Sorry, but I'm going to rant about my computer now. Of course, nothing about it can be simple. I am getting really fed up with Toshiba. Brief history:

My monitor (the backlight for it) on my laptop started flickering and shutting off starting in April of 2002. I sent it in during June to be repaired. It came back and worked fine for a month. Then it started having the same problem again in Japan. So I sent it in to the Japanese service center. They "fixed" it again and sent it back. The one year warranty was expiring in November, so I signed up for their warranty extension program (not too bad, $150). However, it isn't totally clear in the terms of the warranty extension whether international service is also covered in the extended warranty, or just U.S. service. The language can be interpreted different ways. So, anyway, the computer came back at the end of November, and started having the same problem again in January. It got impossible to use by the end of the month, so I sent it back to Toshiba to fix. However, they just faxed me an estimate for the repair work for my computer. I think I shouldn't have to pay because a) they didn't fix it correctly in November AND b)I think it is covered by the extended warranty. I think at least one of these things should hold true.

So since I wasn't sure about using the warranty in Japan, I gave Toshiba a call. The woman I talked to told me that warranty extension should also be international, just like the standard warranty. However, she didn't actually look up my specific serial number and all that. She wasn't terribly excited about answering my questions about the international warranty. She gave me a phone number for Toshiba Japan to call to confirm that my computer was covered by the warranty. Of course, I can imagine that they will call and talk to someone different who will tell them that my computer isn't covered for international service. I also emailed them a website where they can confirm my warranty coverage dates. However, they haven't responded to the emails, so I don't know if they really got them or what.

This afternoon my teacher is going to help me call them and ask what is going on. This time I'll have her mention the whole "you didn't fix the problem the first time" thing, because I forgot last time she called. Ultimately I just want my computer back in a good condition. I think it's ridiculous that I have sent in my computer for the same problem three times without it being repaired. I'm worried that the estimate just seems to indicate they are going to try what they have been doing over and over again: just replacing the card that controls the light. After replacing the same part three times in a row, you think they'd figure out that there is a different problem somewhere.