Sony VAIO PCG-FR285E | ||
| [ Specifications | lspci output | Linux | why Sony sucks ] | ||
Why Sony sucksAbout a month after I bought the laptop, a few pixels on my screen turned black. A few weeks later, I had about 20 dead pixels. I called the helpdesk and asked if it can be fixed. This was possible, but after a few more questions, they told me that my Linux installation will be replaced by a clean Windows install. Excuse me?!?!? To replace the screen, my harddisk will be wiped?? How difficult is it to run some diagnose software from CD? It took me two whole days to compile my Gentoo system!! I decided I was better off with some dead pixels then to send my laptop to some bunch of repair-amateurs.A few weeks after the warranty ended (thanks Murphy!), the internal fan stopped cooling my laptop. Result: after 15 to 20 minutes, the processor turned to a lower clockspeed because of the heat. I called the helpdesk again and asked how much it costs to have the fan replaced. The woman who answered my call started by telling me that if we would continue the conversation, I had to pay 20 euro. So... to simply ask how much a repair costs, I had to pay 20 euro.... Somehow, I managed to persuade her to lookup the repaircosts for me, without having to pay the 20 euro. It took her 5 minutes to come up with the answer that she didn't know how much it costs. So, I started to ask her simple questions, like how much for picking up the laptop, how much for a repair-guy to only look at my laptop, how much for a new fan, and more of those dummy questions. So, after a simple calculation, she agreed that to repair a fan, it would cost me at least 160 euro. SORRY!?!? A fan? More than 160 euro?? And there ends the story of my first and definitly last Sony laptop. I'm now the happy owner of an Apple PowerBook. After all, I believe that Linux is a good server OS. But to be a good desktop OS, it still has a long way to go. | ||
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