Feedback Comments (2003 to 2007)

I've archived comments prior to 2010 in order to prevent the main feedback page from becoming too large.

NB: by definition I can't include feedback comments from people who collected in person, or those cases where I delivered in person, and most commercial companies don't tend to reply in any personal way when buying something. Suffice to say there are many other happy buyers out there besides those mentioned on these feedback pages. :)

Ian.


G130 card sent to England:

  Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:05:47 +0000
  From: "Robert Davies" <raj.davies@ukonline.co.uk>

  Hi Ian,

  The Phobos G130 arrived safely (!) yesterday - I say 'safely' because  
  it could easily, and with no exaggeration, have been thrown from a  
  passing plane and still arrived intact due to your packaging job :-)   
  (Accurate delivery *may* have been problematic though....)

  The card's fitted and running as I write this.

  Cheers and thanks again,

  -Rob


R12K/400 O2 and IRIS Indigo parts sent to Greece:

  Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 18:14:53 +0300
  From: "babis" <harp@otenet.gr>

  Hi Ian,

  I have just received the   B O X .
  I had to see it to believe what the other folks in your site were
  talking about.
  What a great job you did. Even if they parachute it, it would have
  arrived intact and safe.
  Everything came intact, no problems unpacking the items from the box.
  I made a bit of mess with the foaming material but it was worth it.
  Thank you for all the effort you put in.
  Thanks for all the material you have install.

  ...

  I was playing with it for about 4 hours straight. It brought back  
  memories when I was living in Boston using an Indy in late '97 early  
  '98 and show the SGI's presentation of O2. It was a dream machine but  
  with a steep price tag.
  Anyway I found that even [though] this system is quite old (400Mhz) and
  I haven't use one since 1999, [it] is also quite comparable with today's  
  systems.

  Thanks again and Keep in touch.

  Babis


IRIX CDs sent to Australia:

  Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:13:24 +1100
  From: "Evan Butson" <evan@thedifferenceengine.net>

  Mate the discs just arrived, I have to say they were the best
  packaged anything I have ever received ;)  Once I get myself into
  trouble with these I am sure you will be hearing from me again :)

  Once again, thanks so much for your help.

  Cheers


R5K/180 O2 sent to Poland:

  Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 20:03:05 +0100
  From: "Arabski" <arabski0@vp.pl>

  Hi!

  Well... How should I start this... The package arrived today before
  midday. With help of my grandma it took mere 15 minutes to unpack
  everything. I'm still looking for my jaw that got lost somewhere on
  the floor :D:D This is truly remarkable. I simply lack proper words
  to express my gratitude! I did not expect to find soooo many
  surprises in this innocent looking box :D I must add, that I am
  somewhat embarassed (but very happy though) by so many things that
  you put there :

    - AV card
    - TWO extra disks
    - keyboard
    - mouse
    - PSU cover

  This is simply WOW!

  I should write "Thank you" thousand times, and it still would be
  not enough! Instead I will allow myself to quote you:

  Picture the words HUGE THANK YOU in 5km high neon lights, surrounded
  by spotlights, fireworks, and a full orchestra...

  :D:D

  I must also state, that quality of your service is exceptional. Both
  in public relations, and handling the hardware :) The system arrived
  intact. Everything was neatly packaged, with absolutely no chance of
  damage. During the process of exploring the box, my eyes were
  getting bigger and bigger 8). The little blue toaster started
  instantly, with no messing with "jumpstart" trick. And my hopes put
  in Eizo-Nanao Corp. were fulfilled!!  The FlexScan S1910 works like a
  charm - no SOG problems. Everything is perfect! One more thing... all
  these things look NEW! I really don't know how this is possible with
  hardware that is about 10 years old.  But I know one thing - doing
  business with you is pure pleasure :)

  Thank you very very much again!
  My best regards - Bartek

  p.s. When buing SGI hardware one should look no further, than
  Edinburgh, Scotland. :D

  p.p.s. Feel free to post this mail on your website, if you like to.


128MB kit for O2 sent to Germany:

  From: "Philipp Wissneth" <philipp[AT]wissneth[DOT]de>
  Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2007 21:25:29 +0100

  Hi Ian!

  The package arrived at friday and everything works fine. Thanks :)

  The packaging was perfect. Everything intact. Thanks a lot.


PCI card cage for Octane sent to France:

  From: "Mathieu Hernandez" <thorias@free.fr>
  Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2006 08:41:46 +0100

  Hi Ian,

  Recevived the octane pci cage yesterday; it's perfect!! I'm very
  happy and thanks for protecting it very well!!!

  Hope we will do business again!!!

  Regards, and merry Xmas!!


Two AUI/RJ46 Ethernet Transceivers and Gifts CD to the US:

  From: "Kevin" <kevin[AT]pipeline.com>
  Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2006 01:35:02 -0400

  Hello Ian,

  I received your package today (2 AUI Ethernet transceivers and
  the IRIX Gifts CD).  Everything looks great. ...

  Thanks again for supplying such a great service.

  ...

  I used the AUI trans just last night when i setup an Indigo with IRIX
  4.0.5F. Worked like a charm.

  Thanks,
  Kevin R. Marshall


Dual-400 Octane2 MXE (3 internal drives, dual-boot setup), PCI cage, dual-port U160 card,
speakers and 210GB RAID sent to Italy (pictures: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6):

  From: "Sebastian R." <sebbba@mac.com>
  Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:42:30 +0200

  Hello there!

  And the verdict is: Everything up and running. (Blasting fast)

  The VID! Amazing, work blasting fast. (Faster than the gear i use at
  work. Stable, robust and fast. Amazing!  Made a couple of tests on
  disk. Blasting 117MB/s.

  The APPS! Twice amazing. Full of software, working, very useful!
  Checked out the demos and i must say, very stable and fast environment.
  Plus, all the apps i normally use are there. 

  Will be able to say few words in the next days. But at least:

  Amazing packaging. Never saw something like that in my life. Very
  very professional and very gear-caring attitude.

  And also: everything that was said, was there! Even more. the /disk3/
  part, amazing!

  Plus, very very professional software/enviorment workstation setup.
  Comes to my mind, better than sgi staff itself!

  You should note this in a log on your website. You got yourself
  another very happy customer!

  More things later !

  cheers!

  seb.


1600SW display and adapter for O2 sent to Jersey:

  From: "Daniel Officer" <somelemming@gmail.com>
  Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 23:27:45 +0100
  Subject: Screen recieved and works...

  ...and it is rather nice. :)

  The display card caused (as predicted) much cursing during the
  installation and wasn't at helped by the fact my cat took an intense
  interest in the proceedings.

  So tis all good so far.  Also you included something that looks
  faintly like a dish brush with a 3.5mm audio cable.  I have
  absolutely no idea what it's for, and I'm highly tempted to leave it
  that way, since it's so wonderfully strange.  Finding out what it
  does can only disappoint me now.  :)

  [I explained about the ColorLock sensor - Ian]

  tis actually quite cool, that.  I may have to look up how
  it works, as I've always been interested in that kind of stuff.


  > Did you have fun with the packaging? :D  Of course, those boxes don't
  > normally have all the foam chips aswell, and the piece in front of the
  > screen, but I figured it was wise to help prevent any damage for such
  > a journey. You know what couriers are like...

  Yep - I'd much rather someone overpacks than underpacks.  Tisn't nice
  for anyone when things get damaged in transit.  No worries of that
  with your packing, though!

  Anyway, thanks for everything,
  Daniel


Mint condition teal Indigo2 chassis & case sent to England:

  From: "Bennett, Mark" <mark[dot]bennett[at]thomsonlocal[dot]com>
  Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2006 12:02:51 +0100

  Hi Ian,

  I've just received the Indigo2 case - it looks even better than I
  remember it! It's in great condition too - thanks for picking out a
  good one.

  It's been a pleasure doing business with you.

  Mark Bennett 
  Technical Architect 
  Internet Development Group 
  Thomson Directories 


Octane2 system, CDs, SCSI cable and cube logo sent to Greece:

  Date: Tue, 16 May 2006 03:49:55 +0300
  From: "John Tsiombikas" <nuclear@siggraph.org>

  The second parcel also just arrived, and you've included some grey
  earl's tea!!!! hahahahahaha, thank you :) I'll try it soon and tell
  you what I think :)

  Everything arrived in perfect condition (of course, a dozen of eggs
  could arrive in perfect condition with such packing!), I just
  connected the sgi keyb/mouse to the octane, and placed the cube
  logo, after much contemplation, in the middle of the access door,
  above the "silicon graphics octane2" logo. Here... let me take a
  picture of it :) http://nuclear.dnsalias.com/tmp/myoctane.jpg

  P.S. of course I'm typing this on the octane :)

  Anyway, I unpacked it this afternoon. absolutely fantastic packing
  job!  It must have took you ages :) I don't think I've ever seen so
  much packing material together before :) Actually, I tried to put
  every piece of packing material back in the box after removing the
  octane and it wouldn't fit! How the hell did you manage to put all
  that fluffy stuff WITH the octane in that box? :)

  So, I did power it up and played around a bit this afternoon and
  I'd like to thank you again for the LOADS of stuff in there :) I
  didn't have the time to try out half of them :)

  And a 3rd and final thanks, for the 1gb of ram! :)

  John Tsiombikas (Nuclear / Mindlapse)
  nuclear@siggraph.org
  http://nuclear.demoscene.gr/


Mint condition CDROM cover for O2 sent to Finland:

  From: "Timo Harjunen" <timo.harjunen@mpoli.fi>
  Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 09:18:04 +0300

  Hi!

  I just got the package and it the cover was fine and intact.

  A thousand thanks to you and I hope to do business with you
  in the future!

  Cheers,

  Timo


Three RBS Jack Nicklaus commemorative bank notes sent to the USA [Images: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5]:

  From: "Kent Bell" <noncenx@gmail.com>
  Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 10:58:33 -0600

  My package arrived the exact day I began looking for it. I was
  throughly impressed with the way you had it sealed. Nothing was
  getting inside and I don't belive it would have been damaged even
  if a truck had run over it. I appreciate you taking the time to
  throughtly explain exactly what I would be getting and the options
  available. Everything was as you described. I could not ask for more.

  Ian, you've a rare individual that goes above and beyond what's
  needed to just get by. You ensure the best service possible and in
  doing so I feel I haven't just purchased something from you but
  gained a friend in doing so. Thanks again for everything.

  Cheers
  Kent


512MB RAM kit for Indigo2 and O2 sled sent to Holland:

  From: "Mark Hellegers" <mark@firedisk.net>
  Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2006 23:23:12 +0100

  Hi Ian,

  I got the RAM kit and disk sled. I installed both and it all works. ...

  And as you said, there was no chance of damage. Had a lot of fun
  unpacking it. :)

  Mark


R3K IRIS Indigo Elan sent to France:

  From: Michael.Thanry@somewhere.com
  Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:34:20 +0100

  Hi Ian,

  Still no chance to test the Indigo :-/

  About packaging... one word : wahoo !

  It took me almost 30 min. with my plasma knife to unpack
  everything. You not only master Irix, it's obvious you also master
  wrapping. When I finally managed to have the box opened (damn, the
  black tape gave me some tough time), I tried to understand what is
  the point of having half an inch thick of bubble wrap around the
  mouse and the keyboard... it became clear when I unwrapped them :
  they are mint, it looked like they had never been used ! And so
  were the other parts. The Indigo is in perfect condition, great !
  I've had no time to test it yet, but I'm really confident.

  ...

  So, thanks again for that. It is really enjoyable to have someone
  like you to deal with.

  I also enjoyed the goodies bag in which I found some interesting AND
  useful information.

  Regards,

  Michael Thanry


RAM and sled for O2 sent to Finalnd:

  From: "Kim Holviala" <kim@holviala.com>
  Date: Mon Feb 13, 2006 12:33 pm

  Hi. And thanks for the O2 sledge and the memories - they just arrived
  10 minutes ago. I guess I can do s ome "approved" hacking tonight.

  Hmm. No one packs as well as you do. Insane....

  [later...]

  And the memories worked fine.


R4K/200 Indigo2 Extreme sent to France:

  From: "Erwan Montet" <emontetjourdran@yahoo.fr>
  Date:  Sun, 25 Dec 2005 18:35:58 +0100 (CET)

  Hi

  My Indigo2 arrived in France a very short while after my order.

  All the parts of the system (case, keyboard, mouse, cables, foot
  stands) and the different extras were firmly attached to each other
  with tape and the whole shipment was protected by foam blocks and
  chips.

  Maximum care was brought to the packaging of the shipment to ensure no
  damage could result of a mishandling during the transportation.

  On top of that, the Indigo2 had been previously cleaned so it just
  felt like new.

  Ian Mapleson’s SGI Depot is THE place to go if you want to step into
  the SGI Universe.

  Here you can find relevant information about every system released by
  the manufacturer, hints regarding software installation and of course
  workstations and servers at a very affordable price.

  Considering my needs, it was for me the best solution to get started
  in SGI equipment, with support for spare parts and operating systems,
  which are becoming quite hard to find these days.

  Good luck for your business
  Erwan


Parts for Indigo2 sent to Holland (CDROM on sled, 36GB disk with full install on sled, and CDs):

  From: "R.F. Pels" <ruurd@tiscali.nl>
  Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 21:58:40 +0100

  Ian,

  Got the box. You're truely the master of packaging. Very thorough job.
  Now I can vouch for the box pictures on the site being for real. Far
  out, but for real :-)

  ...

  Anyway. Put in the hardware, turn on the machine, fix the OSLoadFile 
  environment setting and away we go. Nifty and painless. 

  Very nice job, Ian, thank you very much!

  Regards,

  Ruurd

  PS: put this one as a reference on your web site if you wish. Well
  earned I'd say!


36GB disk with full installation and other disks sent to Scotland:

  From: "Lewis Rose" <lewis@ukbuilt.com>
  Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 13:46:44 +0000

  Hi Ian :-)

  Another complete and fully functional install right out of the box
  and industrial strength packaging.

  Dead pleased with that. Have to sort out the cabling for the video
  camera now.

  Lewis


36GB disk with full installation sent to the University of Kentucky, USA:

  From: "Alan Dozier" <adozier@engr.uky.edu>
  Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2005 16:15:56 -0500

  Everything got here fine.  This is a truly great disk. You did a hell of a
  job. It is going to take a while to go through everything. ...

  Sincerely,

  Alan


36GB disk with full installation for O2, plus RAM, sent to Greece:

  From: "Fu Kay"
  Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 01:40:49 +0200

  Ian,

  man, you rock :-)

  and Royal Mail's ISF rocks :-)

  (it's obvious) i'm overexcited :D

  parcel arrived this morning (just 3 days in transit), but i just  
  plugged in the HD

  jaw drops......................

  click here...click there...click this...click that...and then some...

  excellent packaging

  clean products

  awesome irix installation

  if i ever need a tech/computer guy for my films i'll give you a ring :-)

  i'll sure come back to do business with you

  you may put this email on your happy-customer feedback page

  that's all for the moment, i'm off to do some more exploration...

  best,

  fu


Various upgrade parts for O2/Octane sent to Italy:

  From: "Francesco Fumelli" <fumelli@ntc.it>
  Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 16:37:01 +0200

  WOW all things arrived!!
  You're a master of packaging, really... every box received from you  
  is a wonderful surprise..

  All so well boxed, and even a black cd container! Wow!

  [snip]

  Thanks

  Francesco


External CDRW unit, cables and CDs sent to England:

  From: "Lee West" <lee@westgb.co.uk>
  Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2005 15:14:12 +0100 (BST)

  Ian,

  Some feedback for your web page.

  Your pre-sales advice, packaging, and speedy shipping would leave
  some of the larger internet ordering companies hanging their heads
  in shame.

  Superb instructions too, and everything was clean, well wrapped up
  and as described.

  Could not have asked for more!

  Kind Regards

  Lee West
  IT Development Manager


O2 system and parts sent to the USA:

  From: <name/address witheld on request>
  Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 12:06:19 -0700

  Ian,

  Finally had time to open the box and examine.
  O2 is working fine plus access is fully enabled.
  Skins look great.
  All and all a 10 !

  Thanks


CD set and external CDROM unit sent to England:

  From: "Daniel Watson" <planetdan0h@btinternet.com>
  Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 19:04:23 +0100

  Ian,

  The package arrived today, first rate packaging, you've more than
  lived up to your reputation!

  All contents fine and undamaged, and everything working as it
  should so far - I will get to the install later this evening or
  more likely tomorrow.  As a quote for your customer service page,
  if you would like to use it - I would say that your quality of
  service, support and friendly advise is without a doubt a model
  that big corporations should be looking to - a standard they should
  achieve. Certainly the most professionally handled internet
  transaction I have done. I don't think I will bother with any eBay
  rubbish again, when I want more machines (thinking about an O2 for
  my office) I will come direct to you.

  Many thanks Ian, truly a superior and professional service.

  Best Regards,

  Dan

  [and later, when I asked how the installation went...]

  Indeed, many thanks I dug the instructions out and read them back
  to back before I even unwrapped the parcel as a whole. I completed
  the install last night, completely painless and trouble free - the
  video board worked first time too!!

  So once again very many thanks for your service, truly professional
  and a model of customer satisfaction - for future SGI items I shall
  just use you, its by far easier than the eBay route.

  Very best regards,

  Dan 


CD set sent to England:

  From: "nick macro" <nickmacro@lycos.co.uk>
  Date: Wed, 18 May 2005 08:58:02 +0000 (GMT)

  Dear Ian
 
  > All done! Posted today, so you should receive the parcel before
  > 1pm tomorrow.

  I got it! It is great! I love the box, the packaging, the foam,
  the microphone.

  The instructions are wonderful, really well written. And the software is
  in a case. So nice. I am really happy and grateful. Such nice attention
  to detail, has a sense of zenlike completeness.

  Thanks yet again, really well done.

  Yours Nick Macro


10/100 card and printer cable for O2 sent to Spain:

  From: "mm" <mmartin@usc.es>
  Date: Sat, 07 May 2005 11:50:39 +0200

  Dear Ian,

  We have already received the printer cable for the O2 and it is
  working fine too as previously with the network card!!

  We are very pleased with your fast and excellent service and
  consider your company for future purchases.

  Thanks a lot,
  Manuel Martin 


O2 sent to Italy:

  From: "Paolo Correnti" <paolo.correnti@tiscali.it>
  Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:01:52 +0200

  Hi Ian,

  The Silicon Graphics 02 is just arrived.

  Now let me tell you that I have no words to explain how I feel.
  First of all, you're a great professional man.
  I'm working with computers since 1984 and I've never seen a computer
  so well mantained, so well prepared and so well packaged.
  All is arrived in 2 days and a half and I think is a record.
  I needed half an hour just to see the O2 out of box because it was something
  like "unbreakable"; the photos in your web site are genuine but does not
  explain so well about how you prepare a box for international destinations.
  I think is almost impossible to receive something broken using your way of
  packaging.

  The O2 seems just made from Silicon Graphics, same for keyboard and mouse.
  Then a word about the IRIX and other software installation; beautiful !

  Someone reading this e-mail could thing this is a spot for you, a kind of
  commercial one, but I can assure that all I'm writing is real.

  All the best

  sincerely

  Paolo Correnti
  Rome (Italy)

  P.S. Thank you for all, again.


Pipeline magazines [image] sent to the USA:

  From: "Steven J. Hill" <sjhill@realitydiluted.com>
  Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 22:11:04 -0500

  Hey Ian.

  I just wanted to let you know that the box arrived and the
  magazines look great! ...

  [later...]

  > Excellent!! Glad to hear they arrived ok. Was the packaging ok,
  > everything intact?

  Yes, the packaging was excellent and the product was definitely
  as advertised!

  -Steve


Indy system [image] sent to Italy (the host name of the system was set to 'Cassandra' on request):

  From: "Paolo Falcoz" <bectf@tin.it>
  Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005 23:31:15 +0200

  Hi Ian! :),

  I have so many things to say I don't know where to start!
  Well, from the beginning. ;)

  Cassandra arrived today early in the afternoon, the package was a
  terrific display of power, I had to fight against the adhesive tape
  for half an hour and only when I started biting it I won, but then
  I discovered that a huge fleet of polystyrene chips was waiting for
  me and swimming and falling through the waves of this ocean I
  arrived to a beautiful island called "Indy", with high trees of
  Indycams and Hard Disks, green bushes of terminators and
  microphones, sweet fruits of Cds and Owner's Guides...ahhh, a
  paradise, a real paradise in which I even found an unexpected
  native, a mousepad that I baptised "Friday".

  I've never ever seen such a great packaging, in all my life.

  But the best had to come yet...when I powered up the Indy
  everything was perfectly configured, a nice welcome message popped
  up informing me what to do and where to find this and that, tons of
  useful scripts were smiling and waiting for me to order
  something...even a desktop backup was there looking at me - a poor
  SGI novice - with patience and saying "Don't worry, if something
  goes wrong I'll sort it out for you".

  All of this has only one name: true professionalism.

  Great Ian.

  Ok, now the informal part :)

  Thank you Ian, everything is perfect, I immediatly started writing
  the thesys and it's great, really.

  Also thank you for what you've done to help me, thank you for the
  9Gb disk, thank you for the RAM (the hinv says it's 160MB...maybe
  it's an error, but if it's not thank you Ian!), thank you for the
  mousepad, thank you for everything.

  [snip]

  Grazie

  Paolo 


O2 parts [image] sent to Australia:

  From: "Hugh Fisher" <hugh.fisher@anu.edu.au>
  Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 15:50:19 +1000

  Parcel arrived, although without passing through a nuclear
  warfare zone so the packaging wasn't really tested.

  O2 upgraded from 96M to 352M, much snappier! ...

  Thanks very much

  Hugh Fisher
  DCS, ANU


Indigo2 parts sent to Holland:

  Date: Fri, 11 Mar 2005 19:56:41 +0100
  From: "Frank Everdij" 

  Hi Ian,

  All goods arrived in pristine condition. Thanks very much for the excellent
  packaging!

  <snip chatty stuff>

  Thanks again for the goods, 
  See ya,

  Yours,

  Frank


SCSI Adapter sent to Holland:

  Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 20:31:58 +0100
  From: "Bob Soetekouw" 

  Hi there! :)

  > I posted the adapter this afternoon.

  It has arrived in perfect condition !!!
  Great package btw 8)

  I will keep you posted on the progress.

  Cheers! :)

  Bob

Indy and IndyPresenter sent to Canada:

  From: "Mike pattrick" <snownet@gmail.com>
  Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 19:41:33 -0500

  Hey Ian
  > PS. Have you tried calling the depot about your parcel?

  I got the main package today, actually, it came Monday late at night (I
  was busy and couldn't come to the door). I picked it up today(15th) as
  4.00pm(EST) and time was on the document.

  I've tested everything out, it all seems to be working. (though gmail
  wont load, must be the old version of Netscape)

  I appreciate the great pack-job, it appears that the shipping people
  ignored the 'fragile' tape. if it wasn't for your 'bubble
  wrap'/'packing foam' combo of doom, my computer would have a big dent
  in it.(the box had a few dents/scratches)

  All in all, everything seems to be in order: manual, CD's presenter,
  indycam, microphone, cords, and the Indy itself are all in good
  condition. That interesting pack-job you did on the presenter was
  smart (protect the screen two ways).

  I must give you an overall 10/10 for your great service, I give you
  this score because there is no reasonable way for you to improve your
  service:
  1)You responded to all emails in good time, and you were not sketchy
  about the details.
  2)All parts arrived in good condition, as insured by your marvelous packing
  3)Your prices are almost unbeatable
  4)Your systems are fully loaded with all the software needed, not only
  to start using the computer,  but to do a multitude of other tasks too
  (ie: 2d/3d graphics editors, web page makers, movie/sound/video
  editors, utilities, and more
  5)Free tips to start me off doing the basics
  6)A customized desktop to fit the monitor perfectly
  To sum up, you have gone out of your way to make this experience
  pleasurable for me.

  Cheers
  Mike Pattrick


10/100 cards sent to Australia:

  From: MichaelA@cae.com.au
  Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 17:30:28 +1100

  G'day Ian :)

  Thank you very much for your promptness with the delivery. I'm happy
  to let you know that it was received this (Friday) morning, and I've
  installed and configured the card without any hitches. Our Indigo2 is
  back online, alive and kicking! :)

  ...

  Packaging was perfect, everything intact!

  Mike 


CDs sent to England:

  From: "Stuart Muckley" 
  Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 15:19:16 -0000

  ...

  Can I say that I'm very happy with the communication and service that
  I've received so far - and please feel free to quote this to whoever
  you like.

  ...

  The SGI software has just arrived! Looks great and can't wait to try it
  out ...

  Many thanks for such a speedy delivery.

  Stu.


CDs sent to USA:

  From:   "Lyle Bickley" <lbickley@bickleywest.com>
  Date:   Sat, 11 Dec 2004 17:46:08 -0800

  Hi Ian,

  Thanks for for creating the six CDs for me!  They arrived very well
  packed (Thanks!) and in perfect condition.

  The external box didn't have even a scratch or dent anywhere.
  Perhaps your "FRAGILE" warnings actually worked - or both our PO
  systems just neglected to sit on it, throw it across the room into a
  wall or the floor - or put a 600 lb. package on top of it ;-)

  Cheers,
  Lyle


Numerous parts for IRIS Indigo sent to England, including a full custom disk installation on a quiet 9GB SCA disk with SCSI adapter, more RAM, etc.:

  From:   "Ross Purves" <rmpurves@ntlworld.com>
  Date:    Sat, 09 Oct 2004 21:32:20 +0100

  Hi Ian,

  Wow... Just packed up the SGI from its temporary home on the
  kitchen table after setting up the whole system. ...

  Well, what can I say? I'm gobsmacked by what you have acheived with
  my old Indigo. The overpowering harddisk and fan noise is gone,
  replaced by a reassuring and quiet sound of activity.  The machine
  is so much more responsive - windows fly onto the screen - must be
  that memory! (which, of course, shows up immediately on a hinv).
  The graphics are fantastic - crisp, clear - my monitor thinks its
  Christmas! The DAT is recognised straight away. The software all
  _runs_ - no streams of error messages any more. In short, I am
  bowled over that you have managed to take a computer written off in
  most professional situations some years back and turn it into a
  viable, totally flexible personal workstation, on which I could
  carry out 90% of my work if not more.

  I've only just scraped the surface today but it was enough, believe
  me. The system's going to be put back in the spare room for another
  week ... I'll then tidy up the studio, and set up the Indigo in
  pride of place on the desk and get going properly. I'll connect it
  up on the network and get Samba running.

  Fantastic. Totally blown away by all you have done. Nice one, mate.

  Cheers
  Ross


CDs sent to England:

  From: "jack bromley" <jack_bromley@yahoo.co.uk>
  Date:	 Wed, 29 Sep 2004 10:52:23 +0100 (BST)

  cds arrived in good condition, well packaged no complaints

  thanks

  jack


SGI keyboard sent to England:

  From: graham.rymer@ntlworld.com
  Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 11:07:44 +0100

  Yup, the packaging was very impressive. :-) I reckon you could've 
  dropped it out of a plane and it still would've arrive in one piece. :-) 
  The keyboard looks like new!

  Thankyou again,
  Graham. :-)


Octane sent to Greece:

  From: "Dimitrios Galanakis" <dgalana@pharm.auth.gr>
  Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 22:19:08 +0300

  Dear Ian,

  The octane arrived safely and within 48 hours. Very efficient. You
  have done a great job. The system was professionally packed and
  arrived without a scratch. Also, the IRIX installation works
  perfectly well and your various scripts are very helpful. Thanks!

  Regards

  Dimitrios


Indigo2 Dallas chip sent to England:

  From: "Simon Cole" <simon.cole99@virgin.net>
  Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 12:29:25 +0100

  Cheers Ian - got the chip yesterday - installed it, and it's all running
  perfectly.

  Many thanks again!
  Simon.


CDs sent to Japan:

  From: Nigel Henden <henden@sc5.so-net.ne.jp>
  Date:  Mon, 14 Jun 2004 16:20:24 +0900

  Ian,

  Just got them.
  Thank you very much.
  By the way, please add the satisfied customer to your web-site.

  Nigel


O2 sent to England:

  From: "Derek Poon" <Derek.Poon@SOMEWHERE.co.uk>
  Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 08:57:32 +0100
        
  Hi Ian,

  I got the O2 this weekend! Excellent stuff...

  I still havent been through it all, so much to see and do! Very
  pleased with it and the condition is excellent (not to mention the
  way you packaged it all up - very professional!).

  [snip]

  Again, thanks for the O2, I dont think I really appreciated them
  until I got hold of yours with all the goodies on it!

  Regards
  Derek


Indy sent to France:

  From: Pascal.Dufour@cdt.eu.int
  Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 10:00:20 +0200

  Everything is here and works very well. The packaging was perfect.

  So, thanks a lot for the service.

  Pascal.


O2 system with AV and camera collected in person:

  From:	"lewis Rose" <lewis@ukbuilt.com>
  Date:	 Wed, 14 Apr 2004 13:08:16 +0100

  Hi Ian

  Bonus notches for the packaging on the O2 yesterday.
  The hefty black tape and foam chips helped the O2 survive a
  50 mile motorway journey on the back of  a Vespa scooter.

  More exciting than the packaging was the O2. Straight out the box
  and wired into the television and speakers. Chucked some video about 
  till 3 in the morning.

  The O2 is definately a wonderful machine. It's in excellent condition.

  Irix installation is excellent. First time I used Irix was on the Indy 
  you fixed.

  It's good to have a standard installation that saved of time not having
  to look around the file system for applications and folders. Have
  learned where they live now.

  Buying the O2 from you saved a lot of trawling the internet/ebay to 
  assemble a complete system, upgrades, media and then learning how to
  make it work.

  Thanks,
  Lewis


PCI 10/100 card for O2 sent to Canada:

  From:   "David Gerard" <dgerard@colba.net>
  Date:    Wed, 31 Mar 2004 21:48:46 -0500

  Hi Ian,

  Just a heads up to let you know that the card has arrived! Haven't 
  tested it yet, but i'm confident it'll be OK.

  BTW, Excellent packaging!

  Thanks so much,

  Dave


Disk for O2 with OS install and CDs sent to Spain:

  From: "Alfonso Perez-Almazan Reverte" <palmazan@telefonica.net>
  Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 17:06:42 +0100
        
  Hello Ian.

  I received yesterday the hard disk and CD's. Excuse me for the
  delay contacting you but I coud'nt stay away from my O2 (I have no
  internet conection installed, that's the next step, installing a
  modem :-D).  Amazing the system installation, the hugh amount of
  software.....

  Thanks a lot for your great work and patience answering my
  questions.  I'll dig in all the stuff you installed in the HD and
  hope I'll be able to abuse from your patience if I have some doubt.
  Everything runs flawless and there is enougth stuff to be
  entertained a long time (the only possible problem my wife's
  patience, jejeje).

  Once again, thanks a lot and I'll try to trouble you sa less as
  possible :-)

  Alfonso


CDs and Dallas chip sent to England:

  "Simon Cole" <simon.cole99@virgin.net>
  Date:	Tue, 24 Feb 2004 18:49:41 -0000

  Hey Ian :-) Packaging first class - everything undamaged.

  Cheers
  Simon. :-)


Audio Serial Option board for Onyx sent to England:

  Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 14:50:15 +0000 (GMT)
  From: "James Meara" <meara@btinternet.com>

  Hi Ian,

  [snip]

  I've got xmms to compile and its all hooked up to my HiFi, its nice to
  have ended the onyx's mute existance ;-)

  Thanks for a friendly service.

  James.


O2 sent to Italy:

  From: "Gabriele Bedani" <g.bedani[PROBABLYAT]tiscali.it>
  Date:   Tue, 3 Feb 2004 19:24:33 +0100
        
  Hello Ian!

  At the end I collected the item.

  I found a professionally packaged box, very well padded and sealed
  (you should tell me what kind of tape is the black one, it was
  almost impossible to cut with scissors, I used a knife). Into the
  box there was a lot of foam chips and inside the foam chips there
  was SHE! Well covered in bubblewrap, the cutest piece of plastic
  I've ever seen!  The O2!

  I can hardly believe you used it, it is BRAND NEW to my eyes! No
  scratches, everthing intact!

  It's even heavier than I thought, maybe because it is petite. And it
  damn looks like a big blue toaster :-)))

  But Man, this is a very nice piece of furniture, other than a very
  good machine!

  Thanks a lot. I found the cable, mouse, keyboard and the CDs (thanks
  a lot for them) sealed in bubblewrap too.

  I have not yet had time to turn it on. Maybe tomorrow night I'll do
  that, but I am happy. I am vary happy.  Thanks! Thans you very very
  much!

  Gabriele

  [next day...]

  Hey Ian!
  I've got tears into my eyes.
  You are a very good person. I have just turned on the O2.

  Not only it is perfect on the outside, but also in the inside there
  is a lot of fantastic stuff!

  I mean... I should get a disk and make a backup copy of all, just in
  case I mess up something.

  I enjoyed a lot also the "welcome" message on the desktop of Gab user :-)))

  This O2 is definitely what I was looking for. thanks a lot, really, man!
  

  > Hehe, I swapped things around to get a mint condition case.

  This is more than mint, this is "brand new"!

  Thanks again
  Gab


O2 RAM and other parts sent to Spain:

  From: "Cesar B." <censored@yahoo.es>
  Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2004 18:52:55 +0100

  Hi!!!

  Wow... fine packaging. I can reaffirm your reputation :-)

  [snip]

  It's wonderful to be able to load bigger images now. Last week I
  needed to do lots of swapping, and even add more swap partitions
  manually. Today such a need is gone :-) At least for the moment :-D

  Next week it will be I2's time :-)

  Cheers,

  César


Top cover lid for O2 sent to France:

  Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2004 01:48:07 +0100
  From: "miyao.shu" 

  Hello!

  > Was the packaging ok?

  Yes! So it arrived in a perfect condition. Thank you!

  [snip]

  Good night.

  Shu


PSU for Indigo2 send to Finland:

  From: "Janne Palonen" 
  Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:33:33 +0200

  Hi!

  [snip]

  The package, btw., was in good shape, not to mention that the PSU
  would have survived almost any treatment because of the robust
  packing.

  Cheers,

  Janne :-) or actually :-D when I saw the parcel


R5000SC/150 CPU, V11 PROM and 128MB RAM kit for Indy sent to Slovenia:

  Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 23:14:15 +0100
  From: andrej.bagon@uni-mb.si

  Hi there

  About the package:

  1. yeah i really needed 10 minutes just to open the base package.. and
  then 5 more minutes for each content.

  I opened the indy, first i switched my 32MB with your 128MB so now i
  have my beautifull 160MB of ram. Next was the cpu. Damn when i saw
  the R5000 it was so little comparing with my R4600. The cooler on
  mine is two times bigger than the R5000. I hope it is ok =) The
  installation went ok i guess. The most tricky was the bios that i
  took as the last one. I managed to take off the gfx board and then i
  perfectly saw the bios. It was the 008 version so i was right about
  not supporting the r5k. I switched the bioses (it rememberd me about
  the old days when i was switching 486 cpus (the same care to do the
  job)). Closed the box (yeah i am always optimistic.. work for the
  first time!). I conected my monitor and put the camera to the back.
  Pluged in the power supply and presswed the on button.. i hoped that
  the jingle will sturt up and there it was.. i entered the command
  line - bios and entered hinv.. yes everything was ok..  cpu R5000
  150MHZ, 160MB ram.. when entering the OS i even tried some carema
  shots.. nice everything works ok..

  well i played a little and the speed and the memory it is in big
  help. it is noticable that it is faster.

  Thank you again for making my christmas and a really nice happy new
  year.  If I will need anything that is SGI related i will sure
  contact you.

  have great time
  Andrej 


Licensed Indy motherboard, 9GB disk (with my full installation), Indy microphone cable and my Gifts/freeware CDs sent to Holland (I've blurred out the address on the box in the picture):

  Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2003 16:43:50 +0100 (CET)
  From: "Guido van't Noord ende" <guido[PROBABLYAT]cs.vu.nl>

  Hi Ian!

  Just a short mail to tell you that the main package has arrived! In
  fact, it arrived yesterday but I was not in to sign for it so I had
  to collect it from the post office today.

  I like what I am seeing a lot..! A very nice, clear install with
  desktop items to lead the way and clear, complete documentation from
  you. I am very glad I did let you install the large disk and got the
  licenced board. Well, it is too much just to describe my experiences
  at once - I've just *started* on it, it will take me days to explore
  everything (I also have a job to do, not to mention nappy changing)..
  I will get back to you later to describe my experiences, and
  hopefully also to let you know that the mic arrived (the main package
  arrived before the mic - fast, no?).

  As an aside, I never changed an Indy MB before, but I liked doing
  that - very modular, everything neatly fitted in the box - much more
  fun than the regular trashing around PC boxes, fiddling with cables,
  wires, the works..  This is a real machine! The IBM disk is nicely
  silent indeed, I like that.. God I'm happy! ;-)

  Cheers!

  Guido.

  [later...]

  Hi Ian,

  Just after I sent my mail to you yesterday, I also got the mike via
  regular post delivery. Also in perfect condition.

  Packaging was (as expected after all your self-promotion with
  regard to the nuke-proofness of your boxes ;-) perfect. The
  motherboard and the disk were each separately packaged very
  securely already - then in the box filled with shock-absorbing
  things (what's the name?).  Anyway, this was very good, all
  parts for connecting the MB were there, etc. Thanks!.  (Actually,
  I was surprised that I could open the box relatively fast (the
  marker dots helped) after some of the quotes of other people that
  received your boxes before. I guess it may have helped in the
  amount of tape used etc. that you tried to keep the weight low so
  that it could go via International signed for Airmail delivery.
  Thanks for that!)

  So, in sort, very good delivery, excellent communication, helpful in
  any way and a perfect (as far as I can see now) OS installation. You
  may quote me on that.

  [and later...]

  Oh yeah, I found the midi stuff via the desktop. I haven't been
  productive yet, still have to learn how to work with the programs,
  but I like it. Never had the chance of really playing around with
  that properly - cool!

  Still a lot to discover for me - but it is clear that I can find what
  I am looking for on your install, which is what good sysadmin is all
  about.  Thanks again!

  Nice christmas, and I'll keep you posted, when I find new cool stuff!

  Cheers,

  Guido.


IMPACT Compression board sent to Holland:

  From: "Laurens Bossen" 
  Date:   Mon, 1 Dec 2003 23:01:18 +0100

  Hi Ian,

  I have received the package and it looks very good :) I haven't had
  the time yet to in stall it but of course I'll do it as soon as
  possible. Can't wait to test this baby!

  [later...]

  > How's it going???

  Very well thank you :)
  tedatadatadata tedatadatadata tedatadatadata :)))

  It works VERY well thank you very much :)))

  I just kept my little Video for Impact in the machine along with
  the HighImpact-set and in serted the IMPCOMP in the last remaining
  slot..... works like a charm!!!! No problems whatsoever! :)

  Cheers,

  Laurens


Origin Vault with disk sleds sent to Denmark:

  From: "Castelain Charles (Caitlann)" 
  Date:   Mon, 1 Dec 2003 16:27:29 +0100
        
  Hello,

  I have received the vault today.
  I haven't unpack it yet...
  I will do that this evening.

  I will keep you informed...

  But the box is in perfect stats not even scratch on it... so I
  assume the baby is in [the same] state.

  [later...]

  The packaging was build to resists to a drop ship...

  Cheers,

  Charles 


ChallengeS and customised external SCSI unit sent to Denmark (9GB drive with LVD/HVD converter board
from an Origin200 [images: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9] in order to work with the Challenge's HVD port):

  From: "Bruno Gade" <bruno@gade-mail.dk>
  Date: 03/Nov/2003

  Hi there,

  [snip]

  In fact with this packaging I think the only way to damage what's
  inside would be to throw the box of the truck and back up over it a
  couple of times.... and it would have to be a big truck too :-) As
  I said everything inside was in perfect condition and so far I have
  had no problems running the different parts. ...

  And I'm still amased about how new and unused the Challenge looks.
  It still looks like it came right of the SGI production line. :-)

  I have not yet looked inside the SCSI enclosure you modified but
  I'm planing on doing that soon. The pictures I've seen of it looked
  impressive though.

  Now I just gotta get rid of all the foam chips and boxes. It actually
  made quite a mess in my livingroom while unpacking. And I think I
  spend half an hour getting everything out of the boxes and plastic
  wrapping.

  Thanks, I'm looking forward to the next system I'm with no doubt
  going to buy from you :-)

  Cheers,


R4K/250 CPU and 128MB RAM kit for Indigo2 sent to Italy:

  Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2003 11:53:46 +0100
  From: matvedo@tin.it
        
  Hi Ian, the CPU arrived right this morning.

  I've just tested it and it runs very very very well. :D

  The boot time is significantly lower and also opening apps is
  faster; it's definitively a good upgrade for that machine. (and
  my I2  is very grateful :) )

  Bye and thanks.
  Matteo.


O2 sent to Denmark:

  From: jimmie.beckerlee@mail.dk
  Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 12:57:45 +0200

  Hi There! :-)

  Sitting here in front of my new O2. It was a wonderfull feeling
  unpacking and setting up the computer. Packing was perfect, and
  setting it up was plug and play, not writing a single command.

  The absolutely mint condition of the hardware together with the
  "start here" folder and the O2 workstation owners guide, still in
  wrapping, giving the feeling of a brand new computer.

  I'll send you a mail when I've tried more of the features, just
  wanting you to know that the computer got here safely.

  Cheers :-)
  Jimmie 


Indy with original extras and permanent licenses sent to Italy:

  Date: 22/Jul/2003, 01:40:05 +0100
  From: thematthew@inwind.it

  Everything perfect Ian!!

  I arrived at home at about 12.50 Pm and I saw a big monitor package... 
  :-/...
  I was a little tired and i realized in some minutes what the real 
  content was... :D
  After dinner I managed to open the box.
  Scene: a boy sitting in front of a big package with a cutter and a
  pair of scissors..
  Damn Ian, I was going to use a chainsaw to open that box :D
  But of course the contents arrived perfectly...even with the courier 
  leaving the box down the stairs and my mother taking that up two 
  floors... :-/
  Now I understand the sense of the comments in your feedback page :D 
  ...this really is a packaging resistent to a 30000ft drop :D

  [snip]

  Thank you very much Ian.  Now I've got an Indy with ORIGINAL USER
  MANUAL :D :D (I'm wondering if I should open that or leave that
  closed and download the .pdf from the techpubs... )


RM4 board for Onyx sent to southern England:

  Date: 09 Jul 2003 20:41:56 +0100 
  Subject: Re: sgi depot 
  From: "James Meara" <james@meara.dircon.co.uk>

  Hi Ian,

  The board arrived yesterday. It was extremely securely and
  professionally packed, not much danger of royal mail damaging that
  one. I now have my onyx running at 1920x1080 - lovely.

  [snip]

  Thanks for a fast and efficient sale.

  James.


Internal DG2 connection cable for Onyx sent to Germany:

  Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2003 15:10:02 +0200 
  From: marco.kamrowski@epost.de

  Hello Ian,
  the packaging was perfect, thank you.

  Cheers,
  Marco


Various Indigo2 parts sent to Sweden:

  Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 18:02:13 +0100
  From: "Mike Klein" <kokino@algonet.se>

  By all means use me as a reference. So much superb packaging.

  Mike.



[earlier feedback comments dating from 2000 to 2002]