22,000 Acer laptops have been recalled by Acer and the CPSC because of a wiring defect. The computers can short circuit, melt the casing, and theoretically burn users. [More]
laptops
![Lenovo Ignores Customer, Waits For Gift To Reach Wrong Destination](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/3065933018_2c6e993aa1_m1.jpg?w=158&h=119&crop=1)
Lenovo Ignores Customer, Waits For Gift To Reach Wrong Destination
We hear that Lenovo, heirs to the Thinkpad line of laptops, makes some very nice computers. In the last few months, though, more and more Consumerist readers are having problems getting the company to complete an exchange in which money is exchanged for a computer. E.J.’s purchase is one such failed exchange, and his father’s Christmas laptop is now lurking in a UPS facility, a few hundred miles away from where it was supposed to be delivered. [More]
![How Long Until The Netbook Becomes Obsolete?](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/4179896028_a43f612f44_m.jpg?w=240&h=180&crop=1)
How Long Until The Netbook Becomes Obsolete?
Netbooks are currently very popular, and were a hot gift this holiday season. But are the tiny, stripped-down computers really the future of consumer laptops? According to the BBC, some technology experts think that the netbook may have already peaked–and most of what people seek out netbooks for today, they may use other devices, including tablets, in the future. [More]
![How David Got A New Laptop From HP](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/123009-005-hp-dv6400.jpg?w=300&h=220&crop=1)
How David Got A New Laptop From HP
David and his wife got stuck with one of HP’s lemon laptops, and since the repairs just kept involving more faulty parts, they weren’t solving the real problem. Here’s how he eventually got a brand new laptop–different model–from HP. [More]
![Office Depot Repair Slathers Glue On Laptop, Says "Good Enough"](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/craptop.jpg?w=200&h=201&crop=1)
Office Depot Repair Slathers Glue On Laptop, Says "Good Enough"
Scott’s Acer Extensa broke, but he had an Office Depot extended warranty plan. Hooray! However, he writes, Office Depot’s repair staff have a strange idea of what it means to repair a computer, and went right ahead and rendered his computer non-functional. [More]
![Consumer Reports Tests "Racist" HP Webcam](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/122209-005-hp-webcam-still.jpg?w=260&h=204&crop=1)
Consumer Reports Tests "Racist" HP Webcam
Consumer Reports decided to test the now famous “racist” HP webcam for themselves, being product testers and all, to see if they could replicate the problem or even find a solution to it. The solution: the webcam needs foreground light to function, and the more pigment in your skin, the closer you seem to have to sit. [More]
![Dell Mini 9 Mysteriously Ablaze! (Pics)](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/mini9fire1.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Dell Mini 9 Mysteriously Ablaze! (Pics)
There’s a big scorch mark on Hannah’s floor. It appeared last week after her Dell Mini 9 began suddenly sizzling and smoking and melting. We have pictures, and questions. [More]
![Best Buy 'Optimized,' Raised Prices On Laptop Model I Wanted](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/bb-stock.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
Best Buy 'Optimized,' Raised Prices On Laptop Model I Wanted
The Mexican Reader tells us a Best Buy tale we’ve heard all too many times — He goes into a Best Buy to buy a computer, only to find he can’t buy the one he wanted at the advertised price because everything in the inventory has been “optimized.” [More]
![Use The Internet To Subvert Bogus Best Buy Optimization Fees](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/bestbuy1.jpg?w=180&h=135&crop=1)
Use The Internet To Subvert Bogus Best Buy Optimization Fees
Patrick discovered a clever way of avoiding Best Buy’s silly optimization fees as he shopped for a laptop: Shop online and opt for in-store pickup. [More]
![Geek Squad Agent Doesn't Have Time To Look For Multimeter, Let's Just Send Off Laptop For 3 Weeks Instead](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/111109-002-geeksquad.jpg?w=160&h=160&crop=1)
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.”
![Google Offering Temporary Free WiFi Access At 47 Airports](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/111009-004-airport-wifi.jpg?w=160&h=160&crop=1)
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!
![Dell Sells Laptop With External Drive But No Way To Connect It To Computer](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/dell_011.jpg?w=158&h=118&crop=1)
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.
![I Sent Dell My Laptop And All I Got Back Was This Stupid Hard Drive](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/dell.jpg?w=180&h=120&crop=1)
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.
![Lenovo Screws Up Every Part Of Computer Purchase](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/3065933018_2c6e993aa1_m.jpg?w=158&h=119&crop=1)
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.
![Dell Lies About Repairs, Ruins Vacation](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/102009-003-tropical-storm-dell.jpg?w=160&h=160&crop=1)
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.
![EECB Succeeds Where Stupid Sony Techs Fail](../../../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/lostmissile.jpg?w=158&h=168&crop=1)
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.