Crashman
03-04-2005, 02:23 AM
Yesterday I received this interesting tidbit in the mail. By now many of you have heard about a class-action suit being filed on YOUR BEHALF by someone looking to cash in.
http://www.compsalvage.com/suit.jpg
Those of you “in the know” recognize that I’ve been with the capacitor fiasco since the story broke. (http://www.reed-electronics.com/electronicnews/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA255062&pubdate=10/28/2002&rid=0&rme=0&cfd=1) Of course I can’t take all the credit, as rumors were circulating long before I got involved.
The fact is, very many motherboard manufacturers were taken in by the same low priced capacitors Abit fell prey to. And many of them made a far greater number of boards using these defective units than Abit. In fact, one manufacturer in particular made millions of defective boards for some of the world’s largest OEM’s, these contracts alone were for greater numbers of boards than Abit made during the same period. So why single out Abit, a relatively minor player in a far greater crisis?
Simple: Abit admitted to using the capacitors in question. This was public responsibility on Abit’s part to assure their customers they’d stand behind them and replace every bad board that failed during the very gracious 3-year warranty period. And Abit went a step farther: Unlike other companies that require proof of purchase or a code from the retail box, Abit would replace ANY retail board you could produce for them with this problem, all that was needed was the code from the board itself. This meant that even if you bought a dead computer with a blown board from the junk market, you could cash in by getting the board replaced free! And again unlike other companies, Abit didn’t even make you pay return shipping or processing/handling fees; you simply submitted the information and got an RMA in short order.
So I say to you once again, if Abit offered the most favorable policy for exchanging your board of any manufacturer affected, and if Abit was the only company to be honest about the problem, why should Abit be the one suffering additional penalties? The answer is easy: They did the responsible thing! Admitting to their mistake may have helped their customers, but it also opened them up to litigation.
What possible good could come of this lawsuit? Certainly the boards listed are beyond the warranty period by now. And as certainly as the warranty has expired, we’ve all had ample time to use it. Abit owes nothing to people who let their warranty expire without taking advantage of free replacement! Yet there are those who insist on nothing less than a full refund rather than the simple replacement owed them. It’s time we as a society upheld honest companies like Abit for their acts of responsibility and aimed our litigious wrath at companies that fail to meet that standard!
The boards in question were some of the best performing, most stable boards of their day, so long as the capacitors lived. And when those capacitors failed, you got an even better board in exchange: one that still had a superior design and features, plus the longevity you expected.
In recent years Abit has continued to produce spectacular boards, long free from the capacitor issues that plagued them for a brief time. They’ve really pushed the industry, with products such as the NF7 and IS7 offering top performance and midrange features at a budget price, OTES on enthusiast level boards, stability, compatibility, clean design, innovation, and one of the best warranties in the business. Yet Abit has found it difficult to maintain previous levels of profitability in the face of increasing competition. This author fears that any settlement may force this company out of the business forever, a loss to the entire hardware community.
http://www.compsalvage.com/suit.jpg
Those of you “in the know” recognize that I’ve been with the capacitor fiasco since the story broke. (http://www.reed-electronics.com/electronicnews/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA255062&pubdate=10/28/2002&rid=0&rme=0&cfd=1) Of course I can’t take all the credit, as rumors were circulating long before I got involved.
The fact is, very many motherboard manufacturers were taken in by the same low priced capacitors Abit fell prey to. And many of them made a far greater number of boards using these defective units than Abit. In fact, one manufacturer in particular made millions of defective boards for some of the world’s largest OEM’s, these contracts alone were for greater numbers of boards than Abit made during the same period. So why single out Abit, a relatively minor player in a far greater crisis?
Simple: Abit admitted to using the capacitors in question. This was public responsibility on Abit’s part to assure their customers they’d stand behind them and replace every bad board that failed during the very gracious 3-year warranty period. And Abit went a step farther: Unlike other companies that require proof of purchase or a code from the retail box, Abit would replace ANY retail board you could produce for them with this problem, all that was needed was the code from the board itself. This meant that even if you bought a dead computer with a blown board from the junk market, you could cash in by getting the board replaced free! And again unlike other companies, Abit didn’t even make you pay return shipping or processing/handling fees; you simply submitted the information and got an RMA in short order.
So I say to you once again, if Abit offered the most favorable policy for exchanging your board of any manufacturer affected, and if Abit was the only company to be honest about the problem, why should Abit be the one suffering additional penalties? The answer is easy: They did the responsible thing! Admitting to their mistake may have helped their customers, but it also opened them up to litigation.
What possible good could come of this lawsuit? Certainly the boards listed are beyond the warranty period by now. And as certainly as the warranty has expired, we’ve all had ample time to use it. Abit owes nothing to people who let their warranty expire without taking advantage of free replacement! Yet there are those who insist on nothing less than a full refund rather than the simple replacement owed them. It’s time we as a society upheld honest companies like Abit for their acts of responsibility and aimed our litigious wrath at companies that fail to meet that standard!
The boards in question were some of the best performing, most stable boards of their day, so long as the capacitors lived. And when those capacitors failed, you got an even better board in exchange: one that still had a superior design and features, plus the longevity you expected.
In recent years Abit has continued to produce spectacular boards, long free from the capacitor issues that plagued them for a brief time. They’ve really pushed the industry, with products such as the NF7 and IS7 offering top performance and midrange features at a budget price, OTES on enthusiast level boards, stability, compatibility, clean design, innovation, and one of the best warranties in the business. Yet Abit has found it difficult to maintain previous levels of profitability in the face of increasing competition. This author fears that any settlement may force this company out of the business forever, a loss to the entire hardware community.