Remember Hybridgear.net? It appears that they've been reincarnated as PCMW - UPDATED

PCMW has been saying they have been in business for about 6 years, since 2002, but based on the available evidence, it appears as if they only started in 2006. However, an acquaintance of mine who works with VCs funding tech start-ups e-mailed me the following, which I thought might be relevant to some of the discussions on the forum.

Now, I realize that PCMW has so far not displayed the sort of behaviour that brought Hybridgear.net down and, like they say in all those investment ads, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance; nonetheless, past performance is instructive, particularly when steps have been taken to engineer a disconnection between the past and the present.

Now, to anticipate all of the hoo-ing and haw-ing, these are facts, folks, not speculations, and as such need to be taken into account in evaluating any decision as serious as spending $2,000 or more on an investment like a computer. If you don't like them, you are entitled to discount them however you please - that's your job, to evaluate the facts, decide how much weight to give them (or not give them), and to then take reasonable actions based on your evaluation of the facts. As Joe Friday used to say: "Just the facts, ma'am."

If we're going to discuss this situation, let's keep the discussion oriented toward evaluating the evidentiary weight of these facts, and avoid ad hominems and unwarranted speculations, ok?

At any rate, for what it's worth, below is the body of the email I received that I've cut-n-pasted into this post. Obviously, the names have been redacted to protect the innocent. When I get a chance I will also post a (redacted) image of the email itself.

EMAIL TEXT:

{Shyster1}:

I spoke with {M*} over at {VENTURE FUND} again, and it does indeed look like PC Microworks has been around the block a few times before. I did a little googling yesterday, and managed to construct an interesting little paper trail. The refs down below hit on some of the highlights.

Take a look at http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Hybrid_Gear where the 2nd to last rating on that page says: “Spoke to the guy who owns hybrid gear (Matt O'byrne) dad because his number was still on the who is. Less than helpful, and Matt doesn't answer his cell phone voice mail.” The rest of the ratings are generally consistent with that one.

Next, take a look at the ownership details showing: "Mr. Matt OByrne, Owner" at the Better Business Bureau page for Hybridgear.net at http://bryan.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=169&bbb=0855&firm=10000939 The rest of the BB report isn't very pretty.

Now, here are some of the facts that floated up to the surface. First, take a look at the California Secretary of State registration for PC Microworks, Inc at http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C2929913 - the agent for service is Matthew Thomas O’Byrne.

Taken together with the BB report, it looks like the former owner of Hybridgear is also, shall we say, intimately involved with PC Microworks. I've seen how these little startups operate, and typically, when a guy sets everything up by himself, or has some little shop do the paperwork for him, the owner gets listed as the registered agent to save a few bucks on fees. So I'd say that Mr. O'Bryne, whom we know was the owner of Hybridgear, is almost certainly the current owner of PC Microworks.

Then there's the history and the timing of shutting Hybridgear down and starting PC Microworks up. First, go to http://whois.domaintools.com/hybridgear.net , which shows that the domain for Hybridgear was first registered on 8-8-2002; however, when we go to http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.hybridgear.net we see that Hybridgear.net’s website was tracked from August of 2003 through July of 2006, when it disappeared. Notice that this timing also pretty well matches the timing of the ratings posts at http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Hybrid_Gear

Now for some more interesting timing; first, the registration for the new domain, www.pcmicroworks.com, is dated 2/18/06 (see http://whois.domaintools.com/pcmicroworks.com) which is even before Hybridgear.net disappeared, and before PC Microworks was incorporated in California on 9/20/06. The web archives at
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.pcmicroworks.com track PC Microwork's website from 2/7/07, which tracks with the timing of the ratings posts at http://www.resellerratings.com/store/PC_MicroWorks_Corporation . Looks to me like someone was already planning the move to California and starting a new company - PC Microworks - even as the old company was going down in flames. Someone lost their pants on that one.

Lastly, a Reverse Phone search on the toll free number at Whitepages.com: http://www.whitepages.com/search/ReversePhone?full_phone=888-596-4276&localtime=survey shows that the number is registered to Matthew O’Byrne at the same address on the California corporate registration filing. Now Google 43649 BUCKEYE TERRACE, Fremont, CA 94538 at http://maps.google.com/ and you will see its location is in a residential area. To me that's just plain sloppy, but it's typical of DIY startups trying to pinch a few pennies here and there.

Enjoy, for what it's worth,

{FRIEND}



UPDATE:____________________________________

EDIT: I have just been made aware of the fact that the linked court documents may not display unless you have IE and Quicktime - my apologies for the unconscious MS-chauvinism; I will try to see if I can get pdf/jpg copies hosted somewheres so they can be viewed more easily.

EDIT2: I managed to convert the default judgement (default_Jdgmnt-3.gif) and the certificate of last known address (Cert_LKA-3a.gif and Cert_LKA-3b.gif) into GIF files that I could attach to the post. The original petition is about 48 pages, so that's going to have to wait until at least tomorrow.

This thread has been accused by some as being a cheap shot; as being nothing more than a stunt designed to achieve e-famosity at the expense of Matthew O'Byrne and the business he's worked so hard to build up through PC Microworks Corporation by digging up long-buried skeletons that, it has been charged, had been exorcised through the legal dispensation of a discharge in bankruptcy. In particular, it has been alleged that, had a modicum of effort been expended, beyond a few minutes with google and whois, just such a discharge in bankruptcy could have been found. The clear inference of all this being that everything posted was nothing more than the detritus of history, and of no more relevance to the present than, say, the Great Depression.

Regrettably, this is not the case. Whether or not the management style exhibited during the implosion of Hybridgear has changed, I cannot say, although so far the experiences of many who've purchased from PCMW would suggest that the answer is "yes." Nonetheless, the consequences of that management style are not dead and buried; they are very much alive as demonstrated by documents in the public record - specifically, certain court records referred to below - and in and of themselves pose a non-negligible, material risk to both recent and future customers of PCMW, irrespective of whether or not PCMW is now a model of ethical business practices.

Now, unfortunately, I feel compelled to read you what I refer to as the CYA Act: as some of you might have guessed, I am an attorney, and as such, in order to make every effort not to run afoul of the profession's code of ethics, nothing I have said, or will say, regarding this matter is intended to be legal advice or intended to create an attorney/client relationship, and should not in any way be construed or taken as such. My remarks are intended to be fair comment on a matter of public interest, and of common interest among the members of this forum, based in part on my professional experience, and are only intended to raise the public's awareness of certain issues that may materially affect the financial affairs of some, or all, of that public. Furthermore, based on the relevant rules of ethics, I cannot, and will not, agree to represent anyone who may decide to seek legal representation based on the facts I have brought to light or my commentary regarding those facts. Instead, I would strongly urge anyone reading my remarks to evaluate the degree to which they may be exposed to a financial risk and to consult with a competent attorney of their own choosing should they have any questions regarding that risk and any remedies of avenues of recourse that may be available to them.

So, without further ado, goaded by some of the comments made on the original post, I did a little digging:

First, and foremost, I discovered that Hybridgear operated under more than just one name, although it does not appear that there were any active attempts to conceal the connection. Specifically, I came across this CNET forum thread which, amongst other items of interest, disclosed that Hybridgear also operated under the names FutureTop and EasyPC. In addition, as described in post#46, it appears to be the case that Hybridgear fell victim to a disease similar to that which killed Rock in the U.K. - truly incompetent employees. The rest of the thread contains the inevitable parade of horribles that almost always occurs during the death throes of a small business such as Hybridgear.

Based on the additional evidence gleaned from that thread, and to look for the alleged bankruptcy discharge mentioned above, I went onto the U.S. federal courts' electronic records website, the PACER U.S. Party Case Index, which contains electronic records from almost every U.S. federal court, including all of the bankruptcy courts, and is searchable by party name. I searched for a bankruptcy petition filing, or a discharge order, under several variant spellings of "O'Bryne" as well as of "Hybridgear," "FutureTop" and "EasyPC" and did not find anything.

I limited my search to documents that would have been filed on or before June 30, 2008, in part on the principle that any bankruptcy petition filed after that date would not yet have resulted in a confirmed order of discharge, and as a result none of the debts or obligations flowing from the Hybridgear implosion would have been discharged - i.e., they would still be a live issue and would still continue to threaten the viability of the current operation of PCMW, at least indirectly inasmuch as the Hybridgear debts would be the personal debts of the apparent sole shareholder of PCMW, namely Matthew O'Byrne.

So, from that it should be apparent that the skeletons and ghosts of the Hybridgear implosion have not been put to rest. To the extent that there are still outstanding debts deriving from that business, they continue to be outstanding debts and, at least with regard to certain debts, continue to be the personal liabilities of the owner and sole proprietor of Hybridgear, Matthew O'Byrne.

From there I decided to see if I could find anything in the Texas state courts. Regrettably, I did. Briefly, I found a civil case detail for Cause No. 07-001632-CV-361 in the 361st District Court in and for the County of Brazos, Texas. Brazos County is the county in Texas where the town of College Station is located, which is the town in which Hybridgear was located and from which it operated its computer reseller business. The title caption of Cause No. 07-001632-CV-361 is: SENDERO COMMERICIAL INVESTMENTS-PARK PLACE, LTD., VS MATT O'BRYNE DOING BUSINESS AS HYBRIDGEAR, AND MATT O'BRYNE, and, as described in the Original Petition as well as in the proposed Default Judgment filed by the plaintiff on July 2nd, 2008 - eight days ago - is an action to recover back rent, shared common space fees, interest, and attorneys' fees regarding the commercial lease that Matthew O'Bryne, doing business as ("d/b/a") Hybridgear entered into as "Tenant" and that was personally guaranteed under a guarantee of payment by Matthew O'Bryne in his individual capacity, in the amount of $73,026, plus change.

The first point of information confirmed by the civil case detail, and in particular, the Certificate of Last Known Address filed by the plaintiff in that case on July, 2nd, 2008 - eight days ago - is that the Matthew O'Bryne who owned Hybridgear is almost certainly the same Matthew O'Bryne who is the registered agent for PC Microworks Corp. in California, and is presumably the sole shareholder of that corporation. This identity of persons is almost certainly the true state of affairs because, as stated under penalties of perjury in the Certificate of Last Known Address, the plaintiff was successful in tracking down the defendant, Matthew O'Bryne, to the address of: 41829 Albrae Street, Fremont, CA 94538. That is precisely the same address as the address identified as the corporate headquarters of PC Microworks Corporation, as indicated on the Contacts webpage of the PCMW website.

The second point of information confirmed by the civil case detail, is that Matthew O'Bryne is not in very good financial health. In particular, he is, or will shortly become, once the default judgment is signed by the judge in the case, a judgment debtor under a judgment for $73,000, plus interest, and which may be satisfied out of any business assets originally belonging to Hybridgear that were not transferred to a bona fide purchaser for value, as well as out of Matthew O'Bryne's personal assets, including any and all interest(s) he may have in PC Microworks Corporation.

Now, before anyone runs screaming for the door, I want to make sure that everyone grasps the basic concept and legal effect of a separate corporate entity such as PC Microworks Corporation; to wit: a corporation such as PC Microworks is a separate legal person under the law, and as such is not ipso facto responsible for the debts of its shareholders, officers, or directors. Therefore, from a technical perspective, the personal debts of Matthew O'Byrne are not in any way, shape, or form the debts of PC Microworks Corporation solely because Mr. O'Byrne may happen to own all of the stock of that corporation. That being said, however, the shares of stock that Matthew O'Bryne may (or may not - ownership hasn't been proven yet, merely inferred from good circumstantial evidence) own will constitute assets out of which the judgment against Mr. O'Byrne may be satisfied by, for example, having the shares seized and sold at pubic auction with the proceeds from that auction, net of execution costs, being used to reduce the outstanding amount of the judgment debt. There are any number of ways in which the value of shares of stock in a wholly-owned corporation can be put to use for the purpose of satisfying a judgment creditor, including liquidating the corporation, selling it as a going business, or operating it as a business and withdrawing the profits therefrom as dividends to be paid over to the judgment creditor. However the shares of stock are handled, there is a good likelihood that there will be a severe tension between the amount of cash the judgment creditor wishes to extract from the corporation and the amount of cash that needs to stay invested in the corporation and it's business in order to satisfy the corporation's obligations to its current and future customers.

That, in a nutshell, is why I have gone to the trouble of posting this very long update, and undertaken the risk of being flamed from here to Kingdom Come by any number of people who disagree with the rationale for posting this material up in the first place; namely, that the existence of this $73,000 debt hanging over the head of Matthew O'Bryne is very likely to be satisfied, at least in part, by drawing out any surplus cash currently invested in the corporation, and by realizing the value in the corporation by either selling it off as a going business (in which case the obligations owed to customers would continue to exist and to be enforceable) or by liquidating the corporation, selling its assets off piecemeal, and dissolving the legal entity or leaving it as an empty paper shell (in which case the obligations to customers would either expire with the liquidation and dissolution, or would be worthless because enforceable only against a piece of paper with no assets to its name).

As such, it strikes me that this is not just somebody's dirty laundry from two years ago, with no relevance to the present or the future, but a material risk to the financial investment made by some or all of the corporation's customers as well as to the investment that a number of people still intend to make.

All of that being said, the risk isn't equal for everyone; for example, if you bought a system from PC Microworks 10 months ago, and did not get an extended warranty but instead went with the standard 1-year warranty, then you really do not have that much at stake - your exposure consists of an additional two months during which you will have to pay for any repairs that become necessary during those two months. On the other hand, if you purchased a 3-year extended warranty in June of 2008, then you have a potential risk of exposure for an additional two years and eleven months - exposure for which you paid good money to be protected from the risk of damages caused by any defects, as well as the investment made in acquiring the right to obtain future upgrades at cost. All I can do is point out that there are at least some people reading this thread who may want to consider getting assurances that their financial investment will not be jeopardized, or consulting their own attorney or other legal advisor to determine whether or not they need to take any particular actions now in order to protect themselves. As far as potential buyers are concerned, the exposure lies in the fact that you will be expected to pay over the purchase price in liquid funds at least several days before the system you're purchasing is delivered to you. Once it's actually delivered to you, your risk of loss should significantly drop, because the property is yours and is in your possession; however, if something should happen to occur between the time the funds you remit to PCMW become available for the corporation's use, and the time when your system is actually delivered into the hands of UPS, FedEX, or USPS for delivery to you, you may suddenly find yourself without a computer, and with only the claim of a general unsecured creditor as your only means of recourse to recover the money you remitted to PCMW.

I hate to say it folks, but these facts raise material issues of risk that need to be carefully evaluated before you take the next step.

 

wow... very good information. thanks {FRIEND}, and Shyster. Glad i'm cancelling my order.

 

Ohh my...... Great findings Shyster and well documented. We have heard from & assisted past customers from Hybridgear scrambling for warranty service after their shady dealings with them.

I think some past Hybridgear customers will find this information interesting....

 

Wow, that is some scary news. I haven't heard of hybridgear as I'm new to clevo and all, but fact that the owner would just trash a company while its warrenty was still out, frightens me. And yeah, the BBB results were not very pretty. Like everyone said, this is a great documentary, thanks for putting your time and effort into this, and your "friend" too.

 

The same can be said with all the other resellers.
Interesting information. But from what I've been seeing, PCMW, if any of this is true, has been going strong and their customers are happy. For the very least, the person in question learned from his past mistakes. For the most, perhaps he is the OWNER, but has hired efficient business managers, etc. to run the operations. So there is honestly no reason to fear, at least right now, not based on reviews, resellerratings or accounts on PCMW.

In my opinion, they are becoming a formidable competitor to the resellers on this forum.

 

I don't know about hybridgear,but good work shyster as usual,repped.

Paladin will be very happy to hear this.

 

It could be a ploy to get more people to buy and close down.

About 2 years ago when I wanted to buy a 5760,every one told of flawless computers and recommended the guy Brian smith. They closed down the next month.Had I paid them,I would have lost about 2k then.So make your own wise decisions like is it better to to buy from Powernotebooks/xotic than from somewhere else to save 100$ where you could loose a lot more in the long run.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Point Taken. However, can't the same be said for this Kobalt fella. The one who does all the customization of his machines and sells them as executioner etc.?
You're talking about buying from a person, at least those 2 years ago. PCMW is a company, they can't just close up shop, have all these orders in, without SERIOUS repercussions. I can't see them closing any time soon, at least not before I receive my laptop with accessories at an amazing price

 

And on an interesting note, on the "why us" portion of PCMW's site, it said" "Pushing the boundaries of technology to the limit and beyond is our specialty", says Founder and CEO of PC MicroWorks Corporation." In stead of actually stating the name of this founder, they just slapped some random titles. Maybe the name Matt O'bryne isn't credible enough to use?

 

Careful Deathwinger...you are getting your people mixed up. The Executioner is by Mark at Killernotebooks, not Neil at Kobalt. Now that IS Libel. While it may be true that Mark is essentially a one man operation, at least he is a hard working legitimate business. Kobalt is also a legitimate business.

Further, how do you know how many people work at PCMW? If you carefully read what Shyster1 posted, and you Google that address you will see that it appears to be an apartment complex that backs up to a mobile home park. Maybe, just maybe...and only if you open your eyes you will see that PCMW is not the "company" that you think they are. They have already stated that no one can visit them because they are not "open to the public" and they have no storefront.

Once a guy has already closed up a company with a history like Hybridgear.net, and opens another one in another state with a fancy website showing pictures of a conference room and lab that are clearly not theirs, but works it out of his apartment, what possible "SERIOUS repercussions" could there be when he disappears yet again?

Hybridgear.net was a sole proprietorship that Matt O'Byrne owned according the the Better Business Bureau report, but PCMW is a corporation that Matt O'Byrne owns (he just got more careful this time). When a corporation goes away it is like a poof of air...there is nothing left and there is no personal liability to the "owner"...er, um..."operator" in this case.

 

Deathwinger, Some of this needs to rest......Flawless Computers (Brian Smith) was as much as of a company as PCMW/HybridGear before they folded up. Bottom line is before they vanished they took allot of peoples money and left many without warranty they purchased. (some including 3 Year Warranties)

PCMW has obviously been down the road; not traveled by most legitimate dealers...

 

Im glad I bought from XoticPC and didn't fall for one of those "sales." I coulden't be happier so far with my system.

 

So what would you say to all the individuals who bought a system with PCMW and have it and those who pre ordered from them? Tough luck.

Please, what stops Mark from closing up shop and leaving his customers in the cold. What stops Xotic PC or Powernotebooks from disappearing as well. What has not happened in a million years can happen in one second. I will be careful, I will ensure I get everything I want from PCMW in the event they do 'disappear'. Hell, I'll even take out insurance from that site you recommend if that is the case.

But seriously, at this point, they have proven themselves as an excellent after sales company. Why go through all that effort if it were a scam?

 

A point very well made.

I too noticed that neither the Hybridgear.net website that you can link to in the early dates of the Archive.org site nor that PCMW site are there ever any names used.

I also noticed that none of the emails from PCMW that have been posted here ever have any names on them...they only say PCMW Sales Team, and talk about their R&D Team.

I don't even recall anyone talking about any particular person by name with whom they have spoken at PCMW.

 

What I would say to those individuals who have pre-ordered from PCMW is to protect yourself at all times, and now that this guy has been exposed you should wake up to the reality that Hybridgear.net lasted for about 3 years before closing up shop and leaving people dangling...PCMW has only been operating for about 2 years. If the pattern follows he could be pulling the plug very soon. After all, don't forget that he has been taking people's money on these special "sales" with all kinds of too good to be true promises and warranties since May...and no one will be the wiser until probably some time in August when all the Sager orders have been delivered and those the pre-ordered from PCMW are still waiting.

Deathwinger, there is no way you can "...ensure I get everything I want from PCMW in the event they do 'disappear'. XXXX, I'll even take out insurance from that site you recommend if that is the case." If he disappears to another state under a different company name again before you get what you paid for there is little you can do, and the Accidental Damage insurance will be of no help. Heck, you can't even buy it until you have your serial number.

Wake up man, and quit shooting the messengers. This guy is an operator that has done it before and will do it again. His behavior has already proved that he has no integrity whatsoever.

 

I really think Shyster's post should be highlighted elsewhere - it is almost wilful blindness on our collective part not to highlight these connections so at least potential purchasers can make informed decisions about dealings with the company in question.

I would support having this post on the front page, personally. It seems only factual to me - and no-one should fear the facts, right?

Petrov.

EDIT: Would it be too strong to suggest a wiki entry for PCMW with some of this information in the OP?

 

Deathwinger - There will be nothing you can do if they go out of business. Your pcmw warranty would be null and void. You are right people do go out of business just like that. But what separates mosts companies is the track record or history. Companies with a track record demonstrate that they are equipped with the fundamentals on how to operate a stable and consistent business, which their track record demonstrates. (for Donald and myself, nearly a decade now)

You can only be a fanboy for so long before you need to throw in the towel....

 

I am a firm believer in second chances, and that concept is woven into the fundamental fabric of American society, hence the Bankruptcy Code, for example. So I certainly hope that, to the extent the findings indicate cause for concern, the folks involved have learned from the past and made the necessary changes. However, I'm also a firm believer in that old saying from the days of the Cold War: trust, but verify, or, as the Russians would say: Доверяй, но проверяй ("doveryai, no proveryai"); the past can be forgiven, but should not be forgotten or, as elegantly written by George Santayana,

-- George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol. I (1905-1906)

And, I will say, based on the reports that have been posted here from members who own PCMW systems, e.g., Doodles, Wu Jen, and a number of others, that they do seem to have changed for the better, although they do still seem to be somewhat disorganized and a little...premature...with some things. If the posted findings are correct, it may be a simple matter of prior disorganization having got the better of otherwise well-intentioned people.

Ultimately, you need to inform yourself about the company you do business with and the people who own and operate it, carefully evaluate what you've learned, and make the decision that best comports with your own best interests (provided, of course, you've inspected those as well, because the old Socratic adage that "the unexamined life is not worth living," ( Plato, Dialogues, Apology) applies with equal force to commercial transactions - the unexamined purchase is not worth buying).

If, after digesting the evidence, you reasonably decide that following through with your original plan is still in your own best interests, then that is what you should do; however, you should also realize that others may not agree with you - not because they're wrong and you're right, or because you're wrong and they're right, but because they came to a different evaluation of the available evidence, an evaluation that is entitled to as much respect as you deem yours to be.

EDIT: On the issue of warranties - yes, companies can, and do, go out of business, even the most efficient and best-run sometimes fall victim to circumstance. That fact, however, only highlights the importance of considering a service contract with an independent third-party provider; typically, service contract providers are regulated in the same way as are insurance companies, and must generally have the same sort of prudently invested reserves, commensurate with their contractual obligations, as are required for insurance companies. As such, there is frequently less risk of loss with a third-party service contract because the servicer's obligations under that contract are largely secured by the servicer's required reserves.

 

Ha, tell that to the alienware fanboys.

But I suppose if you've already got a stake in PCMW through pre-ordering, then its only natural that you don't want to admit you've made a faulty decision. I know I don't like to say I'm wrong, especially on a 2k plus purchase. By all means, stick with it. Your experience can be a document to whether or not PCMW is a decent business.

 

Good research Shyster1, some solid stuff.

Just wondering where your sources are for this:

I was just going through the website and it stated 2006. Hybridgear must have accounted for those 6 years since 2002. You might wanna check out their website too.

Truth to this? (20,000+sq/ft PCMW Silicon Valley headquarters). They do state their HQ address in their website which is different from your findings.

 

That goes without saying; however, I don't think that it's time yet to conclude that a pre-order from PCMW was necessarily a faulty decision - merely that, to date, it was a risky decision; it may still turn out, in retrospect, to have been prescient, more akin to having invested your rent-money in Microsoft, as opposed to, say, having invested same in Atari.

 

41829 Albrae ST, Fremont, Ca 94538 according to their website. I can't access Goggle Earth from my pc at work - can anyone describe the location (I assume it's accurate of course)?

I would guess it must be a business park or somesuch, to house all their R&D labs, conference rooms, etc that they show on their website.

Petrov.

EDIT: This link worked for me: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.ad...:37.513374:-121.975441:0::/io:0:::::f:EN:M:/e

 

sorry, I seemed a bit harsher then I meant. But as you see from the second part of my post, I anticipate reading about their experience, positive or not.

 

I typically wouldn't quote myself, however....

A quick google of the address shows a few businesses operating out of the same address (which I wouldn't have thought is uncommon for business-park/warehouse type set-ups for small businesses). I've no idea if these are still operating either or what they do. If you're interested, they include (in addition to PCMW):

- Cyclades Corporation‎
- Okashi Studio‎
- Syabas Technology Inc.‎
- Jew Loretta‎
- Athena Optics‎

A few others also come up if you feel like sifting through goggle results...

Petrov.

PS: Found this vaguely amusing link: http://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2007/12-December/23-Dec-2007/FBO-01475115.htm - apparently the airforce or a related contractor has bought something from them...

 

Just to clear up any mis-understanding, we are Kobalt Computers Ltd (almost always refered to as 'Kobalt') based in the UK and have nothing to do with this. Thanks for the clarifying Donald

 

I agree completely

 

Yellow pages w/ map

http://www.yellowpages.com/info-LMS...business=true&back_to=/name/CA/PC-microworks?

 

Donald, I just used the address that they showed on their website: http://www.pcmicroworks.com/contact.htm

And then when I plug that address into google it comes up with some of the businesses listed at that address:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en...&oi=local_group&resnum=1&ct=more-results&cd=2

Hope this helps!

Petrov.

 

Well, this is all very, very interesting... and frightening... and discouraging.

I bought an m57RU from them recently (stupid, I know... but they're local, and I was unaware of the marketing issues and any of this Hybridgear business). Well, the computer works fantastically well, and came with all the componants I ordered. The person on the other end of the phone (who never shared his name) was most helpful through the entire process, and made some generous financial overatures when shipping was a few days later than anticipated. I was very happy with their service, and with the product.

But if the warranty will be null and void soon... that would be an entirely different matter! I guess if that happens, and my system has problems, I'll have to pay Donald or Justin to fix it for me!

As to the address... they are relatively local to me, and I have a mind to swing by the 41829 Albrae St. address in Fremont, and see what's actually there. I'll bring a digital camera, and post whatever I find.

 

finally another espionage mission...

 

41829 Albrae ST
Fremont, CA 94538

That is the official address according to PCMW's site. http://www.pcmicroworks.com/contact.htm

Someone wanted a google earth picture so here it is.

Close up



Far Away

 

What's funny is that they spelled "PC Microworks" wrong.

 

So Shyster (the all knowing), is this the house that he is working out of?

 

Local sources do confirm that he is there, occupying a relatively small portion of that building.

Of course he claims to own the whole building and rent the remainder out to others.

 

lol whats all that trash in the back of the parking lot?

 

Please don't make the converse of the same mistake that the overly-forgiving are making. First and foremost, let me reiterate, like they say in all of those financial product ads, past performance does not guarantee future performace - there's no reason to think that PCMW will necessarily be the Donald Trump of computer resellers (FYI, Donald Trump's real-estate investment vehicles are basically bankruptcy yo-yos - in and out, in and out,...).

Second, and perhaps more importantly, if you got a good machine that meets or exceeds your expectations, then you got most of what you bargained for, and that's really what matters. Please enjoy it for what it is and what it does, not for the past-history of the folks who merely sold it to you (after all, they didn't even do most of the manufacturing - Clevo's to blame for that - so really, even if we want to explore the dark side, you don't have that much that's still at risk).

Third, it's way, way, way too early to say that your warranty will be "void and null soon." If you didn't buy the extended warranty/service plan, then you're really not too badly off anyways; if you did, I think about the only thing I would want to check on was whether or not the extended warranty was a so-called "service plan" carried by a third-party vendor, or not.

At any rate, you've still got one of the most kick-@55 notebooks in the world, and it doesn't sound like it's got even a little case of hiccups, so please, enjoy the heck out of it!

 

The environment to the right of the picture matches the picture that one of our forumities who lived very near PCMW took.

So these are the headquarters. Well, all that is needed is for a reseller to bomb it and for sure PCMW will no longer be a threat to them.

 

lol WOW. this is all interesting now isnt it.. nice find man def rep for that

 

Yeah, we're on the same page, Shyster. I'm not sending it back or anything. It works really, really well (no issues whatsoever, performance is fantastic). Whoever I dealt with at PCMW was helpful, and always responded quickly to all my requests and inquiries. He also gave me some very, very generous refunds and discounts when the computer didn't ship when he said it would (it shipped 2 days later). I'm actually not sure how much money he made off my sale!

My only concern would be the warranty. I did not buy the extended warranty, and so what I have will likely not be affected. I had planned to upgrade the warranty before the year was up on the existing one, but will likely not do that now. I'll save the money, and if something happens, and PCMW isn't around, I'll seek help elsewhere.

But I'm not panicking.

 

Hmm, the mystery is revealed, na?
Nasty stuff man, gotta get ma shotgun.

 

Can probably see my house in this pic.

 

WOw, JUst read this thread as close as i could... cuz.. I bought from PCMW... in August '07...
First off... Shyst... my brother would luv you lol.. He's currently in law school and comes home telling me all this legal mumbo jumbo i wouldnt care to hear... You sound just like him
Now, I'm posting here to give my personal experience with PCMW... THis is neither a fanboy nor flaming post! Ill try to keep to the facts.

In august 07 I purchased the system and spoke to reps who did give me their names... and i dont think it was fake cuz they gave me their extensions and this person always picked up by name... it was Scott... There was another guy too, I have his name and ext. written somewhere. (BTW... ALWAYS CALL and GET NAMES when you spend this amount of money) I was on the phone with this guy for months before i handed over this kind of money. I cut a deal with them and they ended up taking alot more off than the sales they do now because i spoke with them and price matched other places... (like xoticpc - good prices at xotic!)

System came without screws holding the bottom plate in :/. Called them up, The next day I received a whole thing of screws and a free year of antivirus... trend micro.. wasn't bad lol....

next issue. THe pixelated screen that many D901c owners had. I initially thought it was the LCD inverter. SO i called and they sent one right out. It helped, but didn't completely fix. So Next came the video cable. They sent it out and i replaced and no more problems. Thats it...

I payed a very low price (This system now, back in august '07, i payed under 3k) Anything i needed they didnt ask a question but sent it right out. I know many other companies hassle you before sending out parts they have to pay for under warranty. They didn't hassle.

This is why in a month or so I will probably go back to them to swap out my motherboard and such and processor and video card.

SO, I am very disheartened to hear this from Shyster, yet at the same time I also believe in second chances. They have gave me NO trouble and as far as I can tell this whole lying about parts in the edge is the first mistake they've made. So to perspective buyers is this. I'm not telling you to buy or not buy from anywhere. I'm telling you, you should ALWAYS CALL and speak to HUMAN beings when spending LARGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY. (and large is anything over 2k... imo) And since I was barely on hold and always got a person. I trusted them. And i suppose i still do. ITs a bad sign when a company doesnt pick up the phone and you're on hold for hours. And, these people worked with me on the pricing and future issues I know I would have, such as upgrading. Thats another thing. Companies should work with the consumer so everyone is happy in the end and no one feels they're getting the short end of the stick.

I will definitely be watching them more closely now, although still going to them for my business.

 

whats wrong with kobalt?

 

maybe because they have not done it before?

 

See posts 15 and 25 earlier in this thread.

 

i did now.

 

Thanks for this information, Shyster1, I stickied this thread.

 

Doodles, I greatly appreciate seeing your experience with PCMW, especially presented in the unbiased, just the facts way that it was.

Obviously there is alot of tension regarding PCMW through truth, lies, and specualtion. But you and Shyster have provided a good depth of information on both sides, without watering it down with personal interests.

+ rep

 

I have to say, at this point even if PCMW turns out to be completely legit, they have no one to blame but themselves for all this suspicion and confusion. They put the Edge on sale - and started taking people's money - long before they had any idea what the M860 would turn out to be. If you're going to run a HybridGear type scam, thats a good way to do it; by taking advantage of a highly anticipated and rather expensive product.

Whether prudent or merely paranoid, I was thinking about buying from PCMW...now I definately won't.

 

Actually they have yet to take my money (charge my credit card), and will not until the unit is nearing shipment. Alhough I'm sure they already have taken some wires and since I think someone had said that their status had been updated to building, they may have taken their money already, but who knows.

Either way, there are alot of negatives out there about them and they should certainly, along with all the positives, be taken into consideration before buying.

Not to mention that pricing will be out in less than a week from the rest of the guys, so at this point there is not as much benefit going with PCMW before seeing everyone else (especially since my configuration now comes in at $775 over what I will actually pay).

That is not to say that it wasn't beneficial for us who have worked up some heavy discounts to have already placed orders. Just to clarify.