Avoid HP computers

[locosway]

Naw, ordered through the business website, which definitely limited the selection of models. Either way, the last several computers ordered through Dell pretty much sucked, which was disappointing given the number of Dell computers we had purchased over the years. In Dell's defense, Bill Gates (and his software) sucks!

There's nothing that ties anyone to Windows. Dell will sell most of their computers without an OS or with Linux installed.

[OlderThanDirt]

There's nothing that ties anyone to Windows. Dell will sell most of their computers without an OS or with Linux installed.

True, but try and survive in business without using Microsoft products, especially when clients demand electronic copies of their reports in MS Word. At least I can run Unix on the computers I use for numerical modeling.

[locosway]

Many companies use Linux and OSS and they survive. Many foreign governments use Linux and OSS and they survive.

It can be done, it is being done. The only limit is how much time you're willing to put into freeing yourself. Linux isn't like it was 5 years ago. It's a competitive OS that can go head to head with any other OS.

[JDay]

Naw, ordered through the business website, which definitely limited the selection of models. Either way, the last several computers ordered through Dell pretty much sucked, which was disappointing given the number of Dell computers we had purchased over the years. In Dell's defense, Bill Gates (and his software) sucks!

Bill Gates hasn't run Microsoft for a few years now, Steve Ballmer took over as CEO.

[tacticalcity]

Never had any issues with my 3 HP computers, which are 3-6 years old (bought them over that time frame seperately). Had troubles with Gateway and Dell before.

[OlderThanDirt]

Bill Gates hasn't run Microsoft for a few years now, Steve Ballmer took over as CEO.

But the root of all evil started in Bill Gates' garage long, long ago.

[OlderThanDirt]

Many companies use Linux and OSS and they survive. Many foreign governments use Linux and OSS and they survive.

It can be done, it is being done. The only limit is how much time you're willing to put into freeing yourself. Linux isn't like it was 5 years ago. It's a competitive OS that can go head to head with any other OS.

Time is money. I'm not going to create more work for myself to be free of Microsoft products. When the end product has to be in a Microsoft-compatible format, its still easier to use the Microsoft product, bugs and all. Sure, OpenOffice claims 100 percent compatibility, but it isn't. I already use alternative operating systems for tasks that are unrelated to the usual office environment. Thankfully, Microsoft has never been able to overtake the scientific number crunching platforms.

[locosway]

Time is money. I'm not going to create more work for myself to be free of Microsoft products. When the end product has to be in a Microsoft-compatible format, its still easier to use the Microsoft product, bugs and all. Sure, OpenOffice claims 100 percent compatibility, but it isn't. I already use alternative operating systems for tasks that are unrelated to the usual office environment. Thankfully, Microsoft has never been able to overtake the scientific number crunching platforms.

Openoffice works just fine for all tasks. Now, if we would just accept open formats as the standard we'd all be in a better place. Instead we continue to use and accept Microsoft as the standard.

As long as your money is worth less than your time you'll be a slave to the "bugs and all" that you claim you hate. The money that can be saved on not only initial costs of moving to Linux and OSS, but the overall maintenance and troubleshooting could be very well worth it for most companies. Not to mention you never have to worry about a Microsoft Audit.

[SeanCasey]

Thought I would throw this out there:

http://gizmodo.com/5406415/laptop-reliability-study-asus-and-toshiba-come-out-on-top

Look who came in last.

[HappyG]

So let's all run out and buy an Asus. Or a Honda for that matter. Or a Glock.

All things break. I've run HP for a few years and everything's been fine..not much difference from a rig that I built prior to owning this one. Funny how one bad experience will turn people away so quickly. Every manufacturer has a % of defects that can't always be caught by QC. It's just the way it is.

[locosway]

So let's all run out and buy an Asus. Or a Honda for that matter. Or a Glock.

All things break. I've run HP for a few years and everything's been fine..not much difference from a rig that I built prior to owning this one. Funny how one bad experience will turn people away so quickly. Every manufacturer has a % of defects that can't always be caught by QC. It's just the way it is.

So, after having the worst customer service experience of my lifetime I should run out and spend another $1500 with the same company because it was just an anomaly?

Dell has always treated me right when it came to customer service. HP doesn't have a clue how to treat their customers.

[JDay]

So, after having the worst customer service experience of my lifetime I should run out and spend another $1500 with the same company because it was just an anomaly?

Dell has always treated me right when it came to customer service. HP doesn't have a clue how to treat their customers.

I've been using HP laptops for around 7 years. In that time I've had to call them once to get a defective power brick replaced under warranty. I had it in my hand the next afternoon. Don't know what your gripe is.

[CnCFunFactory]

Short story... bought an HP for my business. Had it 12 days. Ran an update (automatically) from HP and screwed the bios up and killed the computer. That's right their own update killed it! Now running an iMac with boot camp for the pc side.

[locosway]

I've been using HP laptops for around 7 years. In that time I've had to call them once to get a defective power brick replaced under warranty. I had it in my hand the next afternoon. Don't know what your gripe is.

Read the first post and you'll know my gripe.

[Fat_Rat]

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/154921

1 in 3 laptops die in first three years
Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:31PM EST
See Comments (741)

Buzz up! So your new laptop computer died in inside of a year. "I'll never buy a computer from [insert manufacturer name here] again!" I've heard the protests time and time again.

Yeah, maybe you got a lemon, but no matter which brand you bought, you truly are not alone in this situation: An analysis of 30,000 new laptops from SquareTrade, which provides aftermarket warranty coverage for electronics products, has found that in the first three years of ownership, nearly a third of laptops (31 percent) will fail.

That's actually better than I would have expected based on my experience and observations on how people treat their equipment.

SquareTrade has more detailed information (the full PDF of the company's study is available here) on the research on its website. But here are some highlights about how, why, and which laptops fail:

> 20.4 percent of failures are due to hardware malfunctions. 10.6 percent are due to drops, spills, or other accidental damage.

> Netbooks have a roughly 20 percent higher failure rate due to hardware malfunctions than standard laptops. The more you pay for your laptop, the less likely it is to fail in general (maybe because you're more careful with it?).

> The most reliable companies? A shocker: Toshiba and Asus, both with below a 16 percent failure rate due to hardware malfunction.

> The least reliable brands? Acer, Gateway, and HP. HP's hardware malfunction rate, the worst in SquareTrade's analysis, is a whopping 25.6 percent.
None of the numbers are overly surprising. As SquareTrade notes, "the typical laptop endures more use and abuse than nearly any other consumer electronic device (with the possible exception of cell phones)," so failures are really inevitable.

Want to keep your notebook running for longer than a few years? Ensure your laptop is as drop-proofed as possible (use a padded bag or case, route cords so they won't be tripped on, lock children in another room), and protect it as best you can from heat and dust