All Singing, All Dancing (Tiny Computers)

Member Name: lynn_bex

Product:	Tiny Computers
Date:	16/09/01 (975 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent Package, Good Workhorse, Lots of Add-Ons Included

Disadvantages: Rotten Service, Premium Rate Advice Lines

DEFINITELY TIME FOR A NEW COMPUTER…
ON WITH THE NEW…
BUT,
Having a long history of opting for natural obsolescence whenever I’m faced with the selection of electrical equipment, I decided that this purchase should be the best CURRENT all-singing-all-dancing computer available at a reasonable price.

Knowing next to nothing about computers, (except that Him Indoors knows even less and must not be allowed to sway the decision in any way), I decided that we wanted a minimum of:-

Lots of MbRams (128 sounded about right) ~ CD Re-writer ~ DVD ~ Printer ~ Scanner ~ Camera ~ Gamepad.

With a bit of luck such a machine would not be totally obsolete for at least a couple of years.

We made this purchase in December 2000, when the offers available from Tiny were way better than those of its competitors.

The computer package we decided upon provided everything on my check-list, plus something called a Subwoofer and Speakers… I eventually identified a box-like object which seems to be the Subwoofer, but still don’t know what this item of equipment actually does that cannot be done by speakers alone, -save startle me with occasional loud and unexpected noises (is this its purpose, I wonder?)

There is a 17" monitor, (which can serve as a TV) and the package also included a headset (I have not plugged this in, for fear of someone speaking to me or, worse still, having to speak back!) and lots of CDs, as well as one or two items I have yet to identify but obviously serve no essential purpose so remain in their boxes.

Actually, I haven’t used the scanner either. Or the camera. – But it’s nice to know I’ve got them and I’m sure somebody will want to scan or photograph something one day…

Including VAT the computer package was priced at £1,331.32, and full payment could be deferred for an interest-free
nine months. (There was an alternative of 39 monthly instalments commencing after the nine-month period, whereby you would pay £68.80 per month, making a total balance payable of £2,683.20).

Tiny give a basic “Back To Base Warranty” for the first year of ownership, whereby they will collect the computer and return it to you following repair. Alternatively, you can elect to pay extra for “On Site” repairs.

Clearly, my Tiny salesman needed his commission since he pressed me quite forcefully to take out a minimum of the “First Year On-Site Warranty” (I think this was in the region of £120.00). The more forceful he became the less inclined I was to believe his horror stories OF WHAT COULD GO WRONG and how much I needed to take advantage of his Company’s kind offer to repair my computer on site following the inevitable breakdown….

In the end I told the salesman that I was prepared to trust only Tiny’s already provided “One Year’s Back to Base Warranty” because, if their computers were as likely to break down as he would have me believe, why on earth would I want to trust them for repairs after the initial warranty ran out?

And so it came to pass, FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE, I MADE THE RIGHT DECISION.

Because, over the recent August Bank Holiday Weekend, there was an almighty crash of thunder and flash of lightning while Him Indoors and I were down the road.

Having always followed the instructions to unplug the computer when away from home, I had not realised that this meant WHEN AWAY FROM HOME FOR HALF AN HOUR. – Neither had I realised, despite always having unplugged during storms, that it was equally important to unplug even when storms are NOT forecast!!!

Following our return home, I discovered that the telephone was dead and assumed that the line was down. It was some time later that decided to isolate the cause and it became
apparent that the fault was with the computer and/or modem, rather than the telephone line.

Tiny’s Manual is EXCELLENT and I cannot fault it in any way. So, reading through and following the instructions it seemed pretty obvious, even to a Technical-Know-Nothing like me, that the modem had been damaged by the storm.

It was also pretty obvious that such an “Act of God” would not be covered by the warranty, but I foolishly thought that Tiny might be able to arrange a repair, which I could pay for… (Ha, ha. Silly me.)

Tiny’s “Under Warranty” Help Lines (whether or not you have paid extra for On-Site Repairs) are charged at Standard National Rate but are only available between 9.00am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. – I am never home between these hours.

The alternative Help Line is a Premium Rate number (60p per minute), available 8.00am to 9.00pm Monday to Saturday, and 9.00am to 5.30pm Sunday.

I do not normally telephone Premium Rate numbers, EVER, and was most reluctant to do so on this occasion so two or three days’ foot dragging ensued.

Meanwhile, my eyes were continually drawn to the advertising card that had been put through our door some months back and pinned to the notice board:

“PC Repairs by Microsoft Certified Technician. £15.00 per hour, No Fix. No Fee! Call Dave…” (I have seen courses advertised to “Become a Microsoft Certified Technician etc, etc” and this probably accounts for Dave’s training. All the same, he certainly knows more than me, and it’s a local telephone number, definitely not Premium Rated…) More foot dragging.

Eventually, I decided to bite the bullet and telephone Tiny’s Premium Rate number whilst wondering how many 60-penn’oth I would need…

The opening spiel was astonishing and I would guess that it cost 15p of the Premium R
ate charge, going something like “Good afternoon, this is Alastair at the Tiny Help Desk….. ….this call is being charged at 60p per minute and it should not last longer than fifteen minutes… Please give me your customer reference number… blah, blah…” (“Flipping heck,” I was not quite thinking, “this will cost me £9.00 if I’m not careful…”)

Having given my name, rank and reference number and been validated, I thought I’d better speak as quickly and clearly as possible:-

“I’m fairly sure that lightning has destroyed my modem, can you please advise me on this?”

Alastair asked me one or two questions and then, THE BIG ONE, apparently, “Do you telephone lines go dead when you plug in the line from the computer modem?” (This seems to be the clincher and is a sure sign that the modem has been affected by lightning)

“I’m afraid that is not covered by the warranty,” said Alastair.

I told him that I realised that, and had supposed it to be the case all along, but could he nonetheless advise what I should do now…

“You go to the shop and buy a modem, which will cost you about £20.00 - £40.00,” said Alastair, “and then you fit it yourself….”

“Ha, ha, ha, Alastair,” I chortled merrily, “I will not be able to fix a modem. I would not even know how and where to look for a modem. I had better find a man to fix the modem”.

Alastair had touching but misplaced faith in my capabilities but I bade him a swift farewell, hoping that the totally useless call had not lasted longer than five minutes (£3.00, flaming hell).

Dave was next, and he got me a modem and fitted it, for a total charge of £40.00. (I like Dave, who is going to be my Computer Repair Man from this time on)

So, my advice and recommendations
are as follows:

The computer itself has performed well so I would recommend Tiny for a good machine at an excellent price. – Personally, I took advantage of their deferred payment scheme and then paid in full prior to the expiration of the “interest free nine-month period”.

Any minor faults have been easily corrected by the technically inept lynn_bex, who has been able to follow the exceptionally clear and fully illustrated Tiny Instruction Manual.

Under no circumstances should you take out the extended warranty. If a major fault develops during the first year, you will have the option of the “Back to Base/Collect and Return Warranty”.

Minor technical faults can be repaired by someone like “Dave” for an hourly rate of £15.00 (his only failing, if it was one, was in saving me £20.00 by sending away for a cheaper version of the Tiny modem – which meant I was off line for an extra week. I could have paid more and insisted upon a same day repair)

I would be spitting tacks, had I taken out Tiny’s warranty for upwards of £100.00, and then found that I was on my own when it came to repair of the lightning damaged modem.

One final word of advice… NEVER, EVER LEAVE YOUR MODEM’S TELEPHONE CONNECTION PLUGGED IN WHEN YOU GO OUT.

We only popped out for half-an-hour, when no storms had been forecast, and came home to find the modem destroyed. – I dare say we were lucky that the computer itself was unaffected. – I now unplug EVERYTHING (telephone and electrics) when I leave the computer and go out… (And when I go to bed!)

Meanwhile… We still have our old computer, which served us well for several trouble-free years… I’m now wondering how much Dave would charge to install a Modem and CD-R in the old machine… THEN WE COULD HAVE A SPARE COMPUTER (and even less room to swing a cat, should anybod
y decide to do so…) Where’s Dave’s number, again…

Summary: