Frontpage Story #43

Due to the nature of my work, I like to have both Mac and Windows computers. A like both platforms very much and enjoy the positive attributes of each. Last fall I bought a new G3 Power Mac. The blue and white tower. I really love it. This week I decided it was time to replace my old Pentium clone. I went home with a new 400 Mhz Presario.

I took it out of the box, set it up and - it locked up. Five times in one day. I called the 800 number that came on a flyer and got QVC. No kidding. I tried it again. QVC.

Called a number in Ottawa, Canada (I'm in Ohio). Got a nice tech support person. We found that the system resources were only at 64 percent. Not good. And I hadn't even loaded my own software onto it. We deleted some stuff from the startup (including the Macafee virus scan, which didn't make me too happy) and got the system resources up to 74 percent.

Here's something else really strange. I decided to register online since I was already connected to the net. Filled out the reg. form and clicked SEND. Does it send it over the net? No! The stupid reg. program DIALS the modem like some old BBS program. I had to log off the net so the DOS-like registration program could dial the modem. Is that backward? I think so.

Want to hear something else funny? Compaq.com has a "support forum." Yeah, right. It's MODERATED. You write a message and, instead of being posted, it's forwarded to a moderator. Write something Compaq doesn't like and watch your message disappear into a black hole.

This morning it locked up again during bootup. I took it back to the store and got a refund. Don't know what I'll buy next, but it won't be compaq.