Some see the light, and some feel the heat
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Chinese farmers up in arms about HP computer deals
CHINESE USERS are complaining that HP sold them dodgy computers that are hard to connect to the Internet. And charged too much for low-spec kit, too.
HP and China Telecom have been offering a "Computer plus Broadband" deal in outlying areas since December 2006. Initially unsophisticated, Chinese farmers who signed up for the deal have set chatrooms on fire lately complaining that the HP desktop systems cost too much for what they got and often crash.
The "Computer plus Broadband" offering supplied a free HP Compaq DX2308 computer if users signed up with China Telecom for 27 months of broadband service at RMB198 per month. The deal includes 150 hours of access monthly.
However, based upon China Telecom's monthly ADSL fee of RMB60 for 150 hours of Internet service, users who took the "Computer plus Broadband" deal in effect end up paying RMB3926 - about $546 - for their HP computer alone.
Cui Wu, a lawyer at the Jiangsu Shengdian law firm, told local media that HP took advantage of the Chinese farmers' lack of computer knowledge and sold them low-spec kit with 3.2GHz Intel Celeron D processors, 512M of storage, 80G hard disks and 17-inch CRT monitors. He said that they should seek to cancel their agreements and, if necessary, sue HP.
Since Walmart is selling comparable low-end desktops for only $200 in the US, they might have a case. µ
L'INQ
China
Tech News
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It's true, computers are always more expensive here in China, and are usually a generation or two behind the US. I know of a guy that paid double what they did for a comparable machine last year... now he got cheated!
You need to correct this INQ. "sold them low-spec kit with 3.2GHz Intel Celeron D processors, 512M of storage, 80G hard disks and 17-inch CRT monitors."

Should be "sold them ULTRA low-spec..."
The PC sounds as if it's moderately well specced and is able to run XP and the net quite readily. The problem is that XP has poor security, and what they call security apps here in China are terrible, don't get me started on Rising AV, it's a terrible waste of a program, and there are better free products on the market, an opinion I will attest to the fact that recently I've had to rescue an in-laws PC from 60 or so Virii that RAV didn't find, and didn't care about. Now, if the price was too high, then there is always the ability to go into a shop and buy your own darn computer and then get internet seperately, sorry as far as I am concerned, this case has no legs.....And 60Yuan per month for internet access? Must be very far out into the country, as I purchased access for two years for 600yuan with a phone line included (modem, and phone as well) in a small town, outside of Xi'an (45 min or so, though I suppose I can't really call it "out in the woods/mountains") of about 10,000 people, so for China relatively small).

But to get to the end of this small rant, the key isn't that these computers are slow and incapable of doing just what they were intended on doing, but the lack of education on the part of the citizens on just how to use a computer and to stop using Internet Explorer! Hell, give them a decent setup of linux, since most of them are just "click here" users, Linux is far more secure as long as you install the necessary apps for them before they start using it, as they don't know about updating software or maintaining a PC.
Considering that the Chinese government (like most Asian governments) deliberately makes their goods cheap for the world and the rest of the world's goods expensive for it through subsidies and currency manipulation,
I get awful tired of hearing about Asians complain about "overpriced" anything. If they complain, it should be to their governments (although I suppose that might be dangerous).
Too bad Chinese farmers. This is democracy... er, I mean capitalism... nobody says that life is fair. Go whine to your government. The rest of us have already learned that getting screwed by the corporations is our lot in life. Now it's your turn. Best to get some lubricant and shuffle around bent over. Really, whatever it takes to minimize the time spent getting screwed.
What does this have to do with farmers? Surely this is effecting everyone who bought that package?
Obviously the price includes a crashcourse in capitalism, and they got it cheap.
512M of storage -> 512M of memory
First of all, the $200 computer is powered by a via procesor at 1/2 the clock speed of the celeron sold to the Chinese farmers, which means they got a computer that - depending on application and the in-order vs OOO cpu - can go up to 4 times as fast (insert gOS vs Windows joke here).

Second, the $200 Wal-Mart computer wasn't available in December 2006.

So there.
Not quite. Not in the $200 range anyway.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=computer&search_constraint=0&search_sort=4&ic=24_0&ref=+125875.126085+125875.126125
HP should counter with the 'nothing in life is free, Duh!' defence.

So HP sent the Chinese overpriced computers and the Chinese sent lead poisoned products and tainted pet food in return, sounds like the Chinese still came out ahead on this.

To even things up have AOL send them some of those floppy disks from the 90s for 'free internet'. 

I want to know how many of these farmers only realized they weren't getting a deal after they finally had a computer and internet?

Knowledge is power, but power in the hands of the feeble-minded is a terrible thing.

No case, move on; and while you're at it farmers, Google "Caveat Emptor".