[clug] Fwd: Ubuntu compatible laptop

[Conrad Canterford]

On Tue, 2010-09-28 at 10:16 +1000, steve jenkin wrote:
> Warren Gardner wrote on 27/09/10 8:14 PM:
> > Well I was on the phone to India to inquire about Dell Vostro.
> <snip bad stuff>
> > That story changed a little over the length of the phone call. By the end of
> > the conversation: I would be able to dual boot but if any driver
> > configurations etc are changed, I void the warranty.
> Do we have anybody on-list with real legal knowledge, or with access to
> someone who has?? Or has somebody ever asked this question of the ACCC
> or a Fair-Trade commission?

There are statutory warranties, and a lot of the noise over warranties
is FUD. For example, last I looked, there is actually no time limit on
the statutory warranties. I don't work in this area, though, so my
knowledge is both 5 years out of date and also tarnished by 5 years
worth of rustiness.
If Warren has written correspondence, he could try sending it to the
ACCC to have a look at, but don't expect a speedy response. Also read:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml?itemId=3863&Go.x=14&Go.y=11
which may have additional info (I didn't dig, sorry).

Most people want their <insert technical componentry here> to be fixed
quickly and painlessly if it does broke. The FUD serves to discourage
people from doing stuff that the technical support people don't want to
deal with, and also helps remove some potential warranty claims - both
significant cost savers for the manufacturer. Not that I'm a cynic or
anything.

Conrad.