Consumerist
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lazy
Geek Squad Agent Doesn't Have Time To Look For Multimeter, Let's Just Send Off Laptop For 3 Weeks Instead
The usefulness of Best Buy's Geek Squad depends entirely on the competence of the employee you get when you go in for help, and unfortunately Scott landed one of the lazier ones. Here's his sales pitch to Scott over a laptop that wouldn't start: "It's going to take at least 10 minutes for me to get the multimeter or another adapter. It's going to be a problem inside the computer, let's just send it in." More » -
freebies
Google Offering Temporary Free WiFi Access At 47 Airports
From now until January 15th, 2010, Google will offer free WiFi access at 47 airports around the country. As part of the promotion, they'll be collecting donations through Google Checkout for three non-profit organizations and will provide matching funds up to $250,000. But whether you donate or not, there's a much better chance now that you'll be able to go online while waiting for your flight. Imagine all the airline tips you can send to us!
"Free WiFi for the Holidays" [Google via IntoMobile]
(Photo: quinn.anya) -
what the dell
Dell Sells Laptop With External Drive But No Way To Connect It To Computer
David says he bought a Dell tablet that came with an external CD/DVD drive but no way to hook it up, making it all but impossible to install his operating system. More » -
what the dell
I Sent Dell My Laptop And All I Got Back Was This Stupid Hard Drive
Maybe Adam is being a bit unreasonable here, but when he sends in a laptop to be repaired he expects to receive not only the laptop's hard drive, but the entire computer. More » -
success stories
Reader Receives $900 For Broken Laptop In Small Claims Court
Ryan in North Dakota bought a very nice HP laptop in 2007. This particular model, he DV6000, has a certain flaw, and HP extended the warranty to cover inevitable repairs. But when the computer broke down for the second time at the tender age of two and a half years, and HP wouldn't repair it for free, he was angry. He had expected to get at least four years' use out of the laptop. More » -
computers
Lenovo Screws Up Every Part Of Computer Purchase
Dan and his roommate had a crazy plan. They would use Dan's credit card to purchase a laptop computer from Lenovo. The roommate would write Dan a check for the total amount the computer cost. Lenovo would ship a working computer to the roommate, thus completing a straightforward exchange of currency and consumer goods. Unfortunately, life is not that simple in the Land of Lenovo. More » -
waiting
Dell Lies About Repairs, Ruins Vacation
Michael emailed us, and Dell, from a loaner computer while he's on a trip. His own laptop isn't working, and thanks to a steady stream of broken promises and incorrect information, now he's stuck without access to the software and development files he needs for his work. More » -
da bomb
EECB Succeeds Where Stupid Sony Techs Fail
Remember back when some individuals referred to good things as "da bomb?" They probably didn't have the Executive Email Carpet Bomb in mind, since Consumerist didn't yet exist, but they should have. Here's to re-branding "da bomb" as shorthand for the EECB. Just look at what it did for c0crusader, a spurned Sony laptop customer who used da bomb to shake Sony down for $99. More » -
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what the dell
Dell Slowly Sends Out Crappier Replacement Laptop
Yuriy's Dell laptop conked out last month, and so far the company has said "Dude, you're NOT getting a Dell" via its convoluted replacement process. All Yuriy has to show for the effort of trying to get the computer replaced is an inferior model. More » -
win
Best Buy "Optimized Laptop" Features Nothing But An Error Message
Reader L951B951 saw our recent posts about Best Buy's dubious "optimization" services, so he went to the store armed and ready to demand an unopened laptop. The trouble is — he says Best Buy had opened them all. Did this stop our hero from coming away with a laptop without paying the optimization fee? Of course not. More » -
windows 7
Your New Computer's Free Windows 7 Upgrade? Not So Free, Actually
Not many people really want a computer with Windows Vista. The sensible thing for customers who need a computer—but not right away—to do is wait until the launch of Windows 7 and then buy a computer with the much-awaited OS pre-installed. Vendors realize this, and are trying to get Vista-laden machines off their shelves with the promise of a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it comes out. A free upgrade that is not, in fact, free. More » -
i've seen better buys, actually
Best Buy: That Laptop Isn't "Open," It's Just "Optimized"
Shopping for laptops in Missouri, Patrick noticed an odd, unwelcome feature — a sticker on the box, pictured, identified the computer as 'optimized' by the staff. More » -
oops
Behold Dell's "Buy One Wireless Card, Get 120 Free" Promotion
Dell accidentally skipped Andy in Canada's wireless card upgrade while putting together the laptop he ordered. He called them and they sent the card along at no cost to him. Great service! The service was so great, in fact, that instead of just one wireless card, Dell went right ahead and shipped Andy a case of 120 of them. More » -
how to
So You Want To Sue The Company That's Screwing You Over
Jon wants us to recommend a good lawyer to sue HP for screwing him over on laptop repairs. We do not offer legal advice like that. We do, however, believe strongly in the power of small claims court. More » -
busted
Software Rescues Stolen Laptop From Porn Lover
When Florida businessman David Krop's two laptops were stolen from his car back in February, he didn't have much hope of getting them back. But he decided to try to log in using some remote access software he had installed on one of the computers. The software, LogMeIn, let him in, and he soon found himself seeing the world through new eyes. "Unaware that Krop was spying on his activities, the user of the Toshiba laptop visited porn site after porn site, taking breaks to check e-mail ... and place ads to Craigslist.com for what Krop said appeared to be some kind of female modeling business, " PC World reports. "My eyes just lit up," Krop says. "Just the fact he was online at that moment was amazing." More » -
troubleshooting
Dell Support Tech Accidentally Gives Away Free Advice
Our reader humphrmi recently managed to avoid shelling out unnecessary bucks for paid technical support from Dell. His secret? Listening very carefully to the support rep, who inadvertently gave away the info he was trying to get humphrmi to pay for. Which is good, since that information was only one sentence long. More » -
oops
Lenovo Forgets To Charge Customers, Then Sends Them To Collection Agency
Bart wrote to us about a strange experience he had after purchasing a new Thinkpad from Lenovo. He had a perfectly smooth transaction, until months later when he received a letter from a collection agency. The agency was demanding payment for the laptop he had already paid for. Or so he thought. More » -
above and beyond
Apple CSR Ignores Company's Warranty To Recharge Customer's Love
Sometimes the way to get sweet consumer justice is a series of pushy calls on the phone with CSRs or even the EECB route. But other times, probably more often, a sugary sweet touch and some good luck will get you farther faster. More »
laptops
New York, 4:35 PM
Sun Nov 15
7 posts in the last 24 hours
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