| NJ man's novel approach to suing computer giant pays off
PARAMUS, N.J. Who says the little guy can't beat a big company? Pat Dori did. The New Jersey man had sent his laptop back to Dell for repairs. But after Dell lost it, the best it would do is offer him a refurbished model without an extended warranty. Five months and 19 phone calls later, Dori sued Dell in small claims court. But rather than deliver court papers to the company's Texas headquarters, he sent them to a Dell kiosk at a mall near his home. When no one from Dell showed up in court, Dori won a three-thousand dollar default judgment. He also got a ruling allowing court workers to seize merchandise from the kiosk if the judgment wasn't paid. Dell had said it was going to appeal, but is now agreeing to settle. Neither side will reveal what he's getting, but Dori says the key is to "get them at the kiosk." Copyright 2006 Associated Press.
How to keep your new toys working
Many of you were lucky enough to get new toys under the tree this year, ranging from computers to Nintendo Wiis all the way to the grand prize of a Sony Playstation 3. Now you have to take some precautions to keep your machinery in perfect working order. Let's start with the computer. The first thing you need to buy is a surge protector. The most economical way is to buy a power strip with surge protection. Plan on spending about $30. What a surge strip does is serve as the safety valve between you and the power company. If a surge comes down the power line, the surge strip commits electronic suicide and stops the surge from reaching your electronics. A second idea to protect the computer is an uninterruptable power supply or UPS. This is a battery backup for your computer and monitor; in case of a surge or a power failure, the battery kicks in immediately before your computer feels any effect.
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