dabs + a "hub"

Arrrgh! Stupid dabs.com and their no-phone number and
no-way-to-contact-us-unless-we-deign-to-allow-you website...

Opinions are sought...

I purchased a Linksys Hub from Dabs just under a month ago.
Details he
http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=15L4

This hub arrived. I was having problems with it when I was trying to use
it in the last month, and trying to debug everything else and only
recently found out the problem: the hub itself: it's not a hub[1]. It's
a 'switching hub', which basically means it's more like a switch[2].
If you look at the above page on the right, at the description and specs
in the box, it says nowhere that it is a switch or switching hub.
Similarly, LinkSys's own websites say nothing about this. I know because
I checked this out before buying the damn thing to make sure it wasn't a
"switching hub" as I was aware of these things.
So I've been back to their site and found out that their returns system
won't allow me to mark it for return as "goods not as ordered" because
14 days have passed. More than 14 days have passed given that I had
tried to debug everything else except the hub itself, assuming that it
was indeed a hub!
Eventually I found out it was a switching hub by emailing linksys
themselves and asking, as a last resort.. pfah.

Anyway, two questions now:
1) anyone know any way to speak/contact a human at dabs and not be
fobbed off by their website?
2) does anyone else agree that I have a case that the item was not as
advertised? "Hub" without the word "switching" means just that - a
conventional broadcasting hub - in my nefarious experience.


[1] hub =~ broadcasts all incoming traffic on all other outgoing ports
[2] switch =~ directs incoming traffic only to destination ports via
cunningly caching arp details etc.

Alex Hunsley writes:

2) does anyone else agree that I have a case that the item was not as
advertised? "Hub" without the word "switching" means just that - a
conventional broadcasting hub - in my nefarious experience.

There one small thing in the dabs description which hints that it is
not a 'true' hub - You can mix 10baseT and 100baseT connections. As
far as I know, on a 'true' hug all the ports have to run at the same
speed. But whether it is reasonable to expect people to know this and
pick up on it.....

"Alex Hunsley" wrote in message
.uk...

Arrrgh! Stupid dabs.com and their no-phone number and
no-way-to-contact-us-unless-we-deign-to-allow-you website...

Opinions are sought...

I purchased a Linksys Hub from Dabs just under a month ago.
Details he
http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=15L4

This hub arrived. I was having problems with it when I was trying to use
it in the last month, and trying to debug everything else and only
recently found out the problem: the hub itself: it's not a hub[1]. It's a
'switching hub', which basically means it's more like a switch[2].
If you look at the above page on the right, at the description and specs
in the box, it says nowhere that it is a switch or switching hub.
Similarly, LinkSys's own websites say nothing about this. I know because I
checked this out before buying the damn thing to make sure it wasn't a
"switching hub" as I was aware of these things.
So I've been back to their site and found out that their returns system
won't allow me to mark it for return as "goods not as ordered" because 14
days have passed. More than 14 days have passed given that I had tried to
debug everything else except the hub itself, assuming that it was indeed a
hub!
Eventually I found out it was a switching hub by emailing linksys
themselves and asking, as a last resort.. pfah.

Anyway, two questions now:
1) anyone know any way to speak/contact a human at dabs and not be fobbed
off by their website?
2) does anyone else agree that I have a case that the item was not as
advertised? "Hub" without the word "switching" means just that - a
conventional broadcasting hub - in my nefarious experience.


[1] hub =~ broadcasts all incoming traffic on all other outgoing ports
[2] switch =~ directs incoming traffic only to destination ports via
cunningly caching arp details etc.


Similar thing happened to me.
Really its not dabs fault they just publish the manfacturers info its the
manufacturers fault, so i had to
go straight to DLink and got them to confirm the info and they arranged the
return/refund via Dabs.

Alex Hunsley wrote:

Anyway, two questions now:
1) anyone know any way to speak/contact a human at dabs and not be
fobbed off by their website?

Nope... they got rid of telephone support ages ago and they usually
respond to e-mails with something along the lines of:-

"Dear Sir,

Thank you for your e-mail.

We couldn't be arsed to read it so here's an irrelevant and
patronising reply to a completely unrelated question.

BTW, Thanks for you money, sucker!,

Love and kisses,

Dabs"

2) does anyone else agree that I have a case that the item was not as
advertised? "Hub" without the word "switching" means just that - a
conventional broadcasting hub - in my nefarious experience.

[1] hub =~ broadcasts all incoming traffic on all other outgoing ports
[2] switch =~ directs incoming traffic only to destination ports via
cunningly caching arp details etc.

You could argue it's not described as a switch but then I'd doubt
anyone manufacturers a "pure" hub anymore so they might reasonably
argue that it's implied.


--
iv Paul iv

I wouldn't pick up on it. You can mix 10/100 on a broadcasting hub
quite happily - it'll just slow down to 10Mb

You could argue it's not described as a switch but then I'd doubt
anyone manufacturers a "pure" hub anymore so they might reasonably
argue that it's implied.

They do. Many are used for diagnostic purposes (packet monitoring), also for
Ethersound / Cobranet applications.

http://www.dabs.com/uk/Search2/Produ...ase=3C1 6701A
for example

On Sat, 4 Jun 2005 11:12:54 +0100, "Mike" wrote:


"Alex Hunsley" wrote in message
o.uk...

Arrrgh! Stupid dabs.com and their no-phone number and
no-way-to-contact-us-unless-we-deign-to-allow-you website...

Opinions are sought...

I purchased a Linksys Hub from Dabs just under a month ago.
Details he
http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quicklinx=15L4




Similar thing happened to me.
Really its not dabs fault they just publish the manfacturers info its the
manufacturers fault, so i had to
go straight to DLink and got them to confirm the info and they arranged the
return/refund via Dabs.

Alex,
Given that on DABS site the "next model" up AND down in price are both
described as "Desktop Switch" and yours is decribed as a "Desktop
Hub", it doesn't seem to me that you are being unreasonable. However,
you will get no sense from DABS at all. Once you are past the first 7
days, the best you can hope for from THEM is that they will refund
your original purchase price (excluding carriage costs both ways).

I strongly recommend that you follow Mike's suggestion and go direct
to the Manufacturer.


Regards,
vj