[ale] Local stores was:OT: Ginstar

Benjamin Scherrey scherrey at proteus-tech.com
Wed Nov 6 14:10:50 EST 2002


I recently had need to get a wireless internet hookup and wanted a solution that would work well 
with linux and windows. I called many places advertised in the "Computer User" mag (including 
Ginstar) and was very disappointed in the response I got from people when asking some pretty 
basic technical questions. Basically I was wanting a few recommendations based on experience 
that one would imagine local technicians who do this every day might have. This is, after all, the 
concept of support that supposedly justifies paying more at a local shop rather than mail ordering 
from the cheapest place online. Ginstar wouldn't give me the time of day, neither would several 
other stores. One place (First Computer in L'ville, which I've shopped at before) at least admitted 
that he just didn't have experience with and didn't stock what I was needing but tried to give me 
suggestions and seemed genuinely interested in helping. Finally Prime computer (Norcross) couldn't 
tell me exactly what I needed to know but was willing to approach the problem in a manner clearly 
intended to find the answer. He opened a few PCMCIA boxes and read me the device info so I 
could search the web. He waited on the phone while I looked up web pages and generally 
answered other small questions and made suggestions as to what I should try. Satisfied that we had 
reached a likely-to-be successful approach I drove down there and bought the equipment. Back 
home I was online under Windows XP and Linux in under fifteen minutes. Well worth the effort on 
both of our parts IMHO and my next box or equipment will certainly be from them.

	later,

		Ben Scherrey

PS: I never ship at CompUSA.

11/6/2002 1:20:39 PM, Transam <transam at verysecurelinux.com> wrote:

>On Tue, Nov 05, 2002 at 10:30:15AM -0500, cfowler wrote:
>> Guys, 
>
>> It seems that we are having a rahs of problems with Ginstar PC power
>> supplies dying too early in their life.  Before the one-yeat warranty is
>> up.  I've purchased 6 machines myself and we have others.  Anyone else
>> here having a run of bad luck like this?
>
>Yes, I gave up on Ginstar after two systems I bought were defective in
>that their power lights did not work because their wires were improperly
>connected to the connector that plugged into the Motherboard.  I had to
>waste an hour fixing it.
>
>This was after the Rackmount system I ordered from them failed my
>specification to support two PCI cards.  After their hardware fools
>just swapped components hoping that it would work, I was stuck with
>an expensive system that I've not yet sold.  (It would make a fine
>web/mail server or Firewall with a 4-port NIC that I could supply.)
>
>I also spent so much time there standing around waiting to be taken
>care of that it just wasn't worth my time.
>
>> Thanks,
>> Chris
>
>Bob Toxen
>transam at verysecurelinux.com            [Bob's ALE Bulk email]
>bob at verysecurelinux.com                [Please use for email to me]
>http://www.verysecurelinux.com         [Network&Linux/Unix security consulting]
>
>My book:"Real World Linux Security, 2nd Ed.", published 10/24/2002
>ISBN: 0130464562:
>
>     http://www.realworldlinuxsecurity.com/
>
>Fly-By-Day Consulting, Inc.      "Don't go with a fly-by-night outfit!"
>Quality Linux & UNIX security and SysAdmin & software consulting since 1990.
>
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