"Lem" wrote in message ...
On 04 Jan 2005, Tx2 wrote:


ISTR that reliability too is better than average

Than average what?


Dell's reliability is often said to better than the average. See:

17th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1623585,00.asp
click on links like 'Survey Results'

....."often said to better than the average" - cute phrase, ...says - not a
lot.

From the article:

"As you peruse the results, you'll see that no company is beyond reproach.
Each is guilty of selling machines that need repair and providing poor
technical support at times. The leading vendors-Apple in the desktop and
notebook categories, Dell in desktops and servers, and IBM in notebooks-are
those that keep criticism to a minimum."

......"keep criticism to a minimum" - how does that tranlate into MTBF?

also:

"Unfortunately, phone support is also among the most expensive support
methods. In order to cut costs, many vendors have moved call centers
overseas. Big vendors Dell, HP, Gateway, and Toshiba all use at least some
foreign call centers, and many readers complain of difficulty communicating
with technicians."

I especially liked:

"Unlike many of its competitors, IBM refuses to use overseas technicians,
and its tech-support scores are impressive. Readers give IBM a 7.0 overall
score for desktop tech support and a 7.6 for notebooks. They rate IBM
support techs' ability to comprehend user problems and to speak in a clear,
understandable manner at least a point higher than they do Dell, HP, Sony,
and Toshiba techs."

..... does that translate into "no one ever got fired for buying an IBM"
)))))))))

Pete


Out of interest - how much does Dell charge for a fifteen quid (thirty buck)
PSU?