Documents unsealed Thursday in a three-year-old lawsuit against Dell have raised more questions about how the company handled an unprecedented number of faulty computers sold to governments, schools and corporations from 2003 to 2005, reports the New York Times. A judge in the Federal District Court in North Carolina unsealed hundreds of documents linked to a lawsuit filed by Advanced Internet Technologies that had accused Dell of trying to hide defects in its desktop computers from customers. For instance, the court documents show that the City of New York filed incident reports with Dell on 20.2 percent of a batch of 5,000 computers purchased during this period. A purchase of 2,800 computers by Microsoft resulted in issues with 11 percent of the machines; General Electric, William W. Backus Hospital, Denison University and the Montana Justice Department were among dozens of other organizations that experienced similar results…
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In faulty-computer suit, window to Dell decline
After the math department at the University of Texas noticed some of its Dell computers failing, Dell examined the machines. The company came up with an unusual reason for the computers’ demise: the school had overtaxed the machines by making them perform difficult math calculations, reports the New York Times. Dell, however, had actually sent the university, in Austin, desktop PCs riddled with faulty electrical components that were leaking chemicals and causing the malfunctions. Dell sold millions of these computers from 2003 to 2005 to major companies like Wal-Mart and Wells Fargo, institutions like the Mayo Clinic and small businesses…
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