Low Yat Plaza is known as the place to shop for computers or anything to do with computers. The choices are wide and the prices are reasonably cheaper than other places.
We decided to get a laptop as a birthday present to our son, Anas. He is a computer freak. For his age, 10 years old, he is the family’s authority and expert when it comes to computers. Naturally when we asked what he wanted for his birthday, his answer was a laptop with dual core processors, 1GB RAM, 120GB hard disk, combo DVD/CD-RW drives, built-in webcam and Windows Vista Ultimate. He could tell that his parents were at a loss. Being only partially computer literate, we pretended to grasp the lingo. To avoid further embarrassment, we took him along to shop for the laptop of his specs. Let the expert do the talking and we, the parents, just foot the bill.
The place was buzzing with shoppers, geeks, nerds, tourists and promotional offers. We stopped at a shop just to check out the advertised display. The young salesperson didn’t seem to be interested in trying to make a sale. I asked about the price, he just punched a calculator and without saying anything showed me the figures. I felt like I was shopping in downtown Hong Kong where the salesmen were rude and couldn’t be bothered with the customers’ request. Finally, we found a shop where the guy appeared to be genuinely interested in selling to customers. At least he was very polite.
He was pushing for Acer 4520 that came with all the features dreamt by Anas. It was the only one left and being a display model, he was prepared to cut the price further. We thought RM2,150 was a good deal and bought it.
We took the laptop home and for the next one week Anas was glued to it. After about 2 weeks, we couldn’t get to operate it. When we logged on, it prompted a message that the keys were invalid. My first thought was that Anas must have screwed it up when he used it. I gave him a good not so fatherly lecture and even threatened to take away his computer privileges. He denied any wrong doings.
I took the laptop to the office where my IT manager told me that the problem was due to using fake Windows Vista. Immediately I brought it to the shop that sold the laptop. They assured me that it was a miscommunication. All purchases come with temporary Windows installment. Sooner or later the buyer has to buy a genuine permanent Windows. For RM400 they could install but only Windows Vista Premium. I had no choice.
To me, it was not a miscommunication. It was a subtle way of misleading the ignorant purchasers. The advertisement said the lap top came with Windows Vista Ultimate. How in the world would I know that it was temporary?
We decided to get a laptop as a birthday present to our son, Anas. He is a computer freak. For his age, 10 years old, he is the family’s authority and expert when it comes to computers. Naturally when we asked what he wanted for his birthday, his answer was a laptop with dual core processors, 1GB RAM, 120GB hard disk, combo DVD/CD-RW drives, built-in webcam and Windows Vista Ultimate. He could tell that his parents were at a loss. Being only partially computer literate, we pretended to grasp the lingo. To avoid further embarrassment, we took him along to shop for the laptop of his specs. Let the expert do the talking and we, the parents, just foot the bill.The place was buzzing with shoppers, geeks, nerds, tourists and promotional offers. We stopped at a shop just to check out the advertised display. The young salesperson didn’t seem to be interested in trying to make a sale. I asked about the price, he just punched a calculator and without saying anything showed me the figures. I felt like I was shopping in downtown Hong Kong where the salesmen were rude and couldn’t be bothered with the customers’ request. Finally, we found a shop where the guy appeared to be genuinely interested in selling to customers. At least he was very polite.
He was pushing for Acer 4520 that came with all the features dreamt by Anas. It was the only one left and being a display model, he was prepared to cut the price further. We thought RM2,150 was a good deal and bought it.
We took the laptop home and for the next one week Anas was glued to it. After about 2 weeks, we couldn’t get to operate it. When we logged on, it prompted a message that the keys were invalid. My first thought was that Anas must have screwed it up when he used it. I gave him a good not so fatherly lecture and even threatened to take away his computer privileges. He denied any wrong doings.
I took the laptop to the office where my IT manager told me that the problem was due to using fake Windows Vista. Immediately I brought it to the shop that sold the laptop. They assured me that it was a miscommunication. All purchases come with temporary Windows installment. Sooner or later the buyer has to buy a genuine permanent Windows. For RM400 they could install but only Windows Vista Premium. I had no choice.
To me, it was not a miscommunication. It was a subtle way of misleading the ignorant purchasers. The advertisement said the lap top came with Windows Vista Ultimate. How in the world would I know that it was temporary?
I was wrong to accuse my son of messing up the laptop. Now I know that my boy is a responsible, honest young lad. I owe him an apology, a BIG one.
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