[TriLUG] OT:<rant>Intrex just lost a customer</rant>

[Aaron S. Joyner]

Okay, I just got in from Ohio and 10+ hours in the car.  I'm going to 
touch on this very briefly before I hit the sack to make work in 6.5 
hours.  Even given the continued growth of this thread, I think my first 
response covered Dave's concerns about as well as possible.  You simply 
need to take it up with the manager at one of the stores.  I don't 
understand the particular circumstances under which you spoke to Mark as 
the only option in the Wake Forest Road (Raleigh) store, and that he was 
the last response - perhaps the manager or asst. manager were out to 
lunch.  Again, I'm sorry you were unable to speak with one of them at 
that moment, but that is the appropriate course of action.  If you're 
not satisfied there, email feedback at intrex*net to reach a human who 
will honestly care about your feedback (not to imply the store employees 
do not - quite the opposite is true, but simply to clarify that it's not 
an automated bit bucket).

To clarify that particular product (the internal USB card reader) a bit 
further (and answer Jon's concerns about it's quality) - I use one 
myself, at least once or twice a week.  I've had it since we first 
started carrying them (probably close to a year ago), and I think 
they're great devices.  The reason that it's an exposed PCB is it's 3.5" 
floppy-bay sized, and the plastic shell simply provides minimal 
protection on the bottom, and a plastic front that is exposed to the 
outside of the case.  There is little to no heat produced by the device 
- I've never noticed one to be warm, even under use (I just verified 
this with mine copying 750Megs of Photos off a 1Gig CF Card).  The 
exposed PCB is simply a inexpensive way to make an easily accessible 
internal mini-usb (usb a) connector, and keep the cost of the box down 
(it is a 3.5" internal 6n1 card reader with changeable colored face 
plates, two usb cables - usb b as well as headers, etc, for $20 after 
all).  There really is very little danger of doing any damage to the 
components, in my opinion.  I stated it before in the interest of 
explaining all the angles associated with diagnostics and return - not 
that I thought Dave might have actually damaged it, as I attempted to 
make clear.

As for the particular products we carry, I find that we carry quite a 
diverse range of parts, from the really-cheap stuff, to the rather nice 
components that actually sell.  You must remember, this is a business.  
It's not my personal geek warehouse.  :)  We'd carry all kinds of random 
and obscure low-volume stuff if I ran the shop.  :)  We'd probably also 
go under in short order.  Fortunately though, the show is run by some 
very knowledgeable people who try very hard to isolate what our 
customers want and actually will buy.  As Justin pointed out, Intrex has 
been around for an awful long time, they have to be doing something 
right.  I've been thoroughly impressed (both inside and outside of the 
company) that Intrex ha been able to weather the storms of the market so 
effectively.  With all that said...

We'd LOVE to hear what products you'd like us to stock.  What you think 
is good to have, Linux-friendly, or Linux-specific even.  There really 
isn't much in the hardware arena that's Linux specific, but think about 
particular things that we may not carry, and let us know.  General 
non-Linux related things are great too.  Bring a list with you to the 
next TriLUG meeting.  We'll be there, with real decision makers present, 
who want your feedback.  We're even buying the pizza.  :)  Keep in mind, 
I can't promise that we'll carry the particular widget that you need 
(for that matter I can't promise much with any weight :) ), but if 
there's a reasonable demand for a product or type of products, I'm sure 
we'll be glad to meet it.

Well that only took 30 mins.  :)  Time for sleep!

Good night TriLUG,
Aaron S. Joyner