on Wed, Nov 21, 2001 at 03:52:22AM -0600, Vincent N. Virgilio (virgilio@ieee.org) wrote: > Hi Karsten, > > I am writing this on an N38W3, ARM Computer's top model. I believe it > was once the Dell Inspiron 5000(e). That's my understanding. It's also the QLITech King and one of the Chembook models, probably sold by others as well. > It works beautifully with linux. ARM, unlike many other companies, > puts most, if not all, of the technical specifications on their > website. I believe they are trying to improve their product and > services and treat the linux community well. My experience and research tend to indicate that the company's never dealt with its service obligations responsibly, and doesn't intend to do so. At least for the period 1996-2001, reports are uniformly negative. > But the Dell Inspiron 5000 seems to have been discontinued. Without > making excuses for anyone, perhaps we're witnessing growing pains at > ARM (and we have every right to defend ourselves, of course). Information I've seen indicates ARM is shrinking, not growing. They do ~$30m/yr. They're moving operations from San Jose to City of Industry, CA (near LA). > It all came at a price. Originally I purchased the same model > (slightly different video/sound) _refurbished_ through Tuxtops. And > it failed less than a year later. > > The initial symptom was a malfunctioning charge system; the battery > would not charge with power off (plug in). I think that was caused by > an earlier event, when moderate pressure was applied to the [flimsy] > power jack. It sparked and the problems began. Interesting. Again, speaks to poor design on the part of Compal. > I contacted Tuxtops, and then ARM, hoping for warranty coverage. ARM > informed me it was out of warranty. Arguably, yes. Did they quote you "date from invoice" as their warranty period start date? Apparently ARM may have started the clock on my unit on the date it was shipped to TuxTops -- possibly a couple of months before I aquired the unit. This is a deceptive and possibly illegal business practice. > But after discussing the failure, Salman politely insisted that it was > impossible for the power jack to short to the motherboard. This was similar to my experience. I haven't seen inside the unit myself, but understand that the power connector is anchored only to the motherboard, and only by three solder points. > I'm still not convinced and maintain that the product has a flimsy, > and thus defective, power jack (which sits just under your right hand > when over the Page up/down keys, watch out). They gave me a good > credit on the broken/refurbished machine which I used towards a new > one. It was either that, or pay not significantly less for a new > motherboard. I'd investigate small claims actions -- seems you were denied warranty coverage under bogus claims and fed a line regarding the reasons for the component failure. > I experienced the delay alluded to in the below messages, and also had > some minor problems with their website, checking RMA status. Bingo. > I found everyone mentioned below easy to deal with, accounting for the > fact that Salman is, after all, a salesman. Several other words starting with "s" come to mind. I had problems with all my contacts at ARM. > Vince Virgilio > > P.S. If QLITech doesn't go through ARM, do they go straight to Compal? Not AFAIK. Another wholesaler in the US with whom they've found superior service and a better relationship than ARM. Laptops are only a part of QLITech's product line. Part of the reticence from ARM was apparently due to a "You don't buy from us, what do we owe you" attitude. So, caution to anyone buying from an ARM reseller -- if your vendor doesn't maintain the relationship (and as ARM does both wholesale and retail business, there's an existing conflict), you're likely up the same creek. Peace. -- Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/ What part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? Home of the brave http://gestalt-system.sourceforge.net/ Land of the free Free Dmitry! Boycott Adobe! Repeal the DMCA! http://www.freesklyarov.org Geek for Hire http://kmself.home.netcom.com/resume.html
Attachment:
pgpXTjRtAz94f.pgp
Description: PGP signature