Warranty Void If Removed
The last annoyance about the eee PC is the bright yellow "Warranty void if seal is broken or removed" sticker over the RAM upgrade slot.
Yes, you read that right: a computer manufacturer has decided that it voids your warranty to replace a DIMM.
The door in question also hides an available mini-PCI-Express slot, so needless to say, people would like to open it. For me, until I get out of the front of the bathtub curve and verify that the hardware works with Ubuntu, that sticker stays intact.
However, since I'm already pretending to be a lawyer in this post, allow me to discuss the Magnuson-Moss Act, what it says about tie-ins, and what exactly ASUS is doing here.
The Magnuson-Moss Act is a 1975 Federal law that lays down some rules for how consumer warranties work. One of the specific things it prohibits are "tie-ins," additional items or services you must buy from the manufacturer to make your warranty work. (This is why for-pay warranties these days are euphemistically termed 'service contracts.')
Examples of tie-ins are provided on the FTC's site. There's the unacceptable tie-in:
In order to keep your new Plenum Brand Vacuum Cleaner warranty in effect, you must use genuine Plenum Brand Filter Bags. Failure to have scheduled maintenance performed, at your expense, by the Great American Maintenance Company, Inc., voids this warranty.
...and the acceptable one:
While necessary maintenance or repairs on your AudioMundo Stereo System can be performed by any company, we recommend that you use only authorized AudioMundo dealers. Improper or incorrectly performed maintenance or repair voids this warranty.
Specifically, it's acceptable to void someone's warranty if maintenance is screwed up. (I'm paraphrasing the FTC's page, which was clearly paid by the word.)
Here are snippets from ASUS's warranty:
The warranty only covers failures or malfunctions occurred during the warranty period and in normal use conditions as will as for any material or workmanship defect. The warranty will not apply if: (a) the product has been tampered, repaired, or modified by non-authorized personnel; ... (c) the warranty seals have been broken or altered; ...
(Yes, those typos were in the original.)
Clause (a) above is clearly unenforceable under Magnuson-Moss -- it's one of the specific cases that the FTC cites as illegal.
Clause (c) follows as unenforceable: repairs (even normal upgrades) of the system cannot be performed without breaking the warranty seal. I'm not a lawyer, but I trust the judgment of judges; I doubt that a warranty stating "You can get this repaired by any qualified person but they can't look at it!" would be upheld. This is no different.
Edit (2007-11-23): One more note on my tie-in point: ASUS will be selling a "higher model" of the eee in the US, with more RAM and 8GB of Flash, starting at the end of this month. Someone will open this model up and post pictures. If the model is simply the original with a different DIMM and, say, a PCIe SSD dropped in, then what ASUS is saying is "These socketed, consumer-upgradeable parts will void your warranty if you touch them -- but if you pay us another $150 we'll change them for you." That's a bit more blatant than what I'd cited above.
http://cliffhacks.blogspot.com/2007...ns-and-gpl.html