MPC Computers Shutting Down 137
davidphogan74 writes "MPC Computers (formerly Micron's computer division) notified the Idaho Department of Labor in a letter on 12/29/2008 that it would terminate its remaining employees. The company had been operating under the protection of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy since November, after it laid off 200 employees in October. MPC said 147 employees would be terminated immediately and 51 would be retained while the company liquidates its assets. Last year, MPC bought the professional business unit of PC company Gateway, which itself had been bought by Acer earlier that year. MPC had sold business technology hardware to mid-sized business, government agencies, and education organizations since 1991."
This Explains Things (Score:2, Insightful)
This explains why my MPC salesperson didn't bug the crap out of me like other salespersons. I faxed in a P.O. in September but never heard from her again. Perhaps she'd been laid off early or quit. I wasn't worried about it because there were more critical items I was dealing with at the time. There's one contact I'll be deleting on Monday after Christmas break.
Re:RIP Micron (Score:4, Insightful)
In the grand scheme of things.... (Score:3, Insightful)
this is like Michael Dell swatting a gnat.
MPC had been essentially non-player in the PC business for years, even after it's acquisition of the business unit of Gateway.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:RIP Micron (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not exactly difficult to build PCs that last. There's really just one component you have to not chintz on: the power supply. That's the one part that will fry your system if it's a no-name piece of garbage.
The fact that other PC vendors' systems fail so often and so brutally is almost always the result of weak unfiltered power supplies and thermal stress. A scary number of brand names build their PCs to boot, not to last. I have seen so much dumb shit while repairing/upgrading even brand new machines, I have to wonder what kind of landed idiot is responsible for prototyping these mass-produced lemons.
If Micron was smart enough to spend the extra $40 on a quality power supply and an extra cooling fan, great! But how do you position an "unshitty" PC for sales ? Clearly they did not figure it out, and that's why they are exiting the market today.