On 25-Jul-99 Steve Winston wrote:
>
> Run on down to Fry's and get the parts and roll your own computer. None
> of the ones I have built fail me. ALLLLL the Famous Maker brand
> computer fail me for shitty parts, winmodems, etc. I paid $1500 for a
> FAMOUS MAKER brand computer (not Dell, but one quite as well known) and
> it sucked bad. After a year, I ran on down to Fry's, got new
> motherboard, cpu, RAM, modem, etc. Now, it's a good computer.
Well, I'm already using a computer I built myself, and it runs great, and I
agree with everything you just said. However, not everyone has the time or
motivation to build their own computer, which is understandable; building your
own is only really a plausible option for someone who has an active interest in
computers.
My note was simply meant to point out that end users not buying winmodems would
not stop them from being made, because most of the buying of winmodems is done
by computer manufacturers, and most computer users buy their computers from
those manufacturers. And most of them use Windows and don't care about the
specifics of what's inside their computer as long as it seems to work.
(As for my gf's situation, she can't build her own and doesn't live close
enough to me for me to build one for her, and she's more comfortable with
having Dell's support. I'm her tech support as far as software goes :), but
there's nothing I can do if a piece of her hardware goes bad, so having a
warranty from a usually trustable company like Dell was good for her despite
their lack of an option for a non-winmodem.)
> --- "Thomas J. Hamman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> On 24-Jul-99 Jo wrote:
>> >
>> >> This is from Windows experience. I see no reason
>> for Netscape to be
>> >> different in Linux. I'd know better if I could
>> *connect* to the
>> >> Internet in Linux, but... modem manufacturers
>> seem to think that
>> >> Winmodems are popular.
>> >
>> > They'll change their mind, when we stop buying
>> them...
>> >
>> > Jo
>>
>> The problem is, for the most part, it's not us
>> buying them in the first place,
>> it's the computer manufacturuers. They buy
>> winmodems to make their computers
>> cheaper while still making more money, and most of
>> the end users don't even
>> realize it at the time they buy it. (Either that,
>> or they don't care, because
>> they can't imagine using anything other than Windows
>> anyway, until a year later
>> when they decide to try this new Linux thing for the
>> fun of it but then WHOOPS
>> the modem doesn't work.)
>>
>> My gf recently ordered a computer from Dell (which
>> seems to be widely
>> considered to be the top computer maker now), and we
>> discovered that ALL of
>> the modem options they offer for their Dimension
>> computers are winmodems.
>> Buying a top of the line desktop computer from a top
>> of the line manufacturer,
>> and you can't even get them to preinstall a real
>> modem.
>>
>>
>> -Tom
>>
>> (P.S. They told my gf, who plans to install Linux,
>> that they would put the
>> cheapest winmodem option in the computer for her so
>> she could then buy a real
>> modem from somewhere else and install it herself.
>> Now there's great customer
>> service.)
