With Gateway, you're required to call the PC company for support. And the average caller to the software companies waited on hold for 4 minutes. Our hardware survey suggests you could wait a lot longer. For example, if you can't get Microsoft Office to work with your new Pentium, the Gateway technician will do everything possible to resolve the problem. If, on the other hand, you can't figure out what formula to use to repair the damage you've done to your boss's sales spreadsheet, you may be out of luck.
Policies vary among PC companies on tutorial versus problem support.
Changes in the Offing Hardware and software companies are eager to make the software-bundling arrangement work. It helps software companies sell more products and gives PC makers one more tool to differentiate their machines and add value. For it to be viable, though, the quality of the software support offered by computer manufacturers needs to improve. To assist PC makers in their support efforts, major software companies offer training and certification programs and make their support databases available to the technical support staffs at PC companies. Some PC companies already charge for software technical support - usually after a grace period.