I had been considering buying a notebook from Alienware, so I naively called their sales people hoping for some tech specs that were not posted on the site....
First, their front-line sales force has been outsourced to Costa Rica. India is one thing; the level of english may occasionally be difficult to understand, but the techs/(salespeople) nonetheless tend to be quite intelligent and knowledgable.
I wanted to know if the unnamed, but (AC'97 compliant) sound card would work under Linux. *Never* mention the L-word when speaking to tech-support! I discovered that the chip was made by Realtek, and asked for a model number. I was told that it was a trade secret. I pointed out that I could purchase a notebook, crack it open, (without violating the warranty), and read the bloody model number off the chip. Trade secret explanation reiterated by tech...
I called back later, (hope springs eternal), and got another salesperson. I tried to figure out exactly how knowledgable this guy was, so I asked if the laptop supported a certain protocol:
Me: Is the notebook fully compliant with the DVDA protocol?
Sales: (Pause) Yes, completely.
Me: Just version 1? Or version 2 also?
Sales: (Longer pause) Compliant with version 2, yes.
Me: (Click)
When I have the *sales* people, the ones trying to *sell* me the product, informing me that their notebook is capable of accomodating 4 cocks at once, I take my business elsewhere.
Slashdot Mirror
I had been considering buying a notebook from Alienware, so I naively called their sales people hoping for some tech specs that were not posted on the site....
First, their front-line sales force has been outsourced to Costa Rica. India is one thing; the level of english may occasionally be difficult to understand, but the techs/(salespeople) nonetheless tend to be quite intelligent and knowledgable.
I wanted to know if the unnamed, but (AC'97 compliant) sound card would work under Linux. *Never* mention the L-word when speaking to tech-support! I discovered that the chip was made by Realtek, and asked for a model number. I was told that it was a trade secret. I pointed out that I could purchase a notebook, crack it open, (without violating the warranty), and read the bloody model number off the chip. Trade secret explanation reiterated by tech...
I called back later, (hope springs eternal), and got another salesperson. I tried to figure out exactly how knowledgable this guy was, so I asked if the laptop supported a certain protocol:
Me: Is the notebook fully compliant with the DVDA protocol?
Sales: (Pause) Yes, completely.
Me: Just version 1? Or version 2 also?
Sales: (Longer pause) Compliant with version 2, yes.
Me: (Click)
When I have the *sales* people, the ones trying to *sell* me the product, informing me that their notebook is capable of accomodating 4 cocks at once, I take my business elsewhere.