Don Hughes The Extended Warranty: Good Buy or Bad Buy? As a consultant, numerous times clients who are purchasing a new computer, laptop or other electronic items ask me, "Do we need an extended warranty?" William Shakespeare says it best in his play, Hamlet: To be, or not To be--that is the question. When buying an extended warrantee you have to ask your self the same question, Do I, or Do I not, need the warrantee. Most new electronic items come with some sort of warranty and enough small print legal jargon in the warranty agreement to bamboozle a mass of Philadelphia lawyers. So how does the poor consumer make the decision in a few minutes if the extended warranty is worth buying? A few years ago buying an extended warranty used to be a good deal. The extra coverage eased the mind of a customer to know that the after the first year when the manufactures warranty expired, the product would be fully protected for an additional year or more. The added plus was no extra cost to the customer to fix the product. In some cases, a defective computer/laptop or appliance would be replaced free of charge. In today's world, companies want to sell you a warranty on everything you buy, even small batteries-yes, you can buy an extended warranty on a battery. When you are buying new computers/electronics, ask the sales clerk, EXACTLY what does the warranty does cover or not cover should service be required. In addition, inquire if you will be charged for cleaning your laptop or PC fans. Silly as this sounds, back in 2005 I purchased a new Toshiba Laptop from a big box store and a two year extended warranty. In the last year of the extended warranty the cooling fan failed and needed replacement, so I took it back to the store. The laptop was sent to their 'service center' and a couple of days later I received a phone call from the store requesting that I come in to the store and pay an additional $80.00 for cleaning the CPU & cooling fan before they would fix the laptop. Since I have an extensive service background and work as a consultant, and keep the vent and fan cleaned with canned air, I demanded to talk to their service centre manager. I was shocked to find out they charged in addition to the client having an extended warranty an extra $80.00 for a laptop and $40.00 for a desk PC "cleaning." As you can guess, the extra charges were never mentioned when I purchased the warranty, nor in fact listed in the small print in the warrantee application. After my chat with the service centre manager, my Toshiba laptop was repaired and returned to the store, where I picked it up. However, the extra $80.00 charge did not apply, as the repair order stated, "no cleaning required, thus no charge." Should you have an extended warrantee, faced with a "special extra charge" for repairs that were not explained when you purchased the warranty, talk to the store manager, and if necessary contact their head office. Do extended warranties work? In my extended warranty repair experience of the Toshiba laptop repair the answer is Yes and NO. Yes, the big box store did fix the laptop, as I expected because we had the extended warranty and I did not pay a cent. Was I a satisfied customer? NO, I had expected no problems and was very upset when they called to tell me I had to pay the eighty dollars, "Before" they would fix the laptop—when I dropped off the laptop to their service desk not one word was spoken about a such cleaning charge. As electronic goods, prices have dropped to an all time low for the end consumer, and most have a one-year warranty, buying an extended warranty for one or two years is not worth the extra cost. In addition, buyer beware as contained within the extended warrantee are a host repairs not covered. Do not assume your laptop or PC will be totally repaired free even with the extended warranty. Remember before you buy an extended warranty ask what exactly what parts are covered or not covered in the event of a repair. Most extended warranties do not cover LCD screens, for breakage, cracking nor bad pixels. With today’s lower cost for laptops and desktop PC's buying an extended warranty policy that limits repair coverage is not a good idea and is a waste of your hard-earned money. Don Hughes

Dave Bell Change Your Baby's Diaper Often to Prevent ROT Your new web site is your new baby and if you don't maintain it regularly it will (like any newborn) become impossible to keep fresh and clean. Your readers will just turn away from it. Think of pages in a web site as diapers on a baby. If you don't clean them up regularly they become filled with ROT, (Redundant, Outdated and Trivial information), and just like a baby, it always happens when you're not paying attention. Remember when you brought home your newborn baby and you were so proud to show it off to all the neighbours? Then it became cranky, irritable and started to smell. The neighbours politely turned their heads away. They'll do the same with your web site, only they won't come back. No one likes changing diapers , but it has to be done. If not, ROT sets in and then it becomes a major problem down the road. I remember the old axiom my mother had, "A stitch in time saves nine" and what the auto mechanic in the TV commercial would say, "You can pay me now or pay me later", and later always meant a lot more money. Review your web site regularly and clean out the ROT. Set a date once a month to review your web site. You'll be surprised what little 'gems' of ROT you'll find. Left unchecked, down the road, it will become a major undertaking to clean up the mess. And remember, don't feed your web site a lot of 'corn'. We've all seen what it looks like when that comes out the other end! DESIGNS International have monthly maintenance programs designed to stop ROT. A few dollars a month can save you hundreds down the road and more important, save you lost readership. A monthly maintenance program also includes updating your monthly newsletter with the information you provide us. Dave Bell Contact the Editor   What U Said Comments and feedback on our News & Views articles are always welcomed and will be published here. Please address your comments to the writers. "Love your site...its informative.. and funny, your picture looks really good too." Annette M., London "...Enjoyed the news letter. You and Dave are doing a really nice job on it." Dorothy, Mich. "When I did some desktop publishing (oh, those were the days I had some time to myself!) I used the Serif products, so was pleased to see this last review....glad to see they are still around and on track ..... thanks!!!" Marilyn A., Rolla, Missouri. ...we also enjoyed your web magazine (I guess that is what you call it!). It must take a lot of preparation, but it is worthwhile. Jim & Elfriede R Don, your site is a nice easy on the eyes with a no BS news page. Mickey, Windsor, ON Thought the news letter was very good. Tom V, Whitby Hey Don...Just read the Christmas review and it was great info! As I know, from personal experience, thieves are everywhere including the internet! It's nice to get the warnings and I hope people pay attention. Keep up the great work! Cyndie, Barrie, ON. I like the new look of you and Dave's newsletter. Also the information is very helpful. Dorothy, MI. Hello Don, I just saw the new site. It looks great. Congratulations! All the best, Colleen T Thanks for the heads-up, Don. The site looks great and I look forward to frequently visiting it! Dennis H COOL Web Site Annette M Hi there Don! Fascinating website! You must have spent days on this! I liked the little moving red object! Good luck with your reviews! Regards, Joan G Hi Don: Good looking newsletter and I liked your article. Murray A Hey, Don, now I see you're a writer as well as a historian and a great computer guy. FYI, I shop at Tuckey's too and have for years because of exactly what you say. Many thanks. Alf That was an excellent article. Keep up the good work. Did you do this all by yourself or was there help from the new (kittens) office staff? Fred D Good Morning Don and Dave, We enjoyed reading your articles in the new Great Canadian Reviews. "Mom and Pop" service...that is why we have referred our friends and neighbours to you to repair and/or service their computers, because of the personal, friendly service you always give. Judy and Armin G Excellent article Don. I really enjoyed it. Dave Bates I ENJOYED THESE REVIEWS DON, I DO NOT REGANIZE THE GOOD LOOKING GUY NAMED DON HUGHS AT THE LETTER HEAD....... REGARDS, JACK