June 19, 2005 - 4:32 P.M.
Just ship the PC with the Windows and driver CDs, for Pete's sake!
Ever go to help out a friend or family member with their PC and end up needing to do a "repair" install of Windows, but can't because the manufacturer didn't ship it?
I just did a post on my personal blog where I complain about this annoying trend in the PC "box mover" industry.
I didn't understand it in 1999 why Compaq didn't ship their drivers on CD with laptops and I don't understand it now.
It saves companies almost nothing per system, but ends up costing them in lost customer satisfaction.
At any rate, I find the practice of not shipping the Windows and Drivers CDs with a new PC reprehensible and hope that manufacturers get the message and give back customers the choice to have these CDs included.
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