Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!netcom!sjsumcs!horstman
From: horstman@mathcs.sjsu.edu (Cay Horstmann)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Gateway 2000 Computers
Message-ID: <1991Mar14.045637.15262@mathcs.sjsu.edu>
Date: 14 Mar 91 04:56:37 GMT
References: <1991Mar11.154133.20168@cbnewsi.att.com>
Distribution: usa
Organization: San Jose State University - Math/CS Dept.
Lines: 30

In article <1991Mar11.154133.20168@cbnewsi.att.com> Brian.C.Kohn@ATT.COM (bicker@hoqax.ATT.COM) writes:
>What was that?  8 votes for; 1 vote against?  But who's counting?
>
>
>;-)
>
Count mine against as well.

Seriously, a company would be in BIG trouble if more than a small fraction
would call their product CHEAP (Brian) or POORLY ASSEMBLED FROM CHEAP PARTS
(myself). Of course the failures are isolated incidents. I do not have the
data on Gateway or other manufacturers on failure rates. I am happy to 
hear that you and others are satisfied with your machines--chances are
excellent that they will give you trouble-free service for a long time.

Nevertheless, some of us Gateway users had grief, in my case expensive
grief. Once the warranty is over, there is little Gateway will do. They
didn't service our tape drive which died--they had switched vendors in the
mean time. (According to the guy I talked to, they had their share of
problems with the vendor, i.e. their customers had that share of problems.)
They didn't stock the DMA controller chip that failed on our motherboard,
making a $100 repair into a $950 affair. 

As their glossy ads state, they are your friend in the business, but
the friendship is strictly limited to one year. They are your acquaintance
for a bit longer, as they will talk to you afterwards on their 800 line,
but when something fails, that is your problem, not theirs. In all fairness,
that is typical in the business. 

Cay