Eric's Beijing Diary

Figure this one out. I took my laptop to HP for warranty work. What happened is that I tripped on the headphone cord, which pulled it out of my computer, but at a sharp angle that broke the connector. When I brought my machine in yesterday, they took my serial number, told me my computer was still under warranty, and that they had to have the little piece that had broken off. I told them I didn't think I could find it. They said if I couldn't, it would take more than a month to fix my laptop, and that it would not be covered by the warranty. I was dumbfounded....just doesn't make sense. Why do they need a part they are going to have to throw away anyway? But I went home and looked until I found it. I brought my laptop back today with the little tiny piece. They put it in a plastic back and told me to come back for my laptop in two or three days. For the life of me, I can't figure out how why that little broken piece of plastic made so much difference.