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Tom's Hardware Investigates Michael's Computers

Posted by timothy on from the more-than-questions dept.

cojsl writes "Tom's Hardware has an extensive article raising questions about Michael's Computers and their claims of a laptop with a "3DMark03 Average Score - 15,417"." It gets funnier as you go along.

146 of 609 comments (clear)

  1. Not in doubt, but.... by Space+cowboy · · Score: 4, Funny

    it surprised me that after all the work they went through, the conclusion is simply "make your own mind up". Now *that*'s being cautious!

    Or maybe I'm just a cynic by nature....

    Simon

    --
    Physicists get Hadrons!
    1. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by _Sharp'r_ · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Usually the weaker the evidence, the more someone tries to insist they ar right.

      If they actually have and present the evidence, there is no need to spell it out for you.

      --
      The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
    2. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Orgazmus · · Score: 4, Funny

      And the coolness factor is of course way higher when you say it like that.
      "And like everyone can see without us even telling you, the dudes are lame"

      --
      The system had the verbosity of HTML combined with all the readability of compiled assembly viewed as bitmap images
    3. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by aixou · · Score: 3, Funny

      I half-way expected Michael to go Vice-City on the interviewers ass part way through the interview..... dot dot dot

    4. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by IndigoDarkwolf · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Well I'm not surprised... after all, if HardOCP can be threatened by a company marketing vaporware for posting clearly stated opinions, then THW probably figures it's better to just not tempt fate.

      After all, the cost of a lawyer could really bite into their pool of money for when FX-51 3400+ really does come out.

    5. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I wonder if it is because of the Hard OCP / "Phantom Console" issue.

      I'm not convinced that Infinium Labs has any leg to stand on on that one though, I'm not convinced there is any libel, but they can still try to sue and harass. The Tom's writer is possibly just being CYA about it.

    6. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      there are more companies doing that

    7. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by smittyoneeach · · Score: 4, Funny

      I've heard it is said among lawyers:
      If you've got the facts on your side, argue the facts,
      if you've got the law on your side, argue the law,
      and if you've neither, pound the table.
      Into which category to put Michael, or SCO, is unclear.

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    8. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Hiro+Antagonist · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Indeed; those who lack evidence try and make up for it with panache. This is why none of the creationists, or the UFO-chasers, or the television psychics have ever managed to win the million-dollar challenge posted by the James Randi Educational Foundation. And before anyone screams 'conspiracy', remember that all one needs to do to win the prize, which is held in an escrow account, is present evidence of any paranormal phenomena which completely at odds with modern science. The procedures for doing so must be agreed upon by both parties, and the applicant is the one who designs the tests used to verify his-or-her claim, in order to prevent any steamrolling. All in all, a very fair prize. One which has been unclaimed for fourty years (IIRC).

      Maybe Michael's Computers should try to claim the prize, what with the supernatural performance of their systems. ;)

      As far as Michael's Hardware, just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, and at the very least, you should check first.

      --

      --
      I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy .sig.
    9. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by btwIANAL · · Score: 5, Funny

      On the other hand Michael can now add... "Featured on Tom's Hardware" ... to his credentials

      --
      And then they armed me with moderator points and the world mourned.
    10. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Hiro+Antagonist · · Score: 3, Informative

      *sigh*

      But you have seen new breeds of dogs, and new strains of the flu virus, and new antibiotic-resistant bacteria, right? The exact same principles apply to us -- only many humans are way too arrogant to acknowledge that, yes, we are subject to the same forces of any other animal. Natural selection is still alive and well, thank you, and along with its friends 'Variation' and 'Mutation', evolution is still chugging along.

      The underlaying rules behind evolution are testible, and have been proven as well as any scientific fact can be (see the Problem of Induction in any philosophy textbook), which is why evolutionary modeling techniques are used in any field that requires predictions about complex molecules. This includes chemical engineering, medical research, and even computer software design.

      Go read talkorigins.org; it explains a lot, and it answers a lot of common misconceptions about evolution. Also note that evolution says nothing about religion, and many religious people believe that God put the rules in place to let us evolve -- which is a much more reasonable concept than assuming that what happened in the Bible literally occurred, and that God just put all these fossils and all of that radioactive material around 'just to confuse the unworthy'.

      Creationism is supernatural -- it completely contradicts pretty much every piece of scientific knowledge in almost every field, from anthrpology to quantum mechanics. Thus, proving creationism *would* earn one the million dollars -- and, yes, people have tried to do it, and failed.

      --

      --
      I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy .sig.
    11. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by idontgno · · Score: 3, Funny
      Dammit, I've got mod points but I can't decide whether to mod +1 funny or +1 insightful.

      After all, it's funny because it's true. Bet on it.

      Oh, well.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    12. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by jasonisgodzilla · · Score: 2, Interesting

      We live in an information age. You would think if evolution were still in full swing, that smarter people would proliferate. I am surrounded by an ever increasing horde of idiots. If we were animals, the stupid offspring would be culled and the higher rates of reproduction among these lower order members would be cancelled out by their propensity towards dying earlier. The human species as a whole has apparently decided that everyone, no matter how stupid or disease ridden, needs to be kept alive and allowed to not only survive but to reproduce. It seems that we as a species are devolving.

    13. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by RevAaron · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Intelligent and wealthy people tend to have a lot fewer kids than stupid or poor folks. It may be somehow counter to your intuition, but those are the stats, ma'am. Makes sense to me, though.

      Evolution never stops being in full swing. We are always evolving, although we are selecting for different traits than we used to. "devolving" is a misonomer, although a nice sounding one... We may be getting dumber as a group, but it's still evolution!

      --

      Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
    14. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Hiro+Antagonist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Fire beatle?

      One of them set themselves on fire? I mean, I know about John Lennon getting shot and all (why the FSCK couldn't they have taken out Yoko too?) Which one? Did he survive?

      Oh, fire beetle. My mistake. ;) You could easily just have said 'human eye' or pointed to any other complex system or organism; the rules still apply, and you still see evidence that points to evolution. In the case of the fire beetle, all the tools required for it to produce a hot chemical spray can be found in other organisms: acid-resistant stomach linings, methane production, chambered toxin release, etc. The fire beetle is simply a novel combination of these things. One which had four billion or so years to work out the bugs; given the lifespan of these critters, that's about an equal number of generations.

      I am not saying evolution is wrong, but to say that it IS absolutely correct would also be inaccturate, you can show that some things have evolved, and that humans have evolved to a point, but we cannot say with absolute certainty that humans evolved from apes.

      We didn't; we evolved from earlier forms of humans, who in turn evolved from even more primitive forms, who in turn came from ape-like mammals that served as a common ancestor, and this is very-well proven, through a combination of genetic testing and osteological analysis.

      Lucy is a good example; we know that she was around about three million years ago, and that other than her bipedal adaptations, she was very similar to modern apes -- small brain, curved tarsal bones, and so on. Continuing on through the austrolopithecines, you see two branches (gracile and robust); the gracile branch became homo erectus, which eventually led to modern man, and the robust branch eventually evolved into the neanderthals, which died out a few hundred thousand years ago.

      It's a pretty clean, unbroken record, really, and there are even a few species along the line that have died out (like the Neanderthals) -- evolutionary dead-ends. The only reason we're around is because we were better suited to survive. And, yes, I'm oversimplifying all of this for the sake of being compact. *grin*

      The guy posted processors and hard drives that DON'T EXIST. He only takes pay-pal. Hmmmm you would have to have some real FAITH to buy from him :-)

      Or just be really gullible. ;)

      --

      --
      I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy .sig.
    15. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by jcr · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Intelligent and wealthy people tend to have a lot fewer kids than stupid or poor folks.

      That's a fairly recent development, actually. In centuries past, it was the wealthy (ie, those who could feed a large group) who had the most children survive to adulthood.

      Even today, the richer you are, the better your kid's chances of living to have kids of their own.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    16. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by UniverseIsADoughnut · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yep, I haven't seen a chimp turn into a human lately either. Infact no one has ever seen this. Infact no person who understands evolution has ever said this would happen either. I don't know what belief system you are thinking of where animals change into other types of animals. Closest I know of is female frogs becoming male frogs.

      But then, the offspring of one animal being differant then it's parents is pretty common. Come to think of it I have never seen the offspring of one animal being identical to it's parents. I don't think anyone has ever seen to parents produce a animal identical in all ways to it down to the DNA. But childern being differant is real common, sometimes more differant thing simple looks, sometime they have differant colored parts, sometimes they have less then the normal ten fingers, sometimes more (i know a decent number of people born with 6 fingers per hand or 6 toes per foot), maybe they have the wrong number of teeth, I only was born with 22 permenant teeth. Some people i know are missing parts like spleens from birth. I'm sure thats just normal, I mean if every generation of offspring in something was just slightly differant for a few million years, i'm sure the end generation would be exactly the same as the first generation.

      You need to get over it and accept evolution as a fact, it typicaly takes millions of years, but for simplier things it happens very fast, bacteria and virus's evolve all the time, year to year. Other things like fruitflies have become whole new species in short observable time spans.

      It's impossible for things not to evolve, since to members of a species cannot reproduce and have an exact copy of them both in one animal, it will be differant. Only cloning can do this, and that involves only one parent, thus doesn't happen in nature. Evolution just means change, every generation is differant from the previous, in time the differances will show up. Just look at human over the last few hundred years, look at things like height, or general looks. If you took a sample of humans today, and a sample of humans from 1000 years ago and stripped them naked to remove all evidance giving away their timeframe it would be obvious who came from which time. Expand this over millions of years and out ape ancestors gradualy started to look like us.

      Evolution does not mean becoming "better" it might just cause you to like sex more thus create more young. Or maybe you give birth to more offspring and thus their is more of your species then another "superior" one and they can't compete and die out. Evolution in many aspects has been haulted in the modern world. Today if you are born with 6 fingers, society shuns that and wants to see them removed. Also they probably don't help you much. But millions of years ago in a tree, it may have made you a better climber or food gatherer. That made you stronger and the chicks digged it, they matted with you, and some of your kids had six fingers, and they had an advantage, over time their were more 6 finger people because they were more sucessful. Today such things don't happen, if you are not a classic human people shun you. being born with 6 asses is not likely to help you or give you any chance at matting.

      You also don't see much change in higher order land animal because we have become so much stronger and supress them. We kill them off to. As other animals have got smarter and adapted to our life we kill them off since we find them anoying, like bears living in cities living a new life from they did in the woods. Or we start seeing a change, say frogs with more legs, we set out to cure them, we asume its because of something we did. But there is a chance they are just evolving.

      If darwinism was classified as supernatural then the award would have been claimed long ago, not much of a prize there then. If you didn't get the idea of it, the point is the things eligible will never win. Some of them do have a long shot chance, but arn't very likely. But things that we allready know to be true would be pretty dumb to make eligible.

    17. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Jim+the+Bad · · Score: 2, Funny
      Man that one would have been tough even for the people who saw Christ after his death

      You are aware of the number of people who have seen Elvis after his death, right?

      --
      -- And when Justice is gone, there is always... Force. --Laurie Anderson, "Oh Superman"
    18. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by Hatta · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not to split heirs, but the Theory of Evolution is in fact a theory, not a fact (by the scientific definition of the words). Of course, there really aren't scientific facts, just laws, and any good Slashdot reader knows full well even laws are subject to interpretation by those who wouldn't use IANAL.

      Special relativity is a theory, the heliocentric solar system is just a theory. Theory to a scientist is more powerful than when used casually. A scientific theory is one that has been through testing and is supported by enough evidence that it would be perverse to deny its truth. Barring future evidence to the contrary, which is always possible.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    19. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by the+gnat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The human species as a whole has apparently decided that everyone, no matter how stupid or disease ridden, needs to be kept alive and allowed to not only survive but to reproduce.

      Yeah, it just makes me furious when I see poor or sick people having kids. How dare they pass on their faulty genes! And how dare our government let this happen! People with genetic defects should be sterilized, if not put to a merciful death. And next, if you're a Charles Murray fan, sterilize black people.

      What cave did you crawl out of? Have you been smoking pot and reading Peter Singer or something?

      It seems that we as a species are devolving.

      On the contrary, I would argue that the modern shared social understanding that all human lives are of equal value, deserving of dignity, and entitled to maintain control of their own destiny, represents the high point of our evolution. Except in your case, of course.

    20. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by FatherOfONe · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Good points, and being the one that started this thread, I would like to say that I do believe in God and evolution. However it kills me to see the so called scientist that say that evolution is fact. I wouldn't mind so much if they at least said "To the best of our knowledge now..." this is what we believe. Those same people said.
      1. Global cooling is real (1960's)
      2. Global warming is real (1980's+)
      3. The Atkins diet will not work :-)
      4. Ok, the Atkins diet will work :-)
      5. Eggs are bad for you... wait check that... .... You get the idea

      It is my belief that God created everything, now how he did it, I have no clue, but it did start with God. Granted this is all way off topic...

      --
      The more I learn about science, the more my faith in God increases.
    21. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by JamieF · · Score: 2, Funny

      Fair enough. I'll believe creationists when they can pull God down from the sky and show him/her to me, and get him/her to answer questions like "how can all those different translations and editions of your holy book be equally correct, when any linguist can demonstrate that the translations say totally different things?".

    22. Re:Not in doubt, but.... by JamieF · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > It is my opinion that evolution is not dis-provable

      Fair enough...

      >regardless of what evidence is discovered.

      Oh dear. So, if (for the sake of argument) one day a crashed alien mothership is found buried in Africa that has schematics and equipment required to manufacture all creatures living or dead, and many many scientific studies are done that demonstrate that this is not a hoax... you would still believe in evolution?

      I'm not suggesting that this is the real origin of man, but I'm trying to point out that you've basically said that you are 100% fanatically devoted to evolution regardless of actual data, which is kinda messed up.

  2. Now I know... by RobertB-DC · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now I know where our friend Orlando Soto buys his computers.

    Hmmm... has anyone ever actually seen "Michael Gonzales" and "Orlando Soto" together? Put glasses on this guy, and he looks an awful lot like this guy...

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  3. Lesson to learn: by musingmelpomene · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ok, kiddies, the important lesson of the day is: When you want to scam people into buying your product, try to advertise a product that exists. Then it'll always work. So...ummm...*shuffles feet*...who wants to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?

    1. Re:Lesson to learn: by frodo+from+middle+ea · · Score: 4, Funny

      I do, as soon as I get my 10% cut of the 15 mil., from this really nice guy from nigeria whose uncle (the late military leader) who unfortunatey was killed.

      --
      for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
    2. Re:Lesson to learn: by schon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Are you saying the Brooklyn Bridge does not exist?

      Of course not! Otherwise he wouldn't be following his own advice!

      BTW, I wonder how much he wants for it. :o)

    3. Re:Lesson to learn: by musingmelpomene · · Score: 2, Funny
      For an extra $50 (sent to my paypal account, email address bridgeofbirds@yahoo.com) I'll ship worldwide.

      Everyone needs a bridge. And this is a steal - I went to a dentist once and a bridge cost hundreds!

    4. Re:Lesson to learn: by parkrrrr · · Score: 5, Funny
      About that bridge thing, is free shipping to Europe included or extra?
      The free shipping is extra.
    5. Re:Lesson to learn: by Bombcar · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Can you image how hard it was to actually sell the London Bridge? Probably the only reason the Arizona guy got it was that everyone else thought it was a scam.

      Someone also sold the Eiffel tower for scrap.

      Twice.

      To the same company, I believe.

      --
      Fellowship 9/11
    6. Re:Lesson to learn: by musingmelpomene · · Score: 4, Funny

      Oh yeah. I bought it. Would you like to buy it from me? Special deal, one time only, and only because the French are unpatriotic. $500 and it's yours. Free shipping.

    7. Re:Lesson to learn: by musingmelpomene · · Score: 2, Funny

      Unobtanium? Sure! That sounds easy enough to find. What could possibly go wrong?

    8. Re:Lesson to learn: by Bombcar · · Score: 4, Funny

      Tell you what, ship it COD.

      But if I don't get it within 2 weeks, you're going to get negative feedback. :)

      --
      Fellowship 9/11
    9. Re:Lesson to learn: by Chalybeous · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, I could be arrested by the government of Dictatoria for being a capitalist - but if you send me $20,000 to cover the legal fees, we can transfer the accounts into your name and move my assets of $15,000,000 (FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS) out of the country. Your fee, as foreign partner, will be 30%; I get 60%; and 10% will be used to cover sundry expenses. Please fax me your bank account details at 555-0419.

      Personally, I'm more worried about the US government tracking me down. This morning I saw a black helicopter; any day now they'll find out where I'm hiding, and then I'll be--%20[CARRIER LOST]


      ;-)

      --

      "It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue." -- Zork

    10. Re:Lesson to learn: by musingmelpomene · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh no...carrier lost? Were you eaten by a grue? :)

    11. Re:Lesson to learn: by schon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Will a million dollar bill do as downpayment?

      Hehe.. from your link:

      "The US Treasury does not make $1m bills, which only go as high as $100."

      Are they saying that they do make $1M bills then, but that they only go up to $100?

      Or are they saying that the US treasury doesn't make $1M bills that are only worth $100. (Maybe the Treasury department has been taken over by the Department of Redundancy Department?)

    12. Re:Lesson to learn: by srcosmo · · Score: 2, Informative
      That would be Victor Lustig, one of the greatest frauds ever.

      At one point he apparently sold a phony counterfeitting machine to some poor sap for $25,000 (in 1926 dollars!). After his arrest on unrelated charges, he used another of the machines to bribe his way out of jail -- and net $10,000 from the (rather thick) sherrif in the process.

      It's all in the link up there.

      --
      free speach
      Did you mean: free speech
  4. Hee hee by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    "Neighbors confirmed that Michael Gonzales used to live there, but moved out after a divorce."

    Maybe his ex-wife was an unsatisfied early user?

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:Hee hee by EulerX07 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, the news on the grapevine is that is actual boot-up speed was nowhere near advertised, when it actually did bootup.

      His 3D performance was also greatly exagerated. However she did admit that she never exceeded 15db when with him, so that part was correct.

    2. Re:Hee hee by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Maybe his ex-wife was an unsatisfied early user?

      Maybe it wasn't just the laptop that took 7 seconds...

    3. Re:Hee hee by Cheap+Imitation · · Score: 4, Funny
      Maybe his ex-wife was an unsatisfied early user?

      Being "The World's Fastest" is not a good way to satisfy your wife, that's for sure....

  5. Sociopaths by DustMagnet · · Score: 4, Informative
    Michael was very articulate and calm during the interview. He appears convinced of what he says and advertises.

    Sociopaths are dangerous people. Tracking them down is fine, but be careful if you decide to tangle with one. Some will dedicate their life to revenge.

    --
    'SBEMAIL!' is better than a goat!!
    1. Re:Sociopaths by Speare · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

      --
      [ .sig file not found ]
    2. Re:Sociopaths by deacon · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Sheesh, talk about jumping the gun to get the noose and the tree ready!

      Did you (or the moderators) even read the article you linked to?

      To quote your article

      " Although only a trained professional can make a diagnosis"

      Yes, it's clear from the TomsHardware article that you do not want to buy a computer from this guy. Just as obvious, penis enlargment products do not work.

      At the same time, Toms is slanting some of their article so the guy will seem even worse.

      Toms discovers that Mike does NOT need a business license, and then later in the article makes a big deal that the guy does not have one. Duh!

      Still, if you insist on labeling Mike with a psych. eval. based on inadequate data, perhaps you can identify with this one.

    3. Re:Sociopaths by Maestro4k · · Score: 4, Interesting
      • Sociopaths are dangerous people. Tracking them down is fine, but be careful if you decide to tangle with one. Some will dedicate their life to revenge.
      I know a lot of people are probably going to say "but he's not a sociopath, just some guy running a scam" or something like that about your Sociopath remark (even though you provided a quite informative link) because in so many people's minds sociopath = homicidal maniac. However I believe you may have hit the nail very firmly on the head in this case. I can't imagine anyone that wasn't a true sociopath being able to so calmly answer this unprompted interview, do so on video (without advance notice as well) and not even break a sweat. Heck, a lot of "normal people" can't pass a lie detector test even if they're telling the truth. (A dirty little secret about them is that concern about what led to the polygraph (such as being accused of murder, etc) is enough to trigger a noticeable reaction to any questions relating to that subject -- irregardless of the answer. Basically you can answer yes or no and it register as a lie either way.)

      I think the Tom's Hardware guys realized what you're saying as well, they had enough evidence to just really lay into this guy but if you read carefully you'll see an almost pained effort to stay unoffensive to Michael. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if interviewing the guy wasn't terrifying for them. That said, I hope that if everything is as bogus as it seems that someone can get him stopped.

      There are some really strange things here though, Paypal is very sensitive to fraud, and even if they refused to allow chargebacks (they have been reported to just take the money out of your bank account if they get a chargeback), they more than likely would shut down a count that generated quite a few of them. However from the article and the screenshot it would appear his Paypal account is still quite valid. While his busines license isn't valid, it only expired in Januray IIRC, and it would be quite easy to overlook this, especially after having had a divorce and having to move (the notice might have missed him). I'm by no means defending Michael, from the info laid out I'd never buy a computer from the guy myself, but things like this always bug me. Perhaps I just have an inner preference to have things more black & white. :)

    4. Re:Sociopaths by gryphokk · · Score: 3, Funny

      Stop saying that!

      --
      And you, madam, are very ugly. In the morning, I shall be sober.
    5. Re:Sociopaths by pyrrhonist · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Nobody here is a certified psychologist.

      That's not a fact, that's an opinion. You can't say with absolute certainty that there are no psychologists that read Slashdot.

      You are absolutely NOT qualified by reading a website to diagnose anyone with anything.

      No, but, you can watch the interview and receive some interesting clues about Michael.

      You are simply talking out of your asses.

      Talking out your ass is when you don't have any material to back up your opinion. The poster you flamed stated an opinion, and provided the information that helped him arrive at that conclusion. He was not "talking out his ass".

      Hey, maybe the man may simply be a self-confident baffoon who actually believes what he is saying and may not know any better.

      That could very well be true. However, the parent poster felt Michael was a little too self-confident in a confrontation situation.

      But, without very special training and years of actual real-world experience, no one on Slashdot is qualified to make any intelligent diagnosis about anybody.

      Again, we can state an opinion. The parent poster felt that Michael was too calm during the interview not to be a sociopath. He was not trying to make an accurate diagnosis of Michael's state of mind. The poster just found it hard to believe the man was not sociopathic. There was no medical claims involved (i.e. he didn't say, "I've diagnosed Michael as a sociopath"). It was an opinion based on what was seen in the interview, nothing more. The reason that this poster's comment was modded up so high is because of the way the opinion was stated and the infomation that the poster provided to arrive at his opinion.

      I'm not trying to be a bitch or anything, I just think you were being a little hard on the guy.

      --
      Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
  6. The moral of this story... by Schlemphfer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Never buy a computer from some guy named Michael. You're better off buying a Dell. Oh, wait.

    --
    I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
  7. I know... by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 4, Funny

    Michael must have come from the future, with his Windows XP 2004 and currently non-existant hardware! I bet you could haggle with him and get next year's Super Bowl winner, too.

    1. Re:I know... by Bobulusman · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I liked this part of his FAQ:

      Q: When a client says "How can your systems be instant?"

      A: Simply, because most operations that occur on other systems take time to load or render. We eliminated the so called "wait-time" a few years ago with inventing our TXK modeling for our Hard Drive systems. Where many systems today are built with just the "fastest" processor, we dive deeper into incorporating the true components that allow every application you run, to run at the fastest speed possible.

      Bizarre.

      --
      Cogito ergo sum in Slashdot.
    2. Re:I know... by LilMikey · · Score: 2, Funny

      I bet you could haggle with him and get next year's Super Bowl winner, too.

      Screw that... can he give us next year's halftime show?

      --
      LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
  8. Totally Awesome Computers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    "SuperDell" Schanze makes similar claims, offering $1000 to anyone who can build or buy a faster computer. http://www.totallyawesomecomputers.com/

  9. Tom, Micheal? by Enze6997 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.

  10. Michael's Computers investigates Tom's Hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Michael found that Tom's the stories are often riddled with errors and false claims that favour their advertisers.

    1. Re:Michael's Computers investigates Tom's Hardware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Their current advertiser appears to be a certain '[an error occurred while processing this directive]' - any idea what they sell? Whatever it is, I want to buy!

      Nice one, Slashdot! Kill the adservers, so I can read the article without annoying interruptions! :-)

  11. Welcome to the internet... by 2MuchC0ffeeMan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    sadly, this guy does what everyone else does, takes advantage of stupid people to make money.

    it's basically the best way to make money, next to taking advantage of lonely guys (pornsites, strippers) and taking advantage of lazy people (remote control, clapper)

    --
    Runnin' On Empty .... I'm Still Alive
    1. Re:Welcome to the internet... by MooseByte · · Score: 5, Funny

      "it's basically the best way to make money, next to taking advantage of lonely guys (pornsites, strippers) and taking advantage of lazy people (remote control, clapper)"

      Tell me about it! I made an absolute fortune off my clapper-controlled porn site!

      Which also finally answered the rhetorical question, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

    2. Re:Welcome to the internet... by enjo13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      [quote]it's basically the best way to make money, next to taking advantage of lonely guys (pornsites, strippers) and taking advantage of lazy people (remote control, clapper[/quote]

      Uhm, isn't the point to provide something useful for people (creating value for them)? So strippers, pornsites, remote controls, and the clapper don't take advantage of people.. they simple provide a good or service that people find valuable.

      Scamming people is a whole different story.. This guy is a scammer, he doesn't appear to even have a PRODUCT.

      --
      Turn s60 photos into awesome videos with mScrapbook for all S60 3rd edition phones!
    3. Re:Welcome to the internet... by BJH · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's easy: FAPFAPFAPFAPFAPFAPFAP...

      Oh, you said clapping. Sorry, I don't know.

  12. That's what I call a fan! by pjt33 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    0.19 dB? A ticking watch is about 20dB, and it's a log scale.

    1. Re:That's what I call a fan! by Gumshoe · · Score: 2, Informative

      In the interview he claims to have worked for Cryotech and suggests that he uses cryogenics instead of air cooling. There are no fans in other words. I'm still calling shenanigins though.

    2. Re:That's what I call a fan! by OgGreeb · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The sales blurb for the "Michaels MX8" says "Now with 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 Surround sound at 180dB!"

      The circa 1950's Chrysler civil defense siren , the world's loudest, peaks at 138dB. It can be heard piercingly at five miles distance. 180dB would be on the order of a small earthquake.

      --
      -- Gary Goldberg KA3ZYW 301/249-6501 AIM:OgGreeb Digital Marketing Inc., Bowie, MD //www.digimark.net/
    3. Re:That's what I call a fan! by B5_geek · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I think he used the same tool to measure that I did as a kid.

      I bought an SPL meter from Radio Shack so I could test how loud my car stereo got. The needle on the meter went to a max of 130Db. I was able to bury the needle on several occasions.

      Considering the evidence that you have quoted there is no doubt in my mind that the meter was worthless.

      My point: maybe he just has shitty testing equipment?

      --
      "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
    4. Re:That's what I call a fan! by black_widow · · Score: 5, Informative

      194 decibels, A-weighted, is equivalent to the saturn 5 rocket or 50lbs of TNT detonated 10 feet away.

      194 decibels (RMS) sound-pressure-level approaches the atmospheric pressure level.

      With an RMS value of 194 decibels, the peak SPL would modulate the atmospheric value entirely. That would make it the loudest possible...

      194 Maximum possible (from atmospheric 14.7psi down to 0psi)
      177 Record for car audio!
      170 Shotgun blast up close
      160 Perforation of eardrum
      140 Jet Aircraft Taking Off
      120 Human Threshold of Pain - 1 watt/sq. meter
      120 Loud Rock Concert
      110 Moderate rock concert, dance club
      100 Motorcycle
      -- extended listening above 85-90dB leads to hearing loss --
      90 Lawnmower, loud home stereo
      85 Jackhammer at 15 meters (50 feet)
      80 Moderate home stereo, ringing telephone
      75 Average City Street
      70 Freeway traffic, TV audio
      60 Normal Conversation
      50 Large office background noise
      40 Quiet office or residential area
      30 Whisper at 3 meters (10 feet), Very soft music
      20 "Silent" TV Studio, Whisper at 1 meter, Quiet living room
      10 Soft rustling of leaves
      0 Human threshold of hearing (youths)
      (table from http://www.geocities.com/rf-man/db.html )

    5. Re:That's what I call a fan! by mytec · · Score: 5, Funny

      With an RMS value of 194 decibels

      Wow, RMS gets pretty loud ranting about GNU. :-)

    6. Re:That's what I call a fan! by adnoid · · Score: 2, Informative

      As someone in the sound reproduction industry I can say that you're pretty much right. The spec for the siren you cite is 138 dB at 100 feet. Conventional speakers are measured at 1 meter with 1 watt of input and are in the 90 range, generally. The sound pressure level of that siren at 1 meter would be 172 dB (#include various_reasonable_assumptions.h)

      For reference, 120 dB is the threshold of physical pain and equivalent to standing next to the engine of a jet transport at takeoff thrust. Beyond that organ damage begins.

      What a load of crap.

      --
      No sig
    7. Re:That's what I call a fan! by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny
      You missed:
      • 209 Mother-in-Law
      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
    8. Re:That's what I call a fan! by nolife · · Score: 2, Informative

      Google for spl world record
      I did not specifically find the quoted 177 but a few in the mid 170's.. Many of the google links describe this sport and the background.

      --
      Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
    9. Re:That's what I call a fan! by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 2, Informative

      According to the Guinness record, the loudest scream was 129 decibels.

      --
      ^_^
    10. Re:That's what I call a fan! by PYves · · Score: 2, Funny

      120 Human Threshold of Pain - 1 watt/sq. meter
      120 Loud Rock Concert

      simple math shows that:
      Loud Rock Concert = Human Treshold of Pain

      I can name several bands that surpass my treshold of pain, but it's not really decibel-related.

    11. Re:That's what I call a fan! by hetta · · Score: 2, Funny

      See, you have 2 speakers at 90 dB each, that's 180 dB, right?

      --
      -- Henriette's herbal -
    12. Re:That's what I call a fan! by AndrewRUK · · Score: 2, Informative

      Wrong, dB is a logarithmic scale, a doubling in power is equivalent to an increase of 3dB (*10 = +10dB) so two speakers at 90dB would make 93dB.

  13. Review doesnt go far enough by onyxruby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Its amazing how far something has to go for a business to be considered fraudulent. Is it possible to get warnings like this before they end up in court or handcuffs? If all of this investigation only garners a buyer beware warning, what does it take to get a do not buy warning? I can understand the aversion to calling out fraud, but THG can only build the credibility by taking a stand and telling people don't buy from these guys.

    I'm not trying to be overly harsh on THG. I applaud them for being willing to investigate like they did, the industry can only benefit by removing fraudsters. A few bad mechanics have given most mechanics reputations that they don't deserve, and the computer industry needs to avoid this.

    Review sites, remember that your job is as much about telling people what they should not buy as it is about what they should. How many people stopped respecting PC World (once upon a time highly respected) after they endorsed Windows Me?

    1. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by rvw14 · · Score: 2, Funny
      How many people stopped respecting PC World (once upon a time highly respected) after they endorsed Windows Me?

      I have been using windows ME since 1986 and haven't had any prob l ;;sd2 e ;a$

    2. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by Malc · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Maybe THG is afraid of ending up in court themselves. Even if they are right, do they really want to spend their time and money when to most of us what they've stated is clear and good enough? This is really just a sad statement about the paranoid corporate climate and litigous nature of the modern American world.

    3. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by CleverDan · · Score: 2, Interesting


      THG most likely wanted to avoid anything like the petswarehouse.com fiasco.

    4. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by TheRealFixer · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It would be nice to see "businesses" like this shut down and the scam artist in handcuffs, but more often than not, people like him are VERY good at disappearing, relocating, and starting up the whole scam again.

      I had a run-in with a retailer at a computer show some years ago who was substituting sub-standard parts and pre-loading Windows 98 on his boxes, advertising them as having Windows 98 included, and then not including the Win98 CD. When I purchased a computer from him for someone else, and then came across a problem with that PC that required the CD, I called to get a copy sent to me, and the retailer refused, said I had to pay $50 to get the CD. I realized quickly that this was a scam he was running, and no matter what, he would not give me the CD. I actually called the Microsoft Piracy Hotline (I've never done that since, and normally I would have just dropped it, but he made me irritated enough with his attitude) and they thanked me, and promised to go after him.

      Next computer show a couple months later, same retailer is there, same scam, different "company" name and different location & phone number. These guys thrive on being mobile. They're like cockroaches. Shine the light on them, and they disappear for a little while, but they still come back.

    5. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by onyxruby · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes I was commenting on the sad state of affairs on such fear of lawsuits. This makes sense, I may not like it, but I understand it. My issue is that after everything their investigation turned up, they couldn't even say "don't buy here". I understand why they didn't claim the business practices fraud, they gave enough facts on that point for people to decide for themselves.

      The lack of an outright fraud claim wasn't my issue though. The investigation was good, the story fell short at the end though. Again I ask my valid question, what does it take to get a do not buy recommendation from THG?

    6. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by DarkBlackFox · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Furthermore, I'd like to have seen THG actually buy one of these alleged machines. That was the intention of the article, right? See if the products match the descriptions. If the author was talking face to face with Michael, why couldn't he order one of these machines right from him, or at least ask to see a demo? Rather than just tell people to fend for themselves based on what the reviewer discovered, why not go the final step and actually try to look at the products they are investigating? If they did not perform up to snuff (which is most likely), at least then they would have some hard, tangible evidence to flat out say "avoid these guys."

    7. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by Tin+Foil+Hat · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It would have been nice to see Tom's do some more follow-up. The article says that Gonzales claimed to have a store front just blocks away from the mail box location. I would have liked to see the author verify that claim, and if true, buy a computer and run benchmarks on it. At that point he would have all the information he needed to take a strong stand on whether or not this guy is a shyster. He might even have gathered enough information to present to a federal fraud investigator.

      --
      No matter how many of my rights are taken away, somehow I still don't feel safe. -Frigid Monkey
    8. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by Eraser_ · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There is a local store which has been here as long as I can remember. I went in there one day in my endevour to find gainful employment. I was first struck by the number of "certifications" on the wall, most of them looked like they had been printed out himself. The owner was yelling at the techs to "just make it work" when the tech said he had a failed HD, because he wasn't getting a new one, etc. I talked with him for a little while, wasn't impressed at all about this guy. I left, never to look back. Anytime someone asked me about the place I just told em to stear clear.

      Fast forward 3 years, I am related a story by a coworker of their friend who went there to buy a PC. The computer came with no discs, no "windows authentic" sticker, etc. Had a minor problem with it, and the guy refused to fix it, and said it would be $200 for the windows CD. I had my boss relay to them that what that guy is doing is illegal, and that I hope they paid with a credit card.

    9. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Interesting.
      1998: Computer doesn't come with a Windows 98 CD. Product is most likely counterfeit.
      Today: Computer doesn't come with a Windows XP CD. Product is most likely genuine-- but if you want the CD, you might have to swing by Kazaa and grab an ISO...

    10. Re:Review doesnt go far enough by plover · · Score: 2, Interesting
      The result is the customer is very clear on what they are actually paying or not paying for and MS probably gets less then they should.

      Except that's true only to a moderately computer-literate buyer.

      There are many, many Joe Sixpacks who go to those shows just to buy the cheapest PC available so they can have a PC. They know nothing about the equipment, they may (or may not) have a technically adept friend who steered them towards these shows for a cheap PC, etc. They know that if they go to Best Buy, a PC will cost them $400, but if they go to a show they can get one for $200.

      Joe Sixpack doesn't know anything about "pirated" copies of software. As far as he's concerned, he legitimately bought it because he gave the guy at the show $200. And the transactions typically aren't itemized; it's not like there is a receipt indicating he's paying $50 for the case, $50 for the hard drive, $50 for the mobo, and $50 for the CPU. So there isn't even the omission of a "Windows 98 - $33" line to tip him off that he received Windows without paying for it.

      If you already know enough to ask questions like these, then yes, you already know you're getting more than what you're paying for. As you pointed out, both parties will nod and wink at each other when the "test software" remains on the hard drive. Neither party has an active interest in talking about the origins of this software -- so the booth vendor can unfairly compete on price with machines that have bundled legal copies of software, and the booth customer gets a computer full of software for dirt cheap.

      While I think Microsoft is 'ethically challenged' in oh-so-many ways, it is still not appropriate for me to respond by making copies of their software in protest. If I think their software is overpriced; or if I think they are hiding API calls from me as a developer; or if I think they are predatorily acquiring competitors, I do have legal recourse through the court system. Acquiring an unlicensed copy of Windows claiming "stick it to da man for overcharging!" is not a form of protest -- it's a form of stealing.

      --
      John
  14. Slashdotted, alternate mirror server here by Newtonian_p · · Score: 2, Informative

    I can't believe it, their main server is slashdotted, you can still access their page at this address:
    http://www20.tomshardware.com/

    --

    There are 2 kinds of people in this world: Those who write in decimal and those who don't

  15. Re:My benchmark by Tweaker_Phreaker · · Score: 5, Informative

    You seem to be confusing 3DMark03 with 3DMark01. The system you described would be lucky to get '5000' in 3DMark03.

  16. My review of Tom's Hardare (read on)... by gosand · · Score: 4, Funny
    Here is my review of Tom's Hardware. I think that they are extremely.... Next ...

    First paragraph, first sentence

    First paragraph, second sentence

    First paragraph, third sentence

    First paragraph, fourth sentence

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    Second paragraph, first sentence

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    Conclusion introduction

    Conclusion body

    Conclusion postscript

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  17. He prolly does ship comps by aixou · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My guess is that everytime Michael receives money, he runs down to CompUSA, picks up whatever deal he can find, and ships that computer out to the buyer. If the buyer contacts him about slower than advertised speed, he'll probably say that the special "optimizations" got knocked out of whack during shipping, but not to worry, becuase it's still a "World Class" product.

  18. And now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    He'll add "As mentioned on Slashdot" to his page to add to the hype...

  19. easy foolery by British · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Back in '96 I made a fake web page(on my university account) that sold hacker/phreaker gear. Red boxes, blue boxes etc. I did my best to make it look legit. I also had some more obscure items, like Game Boy cartridges that did red box tones, and other fun things I could think of.

    Mind you the product drawings were almost MS paint quality.

    One of the items I sold was a "katana" laptop computer, with CPU speeds about twice of the fastest CPUs of the day. Also, it said you could buy the laptop in person at our outlet store in New Tokyo.

    Needless to say regardless of how amateur the page looked, I got emails every day from people who believed it. Most of them wanted the price on the katana. To think if I was a shyster I could have been swimming in credit card numbers.

    1. Re:easy foolery by drxenos · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm very interested as to the purpose. Were you just bored, or were you doing some kind of study for school? What were your conclusions?

      --


      Anonymous Cowards suck.
    2. Re:easy foolery by British · · Score: 4, Informative

      I was just bored. I wondered to see what sort of response I would get. Mind you, this was in the early days of the web. More detail here:

      http://british.nerp.net/commentary/alburt.html

  20. (OT) Holy Cow! by schon · · Score: 3, Funny

    Great site...

    what struck me as particularly funny, is that with only one exception ("Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity"), every single one of those points describes behaviour exhibited by Darl McBride in public!

    Wow... it explains so much. :o)

  21. this is why i'm laughing by BlackWire · · Score: 3, Funny
    This is the part cracking me up.

    I was wondering, since you are a well established and reputable hardware site

  22. Tom's Own Hardware? by Bimo_Dude · · Score: 2, Funny
    Has Tom investigated his own web server hardware?

    It appears as though it cannnot handle a slashdotting.

    --
    "Teleporting Rodents with D-Cell Battery Displacement" theory -- IgnoramusMaximus (692000)
  23. Articles broken up into separate pages by Imperator · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why do sites insist on splitting articles into separate pages?

    [next page]

    It's even worse when the pages are short.

    Hell, they often have only a few paragraphs per page.

    [next page]

    Some sites are kind enough to at least offer a "print article" link.

    [next page]

    Others don't.

    [next page]

    It's obvious what they're trying to do.

    [next page]

    They want to generate ad revenue.

    [next page]

    [next page]

    But really, the joke's on them.

    [next page]

    Because I use Privoxy.

    [next page]

    And so they don't get any ad money.

    [next page]

    But still have to spend money on the extra bandwidth it costs...

    [next page]

    ...to split up the article into separate pages.

    --

    Gates' Law: Every 18 months, the speed of software halves.
  24. Makes You Think -ResellerRatings.com by N8F8 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I sometimes wonder the reason I've been so lucky buying things online. I've gotten some pretty good deals from cheesy looking web storefronts. One thing to consider next time is to check out a store's ratings at http://www.resellerratings.com/

    --
    "God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
  25. Good job... by happyduder · · Score: 2, Funny

    Good job Tom. Now you just need to investigate that other Michael's claims.

  26. crafts conspiracy! by ThePretender · · Score: 2, Funny

    At first I thought this was a story about an overagressive crafts store looking for market share while Martha's Empire was on the decline!

  27. Software? by Ironclad2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do the computers come bundled with Duke Nukem Forever?

  28. Pulled Punches by Percy_Blakeney · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Although the article was interesting, it didn't go all the way in exposing this guy. All they did was question his "benchmarks", track down where he lives, and then tell us, "Make up your own mind." I was expected them to get ahold of an actual computer and post their own benchmarks, but they never did. You can tell that they were completely pulling their punches in an effort to not get sued.

    Maybe Tom's Hardware should hire John Stossel if they are going to do these kinds of pieces.

    1. Re:Pulled Punches by harrkev · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I am certain that if you were to purchase one of his computers and have it shipped to Tom's Hardware, that they would be more than happy to review and benchmark it in short order. I would even expect a new speed record for how fast they can get the benchmark up.

      Reputable companies often send hardware to web sites to review. If you have vaporware or "scamware", why would you voluntarily send it off for review?

      I read enough to realize that I would be a fool to even give him the first dime to see if his claims were even true. If I have the money (which I sadly don't), the burden of proof is on the vendor to convince me that I need to give it to him. I don't owe any vendor anything, even the benefit of the doubt. Trust is something that is earned, not given out freely.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  29. Re:So where can I actually buy a tricked out PC? by Graelin · · Score: 4, Informative

    Alienware comes to mind. Their machines are pretty cool. Lots of high-end equipment that is pretty to look at, but the prices are a touch high.

    If you really want the uber game machine you probably want to build it yourself. Maximum performance doesn't ALWAYS have to cost you stability if you buy the right parts from the right vendors.

    You're right about local stores, at least in my area, they are very delayed. I can usually order the latest online and get it in the mail before any local chains get it in stock. As far as I can tell, the local mom n' pop stores are always the most cautious to get the latest hardware. Try the gamer franchises, like EB Games. Best Buy, Circuit City, CrapUSA never have a good enough selection of products. (They might only sell PNY Nvidia cards, when you really want the Hercules.)

  30. 3DMark2001 and 2003 by Pidder · · Score: 5, Informative

    15,000 is a very reasonable score for a decent system in the 2001 version where the world record is a few points over 30,000. It's very likely that the marketing guy just made a simple mistake.

    3dMark2003 is a whole different ball game however, and a score of 15,000 is clearly impossible. The world record is just over 10,000 points (trivia: made by finnish overclocker 'Macci' with a p4 3.2 EE clocked to 4.5 ghz and a Radeon 9800XT clocked extremely high).

    Extreme overclocking has gone a long way. Macci cools both his cpu and gpu with a cascade system which is two phase change coolers (like the Vapochill) connected together in some cool way I don't have the technical know-how to describe. It cools both his cpu and gpu to -100C.

    1. Re:3DMark2001 and 2003 by Pidder · · Score: 5, Funny

      Haha forget about what I said about "simple mistake". I have now RTFA. That guy is a just a massive tool.

    2. Re:3DMark2001 and 2003 by LurkerXXX · · Score: 4, Funny
      Right. He said 3dMark2003 instead of 3dMark2001.

      And he claimed it was the 'World's Fastest Tower' which it wouldn't be with the 3dMark2001 score.

      And he said .15 DB instead of 15 DB.

      And he said 500GB Hard drive instead of 250 GB Hard drive.

      And he said he was in business from 1996-2000 at one location instead of 2000-2004.

      And he calimed places had reviewed his machine that didn't.

      And he seemed to claim he had won awards that he hadn't.

      And he seemed to claim people were customers who weren't.

      And.... seeing a trend yet?

      Simple mistake??? right...
      Oh, I've got some loveley swampland in Florida that you might be interested in! I'll make you a great deal!

  31. Re:Another fun site along the same "HUH?" lines by teamhasnoi · · Score: 2
    I don't see anything wrong with that site, no outrageous claims are being made that I could find.

    1500+ is more than I would spend on anything but a mac, though.

    As far as music stuff goes, it would probably be an alright machine - as long as you didn't want to add an Aardvark Q10 or other pci card. My guess is that it would work fine for a Protools Mbox, 002, or midi machine. (Although windows xp sucks at midi)

  32. See his clients list? by Judg3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Boening, US Marines, US Air Force, Coke, City of Orange, etc etc.

    How much do you want to bet that those 'clients' are his in only the loosest sense - someone that works for the USAF bought a PC, so now the whole USAF is a client. Someone from boeing bought a PC, and had it delivered to their work address - all of a sudden Boeing as a whole is now a client hehe.

    --
    Looking for hardware (Currently need: Large Etch-a-Sketch) Have one? See my journal!
    1. Re:See his clients list? by Dun+Malg · · Score: 4, Funny
      How much do you want to bet that those 'clients' are his in only the loosest sense - someone that works for the USAF bought a PC, so now the whole USAF is a client.

      You're probably right. I was particularly amused by a quote in his FAQ praising his waranty service, attributed to the US Navy. Not a rep of the Navy, but the Navy itself. Must have been a good warranty for the whole Navy to say it liked it. Of course, even if we assume it was quote from a Navy person working in procurement, it's clearly bogus:

      "...I only choose Michael's Computers over any other company because it's far better to know the maker and someone you can trust and is a Christian."

      Someone representing the US Navy is about as likely to say they chose a vendor because he's christian as they are likely to say they chose a vendor because they're "trustworthy white folk, not scheming negroes or devious chinamen".

      --
      If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
  33. Good Old Tommy Boy, Panties In a Bind... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 2, Troll
    Jesus. It's just more snake oil, I'm not even sure how it constitutes "news". And as the claim of hitting 17,000+ in the 3DMark03 test, well, I think we all know about the validity of 3DMark03 (can you say NVIDIA???). I guess my point is, if Slashdot is going to run a story on every internet based scam-ola, they better lay on some staff. And if you are stupid enough to fall for the pie-in-the-sky computer deal, you deserve what you get.

    From the Tom's story: "I was thinking, WOW!!! I want this laptop!" Yeh baby! I want to fly the Space Shuttle too, think it's a possibility? And speaking of "Tom's Hardware", I thought it was the Slashdot consensus that ole' Tom was in it for the free toys. Ever consider that maybe, just maybe Michael's refused to spot Tommy a free laptop for a positive story?

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
  34. Text (no pictures) of article by NickNiel · · Score: 3, Informative

    It has been up for like 3 minutes and is already slashdotted..... Unfortunately, the pictures are pretty integral to the article....

    Too Good to Be True: Michael's Computers

    Introduction

    "I don't care what kind of computer you have now, but it CAN'T be faster than one from Michael's Computers. You may think your PC is the best in the world, but you are wrong. With a boot time of 4 seconds, a 3dMark 2003 score of 17,000+, and a .19 decibel rating - a computer from Michael's Computers cannot be beat," or so Michael's Computers' claims.

    We usually don't do investigative articles, but the claims coming from Michael's Computers were too good to ignore. A deluge of discontent expressed in emails and discussion forums further prompted us to look into a deal that seemed to good to be true.

    Evidence was gathered from numerous phone interviews, countless emails and several visits to alleged Michael's Computers business locations. To top it all off, we tracked down Mr. Gonzales and interviewed him ON VIDEO, which can be viewed/downloaded at the end of this article.

    So, is Michael J. Gonzales, the owner of Michael's Computers, misleading consumers by posting false information? Is he using proprietary logos without permission, and operating without the necessary business permits? Read on and decide for yourself.

    The Buzz About Michael's Computers

    I first heard of Michael's Computers on Feb 25, 2004 when THG received this email from Ryan Sanders.

    I was wondering if your site has ever had any news on Michaels Computers (www.michaelscomputers.com). His site has been a swirl of controversy over the last week on many a message boards due to claims of hitting 17,000+ in 3DMark03 from their desktop, and 13-15,000 for their notebooks. On top of that, they claim to have a "AMD FX51 3400+ CPU". As most of us know their are 2 different CPU's that fit that description (The Athlon64 FX-51 and then there is the Athlon64 3400+), but when contacted about that, he claimed it was in fact the correct title for the CPU, and that it was some sort of specially optimized CPU.

    I was wondering, since you are a well established and reputable hardware site, if you could look into this, or request a sample product for Review? I, along with many others, believe this site to be a joke, or hoax, and don't want to see a bunch of people buy into the big numbers of the benchmark scores. Thank you for your time.

    Sincerely,
    Ryan Sanders.

    I was thinking, "WOW!!! I want this laptop!" so I searched for more information on discussion forums and Michael's website.

    Just before this article was submitted, I received this email from Chuck Davis:

    A year ago I called them on the phone and talked directly to Michael. He totally sold me on his stuff and therefore I continued to follow his site. I ordered an am MX51 back in Nov. and waited two weeks with no computer. We were emailing each other with ?s and responses during that two week period. On a Sun. he said the MX51 would be shipped that week and he would send me a tracking #. On Fri. still nothing and I emailed him and nothing so I cancelled. Luckily I was able to use my credit card and had no problem with a refund. Since that time he has stopped accepting emails.

    Truthfully, he is a complete liar. He told so many lies about the MX51, I am so glad I was able to get out of it. Almost every claim he made was false. If you need more detail I will give them to you later. Stay away from this company.

    Discussion Boards

    I browsed a few online discussion boards such as Futuremark, Sharky Extreme, and IGN. Each time Michael's Computers has been mentioned, the boards have been flooded with responses. Some of these discussions have generated HUNDREDs of posts, like this discussion from the Sharky Extreme Forums.

    I hope you have a lot of time available to read the 470+ posts on that particular discussion.

  35. I Have One by O_D_Evans · · Score: 5, Informative

    The notebooks featured on Michael's site are actually Clevo (http://www.clevo.com.tw/) notebooks. They are sold in the US under the brand name Sager, available from (among others) pctorque.com. I have the 17" model (tricked out w/ P4 3.2, 1gig RAM, ATI 9600 128MB, DVD burner etc etc) and it *is* bloody quick, but not that quick (about 20 sec to boot XP to usable state). I got it to run 3D CAD/CAM, which it does, like a dream. The only downside of this is it also runs Q3A amazingly well too, so I never actually get any work done ;).

    1. Re:I Have One by NotAnotherReboot · · Score: 2, Informative

      Don't forget quite a few other companies seem to use Clevo too...or at least the same cases...
      If you remember Liebermann Computers (a lot of people thought they might be a hoax with some of their products), even their laptops look the same.

      Alienware also looks the same.

  36. This reminds me of... by whyde · · Score: 3, Informative

    a guy in South Florida who used to sell (back in the day) PC clone computers where it was trendy to have a "turbo" button and an LED on the front panel showing the CPU clock speed.

    Some of the cases simply had three 7-segment LEDs with jumpers to select what was "displayed" when the "turbo" button was pressed.

    This guy was selling "100 MHz" 80486 computers back when the top speed available was still 33 MHz, and it took awhile before anybody called bullshit... the amazing thing is that people were willing to believe that their computers really were that much faster, just to stroke their own ego.

  37. Whats Missing... by SomeOtherGuy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Ok. Based on this article I am pretty sure this guy is shady and not very honest. Based on the website said article is hosted on "Toms Hardware", I am pretty sure reviews hardware (and pretty well at that).

    So what is missing from this story you ask? Well you have a company that claims to have the fastest Desktop and Laptop PC known to man. And a website that reviews PC's and Laptops. What you don't have is any review in the story.

    Not one piece of hardware was obtained and/or tested. I mean if you want to call the guy a fraud (which he most likely is) is not this story 90% incomplete without actually running any benchmarks on the hardware?

    --
    (+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
  38. I have a Michael's PC at home by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 5, Interesting


    A little background: About a year and half ago I found myself needing/wanting a monster PC, P4 2.8, 5 WD drives, 4 in a raid 10 array for photography, music, video, etc. Gotta protect all those thousands of pictures. For fun I also wanted a gaming config as well, Radeon 9700 Pro, DDR 400, etc. Long story short, I wanted a top of the line Voodoo PC or Alienware, or Hypersonic, custom built for me, not built by me. But in NO WAY did I want the silly paint job or the price that came with it.

    I also do enough hardware fiddling at work that I just didn't want to deal with it at home (busy + lazy). I wanted Uber Box to show up at my door. Go ahead poke fun, I wanted it, I could get it, so I got it.

    Back then his site was much less over-the-top, he had a 7 year warranty, etc. I dealt with Michael over the phone and we came to a price which was quite agreeable for the parts and labor. I knew the pricegrabber price for every part in there, MB, sticks of memory, etc. The spec sheet he sent was right on.

    The PC is great, nice build, no widgets, no crapware, XP Pro with all MS-Phone-Home-ware removed or disabled, all those services in XP that most of us know to turn off, he had them off, etc, etc. When I had trouble with the Firewire ports, he walked me through the pin-outs on the Audigy 2, when that didn't work due to meager support from Creative, he overnighted me a firewire card. He has been outstanding as far as customer service is concerned, I'm quite happy with the "uber-box", yes it's over the top, but i like it that way and in a few years I won't be aching for a complete replacement.

    I always ignored his marketing. He's a VERY exhuberant fellow in person, and it shows! HA. He's a one-man-show. He knows how to build a nice PC, and is willing to do it, where I am not. I disapprove of the direction his marketing has taken (who wouldn't). Because of it, I've taken to sending folks here and elsewhere who want a PC built for them.

    It's sad because if you remove the marketing aspect, and of course haggle on price, he DOES do just as good a job as the Alienware / Voodoo PC folks. Actually better because I hate that tricked out case stuff, and I have yet to hear of Alienware calling or emailing you back in 5 minutes with a fix or a tracking number to a free replacement part you haven't asked for yet.

    Just goes to show that running a [Widget] business takes a lot more than being a [Widget] expert. You've got to have your marketing, order processing, legal angles, etc., all figured out as well.

    Maybe this "expose" will help him improve. I wish him luck. He's a real nice guy.

    --

    Operator, give me the number for 911!
    1. Re:I have a Michael's PC at home by 0x0d0a · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hi, Mike! Good to have you drop in!

      --
      May we never see th
    2. Re:I have a Michael's PC at home by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 2

      > Thanks for the referrals!

      My pleasure. Resellerratings.com makes it easy.
      And safer. ;]

      What a sorry sordid affair.

      --

      Operator, give me the number for 911!
  39. Where's Roger Cook when you need him? by Channard · · Score: 3, Funny

    Or whatever investigative reports the US has - because clearly standards are slipping. Not with the investigators, but with the scamsters. It used to be you could tune into Roger Cook's Cook Report or Watchdog (UK shows, folks) and the scamster could be watched, on camera, doing a runner, slamming a door in someone's face, while the interviewer tried to get answers out of them. This 'video interview'.. it's just.. unnatural.

  40. I've got one of their desktops by supergiovane · · Score: 4, Funny

    Not only it achieves a stunning 17108 in 3DMark '03, but it also came bundled with Duke Nukem Forever, running at 138fps at full details.

    --
    Signatures are for stupids.
  41. Sells to the Navy by nolife · · Score: 2, Interesting

    He claims to have sold to the Navy.
    Big F**king Deal

    I was on the Navy end of purchasing before, not from his store but many others. We often recieved complete JUNK. I am sure every command is different and this was a few years ago but...

    We would place an order for hardware. Sometimes very specific things, sometimes generic. Our purchase request would be sent to accounting or purchasing and bids from local businesses were solicited. Our local accounting office was sensitive to minority, small, business owners so a black female owned small business would have a better chance of getting some contracts then a small business owned by a white man. I am in no way shape or form predjidiced or racist, I am just describing the details of the process, I DO NOT know the specific formula they used or any percentages they followed. Many people doing bidding know the game and how to take advantage of this process with husbands and wifes and children all owning thier "own" company.

    There was one company that was minority owned, small and would undercut everyone else that bid. We always recieved complete CRAP from them, MB's that the serial ports did not work, MB's that did not fit a standard size. A ten pack of Zip disks but only 5 included. Old refurbed or completely dead Fujitsu HD's (at that time frame, Fujitsu had huge problems), remarked equipment etc.. Often times, some of the problems could be resolved but it required a lot of internal paperwork and phone calls. For the items we were shorted, the common excuse from them was that it was backordered and we should expect it later but the PO clearly stated order was complete and the count on the PO indicated everything was included. It was a complete scam and being a tech recieving the junk, it was not really worth the time to stop it.

    Again, I've been out of the Navy for a while now so things may have changed.

    --
    Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
  42. Re:hahaha You're a sucker by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 2, Informative

    OK troll this is for anyone ELSE who is intested: Pricegrabber total plus $370 but no tax.

    Right in line with all the other quotes I got from the custom build shops on resellerratings.com, only real difference was a 7 year warranty for free instead of an extended 3-year that costs extra. A sucker is someone who thinks he's getting something he's not. I got exactly what I wanted. Maybe next time YOU'LL build it for me and warranty it for less (while I go fishing)?

    --

    Operator, give me the number for 911!
  43. Re:My benchmark by JabberWokky · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Which lines up with what it sounds like to me:

    This guy sells computers and knows nothing about what he's doing. He includes logos, reads the trades and doesn't really understand the business nor the hardware he's selling.

    I doubt a scam, honestly. I'm pretty convinced this is a case of a guy who doesn't know what he's talking about spinning everything to the best that he can. A guy who thinks he's good at sales and knows computers.

    He probably sells quite a few systems, and the equally ignorant customers are pleased with what they get.

    --
    Evan

    --
    "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
  44. Brooklyn Bridge, I DO own it by johnmig · · Score: 5, Funny

    My great-grandfater actually bought the Brooklyn Bridge (OK so he paid for it). This was about 1910 or there-abouts. He was living in Little Italy with his sons and daughter. They were out making a living, by being sand-hogs (digging the subways for those of you who don't know) or tailoring/seamstressing, but Great-Grandpa wasn't working, evidently he got out of practice while still in the Old Country and never really got back into the swing of it (that's a separate story). So while wandering about the town, he comes into the proverbial huckster selling the Brooklyn Bridge. As this is a limited-time offer, he has to put the money down right away, i.e. before talking to his sons who have a better command of the language and know about this particular con. So that night, over the family dinner table, he say to his brood that their money troubles are over, he's just bought the bridge outside the window for $500. All they have to do is put up toll booth and they are set. At this point the kids pick up their jaws from the table and figure out how they can get Pop out of the City pronto. The next morning, they go to the train station, go to the end of the line, and find a place to move the family. So that's why my relatives live where they do. i figure out that I can tell this story, any gullibiity genes involved have been diluted 8-fold by know, so I'm probably OK.

    1. Re:Brooklyn Bridge, I DO own it by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 2, Funny
      Just out of curiosity, where do your relatives live now?

      --
      Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
  45. Does NOT Sell to the Navy by goldspider · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The U.S. Navy has an exclusive infrastructure contract with EDS. The program is called the Navy and Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI). I should know, I work for the Navy and have to deal with the crap EDS sold us on a daily basis.

    This Michael guy is a 100% liar.

    --
    "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
  46. Debunking THG by t_allardyce · · Score: 2, Funny

    A site calling itself "Toms Hardware Guide" is claiming that Michael's Computers is a scam. We have recieved numerous emails regarding this, so we decided to investigate. We attempted to contact this so called "Guide" however they returned all our calls and promptly emailed us back with answers to our questions. We then asked them to disproove the performance claim and they responded:

    "We would be happy to, please send us a review model"

    With people like that you just cant win, so we looked a little closer at their so called claims:

    "There is no AMD FX-51 3400+
    Currently, there are no 500GB internal desktop hard drives. The only 500 GB drives are external firewire/USB2.0 drives, such as the ones made by LaCie."

    There are two glaring mistakes here.

    There are many 500Gb drives on the market and the AMD FX-51 3400+ is a special overclocked chip. When powering up the computer, which contains no fans, no noise is made and the machine boots up within 8 seconds. And by booting we are of course referring to the commanly used term for smoking.

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  47. Years of Experience!! by Monokeros · · Score: 3, Funny

    If you go to www.michaelscomputers.com they reveal that they have increased both the speed AND stability of Windows! They did it with their "years of experience". Michael's Computers are truly heroes.

    (The claim is in the translucent slideshow. Wait for it. . .)

    --
    The Statue of Liberty is America's lawn jockey.
  48. Re:So where can I actually buy a tricked out PC? by Tweaker_Phreaker · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You're right about local stores, at least in my area, they are very delayed.

    Well what do you expect. A small computer shop doesn't want to buy $500+ parts that are just going to sit on the shelves until they've lost half their value. It's simple economics: supply only what there's demand for.

  49. Interview skills by y2imm · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I like these hard hitting interviews better when the interviewer doesn't come off sounding like a 14 year old boy shaking in his boots. That guy was laughing his ass off inside.

  50. Re:My benchmark by GoneGaryT · · Score: 2, Interesting
    That's right. I get about 5400 from an AMD 64 3200+, 1Gb Crucial RAM, AOpen FX5900, RAID0 Seagate SATA. But all these benchmark numbers are questionable. I mean, you start tuning for the benchmark, not for the overall experience.

    My 5400 benchmark is only obtained at the expense of switching off AA and AF, so the edge rendering quality is shit. Who seriously uses it like that? I use AA x4 and AF x 4 normally, the 3DMark03 benchmark comes down to about 2800, it might drop to 3fps a couple of times (Nature), but the Wings of Anger section is absolutely stunning, with rates peaking in the 300+fps range.

    So what gives? I've seen the 10000+ scores posted and think "Bet it's totally unbearable to watch".

    Obviously I just don't get it!

  51. Correcting the anonymous troll by Kommet · · Score: 2, Funny
    Fat nerd girl finds fat nerd guy on slashdot.

    It's a match made in fucking heaven. Please don't cyber-reproduce, we have enough overweight uglies in the world as it is.

    Correction: Cute, 20-year old from Wisconsin meets lord only knows what (Chalybeous has no homepage linked).

    musingmelpomene, welcome to the 20's. In my experience they tend to suck less than the teens.

  52. Not fully fradulent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I bought a machine from them. The 3d mark was correct, although it was done through driver "optimizations" that resulted in nearly useless image quality.

    Otherwise, my impression is that the chips are overclocked. Hence, the somewhat shakey description of the notebook chips.

    I have no idea what the deal is with the advertised weight on the notebooks. It is unrealistic, although the system I bought from them was a desktop, so I can't really comment. Nor can I comment on the "Windows 2004."

  53. The FAQ by Mateito · · Score: 2, Funny
    From the FAQ at Michael's Computers:

    Where many systems today are built with just the "fastest" processor, we dive deeper into incorporating the true components that allow every application you run, to run at the fastest speed possible.

    Ie.. we overclock everything until it steams, then write on our own numbers on in yellow crayon.

    I only choose Michael's Computers over any other company because it?s far better to know the maker and someone you can trust and is a Christian.

    Yep. I pray for the forgiveness of my sins on Sunday so I don't don't to hell for lying through my teeth the other 6

    --
    Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
  54. One of the editors.... by VoraciousGorak · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...posted a thread in Futuremark.com's forums about their investigation, so the "Onions" who dwell there (myself included) knew about this a while ago. Unfortunately for the poor editor, his colleague had already alienated the Onions by posting some very incendiary anti-AMD and anti-AMD-user articles in THG, and so the editor who posted there didn't receive any help at all. He actually got flamed out of the forum and the thread got deleted.

    On that note, it would take a SERIOUS n00b to believe any of the BS from Michael's Computers. All they need do is look at the FM ORB and realize the highest score EVER ACHIEVED using stock settings is just over 10000 (10008, to be exact).

    Actually, now that I read the article, I must take a chuckle at the 500GB HyperDrives. I'll take one for my X-Wing, please.

    As I said a few days ago on the FM forums... I think my bullshitometer just overloaded.

  55. Maybe it's me... by DarkHelmet · · Score: 2, Informative
    But even if I didn't know anything about computer hardware and such, here's the part that I noticed that would raise the red flag:

    There's no dynamic element to the webpage, whatsoever!!!

    There's no shoppping cart system, at all! All that's there is a "buy now" paypal link on each of the product pages.

    Maybe it's me, but using a third party processor like Paypal, Ibill, whatnot, holds against a company's legitimacy. Sadly, I'd be better off giving my credit card number over the net to another store because at least those who can process credit card orders through the web have a merchant account.

    Places that have merchant accounts are very picky about chargebacks. A company like Michael's Computers wouldn't be able to have one for very long.

    --
    /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
  56. Don't Forget by starcraftsicko · · Score: 5, Funny

    How about "Featured on Slashdot"

  57. Amazing... by jumbali · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Man, anybody think about journalism school?

    Not only was a blown away by the quality of the interview, but that solid interview took my sucked the air out o' my lungs.

    In the future, he should consider watching the evening news to see how an interview is traditionally handled or visit the local newspaper for a fast lesson in 'getting the scoop'.

    He had plenty of time to research this guy -- why not put together a list of useful questions on that fancy yellow tablet we see at the end?

    What kinds of questions would you have asked him?

  58. Re:Mod down this liar by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 2, Informative

    Oh geez alright then I hate the guy, whatever. I really don't care.

    I do care just a little about my rep here on /. though. How about googling for "Strange Ranger"? Unless you think I opened this account years ago and have been posting lies all along because I was planning to someday defend my false advertising? Get real.

    I'll check that link out at home, blocked from here/work. But I do remember the cheesy giant eagle and such. If you look at what I wrote I said it was LESS over the top, I didn't say he wasn't making claims, but yes he has gotten worse, much worse. Maybe he's not selling enough and got more desperate. I really don't know. I also said, "I always ignored his marketing", I knew he was a one man show so the marketing foibles didn't bother me. I got what I wanted out of him at a decent price. And the service HAS BEEN good. I wouldn't buy again because instead of exaggerating in his marketing (oh yeah like THAT's so rare, esp for a one-man operation) now he seems to have gone off the deep end. He's got a "sound system" he says is louder than a space shuttle launch and a cooling system that is quieter than soft human breathing on a heavily overclocked PC?? I dunno, maybe he hit his head! Haha. My main point of the post was the last few lines...

    IT takes more than a $Widget expert to run a $Widget business. Case-in-point - his site is now down and he's not selling anything at all.

    --

    Operator, give me the number for 911!
  59. actually, that 3dmark2003 score is possible... by Barbarian · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If you set the screen resolution to 640x480x16 and turn all the 3D setting to "fastest" in the ATI control panel.

    It just happens to be that the "standard" 3dmark03 test is 1024x768x32 bits. You have to run at that setting to upload your score to the Futuremark online resultbrowser, which is why the highest score there is 10008 right now.

    So you technically can get 17000 in 3dmark2003, just not at any reasonable resolution.

  60. Re:hahaha You're a sucker by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 2, Informative

    Shit I don't think he's going to be around in 7 minutes! Haha. He made his bed so to speak. Hmmm... any problems and I guess I'll deal with the OEMs, of course they're all quite reputable.

    All I did was pick out every single component I wanted and then I looked for somebody to build it for me. He even had to order the SIS 648 board because he didn't carry it. Everything I said is the damn truth though. For the same price I picked him over the competition for 7 years vs. 1 year (1 is not very customer oriented and is unacceptable for anything costing thousands), and looking back I think it was mostly because he seemed eager to build it vs. "we don't carry that yet".

    Even w/o the warranty, in the end I paid him about 370 for labor, got good support, a free 40 dollar firewire card overnighted to solve a problem, etc. I had a good experience. Maybe it's because he knew after 1 minute on the phone that couldn't fool me, or maybe it's because I told him what to build instead of asking for his "standard". Or maybe, just maybe, the guy means well and knows how to build a pc, but has A TON to learn about running and esp. marketing a business. Maybe he's a pathological liar and I got off lucky because the only thing he lied to me about was the warranty since that's the only thing he COULD lie to me about. I doubt that given the card he shipped me without me asking for it. (I wanted to make the audigy port work) But I'll never know. Other than wishing to see goodness in people, I have no reason to care at this point.

    --

    Operator, give me the number for 911!
  61. Re:Mod down this liar by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'll look in the wayback machine when I get home, but I don't remember any outright lies. At the time I remember thinking he seemed like the over-zealous salesman. I was thinking, geez if I (and most "geeks") tried to be a salesman... well I KNOW I would suck at it, same as salesmen suck at tech.

    I'm not defending him at, I'm just relating one relevant personal experience. That's it.

    --

    Operator, give me the number for 911!
  62. Er! Re:Review doesnt go far enough by LookSharp · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'd like to have seen THG actually buy one of these alleged machines...

    They asked for a review unit repeatedly, were denied in person and emails went unanswered.

    Not that I blame you for not reading the article, Tom only puts fifteen words per ad-page. There used to be a "Print this Article" link that would give it to you all at once, but I couldn't find it today.

  63. Re:Tom's is going to get sued by Jonas79 · · Score: 2, Informative

    1. FX-51 3400+ According to every review I've read, the FX-51 is speed rated at 3400+. Obviously there is no FX-51 that RUNS at 3400mhz, but does it say that in the add here (http://www.tomshardware.com/column/20040317/too_g ood_to_be_true-03.html)? Of course not, it simply says 3400+ which could be, and probably is, the speed rating.


    The A64 FX processors don't use the XX00+ marketing numbers. He has also claimed that the processor is custom made just for him. That's just BS.


    2. Currently, there are no 500GB internal desktop hard drives. Apparantly Mr. Tom needs to read the details a little more. What brand is the drive? It's a Michael's TXK drive. Hmm, sounds like Michael creates his own drive. How? Well if you use some basic logic, you can determine that this is nothing other than two 250gb drives in raid. Was that really hard to deduce Tommy? Oh, and there is nothing immoral, illegal, or fraudulent to raid two drives and then re-name them as your own. And before one of you decides to flame this post, re-read what was just said. There is nothing immoral, illegal, or frauduelnt in raiding two drives and renaming them as your own.


    Here you are corrrect. He said on his site that it was a RAID array. Nothing strange there.


    3. Boot time of 4s Man Tom, I've really lost all credibility for a site that doesn't know what a ram drive is. If you check here (http://www.tomshardware.com/column/20040317/too_g ood_to_be_true-02.html) you find the words "instant on" which again, further the truth that this is a ramdrive. There is another company which claims comparable numbers. I don't have the URL now but it was hosted in quite a few hardware reviews - and they use polished marble as their brand and place it in each desktop and laptop. They too use ramdrives in BOTH desktops and laptops. Granted, it's ungodly expensive to have ~4gb of ram setup with the proper software to utilize it as a ramdrive, and battery backup, but yes, this will provide instant on sub 4s boottime Tomster.


    You need to get your "facts" straight. A RAM drive looses all it's information when the power goes off and needs to be reloaded from a hard drive at boot. There is NO WAY to get any pc to boot in 4 seconds. At least not into Windows.


    5. .11db So he sound dampens his shit with a hell of a lot of insulation. Big deal. Next.


    I don't think you understand how low that is. He says that he uses Antec power supplies, and although they are quite, they are not silent... .11 dba would be eight times quiter than a person breathing (~10dba remember it's a logaritmic scale). That is also BS.

    6. 3DMark 17k If you can't prove he didn't score this, then don't say he can't achieve it. Granted that number seems unatainable, but who knows.

    Yeah, and pigs can fly. 17k in 3DMark03 is not possible... The record is 10008 points and that is with an extremely overclocked P4 and extremely overclocked 9800XT.
    And then there is the Windows XP 2004, claiming that the CPU has 1024 MB of cache in one email, claiming that he has won awards, claiming to have merged with vapochill...
    There really isn't much truth anywhere, and I'm sorry, but I can't feel any sympathy for this man. He's just trying to screw ppl.

  64. Re:Mod down this liar by Strange+Ranger · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I see how you could come to that conclusion. Apology accepted. See my above posts and others regarding the warranty thing. It was that, or pay more, or take one year.

    Truthfully the more I dig into these forums and hear about what he had on his site since then the more happy I am he stopped offering his run-of-the-mill PC which I was recommending to folks for about 2 months. I WAS really impressed with his service remember, and the 7 year warranty has it's charms. See above poster on why it could be a good idea. His site looked naive then, it sounds pathological now but it went down and will surely be redesigned if somebody's lawyers don't get him first.
    Hey can you analyze writing styles?
    -----Original Message----- From: Michael (Michael's SuperComputers)
    [mailto:michael@michaelscomputers.com]
    Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2002 3:44 PM

    Subject: RE: PC


    I was all ready to ship yesterday. I had everything ready to be boxed up...but I knew inside that something had to be up since the benchmark always crashed. I had played a few games on it and nothing went wrong, but that benchmark...that is my bread and butter of showing off performance...it really bothered me. I sent off emails to gigabyte...they got back to me and said they couldn't figure it out.....I sent emails to ATI...they just said download latest drivers...I had done everything...even taken your system apart previously about 3 times in one day. It was turning into a labor of headache and true to a test of how much I love what I do. What I decided to do ultimately was start testing the system...I did a light 4MHz reduction to the memory which was needed to bring the 2.8 to 2.77. I just wanted to test how the system ran at a different setting. When your system was back on, I rand the benchmark.....WOW.....frame after frame after frame of solid eye candy with no dropouts...then I decided to play the ballerburg game I installed......SHEEEWW boom..cannons firing away, Castles burning down....sure the game worked before...but it just seemed....better? Indeed! Then after I was elated that I felt more than 100% satisfied (it took a long time to reach that [Strange Ranger]...look how long it's been!)...I received a call from Paul Lee who heads up Gigabyte and he tells me that they don't officially support the 2.8 but it might be supported with a BIOS update. He said I could run it at 2.53 and I said, well, it runs perfect at 2.77 and he was dumbfounded. This is what I deal with everyday [Strange Ranger].....technology changes/advances all the time...and it's even the manufacturers that lose track of what they are doing so a lot is left up to me. I am very excited for you bottom line....all hums smooth as can be. You will love it! I will provide you with a tracking # once it is online in a few hours. Thank you again [Strange Ranger]. Your Patience and understanding has been everything to me. I even cancelled my trip to Comdex in Las Vegas which I do yearly to stay in touch with my customers including you. My business is very important to me and I am working very hard on sales letters that will be going out to clients in my area. I could type forever...I will type more later [Strange Ranger]. Thank you again, Michael
    Funny thing is, it wasn't the processor speed that was making it crash, I fiddled a ton and found it was the bus speed. The damn MB or more likely RAM didn't support a full 400MHz, so once I reduced the multiplier and now run stable at 2.98GHz but have the DDR set to 384 IIRC. Been awhile since I looked.

    If that doesn't clear my good pseudonym I give up. Read that again too, he does sound enthusiastic and friendly. Maybe I was a sucker. But he did deliver for me, the pc and good service. That's all I can say for my part.

    How could he never deliver a computer? He's just taking people's money and sending them nothing and nobody prosecutes... I mean where's the scam in that. His home address sure was easy to find.
    --

    Operator, give me the number for 911!
  65. Re:That's fine and dandy... by Krojack · · Score: 2, Funny

    sure they do.. it come with kernel 3.0.0

  66. Heh...do a view source on his website... by laddhebert · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Check out his html source..Kind of odd..references to Bush and Kerry...Kerry sucks according to him.. Code:
    <title>Michael's Computers - Worldwide - If you have to WAIT when clicked, your PC is too slow!</title>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
    <meta name="keywords" content="srt-10,kerry,bush,prescott,marina del rey,calabasas,camarillo,santa ana,huntington beach,irvine,westlake,agoura,oxnard,los angeles,orange county,anaheim,laguna niguel,aliso viejo,coto,san diego,texas,california,washington,nevada,ohio,okla homa,montana,new york,virginia,florida,mexico,japan,china,india,spa in,ireland,london,england,kingdom,switzerland,ariz ona,lousiana,arkansas,alaska,navy,marines,4.0,4.44 ,5.0,air force,best service,army,mx8,christ,jesus,bless,9800,geforcefx ,3dmark,madonion,futuremark,ben curtis,barton,radeon,ati,cad,math,geforce,cindy,ma rgolis,nforce,nvidia,engineers,workstations,server s,nicest,monitors,scanners,printers,cases,cool,vap or,kryotech,pimco,best,fastest,fast,computers,mich ael's,computer,dell,gateway,compaq,hp,apple,micro, alienware,falcon,gamers,business,education,graphic s,supercomputers,ultra,high,performance,amd,athlon 64,intel,cyrix,thunderbird,athlon,mustang,corvette ,sledgehammer,os,xp,pentium,pro,michaels,via,Penti umIII,Pentium3,PentiumIV,Pentium4,Itanium,rugged,r uggedized,world,17 Laptop,widescreen,MX7,357MX,athlon 64,best built">

    <meta name="description" content="SRT-10 8 Year Warranty, Best Service and Top Quality components. Kerry Sucks and Bush Rules. Prescott Athlon 64 Available.MX8 and MX5 Perform Better, Look Better and Sound Better. 357MX">

    </head>

    -L

    --
    Don't Panic.