8 ms·

If anyone has ever owned an HP laptop of any description recently, they will know not to go near this, not even with a 20 foot long stick. Absolutely shoddy ma

by meaty 14y ago

If anyone has ever owned an HP laptop of any description recently, they will know not to go near this, not even with a 20 foot long stick. Absolutely shoddy machines from end to end.

patrickaljord 14y ago
Aren't all hardware made at Foxconn and similar anyway? I've seen people having lots of issues with their macs or lenovo too while others seems to be doing just fine with their hp and vice versa. It's hard to know which hardware is better than others given that they're all made at the same places (for the most part) and all we tend to have are personal anecdotal evidences.
- meaty 14y ago
  The same factories will produce different quality items depending on the design and how much they get paid. Not an anecdote for once... One of our clients is a large insurer who have just dumped HP due to reliability problems. They have approximately 3000 laptops in the field. The were all HP business line (EliteBook and ProBook) Their failure rate in a year was nearly 25% for HP kit. Moving to Lenovo, they've got a 4% failure rate now. Now for anecdotes: I've owned two HP workstations (one PA-RISC and one Intel) and both blew up spectacularly, one HP laptop (about 10 years ago - an OmniBook) and it blew up. They stick dynamite in the damn things.
  - brudgers 14y ago
    Contrary anecdote. I have an HP laptop from 2004 I still use for some tasks. I have an HP11c I use almost daily. None of which proves the new device is any good.
    - veemjeem 14y ago
      I don't think yours is contrary; you're probably a data point in the other 75% that didn't fail. I don't think a single data point could ever be contrary to anything since it would never represent an aggregate. Since I have a dead HP notebook, I could claim that I have a 100% failure rate using your logic.
  - kunai 14y ago
    Wow, that is the first time I've ever heard anyone talk about a RISC processor in about 8 years. I don't know what was wrong with your computers, but I've owned 4 HP notebooks, and all have performed spectacularly. They're built solidly and have (for the most part) good hardware-software integration. As with any OEM, there are going to be products at the high and low ends of the line, and similarly there are going to be several failing models. With HP, I think it really is hit-or-miss. You either get a good computer, or you get a bad one. While my HPs have been good, my friend's G71 hard disk failed. I've been wary of what I purchase from them, and how it's assembled, but it seems to have worked. Computers are computers, and the #1 thing to fail in them is the user. The #2 thing to fail is the software, and the #3 thing to fail is the hard disk. It's very rare that new PCs come out of any factory with a fried mobo or CPU. It's just a matter of sifting through all of the junk to find the few hidden gems. HP has a problem with QC, but if you look enough, you'll find great products at even better prices.
    - meaty 14y ago
      Apart from ARM that is :)
      - kunai 14y ago
        I think it would be really cool to see RISC have a resurgence on desktops in the form of 64-bit ARM chips. ARM technology is getting better and better every day. One of these days x86-64 is going to be antiquated, and by then, imagine the possibilities! Thinner, more powerful convertible laptops, ultra-slim workstations, 20-hour battery life... The possibilities are endless.
        meaty 14y ago
        It will happen. It better do as I'm an ARM Holdings shareholder. It has happened before. I had a 32-bit ARM desktop once: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes
sspiff 14y ago
I have had or maintained at some point: * An almost 2 year old dm1z netbook * A 13" Pavilion laptop from late 2010 * An EliteBook 8540p * Two older Pavilion notebook, late 2006 and late 2007 And I am very happy with the quality of their machines. The EliteBook is a tank that can compare with ThinkPads in reliability. The Pavilions are sturdy and decent for consumer notebooks. The netbook is brilliant for a $400 device, and has survived multiple drops without any serious marks. One of the Pavilion's screen broke down in warranty, and HP's support and repair service have been a painful and infuriating experience. I can say the same about any warranty claim I have tried to make as a consumer rather than a professional client (having dealt with Lenovo, Sony and HP). I wouldn't go near this thing (shitty screen and battery life and subpar compontents for this price level), but I wouldn't say bad things about HP's products in general. Except for their printers, those are just evil.
- meaty 14y ago
  HP warranties and support are just as bad for corporate customers. It's easier to just buy parts from Misco and fix it yourself most of the time. That goes for everything from desktops to high end servers. Sony service stinks as well. Lenovo have been ok for corporate support from experience - they bend over backwards for us although we occasionally get a bad rep which needs threatening a bit :) As for HP's other products, their calculators are a bit crappy (made by chinese outfit Kinpo), their printers are shit I agree and their best line of kit (test gear), they spun off to Agilent so the HP brand wouldn't take them down.
  - sspiff 14y ago
    I've only had one ThinkPad break, and I had it for less than a year at the time. Three weeks before the laptop turned 1 year old, I called Lenovo, and was redirected to an Irish support guy who had limited knowledge of my native language. After trying to make clear what was wrong with the machine, he told me my warranty had already expired (though my invoice was dated less than a year before that, and the EU requires consumer electronics to come with a minimum of 2 years of warranty). The issue was never resolved, and I performed the needed repairs myself.

by meaty 14y ago

If anyone has ever owned an HP laptop of any description recently, they will know not to go near this, not even with a 20 foot long stick. Absolutely shoddy machines from end to end.

patrickaljord 14y ago

Aren't all hardware made at Foxconn and similar anyway? I've seen people having lots of issues with their macs or lenovo too while others seems to be doing just fine with their hp and vice versa. It's hard to know which hardware is better than others given that they're all made at the same places (for the most part) and all we tend to have are personal anecdotal evidences.

meaty 14y ago
The same factories will produce different quality items depending on the design and how much they get paid. Not an anecdote for once... One of our clients is a large insurer who have just dumped HP due to reliability problems. They have approximately 3000 laptops in the field. The were all HP business line (EliteBook and ProBook) Their failure rate in a year was nearly 25% for HP kit. Moving to Lenovo, they've got a 4% failure rate now. Now for anecdotes: I've owned two HP workstations (one PA-RISC and one Intel) and both blew up spectacularly, one HP laptop (about 10 years ago - an OmniBook) and it blew up. They stick dynamite in the damn things.
- brudgers 14y ago
  Contrary anecdote. I have an HP laptop from 2004 I still use for some tasks. I have an HP11c I use almost daily. None of which proves the new device is any good.
  - veemjeem 14y ago
    I don't think yours is contrary; you're probably a data point in the other 75% that didn't fail. I don't think a single data point could ever be contrary to anything since it would never represent an aggregate. Since I have a dead HP notebook, I could claim that I have a 100% failure rate using your logic.
- kunai 14y ago
  Wow, that is the first time I've ever heard anyone talk about a RISC processor in about 8 years. I don't know what was wrong with your computers, but I've owned 4 HP notebooks, and all have performed spectacularly. They're built solidly and have (for the most part) good hardware-software integration. As with any OEM, there are going to be products at the high and low ends of the line, and similarly there are going to be several failing models. With HP, I think it really is hit-or-miss. You either get a good computer, or you get a bad one. While my HPs have been good, my friend's G71 hard disk failed. I've been wary of what I purchase from them, and how it's assembled, but it seems to have worked. Computers are computers, and the #1 thing to fail in them is the user. The #2 thing to fail is the software, and the #3 thing to fail is the hard disk. It's very rare that new PCs come out of any factory with a fried mobo or CPU. It's just a matter of sifting through all of the junk to find the few hidden gems. HP has a problem with QC, but if you look enough, you'll find great products at even better prices.
  - meaty 14y ago
    Apart from ARM that is :)
    - kunai 14y ago
      I think it would be really cool to see RISC have a resurgence on desktops in the form of 64-bit ARM chips. ARM technology is getting better and better every day. One of these days x86-64 is going to be antiquated, and by then, imagine the possibilities! Thinner, more powerful convertible laptops, ultra-slim workstations, 20-hour battery life... The possibilities are endless.
      - meaty 14y ago
        It will happen. It better do as I'm an ARM Holdings shareholder. It has happened before. I had a 32-bit ARM desktop once: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Archimedes

sspiff 14y ago

I have had or maintained at some point: * An almost 2 year old dm1z netbook * A 13" Pavilion laptop from late 2010 * An EliteBook 8540p * Two older Pavilion notebook, late 2006 and late 2007 And I am very happy with the quality of their machines. The EliteBook is a tank that can compare with ThinkPads in reliability. The Pavilions are sturdy and decent for consumer notebooks. The netbook is brilliant for a $400 device, and has survived multiple drops without any serious marks. One of the Pavilion's screen broke down in warranty, and HP's support and repair service have been a painful and infuriating experience. I can say the same about any warranty claim I have tried to make as a consumer rather than a professional client (having dealt with Lenovo, Sony and HP). I wouldn't go near this thing (shitty screen and battery life and subpar compontents for this price level), but I wouldn't say bad things about HP's products in general. Except for their printers, those are just evil.

meaty 14y ago
HP warranties and support are just as bad for corporate customers. It's easier to just buy parts from Misco and fix it yourself most of the time. That goes for everything from desktops to high end servers. Sony service stinks as well. Lenovo have been ok for corporate support from experience - they bend over backwards for us although we occasionally get a bad rep which needs threatening a bit :) As for HP's other products, their calculators are a bit crappy (made by chinese outfit Kinpo), their printers are shit I agree and their best line of kit (test gear), they spun off to Agilent so the HP brand wouldn't take them down.
- sspiff 14y ago
  I've only had one ThinkPad break, and I had it for less than a year at the time. Three weeks before the laptop turned 1 year old, I called Lenovo, and was redirected to an Irish support guy who had limited knowledge of my native language. After trying to make clear what was wrong with the machine, he told me my warranty had already expired (though my invoice was dated less than a year before that, and the EU requires consumer electronics to come with a minimum of 2 years of warranty). The issue was never resolved, and I performed the needed repairs myself.