July 02, 2010

Math is hard...

So hard it causes the capacitors on Dell computers to fail:

Dell, along with many other manufacturers of PCs, used capacitors produced by Nichicon, a Japanese electronics giant. According to court documents [PDF] in the suit against Dell brought by a major customer, Nichicon sold faulty capacitors, a key motherboard component, that leaked and failed with alarming regularity -- and Dell knew it.

...

Dell didn't make those capacitors, but once the company knew they were faulty, it obviously had a duty to its customers to recall the affected machines. It didn't. Instead it covered up the problems, relying on ridiculous excuses and blaming its customers.

According to the Times, when the University of Texas complained that its Dell PCs were failing, the company said the school's math department had pushed them too hard, making them solve difficult calculations.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that what computers are supposed to do? I work in the ITE industry (or worked actually until I find another ITE job) and I remember the Taiwanese capacitor fiasco very well. It wasn't just Dell that was affected, but most companies fessed up to it immediately.

If the title seems familiar that's because it is


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