http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/12/08/al...-changingface/
The final goodbye to the high end market, and the final transition to cheap crap. Yaay!
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http://www.tgdaily.com/2005/12/08/al...-changingface/
The final goodbye to the high end market, and the final transition to cheap crap. Yaay!
I like some of their current mid-range offerings. I never could see myself spending over $3k on a laptop.
My guess is they will actually start making their own notebooks now. They have the money.
No big deal.
They were generally crap anyway.
In what way? Having quality parts? Good construction? A decent warranty? American support? Neat looking products?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashpool
Or is it because they cost more for all of the above?
Let me guess, you think BMW is crap too.
Hahahahaha. BMW makes cars. Expensive performance cars with all inclusive 4-year, 50,000 mile warranties.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
Alienware buys notebooks from another vendor, slaps cheap paint and plastic on them, puts a light on it and gives you a standard 90-day warranty. Alienware isn't even that expensive anymore. Just a few precent more than say, Dell.
Read the article.
I thought alienware was crap in general. I could build anything those assholes make, for 10x less. Now take a powerbook or thinkpad -> they have character and build quality. Look at dells business class, they are cheap, and reliable. Who the hell wants to pay alienware prices?
I did read the article. Just because they are becoming crap doesn't mean they always were.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
I was responding to the statement "They were generally crap anyway." as is indicated by my quote. That statement is past tense, not present/future tense as the article is stating.
Pretty simple if you ask me.
Besides, they offer 3 year warranties, and as I said, it's not outsourced to India.
They have been going downhill for a while now. Everyone "offers" 3 year warranties, but few are standard. It's outsourced to Cuba...more or less--Miami, same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
The only one I can think of that actually builds quality systems today, is Falcon Northwest. Too bad their markup is ridiculous.
Powerbook? You mean like titanium that wears off, hinges that break, an aftermarket of 3rd party parts that would make automotive companies cringe? Wireless quality that's just about as bad as one can get? Keyboards that need to be replaced more often than on any other brand ever?Quote:
Originally Posted by pudad
I could go on and on. The last thing Apple products have is build quality. Great character, definitely. Great design, of course. But build quality? Not on your life.
Check their prices today. 5 years ago they were pricey, today not so much. Then again, 5 years ago they really had the good stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by pudad
Yeah, nice one, equating American citizens to Communist in Cuba. I'm sure the Cuban refugees in Miami will thank you profusely for being so nice.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
Trying to find reasons to discredit Alienware simply because they make decent products is ridiculous. So they charge more, who cares? If you're that much against capitalism maybe you should move to Cuba and do phone support for Alienware.
Overcharging != crap. Crap is crap, expensive products can be crap or they can be good, but the two have nothing to do with each other.
rofl.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
What are you even talking about?
I try to use basic grade 5 grammar to reach the widest audience, so if you can't follow I apologize. I do know a special needs teacher that I could possibly bring in to break it down for you, if you'd like?Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
So let me try once more, in a single sentence so you can try and understand: Alienware doesn't make crap products.
What? What are you talking about? Alienware is based out of Miami. Have you ever been in Miami? I've been to their factory in Miami (which is a BEAUTIFUL BUILDING). I used to live in South Fla. When you call them, a lot of times you speak to someone who isn't so good with English, and doesn' t really know what they are talking about. That was very different years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
Ummm. What? Why do I hate capitalism? Why would I want to move to Cuba and do phone support for Alienware? What are you even talking about?Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
Huh? Who said anything about this? What?Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
Alienware has gone downhill since they started getting government contracts about 2 years ago. They no longer use quality parts they used to. They use cheap PSUs, extremely cheap desktop cases...with I think painted plywood on the bottom, stock Intel coolers on Prescotts, non-enthusiast motherboards, reference cards, etc. They were a very, very different company 5-years ago. They used to compete directly with Falcon Northwest, and now they are more competetive with say, Dell, although at a higher price. That's all I was saying. I don't know what you are talking about.
The only reason I even bring it up at all is because...and I don't really know how it happened, but I do a lot of support for Alienware systems. This summer I had a few of them in my closet. A friend of mine who had one kept having trouble, and I guess a few other people in his guild had Alienware's giving them trouble, which were out of warranty (or 1 still was), but Alienware couldn't give any turn around other than "up to four weeks." 2 systems just needed new coolers, 1 needed a new PSU, 1 had a stock overclock that was too high and the system was actually unstable.
Because they use a sliding scale they start out cheap, and are cheap, but then the price scale goes up on things like the ALX, but the quality is still cheap. However, you do get a free t-shirt if you spend like $4,000.
When you go from competing with Falcon Northwest, to competing with Dell you've completely changed your products, your image, and your entire business strategy.
lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
You are aware there's more people in this discussion than you and I, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
Pudad said "I could build anything those assholes make, for 10x less." They're assholes for charging a lot of money? Sounds like anti-capitalism to me. I suppose I could make efforts to quote more people and respond specifically to them, but it's a public forum and it's late, and I'm tired.
As for your Miami statement, Miami isn't Cuba, and Cuban immigrants in Miami will probably slit your throat for saying it is. I have been to Miami. Have you ever been to Cuba? I have. Beautiful place, not very free though. I also find saying that Miami = Cuba to be very disrespectful knowing what many Cubans have gone through to escape to the US.
Having been through both Dell and Alienware's support on numerous occasions, I can guarantee that it may appear that they are the same as Dell, but it only appears that way. Are there thousands of horror stories about Alienware's support? Of course there is.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
Let me give you a nice example, straight from resellerratings:
"1700 dollars wasted. I bought a brand new PC from what I thought was quality. It arrives with a fan that sounds louder than most car engines. ... As far as I am concerned, they did not deliver the PC I ordered. Instead it is a 1700 paperweight."
Yes, because it has a loud fan it's a $1700 paperweight. I'm not too jazzed on using this type of person's opinion on whether Alienware makes quality PCs or not.
As I said in the very first place, I'm not disagreeing that Alienware is going downhill, just as fast as Newegg. I'm not disagreeing that they are becoming Dell/2. I'm not disagreeing with ANY statement other than the ones that indicate that Alienware has generally been crap in the past, since this couldn't be any further from the truth.Quote:
The only reason I even bring it up at all is because...and I don't really know how it happened, but I do a lot of support for Alienware systems. This summer I had a few of them in my closet. A friend of mine who had one kept having trouble, and I guess a few other people in his guild had Alienware's giving them trouble, which were out of warranty (or 1 still was), but Alienware couldn't give any turn around other than "up to four weeks." 2 systems just needed new coolers, 1 needed a new PSU, 1 had a stock overclock that was too high and the system was actually unstable.
Because they use a sliding scale they start out cheap, and are cheap, but then the price scale goes up on things like the ALX, but the quality is still cheap. However, you do get a free t-shirt if you spend like $4,000.
When you go from competing with Falcon Northwest, to competing with Dell you've completely changed your products, your image, and your entire business strategy.
You are a very angry person. Or maybe just a fanboy. Or maybe a little of both.
Cheers. :p
Nah, just a defender of decent things that people attack because they feel threatened by them. Counter-culture thinking at its finest.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
"Everyone thinks Alienwares are so good, I hate them!"
"Everyone thinks iPods are so good, I hate them!"
"Everyone thinks Intel is so good, I hate them!"
~ to infinity.
An anti-fanboy, if anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
You've never owned a powerbook have you. :)
Yeah I can only speak of what I have seen in the past. They don't look particularly special. I'd rather just buy a dell business class system.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
I means he is a sucker for stuff that doesn't work. :p
I've owned a few actually. Went through the old Tibooks like candy. I have no doubt that the newer aluminum ones are better, but that's like saying a car that runs is better than a car that doesn't. When you set your baseline as low as Apple's previous effort, it's easy to beat.Quote:
Originally Posted by pudad
ipods that scratch from dust in the air, cubes that crack from being looked at, batteries that fail extremely quickly, etc.
Apples history of build quality problems is well-renowned, so even people who have never had the pleasure of owning an Apple product are probably aware of their problems.
I just have to wonder, because you actually mentioned BMW, why is it that PCs have such shitty warranties? I mean, I'd expect 3-year warranties on parts and labor to be an industry STANDARD today. It's gone the complete other way...90 days. What good is 90 days? Even when you get the extended warranties these companies put you out such a long time for the repairs, it's not even worth it. Is that to discourage you from sending it in? If BMW told me I'd have to wait a week for them to fix my car, I'd go apeshit on them.
It seems like the only way to get a REAL warranty is to get an hp or Dell business line product....or do something like throw down $1,000 extra for the kind of warranty you get with Falcon NW. Le sigh.
Why do you think it is that service has more or less dissappeared from the PC industry? Am I the only one who expects something I buy to last more than 90-days? I pretty much base everything electronic I buy on warranty. It's extremely hard to do in the notebook arena. The only one I know of who has a warranty worth a damn is hp for the business notebooks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soul Assassin
well the pbook I had was a aluminum one. But I do agree that apple's build quality should be a lot better. I am thinking that using all of intels hardware will improve it dramatically.
The standard Falcon warranty (according to their site) is one year for an overnight service. To extend this to three years it's an extra four hundred dollars.Quote:
Originally Posted by ImaNihilist
Comparatively, for Inspiron machines it's a 550 dollar to upgrade to Dell's four year warranty which is a superior onsite service and that's also full accidental damage cover rather than just a standard warranty. I know which I'd rather have.
Alienware mainly use the Clevo chassis barebones, Rock are a UK company which similarly sell their own versions of Clevo barebones machines, but they ship with a three year warranty as standard, and still usually cheaper than the competition.
Service hasn't disappeared, if you want it, you pay for it.
John