*I* have the worst luck with plug and play hardware.

"Oh really? How so?"

 

Headphone 1.
Well, on my year to china I bought a pair of Logitech headphones. It was a pretty cheap one - cost me like 120RMB which is about AUD 20. I didn't expect it to last very long, but it didn't even last until my expectations. It was one with a plastic band that went around the back of your head, like the ones that the people on help service phones and call centres use - probably because it also had a microphone attached. The microphone broke off in about a week. I tripped over the thing next week, and tore the wires right out of the head phones, it also snapped in two. YOU CAN EXPECT SO MUCH FROM SOMETHING BOUGHT IN CHINA.

 

Headphone 2.
I was headphone-less and my need to play CS was too panful to handle, one an endeavour to DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) I went into EB games which was having a massive sale (when aren't they having a fucking sale?) and picked up a Logitech Precision Gaming headset. It was marked down from $0, so I got it for half price. Took it home, it was quite nice. However the ear muffs that go around your ear were too small - so it squished your ears against your head, the headband was also too tight and wouldn't extend anymore. Quite uncomfortable. It's give me a headache after 2-3 hours - not to mention the amount of sweat that had accumulated in my ears D:. Or I might just have a big head - circumference around the ears part is  cm (measuring tape on table). After a few weeks, the left speaker became defective. So I returned it. They didn't have anymore in stock so i was told that I had to get something of same value. EB Games is FULL OF SHIT.

 

Headphone 3.

I used my $40 to get a pair of crappy Logitech headphones. I must've been high on something to get another Logitech... It broke cleanly in half about a month later - and because this was a retured item - EB didn't give me a receipt/invoice. At this point I thought to myself: I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF LOGITECH CRAPPHONES.

 

Headphone 4.

One day we were in the city and I went into the EB Games @ Melb Central - we had a bit of time to kill. A bunch of crappy headphones were on sale for $10 - made by some brand called "Rock". The microphone snapped off cleanly on the first day, but since then I've had these headphones for 2 years. They are seriously not bad! Sound quality can be better - but they're comfortable and they're th emost durable pieces of shit ever. Kind of like my iRiver H340.

 

After that I bought the Logitech 5.1 speakers (instead of creative speakers because logitech ones are black!) they've been working quite fine. =)

 

Now. For the mouseys. :D

2007 mid year holidays lasted for 4 weeks. I wanted a Razer Copperhead mouse. I went to my local computer store and requested a red one. D: They said they only had blue and green in stock but new stock was coming in about a weeks time so I thought I could wait. They told me to come back on Monday and that was fine. I come back in on Monday. No stock - they tell me I'll have to wait till next Monday. So I was like: "omfg. CPL is gay." I checked out other stores. Centrecom came into mind - they had stores in Springvale and Nunawading. I called each store up and they didn't have any. So I ordered online. The transaction was done smoothly thanks to my debit card!

 

They had an online tracking system where you can check up on your product. My Mouse moved from "processing" to "confirmation" to "awaiting stock". It pretty much stayed on "Awaiting Stock" for about a week, before i sent an e-mail to them about when stock was going to arrive. Of course, I received a typical e-mail requesting my patience and that new stock would arrive in a few days. Another week goes past and my mouse is still "Awaiting Stock". I send another e-mail and they assure me that the stock is coming on the Thursday and will be sent off by friday and I will receive it by Monday. On Tuesday, my mouse is still awaiting stock. I get aggravated at centrecom, it had been 17 days since I first made my fully paid order - and they say: "Well, it seems as though your mouse isn't coming. However we do have the Razer Deathadder in stock, we can give you that instead for no extra costs." Awesome I get the lastest Razer mouse for $20 cheaper than retail price!

 

They sent the mouse to me staight awaya nd I got it in two days. My holiday had officially ended. That night I plugged in my Deathadder. The grooves on th emouse, moulded into my right hand and the feel of it was dreamy. It was as if my hand and mouse had melted into one and became a super-sensitive cursor instead of a pointy interface D:.

I go to the Razer site and update the firmware: "Do not unplug the mouse when updating." Sure! The mouse is plugged in properly, I can feel the uber sensitivity and I click on upgrade firmware. Suddenly an error message pops up saying: "Mouse is undetected". Wtf? My mouse stops responding. I plug it into different USB ports - no signal. I uninstall and reinstall the drivers - my mouse just sits there. A bubble comes up on the taskbar that says: "Unknown Device". I tried it on other computers and the same problem. My new mouse is dead.

 

I go to the Centrecom site and read up how to return faulty products. They told me to type out my problem in a feedback box, filling in contact details and in return they would check out my problem, and give me an RA number in which indicates that I would be able to send them back the product to be replaced. One week passes and I get nothing from centrecom. I decide to give them a call before heading off to uni. They tell me that I can just send it in...

 

I send my Deathadder back to them, and two days later I get a new one delivered to my door. A brand new mouse! This time I take care not to update the firmware. I am quite content with my deathadder as it's so nice.

 

This afternoon, my friend Aupi comes and plays starcraft on my comp with the deathadder - he thinks his all pro and stuff with uber micro so he pumps up the dpi, polling and sensitivity to max. The mouse stops responding. The "Unknown Device" bubble appears again. My mousey has died a second time. :'(