I Feel So Ripped Off MY SCHOOL RIPPED ME OFF BIG TIME

[A200 0]

Hello allOK OK I know I rant here often, but this time I am seriously PISSED OFF.How it all began:In March 2007, my school started a school laptop program, where students could purchase laptops from DELL through school, to use during classes and at home.So we decided to get one, and they cost AU$2,000.I got the laptop, was quite happy, and didn't bother to actually check what came with it (like the specs or anything) because at the time, I had no idea what any of the computer jargon meant. So today I downloaded Adobe Photoshop Trial (to test it out) and it takes up 700MB. That was OK with me, as I thought it had heaps of space on it.WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG!I instead got an error during installation that I had no diskspace, so I thought "WTF!!!!!" as it was supposed to have heaps of space... so I looked in My Computer and nearly died of shock when I saw how little space it has.My laptop has 2 hard drives- one is C, which has all the programs installed (and was the one I was going to install photoshop on) and the other is D, which is used for Program Files.The space?C: 29.3GB (0 bytes left)D: 16.8GB (4.54GB left) :( :D :( :( :angry: :angry: :angry: Now that I think about it, we got a *BLEEP* deal.March 2007 isnt that long ago, and technology in computers DEFINITELY hasn't changed a whole deal... so 29GB is *BLEEP*.. real *BLEEP*, when you see that the base amount on a computer is 100GB MINIMUM.It has XP, MX2004 and this program called AVG (which FYI is freeware). So I can only assume that the whole thing was a money making con- get unsuspecting people to buy a *BLEEP* product for a lot of money. In todays terms, this laptop is probably only worth $500AU, I am very sure nothing like this is ever sold ANYWHERE.At the time I assume it was probably worth $1,200, no? So thats a nice $800 profit for school, per person who did it. And probably to cover it up, they no longer do the program. I wonder why... So what am I left to do? I have no space, and I can't download any programs or anything.The only thing I can probably do is buy a proper PC, and only use this laptop for classes... This was supposed to last a long time, and I really shouldn't have to pay more just so I can use it.What do you think?

[sonesay 7]

yeah that sounds like a rotten deal man. for that much dollars you should of got a decent laptop with like 80gb hdd atleast. If you have money I would suggest you buy a 300gb hdd or something they are still kinda top of the range but middle range ones like 200gb should be reasonable in price like 200 dollars maybe?Atleast you know what to look for now when buying computers. I'm sure most of us have brough computers first time without knowing much so dont kick your self over it too much.my laptop is only 80 gb and i know i will upgrade soon just waiting for hdd to drop more and also memory too. its getting pretty cheap like 40 dollars for 1gb memory but I'll wait till it drops abit more.

[A200 0]

I did a search to find out why on earth so much space had been used up, and it turned out that there was 11GB worth of temporary hidden files that were taking up a lot of space!!!I'll transfer those files to the other computer to see if this one works correctly without them :oAt least I am not alone in making bad decisions :DThanksA200

[Saint_Michael 3]

OH yeah you definitely got ripped off especially for that price as you should have gotten a lot more then 50GB of hard drive space. OF course instead of buying the proper PC I would recommend upgrade it, just remember it will cost a lot more to upgrade, but it will be somewhat cheaper to buy a new computer. of course I give you a good example of that, my Dell XP cost me $3k and it has been worth the price tag, but after awhile and things started building up I had to pick and choose what to delete, and luckily for me I had bought an external hard drive to move hundreds of files over for back up and what not. I plan ot upgrade my laptop to a 200GB hard drive and 2 gigs of ram in a few months and right now I be paying about $200 for those two things, and so hopefully the prices drop just enough that I can turn my 60GB into a 200GB and I won't have to worry about buying another laptop for a long time.

[tricky77puzzle 0]

I have a 500-GB drive here for $200. You got pwned.I think you should return it and (well, you can't actually sue them, but...) well, give them a bad rep or something.

[baphometslayer 0]

And this ladies and gentlemen, is why the tech industry is booming!I can't wait until I get my A+ and Networking certification. I'm going to be BANKING!

[Bluebear 0]

Wow, you got ripped of. Did you actually check how much space it had before you bought it? I am quite surprised, because my brother did the same thing, and I think he payed something like you. He is really happy, a great deal! He has lots of stuff stored on his computer, programs installed and much more. I am sure that I'll be doing the same as you next school year, but I guess I... will try to buy safer if you know what I mean.But if you didn't check what you got in this computer-package, then it is a bit your fault to. But yes, you are ripped of and you should have gotten a much better computer for that price.

[sonesay 7]

now a days I guess people should be more aware of buying computers and what to look for since its more of a common thing. But back 10 years back or more when I was a kid I didnt know anything about computers and neither did my dad. One of my friends had a amiga 2000? other friend had comodore 64 and had some cool games on it so I begged my dad for one of my own. He paided 2000 for it and I ened up only using it for games and not learning anything. That was a waste of money really but we didnt know anything about computers. I think the computer industry makes a killing off people who dont know much about computers. I've seen techies charge 80+ dollars an hour for service. I got a network installation one time when i was a noob and it costed abit. Now I know and I'll do it myself. When people ask my to fix their computer I only take what they offer (Friends friends). I feel so bad charging them too much when I know the job is not that difficult. It just takes a long time to install/reinstall/remove viruses.

[jopak134 0]

school programs are a way of making money for the school they just don't tell you because if they do it will all look like a big business corporation and they don't want that. they are there to educate young people. this is what i call evil tactics. what is the best people to sell a product your selling? young gullible people with money and a school program is the best way to it.some friends of mine has been scammed by our school this way but im too smart for that but people outside of school are much worse if they have the chance, they'll bite you head off metaphorically speaking

[dre 0]

Sorry, but it's your fault you didn't search around and try to find better deals. As I see it, it was fair game, they post the price, you liked it, you bought it, they don't have to tell you there's better deals it's your responsibility to find out.

[A200 0]

Well suppose there were like 11GB of temporary files, so it isn't so bad I deleted them all and it works fast now.But I do feel so bad for not researching further to get something really good, in the future I will do that. But at least this is a Dell and it works (their support is wonderful!).

Edited February 12, 2008 by A200 (see edit history)

[pencke 0]

I have a laptop with only 40gbs Hard disk drive so I purchased an external HDD that is 160gb large. It plugs into the USB port with no extra power required. It works great when I am plugged into AC, But when i run on batteries I unplug it when its not required. It does not have aon/off switch. My primary use is to offload any downloads that are two weeksor older. My Art library of graphics are there so i can performa quick search when I need a graphic. All of my pics are therefor instant searching using keywordsThat allows me to continue to use the laptop for another year!

[Jude 0]

Really, you are not the only person who face this type of problem sometimes. First, I thought you're a Nigerian because a lot of things happen here like that. Anyway, not to worry, you can always add to the memory of RAM. That should solve the problem, and it doesn't take much money to do.

[sheepdog 10]

Sorry you got so royally screwed. Leave it to the school system to find ways to ripp you off. I guess it's not enough to screw over the American tax payers with all their taxes, they have to nail the students too. What a shame!Seems like every time the government wants more taxes from us they say it's for the schools, it'f for our children, and our children are our future........and the dumb tax payers fall for it, and next thing you know our education system is worse than it was before, and they are crying for more money. Wonder when people are going to catch on that you can't fix everything by throwing money at it?