imsai 2 - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

20 Aug 1999

As was stated earlier, I must have been really lucky, because I go down to
the lawfirm and upgrade their computers, usually every 18 months or so,
usually in lots of 50.  I've had disk drive problems, but those went away
when WD stopped shipping their 31200 drives.  Of the 18 I had there, after a
year, the oldest had been replaced 4 times under warranty and the newest was
on its 8th incarnation.  That wasn't part of the "bare-bones" package.  It
was my first, and last, experience with LAN wiring, and I became pretty
expert in maintaing Netware servers and installing Windows95.

Their power supplies have failed at a less-than average rate, and the only
problems have been with the monitors, which I didn't provide, though that's
also been pretty minor.

I don't normally do this sort of thing, but my lawyer, like other folks,
knew I work in the computer-related electronics side of things, and was
frustrated with his luck with the guys who specialize in outfitting
businesses.  Now that my legal problems have gone away, and they don't very
badly want to pay my hourly rate, someone else is doing that stuff for them.

Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: jpero(a)cgocable.net &lt;jpero(a)cgocable.net&gt;
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
Date: Thursday, August 19, 1999 11:11 PM
Subject: Re: imsai 2

...
 > Date:          Fri, 20 Aug 1999 00:12:24 EDT
> Reply-to:      classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu
> From:          Glenatacme(a)aol.com
> To:            "Discussion re-collecting of classic computers"
&lt;classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu&gt;
...
   Subject:      
Re: imsai 2 
> In a message dated 08/19/1999 11:37:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> edick(a)idcomm.com writes:
>
> >  ... and what, exactly, is wrong with the "barebone thing" pray tell?
Last
...
 > >  time I bought barebones systems I got enough
for a whole law firm. The
...
     motherboards have been replaced for upgrades, but the
boxes, drives,
  keyboards, etc, are still in place. 
 You were very lucky. 
Did number of parts belly up or get troublemaker big time and you had
to make lot of runs to that law business?

True to every situation that we saw or heard about businesses and
buyers who dealt with a untruthworthy resellers / wholesalers.   When
that happens and that place will tell themselves "We had that so much
troubles, that we'll blacklist that shop that barebones came from
there and buy everywhere else."  And time goes by and that shop
finally finds out why you got blacklisted by rumor, from there people
spreads the reputation around. Reason is that shop didn't act in time
when problems crops up and move on to truthworthy sources for
computer stuff.  Some worst ones will "swap" one for another equally
bad parts, some to be praised did something right and paid terrible
price to fix the troubles.

> What is wrong is that many cutthroat operators put these "barebones"
systems
...
 > together with faulty cpus/motherboards . . . since
you're going to take it
...
 > home and add some other components, if you have a
problem with the system
> it's easy for the seller to blame any problems on components you didn't
buy
...
 > from him or her:
>
> "The barebones system you sold me crashes all the time."
>
> "Let me see it . . . oh, you have these other parts in it . . . that's
the
...
 > problem."
>
> "But they're standard parts, and if you check them out you'll see
they're
> properly installed."
>
> "Sorry, those parts are not compatible with the high-quality components
in
...
 > the system you bought from us.  And that crummy
software you installed is
> bound to cause problems.  But we'll be glad to check it out for $$$ per
hour."
...
 >
> This is one of the oldest cons in the world:  Sell something the buyer has to
...
 > modify in order to use, then shift responsibility
onto the buyer by blaming
...
   problems on
buyer modifications.  Then charge them out the ass. 
Exactly what happened with that tyan board flakiness and Asus
board parallel thing from these worthless resellers.  They wanted the
money and gave the buyer the old bricks.

Saw remarked CPUs for real
with my eyes.  Looks like real thing but serial #'s didn't jibe with
original cpu maker's records with this actual markings.  That was
from shop A.  Tipoff:  thickness when mounting heatsink to it.

This story; here is it and this is true story with all identifiers
mangled.  A instutition with very limited $ bought a machine from a
Shop A loaded with junk and old parts as new computer (major
illegal).   Utterly unreliable and parts is of clones of clones
of mystious origin type like that russian wooden dolls.  That machine
came in with unhappy instutition's owner to trustworthy Shop B.
Shop B smelled rat then made few calls around to major makers like
AMI bios to verify key items etc and police came in to pick up that
bits.  Shop B footed the cost and trouble to rebuild a good machine
to even unhappy instutition owner who lost $ on that junk who wished
they didn't blown their savings on.

Hope anyone don't get caught in between like this especially to any
resellers and owners.  One other shady shop was ground into dirt and
new management but the sigma still from that past still lingers even
that reformed shop did ok years later.

 Glen Goodwin
 0/0 
Wizard 