By Molly Wood
(July 11, 2003)

We do a lot of talking about service and support here at CNET. In fact, every one of our reviews includes a specific rating that evaluates a company's tech support. When it comes to PC and notebook reviews, for instance, our service-and-support rating reflects, among other things, the quality of that piece of hardware's warranty coverage. (We also consider the quality of its manuals, online information, e-mail support, telephone support, and more.)

How do we tell a good warranty from a bad one? It's not always easy to tell them apart or to know what to expect in terms of industry standards. It turns out, a warranty includes more than just provisions for repairing defects. We also consider elements such as cost, duration, and quality of the technical support included with the warranty. While some of these elements are intangible, there are some solid things that you, too, can look for if you're shopping for a new piece of hardware.

Show me how to know a good warranty when I see one! 

Molly Wood is a senior associate editor for CNET. Got a question for her? Drop us a line.