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websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) codeman Websurfers at compusa for $49.99 web site error ?? went down to compusa with print out from website and the manager let me get 1 went to another compusa a manager there let me get 3 they said it was a website error codeman http://linux-hacker.net/websurfer http://www.compusastores.com/products/product_info.asp?prodzip=&product_code=271198 04-26-2000 14:57:00

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) FrustratedMan I sped to my local store: They are supposed to make you fill out an EarthLink agreement while you are in the store, else charge you the regular price of $199. Our local store has an EarthLink sign up saying that + there is a packet of papers stuck to the box, covering or in place of the UPC-A barcode. Get'm if you can. I couldn't. 04-26-2000 16:38:06

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Dknight Well Codeman you got lucky, maybe old packaging or something. This company caught the CLUE TRAIN,I wasn't too interested in the unit but for 49 bucks it could make a nice NAT box or print server. Anyway down at my CUSA they are right out on the floor with a BIG must sign agreement printed on the top of the box pointing to a pack papers stuck to the side. So it looks like other venders have learned from NPLI's mistake. The sales guy said I could buy it for $200 with no 'TOS' or 49 with. Hmm you don't think another company would ever try this do you ? 04-26-2000 17:35:37

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) metoo no problem for me to get one, paid cash, no questions asked, they were up on a shelf, no display, tos NOTHING..... your milage may vary....... $49.00 +20 for IDE card.... keep me out of trouble for a few days..... 04-26-2000 19:17:05

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) hardware1 Sorry to hear that some of you are having problems. We may have gotten there before they figured out what to do. They didn't seem to know about the sign, and I didn't notice it till I went back in later to buy some other stuff. Check out the main page, got a pic of the "sale" sign that was put up inside the store. http://www.linux-hacker.net/ You never know where they may be! I found 3 units sitting (hidden?) near the back of the store, none were up front. Got a pic of them, look at the bottom part of: http://linux-hacker.net/websurfer/ Called a friend and he picked up one of the 3 that were left. One store said it was a error on the web page and wouldn't sell to customers! That store had them all locked in the managers office. Employees may grab a few. At one store they put up a sign near the I-Opener trying to explain why you can't get one. No reference to bad executive decisions : ) Got a pic of that one too. See the "Retail Space for Rent" page at the bottom part: http://www.linux-hacker.net/h1/retail-space.html Had a fun (and lucky) day! 04-27-2000 00:11:29

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) tunk Question; did anyone try to buy with TOS? do they ask for any ID? could papers fall off the box before you get to the counter? does the store lose anything if you dont sign up? can you think of any other way around this? 04-27-2000 02:29:28

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Knock your selves ou Go ahead you can take them all.... not a least bit interested in this one..... 04-27-2000 02:33:29

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) _MiSFiT_ Managed to purchase one of these, It has a 49.99 sticker on the outside of the box and a set of papers taped to the side of the box that said IMPORTANT! Contract must be signed in store. Thankfully both the guy that got the unit for me, and who rang me up paid no attention to this IMPORTANT! item dangling off the box haha.. Hopefully those that try will be as lucky. After messing with it a bit it's def not as exiting as the I-Opener but it looks like it has some cool possibilities. 04-27-2000 07:53:56

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) 49.99 I just bought one from my CompUSA - half hour ago. The TOS is stuck to the box in a plastic bag, with a big "IMPORTANT" sticker pointing to it. I helped the sales associate locate the UPC and he did not seem to notice the "IMPORTANT" part. No mention of signing anything other than my VISA stub. The paperwork in the bag has an Activation Code, Installation Diagram and the Terms & Conditions form that I was supposed to sign at CompUSA. Looks like I got away with it. The fact that I paid with my credit card is a bit worrying, but I don't see what right CompUSA has disclosing this information to Websurfer/Innovator/EarthLink. Any comments on this? OK, so how do I dial my own ISP with this new toy? It'll be nice to surf the web on a 27" screen! 04-27-2000 09:50:42

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) gold_ear I just bought two at my local Comp USA. They had no promotional display up yet, and the posted price was $199. I encountered some resistance when the units scanned in at $199, and pointed out that their advertizement clearly listed it for only $49. They were completely unaware of any promotional offer, and thought that the $49 price was simply a mistake on their web page. After showing several people (including two store managers) a copy of the Comp USA web page with the listing, and pointing out the phrase "available in-store only" they finally gave in and let me have them for $49. There were four more of the units remaining on display at the store when I left, but I suspect that I may have simply gotten lucky by being the first person to inquire about this discrepancy at this store particular. I strongly suspect that once they find out the terms of the promo, then it will be all over. Until then you might get lucky at Kirkland, if you are quick. 04-27-2000 10:36:56

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) h20boxer Profile Just picked up mine at CUSA 57th & BWAY in NYC. Took a little time for the manager to give it to me at 49.99. It says inside that you have 2 options. 1. Use their service @ 24.95/month 2. Use your own service. THey give you two different activation codes. 04-27-2000 10:39:46

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) 49.99 Strange how other people have encountered resistance. My CompUSA actually had a placard in front of the 3 on display, with $49.99 clearly marked on it. I actually believe that the website price is correct. However, when I paid for mine the sales guy said "wow - good deal." And another said "yes, those webplayers are cool." So I don't know. I'm thinking about going to buy another one but paying cash this time. Even if they make me sign the contract this time (this'll be my second purchase) I can still cancel within 14 days for a full refund. I'd just take the credit card-purchased unit back. But I will try the "oh where did that paperwork go?" trick first. Good luck!! Sweet deal indeed. Thanks Ken for notifying us all about this "next hack." 04-27-2000 10:56:44

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Cueball Went to Des Moines Comp USA, 4 in stock but 200 bucks, no questions asked. Said that they have had them for 4 months, and that is the price they always were, so i said i would take my business somewhere else. He didn't budge. ASSHOLE 04-27-2000 11:20:15

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) grack Try harder! Bring a friend. Try later! Try next day! Try another checkout idiot! Don't give up so easy! Whoops! My info I filled out was wrong, old address? 04-27-2000 12:41:58

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) pibkac I just got one from CompUSA on the 57th in NYC. The price was $199 but the manager sold it for 49.99 bucks. still 3 left! No mention of the TOS. 04-27-2000 13:28:51

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Claw 49.99 is a damn good deal for this hardware. Compare to this Thin Client: http://www.acutetech.com/tc_1000.html It lists for $299.00 and Windoes CE installed. 04-27-2000 13:31:34

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) alcuin99 just got 2!yay. had to b1tch to get it at $49, told them about the website thing. some other guy was doing it with me too, he got 2; there are a lot of boxes, but only 4 didnt have the stupid sticker and paper slips telling u to sign the contract, so i got 2 and the other guy got 2. gotta run, do hw now :) 04-27-2000 13:37:28

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Gorgar+Speaks Thanks gold_ear, I did get lucky at the Kirkland WA CompUSA. There were 4 left, I picked up 2 and took em to the cashier, showed the internet ad, cashier went away to talk to the manager saying "this is an internet deal only" but came back 30 seconds later and rung up the sale. No TOS mentioned. I said hang on, while I went back to the shelf to snap up the remaining 2, and they were gone! Heh. 04-27-2000 14:08:33

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) gold_ear A friend of mine went back to the Kirkland CUSA during lunch, and picked-up a couple of units for $49. Apparently when he went to the checkout, the cashier went off to get approval. In the 2 minutes while she was gone, they apparrently pulled all remaing stock from their shelves. Sorry guys, It looks like they are onto us 04-27-2000 14:10:29

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Spincycle I went to the houston location on westhiemer and dairy ashford. Complete idiots. I spent over 1 hour there. It rang up as 199.00 and I told them it was meant to be 49.99 After 1 hour and calling websurfer on the phone, they guy said OK, it's 49.99 but I can't sign you up until tommorow. They have to enter the contract on some web site. I basically said screw off and left. If you got one, no contract, congrats. I'm writing a letter to CUSA to tell them to inform their management of product terms and prices. Btter yet, maybe I should call the president at home =) Haha! 04-27-2000 14:59:11

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) digits65 I was only going to get one of these, but I overheard one of the employees talking about me so I asked him what his problem was (in a friendly way). He said another gal wanted him to grab one for her as she saw me walking around the store with the next to last one. "Yeah, they're a great price", he said. "But, our unit cost is $25 so we're still making money". Hmmm.... because of my employer I get hardware from CompUSA at 8% over their cost. I quickly scooped up the last one and bought both of them for $27.17 each. Anyway, if there's any grief over the $49.99 price, have them go to the business desk and look up their cost. They'll see that they're still making a profit and should sell them to you. Having a printout of their web page will also help a lot! 04-27-2000 16:10:10

bought 2 websurfers @ compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) webpimp Yes, I read about this deal, and then took off from work and bought two at the CompUSA in San Diego. I talked to three managers; I brought in a print out of the /www.compusa.com web site. The managers eventually agreed that they needed to sell this to me for $49 dollars. There was an earthlink two-year contract, but because it wasn't on the website I didn't sign it. 04-27-2000 16:32:07

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Juice Got mine in San Diego, Was labeled as $49 and thats what I paid. No sign-up pack on the box. So what's with this hack? Don't you just add a harddrive? is there a serial port (other than the modem). I assume you can use regular IDE cables and cheap 3.5" drives? Anyone start a www.webserfer-hack.net site yet. I have no idea why I bout it. I think I follow all orders from this forum Juice 04-27-2000 18:17:15

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Tony Got mine tonite...wont have time to crack it open, but didnt have to sign the contract. Walked in picked one outta the pile (they had about 20), sign above (Marque Type) with $49.99 on it. Walked up to the counter, put it down, and the young girl said $216.50....I said but the sign says $49.99 and pointed to the sign and pile of them....she said hmmm...must not be updated in the computer yet, changed the price in the computer, and I payed and walked out the door Tony 04-27-2000 18:30:13

Not in LA... (modified 0 times) SomebodyinSoCal I was at a miscellaneous CompUSA somewhere in the LA area. Not only didnt' they have any on site, but they didn't know what I was talking about when I asked about it. This doesn't look as cool as the IO anyway hehehe 04-27-2000 18:35:07

Just got one. How do you power the HD? (modified 0 times) turtle Just picked one up from a local CompUSA. Came up as $199 at the check-out but I whipped out a printout of the CompUSA website saying it's $49. The manager took a look at the printout and did a manual override. In retrospect I should have grabbed another at that price! Anyway, adding a PCI IDE controller is straightforward but how do I power the HD? Is there somewhere to tap 12V? Will it boot from the HD automatically or do I have to change some BIOS settings? 04-27-2000 19:40:51

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Gorgar Speaks Ok, got my Websurfer today, and now I'm home having a peak around inside... Does this count as late breaking news? Maybe this should be in the technical threads. What do we see... A regular looking ISA modem card plugged into shared PCI/ISA slot on a short riser card plugged into the mainboard. The riser card socket looks something like an EISA connector if I'm not mistaken...a dual level double sided 200 finger arrangement. There are some unpopulated connectors: a 2X20pin IDE header (IDE1), 5V&GND (CN26), 8pin RJ45 10BaseT on back panel(CN25), 3 stereo jacks on the back panel (CN22,CN23,CN24), a 6pin IrDA(?) connector labelled TMS,TDI,TDO,TCK,GND,VCC u figure it out(CN10), a 22 pin connector labeled SCART (CN20), 1X10pin header alternate power (CN5), a 2X5 header COM1 serial port (CN18). And some populated but unused connectors: GND-12V-GND (CN11), 2X4 header unknown (CN6), Highrise Keyboard&Mouse DIN connectors covered by backpanel cutouts (CN13), a 2X8 header "IC card" RS232 (CN16), and a partially used 2X11 header labelled 2-4-6-8 SPK, 1-3-5-7-9 IR, 13-14 PowerOn/Off, 15-16 HDD LED, 18-19 RESET, 19-20 PowerLED, and 21-22 LNK. Pins 15-22 go to the front panel (CN28). Hee! Now for some unpopulated IC's. Ethernet tranceiver (U4) and Osc Module (U8), a 208pin flatpak (whoa!) (U7). an RS232 transceiver? GD75232D (U10), and a whole mess of unpopulated passives, hard to see w/o my monocle :p What else in on this MB...Hmm... two 168pin DIMM memory sockets, only one filled (DIMM1,2), AD1819 AC97 V2.1 CODEC (U2), Winbond 256KX8 Flash EEPROM loader (U25), 16MB Disk-on-Chip (U26), a Socket-7 CPU socket w/2 selectable voltages 2.2V and 2.9V (jumpers V1,V2,V4,V8), CMOS RAM (24) and battery (BAT1), with Normal/Clear jumper (JP5), NTSC/PAL selectable video (JP4). Oh... motherboard is silkscreened MB1030 Ver2.0A. Hey, anyone got a schematic and a BOM? Come on! :) 04-28-2000 01:43:26

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) ZTree Interesting - the compusa web site no longer lists this item! http://www.compusastores.com/products/product_info.asp?prodzip=&product_code=271198 D*mn...missed again! 04-28-2000 09:34:24

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) ack! hey, can someone who has a printout of the compusa webpage scan it in and post it somewhere? thanks... 04-28-2000 10:05:16

Websurfer compusa 49.99 (BELLEVUE, WA) (modified 0 times) humbao How I got one: I am in Bellevue, WA. The CompUSA there has a bunch >30 I think. All of them have plastic bags with TOS on them with a sticker that says it must be signed while in the store. The plastic bags are on the narrow sides next to the barcode. Here is what I did. I grabbed one, took the TOS out of the packet and put it inside the websurfer box. I went to the counter to some woman and positioned the box so the important sticker and the plastic bag are facing me. There is fortunately another UPC on the opposite side but it doesn't scan too well. The cashier manually entered in the number on the other UPC, the price came up 49 something, she asked if I want extended warranty, I replied negatory and forked over the cash. I only bought one but after I got out of the store I thought about goin to the cash machine and going back in and buying more with that same woman. Anyways, I didn't feel that I needed a bunch since I would have to purchase a bunch more parts to make it useable. Now if someone out there confirms that this thing will accept CPU's much much faster then that is a different story. Since this thing has TV out and sound and OK processing I was thinking of conveniently mounting it into an Arcade cabinet and making MAME cabinet out of it. Make a cab, go find an old 19 or 25 inch TV, hack the wireless keyboard by hooking up some arcade controls and shish boom bang, I gotta COOL arcade cabinet in my living room. So go for it, here are some comments to try if they don't know too much: "But I already have Earthlink, will they get me a new phone line too?" "I am getting it for grandma in pohdunk land" "I will send in the agreement once I get home. I can't use it for anything else right?" "I got no stinkin credit card" Have fun and look forward to hearing about the hacks to turn this guy into a supercomputer :) !!!!! 04-28-2000 11:39:28

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) jackie_chan cn6 is the jumper block for the ps2 mouse/keyboard. set jumpers across 1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8 and you have to remove the mobo to knock out the 2 ports 04-28-2000 19:37:20

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) LinuxSurfer I just snagged one.. they made me sign the sucker for the TOS, but I'm canceling that card today... I got away with that on something else before, so it should work now... Just FYI, in Alexandria, VA, they kept the suckers behind the counter!!! I just said screw it and got it since even if I do get nailed with the monthly fee I am pretty sure I can get out of it. 05-01-2000 11:48:11

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) raistlin Try this... I went to my local CompUSA (anaheim) after calling a rep and discovering that they had two in stock for 49.99 apiece. Sure enough I couldn't find one on display. So after talking to 3 people one guy didn't take me to the software section looking for a "websurfer" and showed me the display. Just the keyboard and main unit were sitting there, no box, display, cables, etc. Turns out there was another in the back that had been returned as defective. I just decided to go for the display model minus cables, software, etc. The guy gave it to me for 39.99 so if you can't find one try this! BTW... can someone send me a scanned manual, list of stuff thats in the box, etc? Software? Not that I need it. Linux is going to make it's debut on my TV!! 05-01-2000 12:52:50

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Andrew Felch Please, somebody post picture of what the wesite looked like before it was taken down!!!! please please please I'm about to go buy one. 05-01-2000 13:37:12

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) Steve-O No go at CompUSA in San Antonio, Texas. I spent some ten minutes tracking down the product from "Oh, yeah, I think I saw one, but they've been pulled off the shelf, to "Why, here's a WebTV...will that do?", to a manager insisting I sign the TOS before he'd let go of the box. 05-01-2000 19:41:49

RE:websurfer compusa 49.99 (modified 0 times) yuper LinuxSurfer: Worse case, send it back to the fools all hacked and ready for the next guy! Make sure you change the BIOS bootup screen to a penguin. I think I might do this just for the hell of it. Think they will get the message when 10 of these come back from the same guy with Linux in the flash disk? Andrew: Try reading some messages. 05-01-2000 22:20:31

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