Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
I have read through this thread a couple of times and still do not fully
follow either argument, so forgive me if I assume too much and make any
rather crass or naive comments.
I have only been aware of community, newsgroups, discussion, forums etc for
about 6 months. I went into them at work cos I had no net access at home,
well dialup(slow and kept getting hit by all sorts of rubbish so stopped).
I had my current system built for me to my spec and bought my own OEM WINXP
OS.
Prior to this I had to use help lines, cust service, faqs, knowledge basis
etc to sort problems. AlI I found had limits.
I have joined just about every form of discus, news, community, newsread
group to cover all parts of my system.
Hear comes that stupid piece.
With ref to Microsoft, they have support, faq etc.
Is it right to assume they setup these microsoft communities and newsgroups
as well?
If so, are not the Most Valued Players, and other most knowledgeable
persons,(I undersatnd are not paid to give advice, of whom I have the
highest regard, believe me, who give their time and brains, to help lame
ducks like me sort my comp probs), helping to perpetuate Bill'y existance.
Lets face it, my experience of help from their web site, apart from
downloads, has been useful once. I no longer go there first, but straight
here. What would MS do to maintain a good solid support.
For my sake and others, do not stop helping us, please.
Rgds
Antioch
'You can't educate pork'
"Mike Hall (MS-MVP)" <mike.hall.mail@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:uHZGkRXsFHA.2996@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> Stan
>
> How can that be?.. if Gateway and Dell can supply decent media that
> enables the user to properly deal with problems other than having to do a
> 'return to factory', why can't HP and the others?.. it's simple enough..
> they have no desire to do that.. are you suggesting that Microsoft has
> deferent rules for different manufacturers and vendors?..
>
> The terms of OEM are the same for all.. how some companies, large or
> small, interpret them is down to what kind of real and decent service that
> each company wants to give its customers..
>
> I think that HP and others consider their customers to be ill-informed and
> stupid at the time of purchase, and that the situation will not improve by
> the time that the customer has a problem.. in this way, it is easier to
> offer support by statements not unlike 'press F12, sit back and your
> problems will be over' rather than do a proper support job in the first
> place..
>
>
> --
> Mike Hall
> MVP - Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "Stan Brown" <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1d84e17c6bafb20c9896e7@news.individual.net...
>> On Sun, 4 Sep 2005 10:33:41 -0400 in
>> microsoft.public.windowsxp.general, Mike Hall (MS-MVP) favored us
>> with...
>>> Sorry Stan, but I don't agree.. if the manufacturers and vendors had
>>> anything about them at all, they would do better for their customers..
>>> Gateway and Dell have done, so why not the others.. it all comes down to
>>> profits and tying the customer to their own lousy support..
>>
>> We agree on that last clause -- the vendors are not blameless in this
>> either.
>>
>> But it's a fact, deny it as you like, that the vendors don't have the
>> bargaining power to stand up to Microsoft. Microsoft's market share
>> of operating systems is so overwhelming that any hardware vendor in
>> the mainstream market has no choice but to dance to Microsoft's tune.
>>
>> As it is Microsoft that has the lion's share of the power, it is
>> Microsoft that has the lion's share of the blame.
>>
>> --
>> Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
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