Hope nobody is waiting on a Time/Tiny PC

Not really surprised..........of all the computers and pc's i've worked with they had to be one of the most awkward and nastiest ones around........and Dell aint much better either

 

Ratners of the PC world... sorry to say

 

they were to pc's as ladas are to cars ..

 

I disagree with your comment on Dells - I had 4 for 4 years at work and they were fine. 2 of them were recon units as well from the Del factory outlet. But Time/Tiny pc's would never be on my wish list.

 

no one builds new new computer anymore

dell brought around the demise of the pc market with their low prices bringing the component quality down.

 

I stuck with Dell because they provided a "proper" Windows installation disc, when a lot of the cheap & chearful (hello Packard Bell) manufacturers provided those useless "rescue discs".

The only rescuing they do is save the company from having to provide proper technical support.


Mike

 

But , packard bell ( nec ) have always been a bit Michael Mouse about pc's. A friend who used to work in the packard bell factory told how the production line was on rollers , the machines were assembled in their own plastic anti static crates and made their way down the production line. The game was to whizz it down so fast the machine in front was knocked off the rollers.

Kid you not , this is genuine

 

all i can say is "what took them so long"? frankly they were damn near to going bust for a long time. then, after their call center staff formed their own union, they layed off any one who wasnt a member (about 100, out of 150 people), and then moved their call center to india. they were playing fast and loose with their suppliers for a long time, and i can quite easily remember them steaming off the "free software" and "free cables" stickers from accessiories, and the selling said software and cables for £10 and 15 a pop.

 

Some years ago, I worked as an 'accounting computer systems consultant' for a company which had a maintenance contract with (as it then was Tiny Computers). Even then they had the oldest possible version of the accounting system that was still supported ie the cheapest. I was called in to investigate something which had gone wrong. They had themselves written an interface from their sales ordering (in-house) system to the accounting system. They then upgraded the accounting system. And guess what? They didn't test the interface program properly with the testbed system we installed for them. It was only 2 months later that they discovered that the interface wasn't working working properly and had to call us in to fix the problem which was that the accounting system had recognised all their USD sales as GBP . I speedily resolved never to buy anything from them.
Les

 

If i rememeber correctly, did'nt they solder all the cables in...and fixed cpu's bit like early amstrads??? so upgrades were very limited??

 

I don't think they will be missed.

I know three people that have worked there at different times, including golden-1 (morning! ) and none have a good word to say about them. One of my friends resigned from there because he was being put under pressure to carry out decidedly illegal activities. They have been busted for a few very dodgy things and they were banned from buying AMD components for a while because they fraudulently stated that they hadn't sold units and claimed a rebate for the drop in price.

If anyone was going to buy a pre-built, boxed and branded PC, who would they buy from? One of my Mother's friends wants to buy a PC and I really can't be bothered to buy components and build it for her. Who are the good guys these days?

 

I always recommend and use Dell. The machines are very well made, easy to work on, well priced and their support excellent.

 

Nick, IME you can't go wrong with Dell. I've bought loads of Dell systems for clients and not had any (seriously!) problems. I currently have a Dell server and Dell laptop and they're decent systems at great prices.

I always spec and build my main PC myself though

 

Dell machines might be alright but they have the worst customer service ever, so they are out of the running I'm afraid. Just try searching the forum for dell service and you will find posts from myself and other disgruntled ex-customers

Ditto, this is why I have to ask about pre-built PCs. Previously I would have built a PC for someone else too but it's simply not worth the hassle.

 

Building pc's has got easier, but not cheaper. You could build hi spec machines for half the price, you would be lucky if you could match anything like Dell's specs now, unless your going to pimp them and put in cooling systems and neon like led's. Not worth the hassle if your after a standard system

 

HP do pretty good (but not stupidly cheap) PCs. You get a decent 3 year warranty when you buy and the phone support is pretty good. I guess you get what you pay for.

Where I work we have mostly HP and a few Dell machines. Can't say we get many problems with either.. Those Dell LCD monitors are very, very good!

 

Dell's problem stems from their recent success, customer support used to be great - now they have the dreaded out sourced out of country call centre.

Still, they are well made, generally some of the easiest to work on, access, layout etc.

For my wife, daughter & father picked Dell, for myself a bespoke system - horses for courses. A bit like Mercedes, some are happy with the factory standard equipment, others want more

Does anybody know if free telephone (i.e. 0800) support is offered by anyone these days?

Mike

 

After years of making my own machines I bought a Dell one 2 years ago.

getting delivery sorted was a minor pain but as soon as I pulled the "do you know who I am?" (hardware and software reviewer for a couple of the big computer mags) card I got the name of a customer service director in Ireland (I'll share this info with anyone who has Dell hassles) and MY PC was delivered two days later.

Great machine, on the two times I've needed service (the original monitor they delivered wasn't 100% sharp at the corners and the power supply gave up the ghost) a replacement was with me the next morning - in the case of the PSU that was less than 10 hours from my call to delivery.

I push my machines as hard (if not harder) than most people and the Dell has been as good (if not better) than any other machine I've had in the past. OK. I specced it pretty highly when I ordered it but overall I'm happy and the onsite warranty is superb.

Dell would get my recommendation

Andy