■ Xxxx xxxxxxx xxx xx xxx x xxx xxxxxxxxxxx.
Xxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxx’x xxxx xxx xxxxxx
xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxx xxxx XXX, xxxxx xx
xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx. Xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx
xxxx xxxx. Xxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxx’x xxxx xxx
xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxx xxxx XXX,
xxxxx x■ Xxxx xxxxxxx xxx xx xxx x xxx xxxxxxxxxxx.
Xxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxx’x xxxx xxx xxxxxx
xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxx xxxx XXX, xxxxx xx
xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx. Xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx
xxxx xxxx. Xxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxx’x xxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx XXX, xxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx.
Xxxx xxxxxxx xxx xx xxx x xxx xxxxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxx, xxxx
xxxxx’x xxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxx xxxx XXX, xxxxx xx
xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx. Xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxx. Xxxxxxx, xxxx
xxxxx’x xxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxx xxxx XXX, xxxxx xx
xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx.■ Xxxx xxxxxxx xxx xx xxx x xxx xxxxxxxxxxx. Xxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxx’x
xxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxx xxxx XXX, xxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx xxxx. Xxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxx. Xxxxxxx, xxxx xxxxx’x xxxx
xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx xxxxx xx xxx xxxx XXX, xxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx xxxx.Recall Alert
XXXXXXX 2006 MA XIMUMPC 00
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxwatch dodogg MAXIMUM PC TAKES A BITE OUT OF BAD GEAR
Super Dell as saying. “You just destroyed the
greatest computer company of all time. We
were the best in the world, the world champion.
All this hatred was created by you. You’re basi-
cally angels of Satan. All I can say to the people
in Utah is, please pray for all the news people.”
Schanze was known locally for his annoy-
ing but memorable commercials, but he had
recently gotten into some hot water. Totally
Awesome and Schanze were the target of law-
suits alleging religious and racial discrimina-
tion. Most were settled out of court. The com-
pany had also been undergoing an IRS audit.
Schanze himself is still facing charges of
reckless driving, threatening to use a weapon,
and making false statements to the police.
Neighbors apparently chased down Schanze
after he allegedly drove through the area at
high speeds while children were present,
according to news reports. The neighbors
allege Schanze pulled a 10mm Glock on them
after they confronted him about the speeding.
Schanze described the neighbors as “vigilan-
tes” and initially said he had to pull his gun
to defend himself and his daughter from one
of the neighbors who threatened to throw a
rock at his car.
Schanze once started an ad campaign
against the mayor of Provo, Utah, claiming the
city was wasting money on computer systems
purchased from another company, according
to a story in the Deseret News. In ads, Schanzeoffered to give the mayor his own $80,
Jaguar if it could be proved that the systems
the city purchased from IBM were better than
Totally Awesome’s. The only problem was that
Totally Awesome hadn’t submitted a bid with
the rest of the vendors for the city contract.
Totally Awesome’s customers are totally
out of luck. Local-outfit PC Laptops said
it would pick up the warranties for Totally
Awesome’s customers for three months.BAD PIXELS REDUX
In January, when my Nikon CoolPix 5700 went
berserk and developed a green halo and streaky
images, I thought I was plain out of luck—it was
out of warranty and too costly to repair. But when
I read the May issue, I was astonished to see that
the Watchdog reported my problem as a common
defect, and I was delighted to learn that most of
the manufacturers were fixing it for free. As you so
aptly noted, Nikon, who emails me regularly with
other offers, never bothered to contact me about
this problem. If not for your magazine, I wouldn’t
have known about this. Today, I’m shipping off
what I thought was a useless paperweight, for
repairs. Fortunately, I had not bought another
camera yet!
—Steven M. KornblauThe Dog is glad to hear that Nikon did the
right thing, but he still feels that the camera
companies are not doing enough to inform
consumers about a defect afflicting millions
of cameras made by Sony, Nikon, Canon,
Pentax, Olympus, Fuji, Konica Minolta, and
Ricoh. If you have a camera or camcorder
from one of the above vendors, that was
manufactured between 2002 and 2004, and
that’s displaying a splotchy or streaked image
and/or green halos, the Dog encourages you
to research the possibility that it has a defec-
tive CCD. The easiest way to catch up on this
issue is to visit http://www.imaging-resource.com
and look for the entry under Digital Camera
Service Advisories.■ Electro Source is recalling some 231,000 Pelican Power Brick
Battery Chargers for the Sony PSP that could overheat and
post a fire and burn hazard. The company said it has received
143 reports of the recalled battery charger overheating, with
one report of fire damage. No injuries have been reported.
The Pelican Power Brick contains two lithium-ion batter-
ies and is used to recharge or power the Sony’s PlayStation
Portable. The model number of the charger is PL-6018 and
was sold between April 2005 and March 2006. Consumers
are asked to immediately stop using the brick and to contact Electro Source at 800-263-
1156 or http://www.powerbrickrecall.net. Consumers will not receive a new power brick, but
Electro is offering “a choice of several attractive replacement products instead.”Recall Alert
JUNE 2006 MA XIMUMPC 21
Electro Source
is recalling about
230,000 power bricks
that could overheat.Totally
Awesome
Computers is
kaput and its
owner is blam-
ing the devil’s
minions.Electro Source