs or something.
Anyway, that sounds odd about the studio laptop falling apart so fast. I’m using a Dell Inspiron laptop that I got 4 months ago and I haven’t had any problems so far. Guess it varies from model to model.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
ZOMG. This is awesome! Flamed by tech heads. I feel so legit!
And yeah I didn’t mean Powerbook. It was late. I was tired. Sorry. I also don’t know what Linux is.
Bring it!!
March 19th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
So on the New Cracked.com you can see the comments on the articles but not from the columnists ?( fuck the RSS feeds)
I tolerated it when you reversed the order of the comments( WHICH IS FUCKING STUPID, btw) BUT THIS JUST PISSES ME OFF.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
You’re a moron who shouldn’t use any electronic products. Go use a pen and paper. No, wait. Use a pencil so you can easily erase garbage like this next time.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
“Oh boy.. As an IT Professional I guess I’m morally bound to weigh in on this.”
No, you’re NOT. Go back to your hole. NOW.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
DUDE, YOU DROPPED THE MAC! It’s a computer not a shoe! It worked until you dropped the damn thing… unlike the crappy Dell!
March 19th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
You are an idiot. Complain about service for issues you caused. I hope you feel like the idiot you are. Drop the computer and this should be covered under warranty. Please what rock did you crawl from under. I have not owned a MAC but what they did does not seem unreasonable at all. I have owned numerious Dell laptops and desktops and never, ever experienced issues such as you described. I think you should buy a tank. This post has to be a joke!
March 19th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
You blame Apple because you dropped your Mac and the hard drive failed?
March 19th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
@frankie
Ha ha! I’m not flustered. I’m cool as a cucumber.
You got me all wrong, frankie. I don’t carry a messenger bag, I don’t wear Buddy Holly glasses and I don’t own a single hoodie.
And frankly, frankie, the novel has never gotten past page ten or so. Thanks for asking.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Dude, get a ThinkPad… I must’ve pushed it off a desk a dozen times and it still works fine. (Those hotel desks are way too narrow.)
March 19th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
So basically you’re kinda a dick and you get bad service.
Weird.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I understand you’re not a tech-savvy person, but the fact the you “dropped” your mac 2 ft onto carpet, which caused the hard drive to fail, leads me the reader to believe you don’t take very good care of your laptop. Who’s to say that was the first or only time you dropped it. Furthermore, rotating hard drives are very susceptible to failure from drops and shaking, especially when powered on and rotating. Depending on your model, you say PowerBook, so assuming that is correct, I don’t believe that has the shock-detection feature that the newer MacBooks have, and you should keep that in mind when handling your laptop. I would recommend a SSD for those with butterfingers, such as yourself. And it being closed doesn’t really matter, the only thing that would really effect is the screen and/or hinge, not the hard drive. I am an avid Apple customer and I know they make the highest quality product available, yes companies do make mistakes and Apple is no exception, but given your admitted negligence I am calling user error. So please, don’t tarnish a name over your own negligence. One more note, Apples customer service is the best I have ever experienced, assuming you follow the rules and make an appointment like everyone else. you’re no one special, there are plenty of other people who have dropped their Mac just like you
March 19th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Almost all laptops suck ass, if you want a serious machine use a desktop or liberate a mil spec laptop from the Army like I did.
I can use my laptop on the beach, in the rain while I fish and use it for a foot rest when I’m not using it. It has never missed a beat.
If it breaks then all I have to do is hop several MAC flights to Pakistan and buy a new one on the blackmarket for about $200 US and I’m back home in about 36 hours.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Your no winner, you’re just to incompetent to maintain you’re own shit.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Jaaaaaayyyyyyy
you sound flustered, perhaps you havent had your herbal tea?
hows the novel coming?
March 19th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Sounds like you suck at life. Your first mistake was owning a windows computer.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Well here’s a big difference between the two, something like $1,000 dollars just to get the same crappy service from both.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Uh. Dumbass X 2. First for buying a Dell. Don’t do that. That there is self-destructive behavior. Second for posting this article.
Apple has excellent service for a large company. Period. They have helped me out repeatedly when they were not obligated. The last time, they replaced the battery in my MacBook Pro over-the-counter, out of warranty. I fully expected them to stick me with $120 for a new battery, but they didn’t. That was awesome. Between work and home, I have eight Macs running righteously. Two of them are old-school iBooks.
And what company has a dedicated group of tech support people at every retail store. And you can make a free appointment. No waiting in line. No incompetent sales people to deal with. It’s great. I really don’t feel like Apple could be much better, support wise, for a large company.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:41 am
“Ok, those two Lenovo guys are at the verge of convincing me, would you place drop your laptop a few feet to various types of floors and come back with the results?” - Eduardo Rodríguez
Will you reimburse me? Better yet, just give me your money and we’ll go from there. I am NOT swindling you.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:40 am
You dropped your MacBook (2 feet, really? I bet it was more)… and you complain it fell to pieces?
And whats wrong with them trying to sell you an EXTENDED 2 year Applecare warranty (3 years coverage dude) — it’s blatantly obvious you need it, as clumsy as you are.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:35 am
You are right. Its good in this day and age to be able to resolve all of your own PC issues.
RT
http://www.online-privacy.pro.tc
March 19th, 2009 at 11:28 am
To the people freaking out over him dropping it: the article says he only dropped it 2 feet onto carpet. That doesn’t usually cause “complete hard drive failure”
To the people saying “Oh you mailed the Dell! There was nothing wrong with it! You stupid!”: The hinges to the screen were broken and the casing was broken. So he could’ve waited until the warranty was gone and pay for it OR make sure it’s all peachy keen and not pay for it
March 19th, 2009 at 11:25 am
@Kat If you actually read the article, he points out several problems he was having with the dell laptop, ie loose screws, loose screen panel, etc. It wasn’t until it became unusable did he decide to take advantage of the fact that there was a real live person on the phone to deal with the other problems as well. And a laptop should be able to survive a two foot fall on carpet, at least I think so, but I’ve never dropped mine. And I’m not sure why I’m defending Gladstone, because I hate him. Annoys the fucking hell out of me, he does.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:04 am
sorry, meant HBN
Got distracted.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:02 am
@ Kat-
Pull the stick out of your behind. You work for Apple or Dell? Haha.
Good job, even if it was completely the companies fault, you would have gone through the SAME EXACT THING. Think about that before you rip someone a new one kids.
Even if the Dell/Apple Rep were standing in front of you, ripped the hard drive out of the machine, jumped on it and then stuck it back in, you would have had the same red tape, the some crappy service.
So yeah, either way, it’s all the same in the end.
I giggled by the way, at the truth of this article.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Have had a Dell laptop for about 4 years now and it’s doing fine. The only problem I had was having to replace the battery after 3 years of use, which I did. Works fine now.
If had to do it again I would probably not buy this specific laptop simply because it was a gift and the people buying it for me had no idea what I would need to use for going to college, but that’s not Dell’s fault. All in all I think it’s a great laptop and has done what it needs to do.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:36 am
So let me get this straight…
Dell Issue: Your adapter didn’t work. You called support. They got you a new adapter. And then you OF YOUR OWN VOLITION decided you wanted a “check up” on your computer despite no suspicion of any malfunctioning. So you sent your perfectly functioning Dell away in the mail and then decided to bitch about how your lack of a laptop and the long turnaround of the US Postal service is Dell’s fault.
Apple Issue: You dropped the fucking computer. Full Stop. The Apple people generously fixed it for you for no fee and, after losing your adapter, apologized and quickly replaced it. You decide to bitch that dropping your computer and not following proper Apple procedure is all Apple fault.
Conclusion: The unifying factor in these two incidents is that you fucked up or made poor decisions and then decided to blame it on “poor customer service” and “shoddy products.” I’m not saying that these companies don’t have their own unique problems to deal with, but publishing a story bitching them out when it’s clear the only problem in the situation is YOU does not make good, funny, or informative reading.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:34 am
say did i just invent a new word?? what do you call a crappy laptop?? CRAPTOP…
now if only some one told me where to register this new word of mine.. ill be well on my way.. 
March 19th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Im gonna come out and say it - dude, you’re a douche.
You DROPPED your MacBook and claim it ‘fell to pieces within a year’ - dude, you f’ing DROPPED it. Im surprised they fixed it under your warranty, because dropping your laptop VOIDS the freaking warranty!
Now, them trying to upsell you the AppleCare extended warranty, well, yes, they’re trying to make green off you. But, again, I must say, you DROPPED your Apple!
March 19th, 2009 at 10:33 am
Oh boy.. As an IT Professional I guess I’m morally bound to weigh in on this.
First some general information then we’ll get to specifics. This will probably be somewhat long-winded but it IS free advice from someone who is extremely knowledgeable. For whatever that’s worth.
First off avoid e-machines. Seriously. They invariably use poor quality parts that tend to fail, particularly, the power supply. If you’re lucky all you’ll have to replace is the power supply itself. Other times the power supply failure will result in a power surge that damages the mainboard, CPU or other component(s). AMD processor based systems seem particularly vulnerable to this. Often (but not always) when this happens you will see bulging / leaking capacitors on the mainboard. Granted there are exceptions. Once in a while You’ll see one where they got it right but those are pretty rare.
Secondly there is no shortage of merchandise that stores will offer an extended warranty for and most of them are a scam. For a notebook it’s well worth it particularly if you travel a lot and treat your luggage as if you’re the Samsonite gorilla. Or the American Tourister chimpanzee for those of you you just tensed up in preparation of calling me out on that Samsonite thing. Whatever.
Now I don’t know shit about Macs as I’ve never serviced or even used one before so I’m pretty much limited to knowledge about notebooks in general in this area but I gotta say that the scenario painted where dropping the Mac from a height of 2 feet onto carpet caused total hard drove failure demonstrates some pretty piss-poor shock absorbing measures especially considering how pricey these things are. I would expect better protection than THAT. Say something more along the lines of an IBM Thinkpad but if you want something you can REALLY beat the crap out of maybe a Panasonic Toughbook is more your speed.
Problems like “My firewall stopped working” and “it stopped connecting to the internet” are, most likely, SOFTWARE problems probably being caused by malware infection(s). These are but a couple of classic symptoms of infection.
In addition, there are some things I’ve often seen people do that CAUSE the problems they’re having such as:
1) Leaving the unit powered on then zipping it up inside their satchel. No, hibernation mode is NOT good enough. It must be POWERED OFF.
2) Leaving the AC jack plugged into the back of their notebook then jamming it inside their satchel. Congratulations you’ve just made a lever that will function quite well in breaking that DC jack loose from the mainboard!
there are more but these are by far the most common ones I’ve seen.
Now onto specific issues:
@katie6098 Says: “…the past two days it has turned off for becoming ‘unexpectedly warm’, which is total bull since whenever it shuts off it is isn’t even as hot as it can get, and by that i mean leaves red marks on your legs (if it is on your lap) that won’t go away for a full 10 minutes its that hot.”
OK that is almost certainly a thermal issue. First off notebooks are NOT designed to be used in your lap. This is why you don’t really hear the term “laptop” all that much as opposed to “notebook”. Using it in your lap tends to block cooling intake / exhaust vents. They’re really only intended to be used on a flat level surface. Even then, if the notebook is missing enough of its rubber feet from the bottom, it may not have enough clearance for adequate air flow.
Sadly I can’t really walk you through fixing broken hinges and whatnot but in regards to it overheating try this:
1) Disconnect the AC adapter and remove the battery from the notebook.
2) Get a paper clip and straighten out a sufficient enough length of it to insert between the blades of the cooling fan(s). Obviously you may need more than one paper clip for this if your notebook uses more than one cooling fan. This is to prevent the fan from being at too high an RPM, thus burning out its “motor”.
3) Insert the paper clip(s) between a pair of blades of the cooling fan(s) and blow compressed air down into the fan(s) as well as any corresponding heatsink(s). Continue to do so until crap is no longer flying out.
Hopefully I did some good for y’all.
Peace.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:32 am
You dropped the mac so they cannot be compared…Dell are shit though ive never had one but everyone i know that has any got either a mac or hp within a couple months.
Another computer company to avoid is ACER they suck shit both their desktops and laptops
March 19th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I have a lenovo too. Runs like a dream, never had a problem. I’ve been using it for 2 hours now and the air coming from the fan isn’t even hot. I also use ubuntu.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Never go with anything from Dell, I work for Microsoft, Dell has some of the worst customer support and their machines are pieces of garbage, HP is a bit better, but it’s always best to stick with a Tower and a Custom built PC. And I found that MACs are for people who are generally too dumb to comprehend 2 buttons on the mouse, or for people who do Video and CG editing.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:27 am
My Dell laptop is the very reason I learned how to solder. Granted, I did buy it used. Though I did learn that the particular model I have is prone to overheating that subsequently damages the solder on the power jack. Nice job, Dell.
The best (and most fairly priced) computers I’ve ever had were the desktops I’ve built myself. And I don’t have to shell out extra cash for a useless warranty. All of the individual components have their own warranty anyway. Unfortunately, it’s not very economical to build custom laptops.
March 19th, 2009 at 10:24 am
I’ve had the same Mac PowerBook G4 (which is so old they have been discontinued for quite some time) for 5 or 6 years now. It still runs fine.
Although I did need to upgrade the hard drive, so I agree the hard drives suck….
March 19th, 2009 at 10:00 am
you dropped it. not a fair comparison. plus the hard drives in macs are the same as hard drives in pcs. the hard drives suck.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:58 am
VAIO.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:56 am
lol@ the twitter plug.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Gladstone, stop buying big make laptops. I learnt from my experiences with Dell and Toshiba and Apple (pure unadulterated shit) laptops, where they seem to build in a short lifespan to force you into buying another one when they want you to.
However, since realizing this I have decided to go for the cheaper option of buying a brandless laptop (well it has a name, Advent, but has anyone ever heard of that?) because if it fails I wont be as annoyed seeing as it cost half as much, and, 2 years on, way better specced than anything Apple offers today. And its still in as new condition, not one problem so far. Its built like a brick.
So in conclusion, dont buy the cool makes, its not worth it. They WILL break very quickly. Cheapo ones dont. Makes no sense, I know, but its true.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Cool story Hansel.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:29 am
http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2009/3/16/128817431244162610.jpg
March 19th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Ok, those two Lenovo guys are at the verge of convincing me, would you place drop your laptop a few feet to various types of floors and come back with the results?
March 19th, 2009 at 9:27 am
I find it unlikely that you bought a Powerbook in the last year that is still under warranty. What I suspect you have is a Macbook.
I had a similar problem with a Macbook hard drive failure that my or may not have been related to me being hit by a car while carrying it. Only in my case, I made the appointment, and they gave me a brand new hard drive while I was in the store. The whole thing, including paperwork, took about 10 minutes. However, since their are no Apple Stores near me, the total drive time was about 2 hours.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:25 am
boy o boy.. just the kinda article the nerds needed f0r an opening to rule cracked comments. so widout further adiue, lemme start the first mac vs pc war on cracked comments
MAC SUCKS.. APPLE SUCKS>>. MICROSOFT ROCKS> PCS ROCK~!
MAC SUUUUUUUUXXXXX
March 19th, 2009 at 9:23 am
i have a dell inspiron E1505, with stupid windows vista. it worked great when i first got it as a gift for college, but after having it for almost two years its falling apart. the screen is dangerously wobbly, to the point where a light breeze could knock it off. the battery has shit the bed and dies in 15 minutes if it isn’t plugged into an outlet. the past two days it has turned off for becoming ‘unexpectedly warm’, which is total bull since whenever it shuts off it is isn’t even as hot as it can get, and by that i mean leaves red marks on your legs (if it is on your lap) that won’t go away for a full 10 minutes its that hot.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:21 am
@ chris
she obviously wants you. call her again and tell here there are some issues with your “hardware” that require immediate service.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I’ve had my Dell for almost a year and no problems yet, sorry about your luck
March 19th, 2009 at 9:03 am
you can add HP to you list of crap laptops…..i only had it 18 months….complete hard drive failure….oh and i’ve had to replace the plug TWICE……i took it to the Geek Squad a week ago…haven’t seen it since…
March 19th, 2009 at 8:57 am
my Toshiba lasted oooh, three months tops before the screen had to be replaced because of a faulty light. Then the charger destroyed itself because it was tired, so that needed replacing. Then the firewall decided to not work and thirty trojans had to be taken off it.
I would have commited suicide but I’m only borrowing this from the sixth form I’m at, so what would have cost about £100+ didn’t cost a penny. Which is great, until I found out they didn’t pay for the warranty so when the laptop becomes mine (properly) in June, I can garantee it will burst into green flame and I lose my deposit.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Now this was a year ago when I called Dell for service on my laptop, but then I was not greeted with the option to speak to someone “‘Merican”, for a fee. However, since my phone died as I was giving some preliminary info, I had to call back - and instead of the very pleasant man with the foreign accent, I got the very pleasant Chip out of Texas. I had to wonder if my “hanging up” influenced my being rerouted…
March 19th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I’ve had the motherboard replaced in my XPS 1530 FIVE TIMES since I bought it last March. I have a three year warranty and an email from a Dell manager stating that if it broke again I’d get a replacement. Well, it broke again and I called Dell and they “conveniently” didn’t log that online chat in their system and refused to replace it. So, I just got it back from the depot yesterday with it’s fifth motherboard.
Not to mention, the replaced A/C port, A/C adapter, speakers, express card slot, and keyboard. They could have built a whole new damn computer 3 times over already!!
Attorney General’s Office will be getting a complaint from me shortly.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:45 am
My PC’s no longer under warranty. I’ve brought it to the guys at Staples and been pretty happy with the results. If anybody cares.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:37 am
I have an XPS and when it fucked up Dell sent a lady out to my house to fix it. She was kind of hot too. She actually noticed something else wrong with my computer that I didn’t even know about and came back a few days later to fix that as well.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:32 am
I highly recommend trying Dell’s online chat support next time, if both laptops aren’t broken. I find it much less painful for some reason.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Second lenovo here. Bought it last year for £350 (when £350 meant something close to $770)
Used it *minimum* 10 hours a day, all year, and the only problem it’s thrown at me is mildy screw up the keyboard after i accidently poured a full bowl of cereal + milk on it. After letting it dry, it works perfectly.
I use the open office suite instead of the full MS office that came with it, and that works pretty nifty.
Even consistently get 140-180 minimum fps for dwarf fortress
Only problem with it is the fan is schizophrenic
so aye; buy lenovo next time. “Communists” get shit done.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I’m to poor for a laptop, but the people around me have HPs and such and they never fail because of themselves. The break downs almost always occure because of women spilling drinks on them.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:09 am
I have an HP and its a huge piece of shit. Don’t ever buy one. My power chord melted in half and sparks were flying out of it, it would have burnt my house down if I hadn’t f been there.
March 19th, 2009 at 8:00 am
I have an old Sony VAIO laptop back in my bedroom, from 2004. When it was new, it was top shelf stuff, retailing for $4000. Today, it’s battered, old and underpowered. But the point is, it still works, even after years of accompanying me in my travels. The only things to ever break on it were the webcam (which I never used anyway) and the little spring-loaded button for the PCMCIA slot. The rubber feet under it are also long gone, but that’s not really relevant. And the battery won’t last 4 hours anymore - it’s lucky to go 2 hours now.
I didn’t pay $4k for it when I got it, and I wouldn’t pay that much for another one. But I will say I’m very impressed with how sturdy my little VAIO is. I hate shilling anything, but if you’re in the market for another PC laptop, that’s the product line I’d suggest. Plus they don’t all cost so much anymore.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:58 am
I have a Lenovo - 2 years going, and it’s ok - very sturdy and built to last.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:54 am
@ cobramaster
very very rarely does apple really personalize their hardware anymore. if you’re looking for really advanced hardware in a notebook you’re probably looking at an HP, especially now that they own Voodoo.
the reason people pay *more* for a mac is the software (and possibly the customer service). you simply cannot get a computer for $1000 that runs windows that includes even remotely comparable software suites to ilife and iwork, with ilife coming for free on every mac and iwork only costing $70 (how much is MS office suite these days?) And don’t start pointing to those $400 advanced netbooks that HP sells, those things couldn’t run photoshop or ableton live at all.
this is a pointless post on a humor site i know, but i have some serious free time.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Yea, if you’re not tech-savvy, you’re gonna be in a pickle either way. I would recommend a Mac to anyone who isn’t ‘tech-savvy.’ That is, if you aren’t a serious gamer.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:31 am
i have a ibm thinkpad, 3+ yrs and still works and looks like new.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:23 am
I have a baby Acer and the internet craps out on me all the time. I have to say though, I dropped it this morning from like 4 feet onto the hard-wood floor and it’s fine….as of right now lol
March 19th, 2009 at 7:21 am
After reading the message board, I think it’s safe to say that I am the only person with a Lenovo (that read this blog/article/post). I still don’t know why I paid $1000-1100 for it, but after a year of ownership its still like new. AND I even dumped Vista and got the Windows 7 Beta OS (everything Vista was supposed to be and more) and I love it even more now because its over priced potential is finally realized! THANKS CHINA!
March 19th, 2009 at 7:05 am
I still hate Gladstone. I wish he would catch fire.
March 19th, 2009 at 7:01 am
crackkkked is a dildo…not even good enough to be a real dick.
‘it runs as though it were personally concerned with my happiness’ haha, best line ever.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:50 am
@ling
EVERYONE knows that 1 in 1000 macs are blessed with Mr. Jobs baby batter and are immune to all of the worlds ills. You just happen to be one of the lucky few!
March 19th, 2009 at 6:39 am
Strange. I drop my macbook two feet onto a carpeted floor fairly regularly, nigh daily. Hasn’t broken yet; in fact, it runs as though it were personally concerned with my happiness.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:29 am
so I don’t understand how you can complain that they both fell apart when the the mac was dropped and obviously YOUR fault.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Btw, that was a nice little slip announcing the return of HBN! I’m assuming by “possible” you really mean “definite”!!!
March 19th, 2009 at 6:24 am
I can’t say it’s the standard, but I’ve had my Dell Inspiron for going on 5 years. Still a great computer, but outdated. Got slightly below top of the line hardware when I bought it and have had no problems with it at all. Still even has the same hard drive I bought it with. But I can say that I think I know more about computers than the tech support guys I called one time, and that is beyond frustrating. If I tried to cut the guy off and tell him, ‘look I already tried that’ they just go blithely on parroting the faq in front of them. But that’s just tech support period.
I can say that the one time I called Sony’s tech support for my brothers Vaio (crap fyi) I actually got a red blooded American on the line. Not only that, someone who knew more about computers than me and was a tech support guy!!! HOW?!?! ITS NOT POSSIBLE!!!
March 19th, 2009 at 6:22 am
I damn near peed at the Scottish version of your name. Very clever sir.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:19 am
Wow, I’m so glad I have an Acer. I’ve had it for 4 years and haven’t had any problems. Sure, it doesn’t have as much power as some other laptops, but at least it lasts.
March 19th, 2009 at 6:15 am
@crackkkkkked, because I like being a dick. Isn’t that obvious?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:59 am
I’m aware of my typo. It’s because the batteries in my keyboard are weak and not all the keystrokes are getting through.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:57 am
Oh, and the first day I got my laptop a year ago, I fell asleep and kicked it off my bed while it was opened and turned on. I awoke the next da and it was sideways with the air vent on the rug. It’s still like new today and never had a problem.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:48 am
@Cobramaster, propitiatory hardware and software, meaning that everything made for a Mac by Apple will work and you don’t have to keep a driver disc for video card, a driver disk for sound card, networking, web cam, and whatever else. When I switched my laptop from Vista to XP, I had to hunt down 21 separate driver packs to get everything up and running and my wi-fi still doesn’t work. That’s why they spend the extra money. Fora prettier interface and for compatibility and simplicity although they still have problems, they are more easily corrected because all the components are made from the same company.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Working for a computer company I can agree many repair strategies are BS. But the Apple one? You even admitted the unit was dropped.. frankly I’m surprised they repaired it without charging you for Out of Warranty//accidental damage (since they don’t have insurance). Although “it was closed and only fell about two feet to the carpeted floor”, notebooks aren’t designed to be dropped at all. Who knew?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:43 am
i do not like gladstone at all, he thinks his HBN was such an awesome show, he has to talk about it in every article he does, if he stops a show he has to make sure there are 3 different episodes explaining why he’s leaving and then annoucing that he is leaving, you’re show was not that great, quit being so full of yourself and move on with a new chapter in your life, why does every fucking thing you write have to deal with HBN?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Well with the PC, your 1st screw-up was, “dude, you got a Dell?!?”
My HP laptop is going on it’s 4th year of service and with the exceptions of upgrades to the ram and videocard, I’ve never had a problem.
….but seriously….a Dell?
March 19th, 2009 at 5:35 am
Today I will leave you hassle free as this was more of a blog than an article, and therefore not required to be funny,that and I can totally relate to your DELL issues.
I used to deliver DELL computers to the end user. APparently they start off being assembled in Malaysia, then get sent to another major distribution warehouse, then get shipped to where we were and finally, in exchange for a handful of breadcrumbs, a pain in the ass and 3 ounces of sweat we had to deliver them.
I learned a fair bit about DELLS from talking to the customers and they didn’t have a lot of fans. What surprised me most was WHO actually bought DELLS. Universities, Government Agencies and most scarily the ARMY!, although to be fair I only ever delivered to Logistics and Personell, but I can imagine what would happen if they used them for crucial stuff. I wonder if Raj has a solution for a shipload of communist Koreans chasing you across the countryside in Hyundai Tanks.
Also NEVER EVER buy a DELL printer. They do NOT sell the cartridges in stores, you have to mail order new ink cartridges and they’re really expensive. Go get a Brother or a Canon or any normal brand that everybody stocks.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:35 am
i’m gonna be the asshole to point out that you can’t have a powerbook that’s only 1/2 a year old. You my friend have a macbook pro (congratulations btw).
Also that’s a horrible string of luck. I’ve heard of problems with computers, but screws popping out and the screen becoming wobbly inside of weeks? thats just crazy talk.
I love how the comments are just a running flow of, “avoid a, b and c but d and e are good” to then be followed by “avoid d and e at all costs, i will only by a from now!”.
Maybe the moral of the story is expecting companies to make millions of devices that each house hundreds of dollars of components inside of frames less than 1 inch thick that we transport literally everywhere we go and that not one of these machines should break is absurd.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:29 am
The picture of the “Bar” suddenly convinced me to not buy mac
March 19th, 2009 at 5:25 am
So people pay all the extra money for a Mac why if the still break just as often if not more than the much less expensive windows systems.
March 19th, 2009 at 5:20 am
Great article!
March 19th, 2009 at 5:09 am
Dude, sorry to hear that. Since I got my MacBook 2.5 years ago, I have had to replace:
-The mobo twice
-The battery twice
-The optical drive once
-Format hard drive multiple times
The good news though, is somehow each failure came within a year of its manufacture, so I have yet to pay for a repair :).
March 19th, 2009 at 5:02 am
Sounds a lot like my experiences with HP tech support last year. After four months of calls and sending my (broken) laptop in for repairs, only to get it back and have the same crash-within-two-minutes problem, I finally managed to get them to send me a new one.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:59 am
This was excellent.
But the only thing i was thinking thorugh the entire thing was “zenophobia is actually spelt xenophobia”.
I’m so sorry, and i know that makes me a grammar nazi, or whatever. but seriously.
type either word into dell OR mac and they should’ve told you its spelt with an x.
thanks anyway!
March 19th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Maybe the business models are sturdier, but I bought a laptop through my job about two years ago, and in addition to the business discount (nice!) and the fact that is came barebones (no bullshit software I don’t want, Nice!), it’s indestructable. I’ve dropped it twice, works beautifully.
So suck it, you unlucky bastards! AHAHAHAH!
March 19th, 2009 at 4:51 am
man, you got screwed, Gladstone. I’ve had a Dell Laptop for going on 5 years and I’ve only had to format it once cause Windows put out a retarded patch that screwed up Dells running XP. No power cord problems, no battery problems, no hinge problems…
March 19th, 2009 at 4:40 am
The reason you’re told not to send out the AC adapter with the whole unit is because the people who actually repair your system is not part of Dell, but a 3rd party service facility. Officially you should send the AC adapter and HDD back with the system, but Dell technicians have been burned by those assholes before, so now we just tell our customers to fuck the instructions.
If you get a system from a business account you get much better tech support (nobody from India). Dell isn’t throwing a lot of money at the consumer segment right now because the returns are so small (compared to small/medium business and enterprise).
Return to depot repair also has a lead time of 5-8 business days, so that sounds about right. You can get onsite service if you pay extra at purchase. Takes 2-3 business days and someone will come over and replace the parts on your system.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Dell is so shoddy. My lappy has the same problems as Gladstone’s except that the power cords died five times by my count. In a period of 22 months of ownership of it. With bonus wobblies on the monitor and a horrible crunching sound when it opens or closes. The monitor is split at the bottom, on both sides, exposing the circuitry, and it gave its final Skype call two nights go, when it decided to lose power, while the adapter itself seems to still work. I had known this was coming sooner or later, and backed up my files a week or two ago, so fortunately Dell has not caused me to pull my hair out.
Perhaps you should expect a video on YouTube of me “Office Spacing” the bastard.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:25 am
Apple, Nintendo and Sony are probably the only companies to never piss me off with their customer service.
Don’t ever buy anything from Microsoft, Yamaha, Verizon or Samsung.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:25 am
The term PC is far more broad than the term Mac, HBN. Another fine example of why I preach abstinence from both Mac and Dell. Tack Toshiba to that and you’ve got yourself an axis of evil. If custom isn’t your style buy an HP or E machine. Ive seen both of them have very old rigs in service for years without any problems.. and even if you do manage to Trojan yourself up, the system restore abilities of both brands is amazing: factory restore in minutes. My sisters e-machine ran for about 6 years (EST?) almost constantly on and only last week did the power supply finally give out. The rest of the system is perfectly fine. Both also have very nice customer service… in the event you drop something again
March 19th, 2009 at 4:20 am
Nice work. I’m scared to buy a lap top now.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:20 am
To be fair to Apple (I know you have no interest in fairness here), your Mac is covered for repairs under warranty for a year, but only 90 days of phone support is included. When you called for phone support after 6 months, they were trying to ask you if you wanted to extend the phone support. When you declined, they told you to take it to an Apple store for repair because that is covered under your warranty (whereas continuing to help you by phone was not). While it seemed that Apple was trying to milk you for support you’d already paid for, technically that is not true.
All that being said, Apple’s warranties are stingy as hell considering the price of their computers, but I guess 90 days of phone support is better than a year when you’ve got to call India and have someone ask you questions about things you’ve already told him.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:16 am
So… Did you ever see the Dell again??
March 19th, 2009 at 4:10 am
After I read this I asked myself “Why did I read this?”. And the answer is… I’m bored. And then I asked myself “Do I give a shit about Gladstone’s fucking computer?”. And the answer is…. No!
March 19th, 2009 at 4:10 am
I’ve smacked the crap out of my Acer but it keeps on chuggin’. The fan broke 20 months in though.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Toshiba is the worst , i didnt get any customer service , my laptop kept breaking and they kept fixing parts until the warranty ended and then refused to fix it for free. buy a Asus laptop i bought one before my toshiba and the thing keeps working tho its slow now.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:02 am
get an HP!
March 19th, 2009 at 3:55 am
My HP has been going strong for a couple of years now. In fact I would say that it is probably one of the best out there. It has survived being dropped, smacked, stepped on, and even survived a rocket attack when I took it to Iraq with me for 14 months.
That is a good, cheap, laptop.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:52 am
This is nothing. I bought my HP laptop and within three days after the 1-year warranty expired, HP performed an update on my laptop which effectively destroyed it (ok, it damaged the graphics card). Took it in for repairs 4 times at the place where i bought it and each time they couldn’t fix it. I sent HP support an email, asking for some assistance, telling them all that I have done to fix it and when i got my reply, they instructed me to do EXACTLY what i told them I have already done. However, i sent them a long message telling them about their update that killed my laptop and I dont get any reply to that.
Moral of the story? Stay the fuck away from HP! So im with Zuli!
March 19th, 2009 at 3:49 am
Gladstone sucks.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:34 am
Hewlett Packards are made of ass and fail. Avoid them at all cost.
I had a Dell Inspiron 6000 that lasted me for four years; my nephew has it now. I bought a Gateway that, while it has Vista, which is a major drawback, it’s not a bad computer.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:34 am
I had the exact same experience with Dell two weeks ago when my brand new studio xps would not connect to the internet. The extra charge to speak with a white person was very offensive. A “30 minute” diagnostic turned into 6 hours. I sent it back, went to Best Buy, got an HP and have been happy ever since.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:33 am
Oh my God. Idiot i am, I left my computer here with no comments for like half an hour. I could have got a FIRST for the FIRST time evar!
March 19th, 2009 at 3:17 am
Congrats, Gladstone. This is maybe the first blogish post that I’ve read the full way through on this site.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:16 am
to be fair, you did drop the mac
it’s not like it just exploded on its own
March 19th, 2009 at 3:15 am
Side note: Do not get an HP. Customer service is worse than Dell. Worst customer service EVER.
Get an Asus. DOooooo iiittt!
March 19th, 2009 at 3:14 am
I think the moral of this story is that laptops suck. Desktops are best for all important programs/storage, laptops are just so you can have the internet everywhere.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:14 am
I used to work in a computer store where I have the fun job of sending back broken products to manufacturers that were under warranty.
Apple caused me nothing but grief. Basically if they’re dealing with the customer they’re great but if they’re dealing with a retailer that isn’t worth a shitload they treat you like garbage. Or at least that’s how it was for me in Australia.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:10 am
get a HP!
March 19th, 2009 at 3:06 am
LOL, that’s very brave and gutsy of you, going through these shits. Thanks for sharing the experiences!