Off topic---- Gateway computers

Let me guess. You now use a HP or a Dell, right?

I work in 3PL business (contract warehouse and distribution). At one time we managed and delivered nearly 80% of GW machines domestically. As of that contract we also agreed to retool our offices with the purchase of 100's of new GW machines each yr. to replace our aging Compaq machines.

Needless to say, our experience with GW was less than stellar. At that time (97-01) GW used least cost vendor and the machines never had a std. config (internals) i.e. Seagate drive vs. Maxtor drive vs. Western Digital.

The above config issues are not much impact to individual user with one or two PCs but extremely costly to a large outfit when trying to standardize support and reduce operating costs for a large network. Me and others traveled many a time to N. Souix City, SD to meet with Ted Waitt only to be rebuffed. He was riding high in retail sales and did not care to hear our issues.
Side bar - first time we met Ted he was in flip flops, cut-offs and tye-dye shirt with pony tail, my CEO (formal business man - heavy starch) nearly fainted. It was 1 of 2 trips he made to N. Souix City, SD.

I think to late GW realized the ground they were rapidly loosing in Corp America and tried to turn it around (hence Ted Waitt's rtn).

While Ted Waitt was the visionary and was a great marketing head what he needed in to be competitve in in Corp America and in the competitive PC business in general was a guy with operations experience. That is where DELL kicked GW's butt.

We have since retooled and we are now using DELL machines exclusively - desktops, laptops, and rack mounted servers. We have never looked back.

True enough, all PC makers will will gladly sell you a cheap 'tin can' model or a quality machine. The choice is up to the customer and how much he wants to spend, however DELL caters to Corp. America and provides a respectable machine for the home user. Different focus thus their dominance. I doubt GW will ever return to the direct marketing retail dominance they had in the 90's.

Slice of my life, FWIW.

Our business demands that we purchase roughly 4 or 5 new units every year; these machines must run 24/7 and are never shut off. We've been doing this for quite a number of years now.

My point being that during this buying process, we have tried all the major brands over the years.

Gateway, as with all brands, will gladly sell you a cheap 'tin can' model or a quality machine. The choice is up to the customer and how much he wants to spend.

Our experience has shown that Gateway is the only vendor which can deliver us a quality product and a product which will last. We have since changed our buying habits to only purchase from Gateway.

Trouble is, these darned things run in at between $4,500 to $5,000 a copy. Upside is that they will run forever with very little maintenance and are all but bulletproof.

Such is life,

Allan

Avoid Gateway laptops. I've had good luck with Dell laptops.

So, since that $72 has cost Gateway approximately $1000 in business since--plus it helped me decide to purchase a DELL when I replaced the Gateway computer, for yet ANOTHER $800 or so--I guess they got their money's worth from me. I may not be SMART, but I don't FORGET who tried to SCREW me, either.

I've had good service from my Gateway computers, so I'll continue to purchase them. I'll take your advice and not use their Internet service. But, I'll also avoid Earthlink based upon the way they screwed their employees (my neighbors).

• criminals

Have you ever tried to find good help that would actually work?

There is a reason this is happening and I would submit that it is located on the couch with the TV remote in one hand, drinkin' beer, passin' gas and bellyaching about how he can't find any work.

My view,

Allan