Most Outrageous Vendor Lie Ever Told?

i8msft writes "CIO published a guide on How To Cut Through Vendor Hype. While light, the article did prompt me to wonder what is the most outrageous lie ever told by a vendor? I mean, in person, face to face, preferably with witnesses (boss, coworkers, someone on your side of the fence). Forget press releases, trade show presentations and the like, where they lie like dogs! Specific examples only, please."

Comments

Cigarettes

[papasui]

"Cigarettes don't kill people."

Re:XBox

[be-fan]

Maybe because the PS2 software has yet to need *any* patches? This whole "patch" thing is more or less unheard of in the console world. The only bug I've ever seen in a PS2 game is in FF-X, where the text will sometimes smear due to the way the game engine does the water wave effect. In fact, the only time a console has ever crashed on me is once in 1996, when my N64 crashed playing Mario. Most computer users would kill for 6 months without a crash, much less 6 years!

Re:Computer Speaker Wattage Ratings

[BigBlockMopar]

Two mistakes here.

Nope.

First, you said it was a 9V AC adaptor so the DC peak is ~13V.

In North America, the accepted definition of the term "AC adapter" is a plug-mounted power supply which outputs a low AC or DC voltage. The reference to AC refers to the fact that it plugs into AC. If you're unclear about the common usage of the English language in this regard, you can see it in context merely by typing "ac adapter" into Yahoo's search field.

Second, a voltage doubler before the rectifier is entirely possible.

At least two diodes and at least two electrolytic capacitors. Why not just buy different rating AC adapters at the same price?

It doesn't have a voltage doubler in it, and neither you or I needs to open it to prove it. Doing so would be only marginally more ridiculous than looking for a flyback transformer in an AM radio.

It's not quite this simple with dynamic components (inductors/capacitors/coils). That's why speakers have 8 ohms impedance, not 8 ohms resistance.

Of course not. Maybe you'd like to teach the new Slashdot course, "Differential Calculus for Electrical Engineering", if you think that my ballpark approach, which anyone with high school physics ought to handle, is too simplistic.

There's no need to go to all this effort.

Sure there is. I was trying to prove my point mathematically.

You already said the AC adaptor is 300mA at 9V. Sustainable power is therefore approximately 3W. Peak power is an unknown because the internal circuitry could easily store enough energy to give 100s of watts of power, even if only for a short time.

Sure. Like looking for a pulse generator and a stack of oil-filled capacitors in a transistor radio. I dunno how they build electronics down under, but around here, we don't add the complexity, cost or unreliability of adding components unnecessarily.

Without opening the speaker boxes you can't make any judgement.

Sure I can. It's got a pair of LM386 ICs, held on with dull-gray blobs of solder on a printed circuit board that looks like the layout was done by a Parkinsons patient's left hand. Components will be skewed on the board, held in place only by cold solder joints. You might find it's actually built of discrete parts; I don't know and I don't care - but I assure you that there won't even be anything as substantial as a TDA2002 in them, despite the 250W claim.