5 Years Later and the same problem persist. Class Action anyone?

Let's address your second point first. After you give me a "mature" lecture on how my words reflect my character, you immediately start talking about how I'm 14 and I need to take classes in critical thinking and public speaking. So basically, you seem to think that just because you're not as forthright as myself, you're more mature. That merely demonstrates that you're long-winded. The fact that you don't even understand the argument also demonstrates that you're not very intelligent. And the fact that you just did something you disapprove of me doing proves you're a hypocrite.

Speaking of the argument at hand, let's address the first point now. I'm going to make this very simple so that even you can understand it. If someone sits around complaining about how "cheap" and "easy" something is to do -- costing literally PENNIES and requiring ONE SCREW -- it would seem that this would be something they could accomplish. And if they say it would benefit lots of people and also save people lots of money, it would seem that this would be something worthwhile to do. And if they say people would pay for this service, it would seem that this would be profitable to do. But if they say all of that and then say "well, that's not my job, but I can sit around telling someone else it's their job," it would seem that they're full of crap.

If you still don't understand, maybe you should take those classes in critical thinking you were touting.

 

Are you f-ing kidding me?

Why don't they fix the power sockets? It doesn't fit into the cost v. reliability curve. Fixing this trivial item would not substantially improve reliability enough. No one's going to say "oh, Dell fixed the power socket, I'm buying Dell", they'll just complain about something else (LCD, whining CPU, buzzing headjack, etc...). Thus Dell would be putting down money and getting nothing in return.

But to say that Dell (and all the companies) have the ability to make their products substantially more reliable without substantial cost and the reason they don't do so is because they're afraid of losing sales? That's ridiculous. That's a conspiracy theory.

Of course! What? Do you think they're in it out of charity and kindness of heart?

Just because someone's in it to make money doesn't mean that they're evil and gives you permission to take advantage of them.

 

kamehame: I may be long winded, but I am also considerably more polite than you, and I don't use the internet to hide behind and try to make myself into a macho-tough guy, policing the forums for people who want to take advantage of corporations and letting them have it verbally. There are a billion reasons why people don't start companies, lack of motivation is one of them, so you can't tell them to start a company if they do not want to, even if their idea is actually good and can be made profitable. Your line of argument is useless, you can't win an argument by telling someone that they should start a company, and if they don't then u win, that kind of logic only works in middle school.

Lithus: You seem to think of corporations like individuals, that they think about things like profitability rationally. No, they have teams of marketing researchers that do surveys, they look at statistics. Other teams preform stress-tests on their products. In the end their decisions are based on hundreds of variables, ONE of which is reliability and you don't know for a fact that it is the most, or 2nd most important to them. Also, you can't just say that reliability is the 2nd most important thing customers look at. Yes it may be true for you and me, and probably most of the people on this forum, but that doesn't mean that is what the corporation's market research shows. There may be even smaller details that matter to them much more than what I said above. Perhaps they have a super deal with the supplier of the part, or they have 10 million parts left over and decided that instead of throwing them out, they will use them in the next 2-3 generations of laptops. There are lots of reasons that make sense to them, but definitely wouldn't make sense to me or any other consumer.

You are however, correct that just by fixing the power supply socket, it won't make the laptop all that more reliable, and perhaps that is why they do not do it. It would make it more reliable for people who abuse their laptops, often trip on the cable, or move the laptop from place to place while plugged in, as I did with my old laptop.

My point of view is very different form yours, so I'll share a story that might demonstrate it better. When I was shopping for a car 4 years ago I settled on the vw gti. I went to what I thought was a good dealership, and asked how much for the 1.8t gti, no leather, no moon roof, manual transmission. they said 23k. I said that I found online that more than one dealership had it for 17.4k, the dealer dissappeared and HALF an hour later came back with the manager. The manager explained to me very calmly that the dealership had to make a profit, that the mark up was fair and I couldn't possibly get a better deal.
I told him that I didn't give a flying f*k about his profit margins, or how much profit his dealership made, that I only cared about getting the best deal I can. They left, and again HALF an hour later they come back and say, the best we can do is 22k. I told them to go shove it.
At home I went to the website I had found before, filled out a simple form, and 20 minutes later a dealer calls me and says he has what I want. I go to the dealership and 2 hours later drive out with a new gti, no leather, no moonroof, manual transmission, for 17.4k.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am a person who doesn't care about companies' profits, and I do not believe that a corporation has some inalienable right to make a profit. Competition doesn't work in practice as well as it sounds in theory. Otherwise gas would be cheap.

I think I've made myself sound more pissed off, or concerned with this issue than I am. I accept the fact that compenies do not make their products as reliable as they can, that they cut corners to cut costs and max profits, I try to live within the system, and make the most informed decision, then try to fix the stupid little things that go wrong first. I also don't think the companies making the products I use are doing their best to make the highest quality product for the price I pay.

Sorry, but I do believe money is the root of all evil, and if someone is trying to make money off of me, I get to screw them. I choose not to screw companies whose products I believe are above those around them, or companies that support with their money things I believe in, or small companies that make great music. But big business can go rot in a whole, and I'd urinate on them... sorry, maybe i'll edit that out later.

 

How are you more polite? You keep saying I act like I'm 14, tell me to take classes in logic, and so on. Like I said, you say exactly what I do; the only difference between you and me is that I'm more direct and I don't pretend I'm being polite -- does that constitute maturity in your world? LOL. And as for letting people who want to rip of Dell "have it," why not? Oh, since it's just "an evil corporation," it's OK to rip them off? I have no sympathy for thieves nor for people who have no morals.

Right. In other words, someone is too lazy to do something that they demand someone else do AND DO THEY WAY THEY WANT. And we should listen to them why ...?

I don't know what job YOU do, but let's say all I did every day was stand next to you yapping about how you sucked at it and here's how you could improve. Finally one day, you ask me how I'm qualified to tell you that and I go, "I dunno." And you'll keep listening to me? If so, tell me where you work and I'll be right over, genius.

 

If money is the root of all evil, why are you trying to keep yours? LOLZ. Because you're like most quasi-socialists; you go through life trying to act like people "be keepin' you down." Note to you: here's how the capitalist system works. A business offers a product/service in exchange for money. If you don't want the product/service or think it's overpriced, you have the option not to use it. OMG! BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!

Instead, people like you demand the product/service and then gripe about how unfair it is that you have to pay for it because, really, aren't businesses there to serve the common good? And then the rest of us laugh.

 

kamehame - you do act like a 14 year-old. You would almost certainly have more to gain from life if you were able to argue your point using polite language, listening to others, responding to their points, and putting across your own without shouting or trying to attack folk. Not trying to have a dig at you, but there is no point in having a discussion(argument/disagreement/etc) if you aren't able to listen to reason, or respond to comments with a reply other than "It's a conspiracy!!! Start a company and make trazillions!!!!!!!11".

Just read the thread back through. You missed opportunities to put across your point because you became angry, started personal fights with the other members, and were unable to comprehend that your point may not be the only valid one - it may not even be a valid point at all.

Can we all agree to disagree?

We all seem to agree that the power socket is a problem, to some extent. Those of us with a temper believe it affects "roughly nobody", I say it could affect up-to 3% of machines throughout their entire useful life, and others seem to be somewhere in the middle. But, given the details on multiple Google pages, and the amount of effort folk have put in here, there must be a problem, to some degree.

A satisfactory design would be marginally more plastic on the power socket, a screwhole in the case, and a screw. The cost of the plastic would be marginal, the time needed during manufacture to make the screwhole in the case of the machine would be equally trivial, and the screw - I've no idea how many Dell(or any other manufacturer) uses, but if they currently use 100 per machine, it's a fairly safe bet they'll cost $1 or less for all screws. Add on one more, and it'll still be less than a dollar.

So, can we not agree that the manufacturing cost difference would be minimal between the current design(assuming it's even still current), which affects somewhere between "roughly nobody" and 3% of machines, and the cost of a revised and improved design, which could possible affect somewhere between "roughly nobody" and 1% of machines, is likely to be absolutely negligible and totally marginal?

Would that not be a fair, and logical conclusion, for all parties? Given that it is difficult for any of us to appreciate the actual scale of the perceived problem, and because we don't know the true extent of it, we can't arrive at sensible or logical conclusions as to exactly how much money Dell/other manufacturer would lose in a product year from not selling replacement gear due to less power socket failures.

Can we agree that irrespective of impact on overall sales, the physical fix is simple, and likely to be very cheap?

 

You wouldn't keep coming back unless you cared. Nobody else would have bothered throwing their thoughts into the pot if they didn't feel they had something to add to the discussion.

I haven't had a chance to come here for a couple of days, but there were a good few pages of further discussion. I think that your above statement is, therefore, untrue.

 

I can agree with daytona said at the end of post 156, and I can agree that taking it any futher than this is speculation on EVERYONE'S part.

kamehame: If you actually read my previous post you would see that I do INDEED not buy from businesses I deem are not worth it one way or another as illustrated by my car purchasing story. Nowhere did I say I was good, or trying to be a good person, infact I say I am a little evil in that I will do my best to screw any company out of as much money as I can if I believe they are trying to do the same to me. If I wanted to escape the evil of money I certainly wouldn't be living in the US.

Me telling you that you act like you are 14, and that you might benefit from being taught a thing or 2 about critical thinking and persuasion is not an insult, it is a fact, you may percieve it as an insult, but it is in no way equivalent to what you have said about others in this and OTHER discussions that you have graced with your unwanted presence.

 

I've had the same issue

 

Thread closed.

Thread likes these quicky get out of hand and turn into personal attacks. In the future, please report the thread earlier.

Thx
Kdawgca
NBR Mod