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Article written on April 25th, 2002
Microsoft introduced the Intellimouse
Explorer in 1999. The mass introduction of the laser mouse
quickly changed the peripheral industry to the point where laser
mouses (mice is for rodents) outnumbered ball mouses on the shelf. The
main selling point of the mouse (besides the "cool" factor)
is that it used a laser instead of a ball and the laser would work
on almost any surface.
Everyone was a bit naive back then and
it was thought that:
1) The mouse doesn't need to be cleaned.
2) The mouse is all purpose. (Apps, Games, etc.)
3) The mouse worked on almost any surface.
Quickly we began to realize that the
mouse did need to be cleaned since gunk started to attack
the "eye" of the laser. Also, any abrupt movement
of the mouse (mostly in fast paced first person shooters) would
cause the cursor to jump randomly. Consumers soon found out
that the mouse becomes blind on reflective surfaces (glass, 3D mousepads,
sod, et cetera). Many astute observers also realized that
the rate the mouse refreshed was grossly inadequate compared to
many ball mouses.
"This mouse is no more! It has ceased
to be!"
It still was a great mouse. Today
the Intellimouse Explorer is still amongst the top-tier of mouse
devices. I used it as a nightlight to ward off the dorm demons
until it died without any warning. According to hundreds of user
reports these mouses have a problem with their cable, the way it
is routed out of the mouse means that after a while the wires inside
fail under normal stress.
I always figured that one of my family
members had brutally assaulted it and sent it to the grave. Alas,
until Microsoft correspondents started admitting that there were
flaws with the first Intellimouse Explorer. Since the
death of version 1.0 of the Intellimouse Explorer there have been
three revisions. I was doubtful that Microsoft would
do anything so I called them up at 1-800-360-7561 to see if the
rumours were true.
After a dizzying maze of selection options I got
ahold of a MS representative:
Call #1
Microsoft: Thank you for calling Microsoft Replacement Services
how may I help you. May I have your name sir.
Me: Hello, my name is Rick Deckard.
Microsoft: How may I assist you today Mr. Deckard.
Me: Both of my Intellimouse Explorers stopped working
quite a long time ago and I had been hearing murmurings on the
Internet that you were replacing these since some had been faulty.
Microsoft: When did you buy the mouse?
Me: (I Lied) A little under a year ago.
Microsoft: Do you have the receipt?
Me: (Wasn't really expecting them to ask for a receipt over
the phone) I'm sure if I looked for it I would be able
to dig it up.
Microsoft: Okay sir. Before we can do anything we need you
to fax us your receipt for your Intellimouse Explorer. The
Fax number is.... thank you for calling Microsoft. |
Call #2
Microsoft: Thank you for calling Microsoft Replacement
Services how may I help you. May I have your name
sir.
Me: Hello, my name is Rick Deckard .
Microsoft: How may I assist you today Mr. Deckard.
Me: Both of my Intellimouse Explorers
stopped working quite a long time ago and I had been hearing
murmurings on the Internet that you were replacing these since
some had been faulty.
Microsoft: When did you
buy the mouse?
Me: (I Lied) A little under a year ago.
Microsoft: Do you have the receipt?
Me: Both of these are quite old, I
don't have any receipts.
Microsoft: We can only replace one mouse
over the phone without a receipt.
Me: That's fine. Do I have to send in the old
mouse for the replacement?.
Microsoft: No, you don't have to send it in. Will
you please read the serial numbers off of the back of the
mouse, they start with X0#-#####.
Me: X0#-#####. My address is:
Microsoft: the mouse will take 3-10 days to arrive
at your residence and will be shipped USPS you can track the
shipment online at Microsoft.com with this number: #######.
Thank you for calling Microsoft.
Me: Thank You.
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6 Business days later this showed up at my door.
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Now, I know there are websites with articles on
how to try and fix faulty Intellimouse Explorers. Why would
you want to do that if your broken Intellimouse Explorer v1.0 is
replaced by a new Intellmouse Explorer v3.0 which has been slightly
modified to improve performance.
I'm just glad I kept my broken mouse. I figured that
it would come in handy some day.
Overall
Score:
| Service: |
8.0 |
| Ease: |
8.0 |
| Response Time: |
10 |
| Product: |
9.5 |
| Other: |
10 |
| |
|
| Total: |
9.1/10 |
Update
6/30/2003:
Since I've
just placed an order for a new (replacement) mouse
(which I'm hoping will go through), and your article is now a little
old, I thought it might be useful if I let you know how the system
seems
to have changed. ;).. my mouse is a little more than three years
old -
it was one of the original Explorers, and like most of the mice,
it
seems, it's succumbed to cable problems; I've rewired the mouse's
internals several times, but finally the connector on the cable gave
up
the ghost. I bought a replacement mouse (Kensington Optical Pro)
on a
limited budget, but it just didn't match up, so I went ahead and
rang
Microsoft.
The first employee that I talked to asked me for a dated sales
receipt
or proof of point of purchase - along with one of the two numbers
from
the bottom of the mouse (the product number, starting with X/04).
Since
I didn't want to let on that my mouse was that old - and also because
I
genuinely don't have either - I said that I ordered my mouse online
(which was true) and therefore don't have either receipt or proof
of
purchase. The lady I spoke to then asked me if I had the packaging
(which apparantly has an identification number on the top) - I
said no
(I threw this away some time ago). She said that this was fine
(making a
quip about throwing packaging away herself), but said that I would
have
to provide her with a fax of the bottom of the mouse, and also
asked me
to give her the Product ID number (the second number from the bottom
of
the mouse).
She and several other agents (I rang several times) all confirmed
this -
apparantly, they have neither web access nor external e-mail, so
I
dutifully e-mailed a picture of the bottom of the mouse to the
number
provided (716-447-7330), being careful to crop out the screwholes
from
the bottom of the mouse (since the pads covering them have been
taken
off to rewire the thing, it's fairly obvious that it's been tampered
with) along with a shipping and e-mail address, and - as instructed
-
labeled the fax "ATTN: Supplemental Parts".
I was provided with an order number when I was given the fax number,
and
(apparantly - this part is in the future tense) once my fax has
been
entered into the system ("within 48 hours"), I'll be
sent an e-mail with
a "secure website" link in order to track my delivery
(which should
arrive within anywhere from 6 days to 2 weeks, depending upon which
customer service agent you believe). The Microsoft 1800 number
(which
your article still has correct) provides, as one of the many options
on
the automated system, an option to track product replacement online
(the
url of which I failed to note down but contains the words "tracking",
"
microsoft", and either updates or upgrades, should you come
in contact
with it) - I was informed that this is "the old system",
which "doesn't
work any more". I have yet to be provided with the "actual" URL.
Details
forthcoming. ;) On the whole, the staff were fairly laid back,
but also
fairly insistant about what they do and don't need to be provided
with
in order to be able to assist you. Hope this helps. ;)
Name and email address supplied.
If you would like to contribute your experience
to this article feel free to contact
me.
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