Computer Customer Service

Sirius Glass · Sep 19, 2022

I recently bought a Dell 15" laptop with ~~Windoz 11~~Windows 11 and I had a problem. I called the Windows Support Number and they no long provide tech support over the phone only their online help. The only help is virtually useless with only general information and it does not give useful answers to specific questions. What is one to do if one has problems getting the computer on line.

Today I had a problem with my mid 2012 Mac tower running 10.14.6 which is obsolete but still supported on the phone. In ten minutes the problem was fixed.

So which is less expensive machine in the long run? I usually get 12 to 15 years out of a Mac starting with the Mac 512 in 1984. Windoz machine can almost run as along as what 5 years at best?

Which is the best machine? If you have read this far you know it is Mac whether or not you like that answer is up to you.

Dan Fromm · Sep 19, 2022

Hmm. My desktop is a Dell studio XPS that I bought new in 2010. I'm using it now. It now runs Win 10.

I have no idea which machine is best for any purpose. Not only that, I don't see the point of wrangling about which is best. Why should I care?

What I want is "good enough."

Sirius Glass · Sep 19, 2022

So far I like Windows 10 better than Windows 11. Some things have changed and some things have gone away or I have not found how to do them.

Truzi · Sep 19, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
Which is the best machine? If you have read this far you know it is Mac whether or not you like that answer is up to you.

IBM Compatible running Linux

Sirius Glass · Sep 19, 2022

Truzi said:
IBM Compatible running Linux

A very smart way to go. I have software that I need for programming amateur radios that are Windoz. If not for that software I would gotten an a laptop Mac.

Tel · Sep 19, 2022

I've got an HP mini 9 from 2010 or thereabouts running Windows 7 that works fine for a travel laptop. 7 was MS' last good operating system, in my opinion. My main computer is a MabBook Air though. I have no brand loyalty, I just like things that work.

MattKing · Sep 19, 2022

I keep phoning the Atari Customer Service number that came with my Atari computer, but no-one ever answers ......

Sirius Glass · Sep 19, 2022

MattKing said:
I keep phoning the Atari Customer Service number that came with my Atari computer, but no-one ever answers ......

It is even worse for the Tandy Radio Schlock computers.

albada · Sep 20, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
It is even worse for the Tandy Radio Schlock computers.

"Shadio Rack" is the correct spelling.
A CD player and MP3 player I bought there both died too soon. So no more Shadio Rack for me, except for their parts section in the back which I've loved since my teens.
Anyway, I ditched Windows for Linux Mint several years ago, and never looked back.
Can your radio software run on Wine? How about in a VM such as VirtualBox?

cmacd123 · Sep 20, 2022

Why would anyone call Microsoft for a problem with a DELL computer. That is like calling Ilford when your Pentax stops working. Call Dell

but yes, run Linux and give the folks in Redmond the cold shoulder.

madNbad · Sep 20, 2022

MattKing said:
I keep phoning the Atari Customer Service number that came with my Atari computer, but no-one ever answers ......

You need to use a rotary dial phone.

mtnbkr · Sep 20, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
A very smart way to go. I have software that I need for programming amateur radios that are Windoz. If not for that software I would gotten an a laptop Mac.

Amateur Radio geek here as well. I use Linux on my main machine with a mix of Wine and a Windows VM to handle the AR apps that are Windows-only.

Chris

mtnbkr · Sep 20, 2022

cmacd123 said:
but yes, run Linux and give the folks in Redmond the cold shoulder.

MS is becoming a Linux company even if they're not directly selling the OS as an alternative to Windows. They use it extensively, have incorporated it into Windows, and support it in their cloud service.

Chris

jtk · Sep 20, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
I recently bought a Dell 15" laptop with ~~Windoz 11~~Windows 11 and I had a problem. I called the Windows Support Number and they no long provide tech support over the phone only their online help. The only help is virtually useless with only general information and it does not give useful answers to specific questions. What is one to do if one has problems getting the computer on line.

Today I had a problem with my mid 2012 Mac tower running 10.14.6 which is obsolete but still supported on the phone. In ten minutes the problem was fixed.

So which is less expensive machine in the long run? I usually get 12 to 15 years out of a Mac starting with the Mac 512 in 1984. Windoz machine can almost run as along as what 5 years at best?

Which is the best machine? If you have read this far you know it is Mac whether or not you like that answer is up to you

Last year bought Win 11 desktop by phone from Dell. I paid for support when I bought their machine. My laptop is a used Dell that I bought from a local expert dealer. Several year ago had another local expert dealer build PC machines for myself and team. Free support locally.

Current laptop is a very fast Dell Win 8 that updated automatically to 10, then 11. Saved big $$ with local expert dealer because battery was weak, replaced that cheaply recently.

I used Win 98, then 7 for years with ACT contact management software, modified for me by a US/India team (it extracted obscure contact info from corporate websites). Computers bore me, I have no ego involvement, therefore zero interest in Linux.

I enjoy PS, no interest in Lightroom or "alternatives" to PS, do rely on NIK as a shortcut within/around PS.

When granny has trouble "getting the computer online" tell her call her internet access company (eg Verizon), not some purported "Windows Support Number".

Failure to get online is not a Windows issue, it's a computer issue or an internet access company issue (I pay far too much for Verizon).

jtk · Sep 20, 2022

...however, there's always somebody at Verizon that does understand computers and is happy to work with granny because granny has lots of time on her hands. .

Sirius Glass · Sep 20, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
It is even worse for the Tandy Radio Schlock computers.

albada said:
"Shadio Rack" is the correct spelling.
A CD player and MP3 player I bought there both died too soon. So no more Shadio Rack for me, except for their parts section in the back which I've loved since my teens.
Anyway, I ditched Windows for Linux Mint several years ago, and never looked back.
Can your radio software run on Wine? How about in a VM such as VirtualBox?

Tandy Radio Schlock also made the Trash 80.

Sirius Glass · Sep 20, 2022

cmacd123 said:
Why would anyone call Microsoft for a problem with a DELL computer. That is like calling Ilford when your Pentax stops working. Call Dell

but yes, run Linux and give the folks in Redmond the cold shoulder.

Because Dell immediately knew what the problem was and how to fix it. Micro$oft was less than useless.

gone · Sep 20, 2022

Everything after Win 7 is crap. Seriously. I had 10 briefly, and took it back. It wouldn't let me do anything the way I wanted it to do. My Compaq laptop has Win 7 Pro and is 15 years old, so they do last longer than the op mentioned. This 7 OS is logical, and lets me modify it any way I wish.

In my experience, it comes down to the maker, not the OS. Compaq computers have never let me down, while my HP computers sometimes broke. I would never buy an Apple computer because they're not computers you can make to work your way, they force you do do it their way.

jtk · Sep 20, 2022

Problem with Compaq is/was that they screwed up their marketing and their clients when they started to use cheap components...and of course collapsed along with HP.

Dell knows stuff in depth and (of course) Win 10, now 11/12 are a LOT faster than 7 was. And 7 without big internal drive doesn't reliably have enough horsepower to handle big files with Photoshop.

Dell is happy to sell Linux because there's a (small) market for Linux. Presumably IBM thinks the same way.

Sirius Glass · Sep 20, 2022

momus said:
Everything after Win 7 is crap. Seriously. I had 10 briefly, and took it back. It wouldn't let me do anything the way I wanted it to do. My Compaq laptop has Win 7 Pro and is 15 years old, so they do last longer than the op mentioned. This 7 OS is logical, and lets me modify it any way I wish.

In my experience, it comes down to the maker, not the OS. Compaq computers have never let me down, while my HP computers sometimes broke. I would never buy an Apple computer because they're not computers you can make to work your way, they force you do do it their way.

Not if one knows what they are doing. With Mac/Apple one has a life; with a Micro$oft machine one has a full time career.

pentaxuser · Sep 20, 2022

madNbad said:
You need to use a rotary dial phone.

If I had the one with the mobile receiver for the ear I fear that when it rang I'd say "Ness" each time. Fabulous machines were those

pentaxuser

Sirius Glass · Sep 20, 2022

jtk said:
Last year bought Win 11 desktop by phone from Dell. I paid for support when I bought their machine. My laptop is a used Dell that I bought from a local expert dealer. Several year ago had another local expert dealer build PC machines for myself and team. Free support locally.

Current laptop is a very fast Dell Win 8 that updated automatically to 10, then 11. Saved big $$ with local expert dealer because battery was weak, replaced that cheaply recently.

I used Win 98, then 7 for years with ACT contact management software, modified for me by a US/India team (it extracted obscure contact info from corporate websites). Computers bore me, I have no ego involvement, therefore zero interest in Linux.

I enjoy PS, no interest in Lightroom or "alternatives" to PS, do rely on NIK as a shortcut within/around PS.

When granny has trouble "getting the computer online" tell her call her internet access company (eg Verizon), not some purported "Windows Support Number".

Failure to get online is not a Windows issue, it's a computer issue or an internet access company issue (I pay far too much for Verizon).

The problem with using outdated systems or systems without the last update is that one is very susceptible to hacking and attacks.

Bill Burk · Sep 21, 2022

Although the tech I talked with at HP today wasn’t familiar with the specific bootloader issue that Microsoft is still investigating, I could get them on the phone real quick.

Agulliver · Sep 21, 2022

Hmm...in 41 years of computer ownership I've never once needed to call technical support.

Currently my Windows 10 desktop machine is coming up to 10 years old, running fine, no issues. I'm using a 7 year old Win 10 laptop at work and the only issue there is the internal keyboard is knackered so I use an external one - which is fine for work. My Win 11 laptop at home...yeah...I think Win 10 is a bit better to be honest....but then 98SE has probably never been beaten for stability and ease of use unless you count MS-DOS 6.2

the only Apple product I have ever owned is a 1990 Mac Color Classic. Piece of junk it is now. Kept for people to gawk at.

PS...I cannot imagine not having a large internal drive. I regularly back up all my data and indeed have just about everything from 1981 onwards stored on multiple physical drives. I trust "the cloud" about as far as I could throw a PC-junior.

Sirius Glass · Sep 21, 2022

Windows 95 had a feature that would keep your saved files from getting to deep. It would regularly crash and wipe out all your files on the disk.

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