I recently had the opportunity to take my mother computer shopping. Now for those who know me, don't faint! Yes, my mother now has a computer! For those who don't know, my mother is soon to be 75. She spent her entire career working on big iron! But in her retirement, she has refused to have one! Just plain refused. Until now.

While visiting with her, she found an Ad for a laptop at Office Depot. $329! Now that is a damn good price! So I took her to get it.

We got there, and were looking for this great bargain. It was nowhere to be found. So finally, Mr. Bait N. Switch walks up and asks if he can help. Sure! Show us this laptop! "We do not have them here. You have to pay $50 to have it shipped in, and it will take 3 weeks." - Say what? You advertise it (it was advertised in a local advertisement) and you don't have it, and then you want to charge more?

"But we do have some of these nice machines for $479 you can have today." - yea, right! $479 is not a steal or deal. You can get them at that price almost anywhere. But the shyster did not stop there. Then he tries to sell my mother a $180 "package". What does this package contain?

 - Enhancements to the warranty (righhhtttt! - they repair it? I think not)

 - AntiVirus Software Suite - It was Symantec, and not one I would recommend now anyway, and can be had on the Internet for about $35.

 - A Clean Machine - they remove unwanted programs.

 - "Other Goodies" to protect you like malware protection.

So I tell my mother - it is not worth it. I can clean up the computer in a little time, I would recommend AVG for the cheap and McAfee for the peace of mind folks, and the rest are either freeware or not needed.

But Mr. Shyster continues trying to tell me that it is needed! Yea, right! "Your warranty does not cover you fully" - Uh, yes it does - especially if you get a dell dummy! On and on for 15 minutes this cretin spouts off his limited knowledge that a first year tech student can see he does not understand or comprehend. So Finally, I tell mom - let's go.

Apparently they do not have a reputable selling policy in this chain! As we leave, I tell the clown - I will match initials behind my name with you any day of the week, and will not be recommending your place to anyone after this bait and switch schlock job!

As it turns out, I was not able to get mom a computer before I left. But we found one at Circuit City for $549 that included the router, All-In-One printer, and AV software suite. My brother took her to get it. He knows more about computers than the clown at Office Depot.

Now I have to get a subscription to LogMeIn so I can help her without the 12 hour drive to Florida. I would get Mason to do it, but he is gone too much.