Built to Fail: Unsealed Documents Show Dell Knowingly Sold Faulty PCs

From DailyTech: It's no secret that Dell, the world's second largest computer maker is struggling. Evidence of that was on display when following a series of layoffs last December, the company's site became riddled with pricing errors -- including the world's most expensive mouse, priced at $3,999.99 USD.

The company's profits plunged 54 percent between 2008 and 2009. Now, documents unsealed in court this week paint a troubling picture, showing that the manufacturer knowingly sold defective machines between 2003 and 2005 according to the New York Times.

Among the customers burned by Dell was the University of Texas, which purchased a large number of computers for its math department only to see them fail and die. Dell blamed the college for overtaxing the machines, but newly released evidence indicates that the failures were actually caused by faulty electrical components that leaked chemicals.

Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, institutions like the Mayo Clinic, and small businesses were among the other companies to buy failing units. Greg Barry, who is President of a Philadelphia firm named PointSolve, was one such small business customer who suffered. His company bought dozens of the machines. He recalls, "The funny thing was that every one of them went bad at the same time. It’s unheard-of, but Dell didn’t seem to recognize this as a problem at the time."

Perhaps the greatest irony are unsealed emails from the firm defending Dell in the case, which has now been in court for three years. In the emails, the firm reports to Dell that many of its 1,000 Dell computers were failing. Dell employees are found arguing about whether their company should have to fix the machines. This all occurred while the company was actively defending Dell's failing computers.

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