I'm pissed
I'm pissed.
I'm pissed enough to use red on black. The little square block thing that I use to show that I'm pissed off doesn't quite get across the rage I truly have. No emoticon could ever express how pissed I am. That's how pissed I am at everyone around me. Here's what sparked these feelings:
I spoke to an asshole tech guy from laptopcharge.com. Apparently they are some front for like 10 different companies. I called them up before making my purchase, to make sure they were real people, at least.
See, my laptop battery only lasts a little while. I am lucky if I can get through one class with it now. It used to get 3.5ish hours on a single charge. Now, it barely gets 1.25 hours. What's the solution? Buy a new battery. Acer refuses to deal with me because I don't have a warranty. I told them I will pay for things with money and they told me that I don't have a warranty. So, I have to search elsewhere for my battery replacement. I find this laptopcharge.com place. It says they have a battery that fits Acer Aspire 5600 (as well as several other models of their laptops). I buy it.
I got it in the mail a few days ago. I was excited. I was thinking "not only am I getting a new battery, but it also increases the mAh from 4400 to 5200". That generally means the battery should last longer (for those people out there who haven't a clue what mAh means). I open the box. Inside the box is another box. I open that box. Inside that box is a bag: an anti-static bag. Inside the bag is a battery.
Pictures speak louder than I can right now. I'm hoarse from arguing with this guy that I know what my computer is.
MY BATTERY
THE NEW BATTERY CAME LIKE THIS
The NEW BATTERY
COMPARISON
So, anyone can plainly see why I would be so pissed. Actually, it's not quite so clear. Here, let me make it clear:
The problem is that this jackass on the other end of the line probably won't give me a refund. So, I'll be stuck with a battery that I bought because of false advertising. Hooray! What really pisses me off is this ass hanging up on me when he asked if I had a Travelmate or Aspire. I call him back. Furious. I order a battery that is clearly labeled as an "Aspire" battery and he asks me whether I have an Aspire or a Travelmate. Then he has the balls to tell me that my laptop is a Travelmate because the battery model number scans as a Travelmate battery. Of course it does! Acer recycles parts from one computer to another. My computer was released 2 years ago as a Travelmate for double the cost that I paid (or so Acer has me believing). So, they obviously haven't updated their database to account for the release of an Acer Aspire 5601awlmi laptop, which was just a rename/clone of a Travelmate (4200, I believe). He then tells me that my model number is for a Travelmate 5600. I wish I could telepathically strangle someone with the phone cord. I can hardly wait until these assholes go out of business because of companies using the same model batteries in multiple systems.
It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the new battery is quite noticeably smaller. Next time I am going to just go out and buy a few bushels of potatoes and lemons, some copper wire, and some nails.