Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Whatever we get will be donated to the local food bank.
-Paul
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Phil,
Heads up on Dell...
I’ve often used Dell for various computer purchases (corporate and personal) over the years. My current Precision 7540 laptop is 4 years old so I decided to order a new in the beginning of December. I dug around on the Dell website and found the same model with slightly upgraded hardware; it is a pretty high end PC and docking station so the total bill was $3200. Dell acknowledged the order and let me know the laptop and docking station would ship under two different orders and that the delivery date would be 12/24/20.
On 12/29 the docking station was delivered but no laptop. (Docking station is useless to me without the laptop.) So I got online to see when the laptop may have shipped, the order status pops up ‘Cancelled’. Puzzled that I had not gotten any email or notification, I called them and was put though to an off-shore call center. We had some communication troubles but the support person confirmed the laptop order had been cancelled. When I inquired as to the reason it was cancelled she said, ‘illegal order’.
This freaked me out a bit since I had used a credit card and had visions of my card in the hands of drug or arms dealers, so I ask for clarification. The person was unable to communicate any further understanding and just keep repeating ‘illegal order, illegal order’. I asked for her supervisor and had the same miscommunication issues and the same curt ‘illegal order’ explanation. They finally transferred me to a US Sales office and to a person who apparently who was working on a commission. He looked into the previous order and said that Dell had mistakenly left the 7540 laptop page on their website when they had no way to actually build it. He was mystified as to why no one had contacted me but was more than happy to quote me the ‘equivalent laptop for the same price’. I got the quote an hour later and of course it was $400 more than what I had originally ordered; but I went ahead and pulled the trigger.
I still do not have the laptop and they are saying that it will be the first week of February before they ship it. But hey, I have a paid for docking station sitting here that I can use as a boat anchor.
Don
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I recently purchased a new desktop computer. It was a thoroughly enjoyably experience - no gotchas, no trial software, no $200 home visit to ensure compatibility, etc. I went to one of the local shops that does custom builds. He literally designed it around how I use my computers (2 cheap Dell Vostro Win 7's - both over 10 years old and a 4 year old I Mac.).
He went over what was on the computers, how much storage was utilized, what type of downloads I do, and a lot of other questions I would have never thought of. Since I prefer hard wire he added extra USB ports and included both new and old style AV hookups and cables.
Bottom line was I got a custom system that fits like a glove with a 3 year hardware guarantee for about the same price as the big box store and an incredible amount of good advice on how to transfer files, free word processing programs (using WPS which has proven to be a good choice so far), free backup - I am using an intermediate paid program($30 per year) from iDrive - they do offer a decent free backup as well depending on your needs.
If you go with a desktop splurge for a lighted large letter keyboard and a 24 inch monitor 0 I am old and it makes a world of difference - especially before the first couple of cups of coffee.
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Buy Dell! They build the computers in my backyard!
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Thanks everyone for the advice...our first computer back in the day when my wife was still working was a Gateway....computers cost about 3 grand back then and I liked it..came in a box the colors of a cow...black and white...anyone remember them ?
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Congratulations.
I have using a laptop at home and work for years. Portability is key. I have always used a docking station with dual displays and regular keyboard at home. My laptop was a Win7 model that never officially supported Windows 10 but it has been upgraded to solid state drive and 16GB memory (not because of Win 10).
I had used a loaded Dell laptop with a usb 3.0 dock at work and the performance was better but not as much as I would expect. The newer laptops have significantly better battery life. I did not like the Dell keyboard (smaller not well contoured keys).
I did seriously look at getting one for myself for Christmas but decided to wait a little longer. I had purchased an Android tablet earlier in the year and this maid reading (ebooks, news feeds, kindle, etc) much better especially since it mirrors my Android phone - all by Google overlord.
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I can't believe what my new, large iPad Pro can do - I can touch type on the keyboard! And I can toss it in my purse and take it with me. It's easy to link to external monitors and so much more. I'm linked to the color laser printer via our home network, too. When my phone rings, I can opt to answer on my iPad. WOW, just WOW. The new technology is simply incredible. Imagine what we will see in 10 years!
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Hey Phil
I remember the Gateway computer. That was my first computer. It lasted a long time
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my machines tend to last 5+ years. there aren't many moving parts, outside of the whirling drives and cooling fans.
Operating systems tend to be updated bi-annually, and those who work with proprietary OS are often stuck with out of date OS, no longer supported. And, of course, some OS are just dogs (with apologies to dogs).
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Well, my printer just crashed on me. Surprised it hasn't happened earlier. I got about 4 years out of it which is amazing. Time to go shopping somewhere. I went to our local Walmart and amongst all the empty shelves in the store, I discovered they didn't have even one printer in the store.
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I still use a computer that I bought in 2004.
It is not connected to the internet. I use it to hold my music and comedy programmes. It is linked to my turntable so I can digitalize my records and cassettes.
Thus my laptop does not get overloaded and I can do my stamps on my laptop while listening to music etc.
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My general experience with business class computers such as Dell Optiplex, Dell Latitude, or Dell Precision or similar models from HP or Lenovo is that they generally last for a minimum of five to six years. I would normally recommend a core i5 or core i7 machine with either 8GB or 16GB of memory depending on the number of applications and windows you normally keep open at one time. I would ONLY recommend use of a machine with an SSD drive when using Windows 10 as the OS due to its and its updates' sizes and the time required for the application of updates. I would always recommend a vendor service agreement with an expected time period of my use of the machine as due to the highly integrated nature of modern computers and the difficulty of acquiring replacement parts other than disk drives and memory. All other parts tend to be proprietary. I will, also, say that I normally recommend all-in-one desktops to cut down on external connections and use of multiple add-ons.
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It so figures that big business would ship one component and cancel the order for the main unit!
Recently I bought a new vanity top for my half bath at Home Depot. It came with the backsplash and their big placard said they didn't stock the sidesplash at the local store, but order it from their online store.
I ordered it that night for $32. They wanted another $18 for delivery but if I spent $50 it would be free delivery. I found three metal numbers for the front of my house for $4 each... I order "3" "4" and "8". Still down $5 so I got a pack of sand paper. Not items I really needed but hey, they were free!
About a week later I get a box that was too small to have the sidespash.. inside? THe letters "3" and "8" and the package of sandpaper, which they bent to fit in the package. Oh, and an invoice that tells me the sidesplash was discontinued... and the number "4" was out of stock. Total now $14 PLUS $18 shipping!
I call their number and go through phone tree hell to speak to the standard off shore non-English speaking person... I swear that American businesses do this just to discourage you from communicating with them... they attempt to explain to me that this is just fine because my order wasn't for $50 anymore!
Nevermind that I now have a vanity top INSTALLED with no sidespash, which is needed because that's where the wall paper ended! And that their "3" and "8" was absolutely useless without a "4". I went up to the store and raised holy hell, and at the very least returned the rest of the stuff and got all my money back. Now I still have the issue of the missing sidespash... and it will cost me a lot more than $32 to repaper the entire bathroom!
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My new Puget Systems PC arrived today. It's a replacement for the Puget Systems Intel i5 8 GB ram PC that's been sitting under my desk for almost ten years. This current PC is still running Windows 7 and has never needed service. I've never needed to use the "Tools Disc" or the "Restore DVD" that came with that PC. The PS/2 keyboard port and one USB port have died, but those weren't bothersome problems. In the past couple of years, I've had a few glitches pop up, often the video card, but they quickly self-corrected and I have not changed the video card or anything else that was original to the PC. On cold mornings this winter (temperature gets down close to 60 in this room when the heat is off), the warning light for the CPU fan comes on and I need to hit F1 before startup can proceed. The problem is that the fan now takes several seconds to get up to speed (600rpm or more) when it is cold in the room. Once it is up to speed, the warning disappears and I can finish the startup sequence. I could probably just adjust the warning trigger rpm rate and not worry about it, but haven't bothered to do so.
The System came with a 3-ring binder with the break-in testing data and graphs, etc. Each component is identified in the binder pages along with the manufacturer's contact information.
This older system came with a SSD drive and I moved a couple of hard drives from my even older PC to that 10-year-old PC. Eventually, I replaced those two hard drives with another SSD and I'll be moving that SSD to the new PC that arrived today. I think the full warranty on this current PC was three years and lifetime tech support. I don't remember if labor was lifetime or not. The new PC is lifetime labor and support, but only one year parts.
I've had so little experience with their tech support, I can't really comment on it. I suspect, based on my conversations with them when ordering the PCs (including one for Mom about six years ago), has been very helpful.
I'm expecting this new purchase to be my last PC purchase. I'm hoping to outlast it, even if it lasts as long as this current PC has!
Tom
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The typically lifecycle of a desktop PC is currently 5 years; this has risen since 2015 (up from 3-4 years). The history of computer life cycles was previously dependent upon ‘Moore’s Law’. Gordon Moore (Intel co-founder) predicted that CPU power/speed would double every 15 - 20 months and this was true for several decades. I have experience with the design, development, and manufacturing of computers, we chased this technology for many years including producing our own BIOS and motherboards. As a designer and manufacturer of motherboards, it was incredibly difficult to even purchase the same ICs and other components over 90 days. Constant change in the components speed and functionality became the norm.
Software development tracked along these very fast paced changes in the hardware and we saw major operating systems and applications being released every two years which were optimized for the latest current processors. The result was that trying to run software that was more than 5 years old on new hardware would sometimes be a challenge. The desktop industry began designing and building desktop computers with this in mind, there was no reason to sell computers that would last longer, desktops become a consumer device meant to only last 3-4 years.
But around 2007 a new trend really started to impact lifecycles; desktops no longer dominated the computing marketplace. Mobile devices became more and more the device that people used to access their information. Laptops and tablets began to erode the desktop market and by 2012 smartphones also gained rapid marketspace. Today desktop computers are almost a forgotten device, I think that only old stamp collectors use them. (Just kidding of course!) But desktop computers no longer represent a majority market share and mobile devices do. And the lifecycle of mobile device is far shorter, the smaller and more portable a device is the shorter its lifecycle is (for obvious reasons like being bounced off the floor, battery life, etc.) Currently the lifecycle of computing devices is as follows; desktops – 5 years, laptops – 3 years, tablets – 2 years, smartphones – 15-20 months.
Unfortunately for desktop users, software and website design is following the evolution of these mobile user devices. As the market for desktops sharply dropped and with software attention is largely on shorter lifecycle mobile devices. At the same time the shortest MTBF component in desktops (hard drives) became solid-state and this left only cooling fans as the last mechanical component. Desktop hardware lifecycles grew by a year or two due to this but the software lifecycle relationship remain another story. Desktop users now have less influence on lifecycles or software direction and this trend shows no indication of changing. I always favored desktop computing but had to switch over to more mobile computing due to things like my medical situation and its impact to my lifestyle, so the move to mobile device is not always due to ‘young people’.
As an example of how mobile devices have change things; web sites like this one and SCF are now obsolete because the majority of online users are now using mobile devices and this has little to do with how long a desktop computer or server may last. In the same way as having a Betamax player that lasted more than 5 years did not matter when the world moved to VHS, having a desktop computer that lasts more than 5 years might not matter now.
Don
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600 Powerball tickets
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Update on my Dell laptop order, just got an email saying the delivery date is being pushed into late February. If they hit that date, it will means their deliver time is 10 weeks. (But I have a great, useless docking station!)
What is most frustrating is that Dell is not allowing people to cancel their orders. Their justification is that because people used the utility on their site to configure a computer, it is a custom order. I am thinking about just pulling the plug on the credit card authorization at this point. (But I need to read the fine print and bet that they have something in their to 'discourage' this from happening like some huge penalty fee.)
Foolishly, I only rejoined the Dell forum in the last few weeks (lost my first account name and pw). If is full of threads and posts with things like 'I'll never buy anything from them again'. "Doh" on my part.
Don
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I must admit I'm an old dinosaur.
I prefer to physically see and hold in my hand what I am purchasing when it comes to high value items.
I once had the misfortune to purchase a printer on line. The rigmarole I had to go through to return it, as it was faulty, put me off for ever.
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I have been, and still am, using an HP Pavilion g6 laptop that I bought from Walmart back in 2011. It had W7 on then but is now running W10. 450gb hard drive, 4gb ram, 2.53ghz intel i3 processor.
Have replaced the battery pack, keyboard and mains cable but otherwise runs ok for me. Not the fastest but then nor am I.
Desktop is Vento with AMD Athlon 11 x 2 255 processor 3.10 ghz, 4gb ram, 930GB hard drive.
Elsewhwere there is an AST desktop from about 1995/6 running W95 and in the shed somewhere a system with W98.
Nothing fancy but they are both just workhorses, never used for gaming just day to day routine stuff.
Back-ups are done to external hard drives and photos and tax files to the cloud as well.
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I just read Ian's post. I just ordered a printer online. It is supposed to be here tomorrow. Sure hope it isn't faulty.
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Dakota:-
Hope everything goes OK.
Please remember that the ink cartridges supplied with the printer have very little ink in them!
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We have been limping along with a 9 year old corrupted Dell that takes forever to open anything...the mailman just dropped off a $1200 check...you can be assured we will use it to stimulate the economy !
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07:36:42pm
re: Oh Stimuli !
Whatever we get will be donated to the local food bank.
-Paul
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re: Oh Stimuli !
Phil,
Heads up on Dell...
I’ve often used Dell for various computer purchases (corporate and personal) over the years. My current Precision 7540 laptop is 4 years old so I decided to order a new in the beginning of December. I dug around on the Dell website and found the same model with slightly upgraded hardware; it is a pretty high end PC and docking station so the total bill was $3200. Dell acknowledged the order and let me know the laptop and docking station would ship under two different orders and that the delivery date would be 12/24/20.
On 12/29 the docking station was delivered but no laptop. (Docking station is useless to me without the laptop.) So I got online to see when the laptop may have shipped, the order status pops up ‘Cancelled’. Puzzled that I had not gotten any email or notification, I called them and was put though to an off-shore call center. We had some communication troubles but the support person confirmed the laptop order had been cancelled. When I inquired as to the reason it was cancelled she said, ‘illegal order’.
This freaked me out a bit since I had used a credit card and had visions of my card in the hands of drug or arms dealers, so I ask for clarification. The person was unable to communicate any further understanding and just keep repeating ‘illegal order, illegal order’. I asked for her supervisor and had the same miscommunication issues and the same curt ‘illegal order’ explanation. They finally transferred me to a US Sales office and to a person who apparently who was working on a commission. He looked into the previous order and said that Dell had mistakenly left the 7540 laptop page on their website when they had no way to actually build it. He was mystified as to why no one had contacted me but was more than happy to quote me the ‘equivalent laptop for the same price’. I got the quote an hour later and of course it was $400 more than what I had originally ordered; but I went ahead and pulled the trigger.
I still do not have the laptop and they are saying that it will be the first week of February before they ship it. But hey, I have a paid for docking station sitting here that I can use as a boat anchor.
Don
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re: Oh Stimuli !
I recently purchased a new desktop computer. It was a thoroughly enjoyably experience - no gotchas, no trial software, no $200 home visit to ensure compatibility, etc. I went to one of the local shops that does custom builds. He literally designed it around how I use my computers (2 cheap Dell Vostro Win 7's - both over 10 years old and a 4 year old I Mac.).
He went over what was on the computers, how much storage was utilized, what type of downloads I do, and a lot of other questions I would have never thought of. Since I prefer hard wire he added extra USB ports and included both new and old style AV hookups and cables.
Bottom line was I got a custom system that fits like a glove with a 3 year hardware guarantee for about the same price as the big box store and an incredible amount of good advice on how to transfer files, free word processing programs (using WPS which has proven to be a good choice so far), free backup - I am using an intermediate paid program($30 per year) from iDrive - they do offer a decent free backup as well depending on your needs.
If you go with a desktop splurge for a lighted large letter keyboard and a 24 inch monitor 0 I am old and it makes a world of difference - especially before the first couple of cups of coffee.
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re: Oh Stimuli !
Buy Dell! They build the computers in my backyard!
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re: Oh Stimuli !
Thanks everyone for the advice...our first computer back in the day when my wife was still working was a Gateway....computers cost about 3 grand back then and I liked it..came in a box the colors of a cow...black and white...anyone remember them ?
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re: Oh Stimuli !
Congratulations.
I have using a laptop at home and work for years. Portability is key. I have always used a docking station with dual displays and regular keyboard at home. My laptop was a Win7 model that never officially supported Windows 10 but it has been upgraded to solid state drive and 16GB memory (not because of Win 10).
I had used a loaded Dell laptop with a usb 3.0 dock at work and the performance was better but not as much as I would expect. The newer laptops have significantly better battery life. I did not like the Dell keyboard (smaller not well contoured keys).
I did seriously look at getting one for myself for Christmas but decided to wait a little longer. I had purchased an Android tablet earlier in the year and this maid reading (ebooks, news feeds, kindle, etc) much better especially since it mirrors my Android phone - all by Google overlord.
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re: Oh Stimuli !
I can't believe what my new, large iPad Pro can do - I can touch type on the keyboard! And I can toss it in my purse and take it with me. It's easy to link to external monitors and so much more. I'm linked to the color laser printer via our home network, too. When my phone rings, I can opt to answer on my iPad. WOW, just WOW. The new technology is simply incredible. Imagine what we will see in 10 years!
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re: Oh Stimuli !
Hey Phil
I remember the Gateway computer. That was my first computer. It lasted a long time
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re: Oh Stimuli !
my machines tend to last 5+ years. there aren't many moving parts, outside of the whirling drives and cooling fans.
Operating systems tend to be updated bi-annually, and those who work with proprietary OS are often stuck with out of date OS, no longer supported. And, of course, some OS are just dogs (with apologies to dogs).
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re: Oh Stimuli !
Well, my printer just crashed on me. Surprised it hasn't happened earlier. I got about 4 years out of it which is amazing. Time to go shopping somewhere. I went to our local Walmart and amongst all the empty shelves in the store, I discovered they didn't have even one printer in the store.
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re: Oh Stimuli !
I still use a computer that I bought in 2004.
It is not connected to the internet. I use it to hold my music and comedy programmes. It is linked to my turntable so I can digitalize my records and cassettes.
Thus my laptop does not get overloaded and I can do my stamps on my laptop while listening to music etc.
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re: Oh Stimuli !
My general experience with business class computers such as Dell Optiplex, Dell Latitude, or Dell Precision or similar models from HP or Lenovo is that they generally last for a minimum of five to six years. I would normally recommend a core i5 or core i7 machine with either 8GB or 16GB of memory depending on the number of applications and windows you normally keep open at one time. I would ONLY recommend use of a machine with an SSD drive when using Windows 10 as the OS due to its and its updates' sizes and the time required for the application of updates. I would always recommend a vendor service agreement with an expected time period of my use of the machine as due to the highly integrated nature of modern computers and the difficulty of acquiring replacement parts other than disk drives and memory. All other parts tend to be proprietary. I will, also, say that I normally recommend all-in-one desktops to cut down on external connections and use of multiple add-ons.
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re: Oh Stimuli !
It so figures that big business would ship one component and cancel the order for the main unit!
Recently I bought a new vanity top for my half bath at Home Depot. It came with the backsplash and their big placard said they didn't stock the sidesplash at the local store, but order it from their online store.
I ordered it that night for $32. They wanted another $18 for delivery but if I spent $50 it would be free delivery. I found three metal numbers for the front of my house for $4 each... I order "3" "4" and "8". Still down $5 so I got a pack of sand paper. Not items I really needed but hey, they were free!
About a week later I get a box that was too small to have the sidespash.. inside? THe letters "3" and "8" and the package of sandpaper, which they bent to fit in the package. Oh, and an invoice that tells me the sidesplash was discontinued... and the number "4" was out of stock. Total now $14 PLUS $18 shipping!
I call their number and go through phone tree hell to speak to the standard off shore non-English speaking person... I swear that American businesses do this just to discourage you from communicating with them... they attempt to explain to me that this is just fine because my order wasn't for $50 anymore!
Nevermind that I now have a vanity top INSTALLED with no sidespash, which is needed because that's where the wall paper ended! And that their "3" and "8" was absolutely useless without a "4". I went up to the store and raised holy hell, and at the very least returned the rest of the stuff and got all my money back. Now I still have the issue of the missing sidespash... and it will cost me a lot more than $32 to repaper the entire bathroom!
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re: Oh Stimuli !
My new Puget Systems PC arrived today. It's a replacement for the Puget Systems Intel i5 8 GB ram PC that's been sitting under my desk for almost ten years. This current PC is still running Windows 7 and has never needed service. I've never needed to use the "Tools Disc" or the "Restore DVD" that came with that PC. The PS/2 keyboard port and one USB port have died, but those weren't bothersome problems. In the past couple of years, I've had a few glitches pop up, often the video card, but they quickly self-corrected and I have not changed the video card or anything else that was original to the PC. On cold mornings this winter (temperature gets down close to 60 in this room when the heat is off), the warning light for the CPU fan comes on and I need to hit F1 before startup can proceed. The problem is that the fan now takes several seconds to get up to speed (600rpm or more) when it is cold in the room. Once it is up to speed, the warning disappears and I can finish the startup sequence. I could probably just adjust the warning trigger rpm rate and not worry about it, but haven't bothered to do so.
The System came with a 3-ring binder with the break-in testing data and graphs, etc. Each component is identified in the binder pages along with the manufacturer's contact information.
This older system came with a SSD drive and I moved a couple of hard drives from my even older PC to that 10-year-old PC. Eventually, I replaced those two hard drives with another SSD and I'll be moving that SSD to the new PC that arrived today. I think the full warranty on this current PC was three years and lifetime tech support. I don't remember if labor was lifetime or not. The new PC is lifetime labor and support, but only one year parts.
I've had so little experience with their tech support, I can't really comment on it. I suspect, based on my conversations with them when ordering the PCs (including one for Mom about six years ago), has been very helpful.
I'm expecting this new purchase to be my last PC purchase. I'm hoping to outlast it, even if it lasts as long as this current PC has!
Tom
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re: Oh Stimuli !
The typically lifecycle of a desktop PC is currently 5 years; this has risen since 2015 (up from 3-4 years). The history of computer life cycles was previously dependent upon ‘Moore’s Law’. Gordon Moore (Intel co-founder) predicted that CPU power/speed would double every 15 - 20 months and this was true for several decades. I have experience with the design, development, and manufacturing of computers, we chased this technology for many years including producing our own BIOS and motherboards. As a designer and manufacturer of motherboards, it was incredibly difficult to even purchase the same ICs and other components over 90 days. Constant change in the components speed and functionality became the norm.
Software development tracked along these very fast paced changes in the hardware and we saw major operating systems and applications being released every two years which were optimized for the latest current processors. The result was that trying to run software that was more than 5 years old on new hardware would sometimes be a challenge. The desktop industry began designing and building desktop computers with this in mind, there was no reason to sell computers that would last longer, desktops become a consumer device meant to only last 3-4 years.
But around 2007 a new trend really started to impact lifecycles; desktops no longer dominated the computing marketplace. Mobile devices became more and more the device that people used to access their information. Laptops and tablets began to erode the desktop market and by 2012 smartphones also gained rapid marketspace. Today desktop computers are almost a forgotten device, I think that only old stamp collectors use them. (Just kidding of course!) But desktop computers no longer represent a majority market share and mobile devices do. And the lifecycle of mobile device is far shorter, the smaller and more portable a device is the shorter its lifecycle is (for obvious reasons like being bounced off the floor, battery life, etc.) Currently the lifecycle of computing devices is as follows; desktops – 5 years, laptops – 3 years, tablets – 2 years, smartphones – 15-20 months.
Unfortunately for desktop users, software and website design is following the evolution of these mobile user devices. As the market for desktops sharply dropped and with software attention is largely on shorter lifecycle mobile devices. At the same time the shortest MTBF component in desktops (hard drives) became solid-state and this left only cooling fans as the last mechanical component. Desktop hardware lifecycles grew by a year or two due to this but the software lifecycle relationship remain another story. Desktop users now have less influence on lifecycles or software direction and this trend shows no indication of changing. I always favored desktop computing but had to switch over to more mobile computing due to things like my medical situation and its impact to my lifestyle, so the move to mobile device is not always due to ‘young people’.
As an example of how mobile devices have change things; web sites like this one and SCF are now obsolete because the majority of online users are now using mobile devices and this has little to do with how long a desktop computer or server may last. In the same way as having a Betamax player that lasted more than 5 years did not matter when the world moved to VHS, having a desktop computer that lasts more than 5 years might not matter now.
Don
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re: Oh Stimuli !
Update on my Dell laptop order, just got an email saying the delivery date is being pushed into late February. If they hit that date, it will means their deliver time is 10 weeks. (But I have a great, useless docking station!)
What is most frustrating is that Dell is not allowing people to cancel their orders. Their justification is that because people used the utility on their site to configure a computer, it is a custom order. I am thinking about just pulling the plug on the credit card authorization at this point. (But I need to read the fine print and bet that they have something in their to 'discourage' this from happening like some huge penalty fee.)
Foolishly, I only rejoined the Dell forum in the last few weeks (lost my first account name and pw). If is full of threads and posts with things like 'I'll never buy anything from them again'. "Doh" on my part.
Don
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re: Oh Stimuli !
I must admit I'm an old dinosaur.
I prefer to physically see and hold in my hand what I am purchasing when it comes to high value items.
I once had the misfortune to purchase a printer on line. The rigmarole I had to go through to return it, as it was faulty, put me off for ever.
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re: Oh Stimuli !
I have been, and still am, using an HP Pavilion g6 laptop that I bought from Walmart back in 2011. It had W7 on then but is now running W10. 450gb hard drive, 4gb ram, 2.53ghz intel i3 processor.
Have replaced the battery pack, keyboard and mains cable but otherwise runs ok for me. Not the fastest but then nor am I.
Desktop is Vento with AMD Athlon 11 x 2 255 processor 3.10 ghz, 4gb ram, 930GB hard drive.
Elsewhwere there is an AST desktop from about 1995/6 running W95 and in the shed somewhere a system with W98.
Nothing fancy but they are both just workhorses, never used for gaming just day to day routine stuff.
Back-ups are done to external hard drives and photos and tax files to the cloud as well.
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re: Oh Stimuli !
I just read Ian's post. I just ordered a printer online. It is supposed to be here tomorrow. Sure hope it isn't faulty.
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