Where did everyone go?

Hey, I've got a P5-90 (purchased 1994)! It's our first computer, and I
still
use it in my home-based business. I upgraded it to Win95a and Pentium
Overdrive
200MHz chip, and it still hums along smoothly. So, how is your P5-120
running
these days?

Scott

Just thought I would comment here, is that a lot of us, have
active older gateway computers running from their golden years. My old 486
dx2-66 with the mini desktop(not a mini tower) still hums along and is
being used every day for word processing in my household, when another
computer is not available for some reason or another.
Its had two battery changes, and three power supplies
replaced. Other then that, except for a few upgrades early on, such as sound
card and added memory and larger hard drive, it has performed flawlessly.
I still keep my old windows for workgroups. 3.1 on
floppys around, just in case. LOL I run win95 on this computer. Sure
wish they still made em like this.

Much regards Jerry

On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 12:19:14 GMT, ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net
(Ben Myers) wrote:

The alternative? 1. Build it yourself out of parts which you have selected. 2.
Have a local computer assembler build you a white box computer. The alternative
is more expensive, but customer satisfaction is much higher, too... Ben Myers

I went with both options 1 and 2 after Gateway went to hell in the
late 90's and got out of the "Direct" computer business and got into
the marketing and sales business.

I did OK on #1 but have gone with #2 for my last two systems for the
support which I was not computer savvy to provide for myself when I
did #1. They are built my way, with the brand named components of my
choice and not substandard seconds that they purchased for pennies on
the dollar for a boat load out of WahZoo China, a retail OS and an
ACTUAL TO GOD CD IN HAND instead of this stupid **** they are pulling
now by not providing OS's on disk, A guy down the street that built
them and will support them that Speakunzee English and knows his ass
from a hole in the ground and whose personal and business reputation
in the community depends on satisfied customers, who doesn't lie with
every breath because corporate headquarters says sell some ungodly
number of Taiwanese junk boxes by lunch or your fired. And if I do
need a warranty replacement for a part, he doesn't slop a
reconditioned part from another return junker in my box but replaces
it with a brand new component.

Yes, we all know that 99.999999 % of all computer parts are made off
world. But the difference is that there are parts and then there are
parts even with the same brand/model. You build systems and you know
that. You can get a quality brand X part for $20 or you can get the
same brand X part that has failed QC and sold in lots to ChiWee in
China for 10 cents each if you buy a ship load. You do remember the
fiasco in 2000 when the Taiwanese boxes of a certain model with the
Gateway name painted on the box had motherboards that had to be
replaced because the ones they had used were rejects from IBM and
ended up somewhere in Asia and eventually made their way into the junk
boxes with the Gateway name painted on the side. Hey, they were
Motherboards with the IBM name on them so what could go wrong.....
Right?

Now, if you get past all the reject parts (Seconds) and get good
parts, you still need someone that assembles the parts into a thing
called a computer. This should be done by someone that cares about
the quality of the final results and has some resemblance of computer
literacy much less just being literate in general. That's where your
local vender comes into play. If FooYung slops a box together with
reject parts, its no skin off his back. He'll still get his 50
cents/day salary and goes home to eat fish head soup in his grass
bungalow. If your local vender slops a unit together using parts from
the seconds shelf, he will soon be out of business and not be able to
afford a bowl of fish head soup.

Need we cover support here? You know, the type where the person
providing the support speaks English and knows what a computer is? How
about getting support from the same guy that built your computer? He's
going to be a lot more motivated in getting that unit fixed than
RhaUle who's only concern is getting you off the line and another
pigeon on the line because he is paid according to how many people he
is connected to per day instead of what he knows and/or what level of
support he is able to provide. Basically he just sits there all day
long scratching his balls and counting the calls. Wow, that rhymes!
And if he does actually give any technical advice, it will be to
format and reinstall even if it is a blown monitor.

Take Control, BUY LOCAL!

I know, if it is a Laptop, you don't have much choice since there
isn't such a thing as a White Box Laptop. But if we must.... Consumer
Reports puts the IBM ThinkPad at the top right now even if it is
assembled off world. However, I have heard some scuttlebutt that they
are doing something with these down in Texas besides servicing them
which just might be gearing up for some assembly of quality level
stateside. I'm sure they are better quality than the Taiwanese laptop
with the gateway name painted on the box I have which has been through
more HD's and Optical Drives in its 3 years of life than I care to
count right now.

Regards,
Ed

On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 15:39:46 GMT, "j.lef" wrote:

Sure
wish they still made em like this.

I used Boxes actually built (assembled) by GW all through the mid 80's
to late 90's because they were of acceptable quality for a box from a
mass production conglomerate. In other words, they had a handle on
the product that had their name in it and showed some resemblance of
caring when it come to supporting those boxes.

From the late 90's (actually around 2000), I have found the quality
and support that I demand in White Boxes built (assembled) by
reputable local builders.

Take Charge, Buy Locally, get Local Support.

Regards,
Ed

P.S. Still have my old Essential 500 running 98SE. I use it to run
ballistics programs on. The only thing it ever needed was a floppy
replacement.

Ben,

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately, my past loyalty to Gateway cencouraged
me to buy some GW stock in 2002. Now it's down to $2.40 a share. Thank goodness
I was more objective when buying Best Buy stock when it dropped way down after
a bad quarterly report. It then rebounded and kept growing (lately Best Buy
reported an 80% increase in profits). Today my Best Buy investment is worth 4x
what it was when I bought it. The lesson: Don't buy for nostalgia. Buy for
performance.

As long as my Gateway boxes keep running, that's enough nostalgia for me

Scott

Ben Myers wrote:

Are you insulting the Taiwanese? Are Gateway boxes really assembled in Taiwan?
Or China? Or S. Korea? Maybe Thailand or Singapore?

Just about EVERY name brand computer these days is assembled somewhere in the
Far East. Just about every board, drive, stick of memory, computer case is
manufactured somewhere in the Far East. Just about every name brand company
(software included, e.g. Micro$oft) has its tech support in a one-time third
world country where ill-trained tech support people work for tiny wages and
follow scripts to respond to callers. It's not just Gateway. It won't get any
better if you change name brands.

The alternative? 1. Build it yourself out of parts which you have selected. 2.
Have a local computer assembler build you a white box computer. The alternative
is more expensive, but customer satisfaction is much higher, too... Ben Myers

On Thu, 08 Sep 2005 01:17:54 -0400, Ed wrote:

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:52:26 -0500, Scott wrote:

Ahh, weren't those the "good old days" when tech support
actually solved problems?

Along with some other ignorant corporate tricks, it is the loss of
that simple thing that is costing these conglomerates customers if not
their future existence Scott.

I also remember back in the 80's to mid 90's when Gateway delivered
what it promised and instead of lying through its teeth at every turn
like it does now.

I also remember when Gateway made computers, knew what a computer was
much less what one looks like and hired 1000's of intelligent
Americans to build them and service them.

Now, they are just a marketing/sales firm that sells Taiwanese ****
with their name painted on the box and supported by non-English
speaking Indians who's lifestyle doubled when they got a 50 cent/hr
job posing as a call tech for the marketing/sales firm that sells
Taiwanese **** with the name Gateway painted on the box.

Now their days are numbered and the brain dead college boys running
this marketing/sales firm that sells Taiwanese **** with the name
Gateway painted on the box don't have a clue as to why... This isn't
covered in any of their college books and they don't have any common
sense to figure it out.

I mean.... DUH!

Regards,
Ed

I'm afraid I wasn't as faithful to it as you were to your P5-90. It sat
around for a few months until one of my sons said he had a friend who
liked to tinker with old PCs. I gave it to him, and he's evidently got
it up and running, so at least it's still going to some use. The P5 era
was when Gateway was still Gateway. Gateway's fall is best seen at the
local school where my wife works. When she first started working there
several years ago you saw nothing but Gateways with a few Dells and
Macs. Now it's almost all Dells with some Macs, with just some old
Gateways left for dedicated tasks like class registration, etc.

Scott wrote:

John,

Hey, I've got a P5-90 (purchased 1994)! It's our first computer, and I still
use it in my home-based business. I upgraded it to Win95a and Pentium Overdrive
200MHz chip, and it still hums along smoothly. So, how is your P5-120 running
these days?

Scott

John Hale wrote:

I'm afraid I wasn't as faithful to it as you were to your P5-90. It sat
around for a few months until one of my sons said he had a friend who
liked to tinker with old PCs. I gave it to him, and he's evidently got
it up and running, so at least it's still going to some use. The P5 era
was when Gateway was still Gateway. Gateway's fall is best seen at the
local school where my wife works. When she first started working there
several years ago you saw nothing but Gateways with a few Dells and
Macs. Now it's almost all Dells with some Macs, with just some old
Gateways left for dedicated tasks like class registration, etc.

Scott wrote:

John,

Hey, I've got a P5-90 (purchased 1994)! It's our first computer, and I still
use it in my home-based business. I upgraded it to Win95a and Pentium Overdrive
200MHz chip, and it still hums along smoothly. So, how is your P5-120 running
these days?

Scott

John,

Yes, sad, but true. Although, I've heard that Dells' customer service is no better
than Gateway these days.

Scott