Creative Labs >Toshiba >America Online >Freeipods.com
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WatchDog of the MonthWatchDog (^) Maximum PC takes a bite out of bad gear
THIS MONTH: The WatchDog goes after...
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”
AFTER THE PENTIUM III-BASED NOTEBOOKS WERE
INTRODUCED, SOME CONSUMERS BEGAN REPORTING
PROBLEMS WITH THE UNITS OVERHEATING, CRASHING,
OR SLOWING DOWN.
Creative Labs was sued over the original
Audigy’s inability to record audio at 24-bit.
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America Online >Freeipods.com
Toshiba has settled a lawsuit over the Satellite
5005-S504’s and S507’s overheating problems.
Say hello to
WatchDog of the Month
g Maximum PC takes a bite out of bad gear
Settlements
It looks like the Dog got some bad info on the
tentative settlement in the 75GXP Deskstar
class-action suit. The correct URL is: http://www.ibmde
skstar75gxplitigation.com. To summarize, consum-
ers who found themselves saddled with a failed
IBM 75GXP Deskstar HD could qualify for a $
claim. A settlement hearing will be held in Texas
on July 1, and consumers have until June 17 to
opt out of the settlement.
◆
Creative Labs’ first Audigy card was marketed
as a 24-bit soundcard capable of 96KHz sample
rates, but as those who follow PC soundcards
know, while the Audigy could play back audio at
24-bit, it’s recording ability was limited to 16-bit.
A lawsuit filed by Paul Holt on March 28, 2003 in
a San Francisco Superior Court claimed Creative
intentionally misled consumers by advertising theAudigy as a 24-bit card. Creative Labs
has now agreed to settle the suit
without admiting guilt.
“We find the
plaintiff’s claim to
have absolutely no
merit whatsoever.
We agreed to settle
the claim to minimize unnecessary
interference with ongoing business opera-
tions,” a spokesman for Creative Labs told the Dog.
As part of the settlement, consumers who
believe they were misled might be eligible for
a 25 percent discount certificate toward—you
got it—another Creative Labs’ product. The dis-
counted amount is not to exceed $62.50. To qualify
for the discount, consumers must file a claim
including the serial number of the soundcard and
a sworn statement that they are unhappy withthe card’s audio-processing capabilities. Only
the Audigy ES, Audigy Platinum, Audigy Platinum
EX, Audigy Gamer, Audigy MP3+, and Extigy
soundcards qualify. The discount certificates
are restricted to purchases made at Creative’s
U.S. web store. For more information, point your
browser to http://www.audiocardsettlement.com.
◆
In other settlement news, Toshiba is making
amends to owners of its Satellite 5005-S
and S507 notebooks. After Toshiba’s Pentium
III-based notebooks were introduced, consum-
ers began reporting problems with the units
overheating, crashing, or slowing down.
Consumers suspected the problem was
directly related to the fact that the note-
books housed desktop Pentium III CPUs
rather than Intel’s mobile P-III proc, which
cost about a third more at the time.
Consumers also complained thatthe BIOS updates “fixed the problem by lower-
ing the clock speeds of the chip to make it run
cooler.” Toshiba didn’t help the situation when
it implied fault on the part of the benchmark
programs which indicated slowdowns.
Several suits were filed alleging that
the Satellite 5005-S504 and S507 contained
a design defect, and that Toshiba knowingly
tried to conceal it from consumers. At the time,
Maximum PC reader Mike Wallace was among
those who complained.
“I have always believed that Toshiba made
quality laptops. I realize there will be prob-
lems from time to time, and I can get beyond
that,” Wallace said in the October 2002 issue of
Maximum PC. “However, Toshiba’s lackadaisical
customer-service approach has me doubting I
will ever buy another one of its products.”
This winter, without admitting fault, Toshiba
settled the lawsuit. Details are as follows:
➤ Consumers who had their S504 or S507 note-
book serviced more than once before November
2, 2004 can take either a $1,000 cash payment or a
$1,500 credit voucher to be used at Toshiba’s web
site if they return the notebook to the company.
➤ Consumers who had their S504 or S507 ser-22 MA XIMUMPC JUNE 2005