Share your thoughts ! - What would you like to see changed or added to the e-support site in the

[UncleNacho]

No offense but I would like to see newer basic drivers for things like chipset,sound,graphics,etc... I've found more recent drivers at Windows Update and Intel than I can find here. Also the program update software in the control panel to find updates for Sonic and Itself does not seem to be working, it never finds any updates the only way to update the sonic multimedia center is through the Lenovo support and downloads website. Is this Program Updates program just old and outdated? If so can u get a newer version? Thanks I do like the forums very much though its probably my favorite part of the Lenovo site.

[Mark_Lenovo Former Administrator]

UncleNacho,

Thanks for the feedback!  

 Keeping up with OEM driver releases is a bit of a challenge in that we need to do integration testing to ensure that these updates don't "break" other aspects of our environment.  This takes a fair amount of engineering resource, and so we have to strike a balance between testing the changes that we initiative to fix specific issues reported by our customers, work on drivers for new systems in development, and drawing in the OEM refreshes. 

All,

There are a couple of recurring themes in the comments on this thread - one notably being the overall performance of the e-support site and the downloads and drivers section of that.  Over the last six months, we've implemented a solution through Akamai that should improve uptime, performance, and stability of the site.   We are also embarking on a strategic redesign and infrastructure update for our e-support site in the fairly near term.   I'll share updates as this gets underway and we make the transition.

Another suggestion that I saw a number of posts on was the desire for real time chat functionality.   We are looking into that.   If more Lenovo support staff were available through the forum, would you find that more or less helpful vs individual chat functions?  If chat were available, would you continue to use the forum, or would you prefer to use chat?  ( For the sake of discussion, let's assume that chat support, like phone support, was available to customers who are within warranty. )

Keep the comments coming.  We are definitely listening. 

Best regards,

Mark

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

Chat function is good, but all the solutions is once off, so once a person has collected all the information he/she wanted from the support, the contents are chat will be discarded. This is a waste of valuable resources of time and effort.

While, a forum with more support Lenovo staffs, can help around with posts that other members can't resolve, like access back office data on machine warranty etc. Basically we need more Lenovo staff like you and Cleo, whom have the authority to access information that regular members and moderators can not.

I have followed this forum closely, and there is more people requesting more official Lenovo staffs support on forum than chat function in recent 2 years. Most moderators can only give this quote, everytime someone talks about whether this is a Lenovo official support forum, and whether anyone from Lenovo is around to support users. 

Objectives of Lenovo Discussion Forums

These communities have been created to provide a high quality atmosphere in which users of Lenovo products and services may share experiences and expertise. While members from Lenovo may participate at intervals to engage in the discussions and offer advice and suggestions, this forum is not designed as a dedicated and staffed support channel. This is an informal and public forum, and Lenovo does not guarantee the accuracy of information and advice posted here -- see important Warranty information below.

[andyP Retired SuperMod]

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lead_org wrote:

Chat function is good, but all the solutions is once off, so once a person has collected all the information he/she wanted from the support, the contents are chat will be discarded. This is a waste of valuable resources of time and effort....

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I don't see the logic as to why information would be discarded or how this would be a waste of resources.

I could imagine the "chats" having their own board which would be accessible to all members to read and gain from the knowledge / information enclosed in them. A "chat" could maybe also be moved to the appropriate board where it's best suited to benefit members experiencing similar situations to those discussed. I could also see the possibility for members to discuss a particular "chat", adding questions which they maybe would have asked enabling further discussion.

Such a function, and the knowledge and information created by it, would surely be of massive benefit to members taking part in these boards.

Is it wrong to point out to a member what is contained in the forum introduction? There are official channels for obtaining support directly from Lenovo which are clearly shown on the support site. Also being an open peer to peer forum there is the danger that a member could post inaccurate, misinformed or wrong information, members need to be aware and sometimes reminded of this.

[fmyhr]

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Mark_Lenovo wrote:

Another suggestion that I saw a number of posts on was the desire for real time chat functionality.   We are looking into that.   If more Lenovo support staff were available through the forum, would you find that more or less helpful vs individual chat functions?  If chat were available, would you continue to use the forum, or would you prefer to use chat?  ( For the sake of discussion, let's assume that chat support, like phone support, was available to customers who are within warranty. )

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I'm with lead_org: Given a choice between

1. more Lenovo staff in this forum vs.
2. more Lenovo staff available for one-on-one online chat,

I vote for choice 1. It just seems a far more efficient way for a small number of Lenovo staff to help a large number of us users.

If the choice is one-on-one online chat vs. telephone support, I'm agnostic--they seem about the same to me. Telephone has the advantage of a more personal touch, while online chat has the advantage of easier recording for future reference.

Best regards,

Frank

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

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andyP wrote:

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lead_org wrote:

Chat function is good, but all the solutions is once off, so once a person has collected all the information he/she wanted from the support, the contents are chat will be discarded. This is a waste of valuable resources of time and effort....

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I don't see the logic as to why information would be discarded or how this would be a waste of resources.

I could imagine the "chats" having their own board which would be accessible to all members to read and gain from the knowledge / information enclosed in them. A "chat" could maybe also be moved to the appropriate board where it's best suited to benefit members experiencing similar situations to those discussed. I could also see the possibility for members to discuss a particular "chat", adding questions which they maybe would have asked enabling further discussion.

Such a function, and the knowledge and information created by it, would surely be of massive benefit to members taking part in these boards.

Is it wrong to point out to a member what is contained in the forum introduction? There are official channels for obtaining support directly from Lenovo which are clearly shown on the support site. Also being an open peer to peer forum there is the danger that a member could post inaccurate, misinformed or wrong information, members need to be aware and sometimes reminded of this.

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I am not saying that pointing to the disclaimer is wrong, i never stated that. What i am trying to say is that many people come to this forum looking for official Lenovo staffers, and in many cases the only thing we could is to show them the disclaimer, and tell them some Lenovo staffs come to this on their voluntary basis. This is a statement of fact and not really bashing anyone as such.

If there are official Lenovo employees whom dedicate their time on this forum, many problems that forum members (i.e. warranty problems) can't resolve could be better handled by these 'official' Lenovo employee forum supervisors.

Basically, we need more people like Cleo and Mark, but on a more permanent basis, this will also take them off doing routine back office jobs to allow them to handle more important issues.

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Also, with chat function, the information that are exchanged are usually confidential, and posting up the contents of the conversation is not an ideal solution.

All the functions you mentioned regarding the chats and rest of the breakout functions, is nothing more than what is going to be offered with the Twitter integration, which you can already do now in a limited way.

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Also, Lenovo has to dedicate more monetary and human resources to the chat function, as response has to be in real time. If Lenovo improve the forum with more dedicated staffers, then they don't need as many people working at the same time. Since many of the hardware questions are just as effectively answered by many forum members, whom Lenovo doesn't pay salary to.

If Chat function is an official after sale support format from Lenovo, then they may be obliged to offer it on a multilingual basis in order to make it fair for the global consumers of Lenovo products. 

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All in all,  employing several official forum staffers is less resource intensive than the dedicated chat function, and just as effective as the dedicated chat function.

[UncleNacho]

1. Hi Mark and thanks for the reply to my feedback. I guess when I wrote that I wasn't thinking about all the work and testing involved to make sure new drivers do not conflict with a users software thanks for explaining the situation.
   2. I am happy with the download drivers page where I can search through any updates that pertain to my os and current software thats installed. The only thing that is kind of confusing to me is when I click the link in Internet Explorer for the Lenovo Support and Downloads page and after finding my system and model number I then have to click the link in the left column for downloads and drivers again to see all of them also right before this i have to fill out the page asking Brand:,Family:,Type:,Model:,and Operating System i was wondering is it possible to fill all this information out before the page refreshes I always have to wait for the page to refresh after each category. It's not really a big deal waiting for the page to refresh though.
   3. Regarding chat, I wouldn't use it since my pc is out of warranty but it sounds like a good idea for those that do have a current warranty. I hope it wont replace the forums though, the Lenovo Forum is nice for people that need support for a pc thats out of warranty. 

[Ronframos]

I would like to see ThinkPad specifications specify the Display Port options they support such as full HDMI including audio.  I am looking for a new ThinkPad with the new Intel I7 CPU's and the ability to provide a full HDMI output to a HD TV so I can play DVD's on the ThinkPad and watch/listen to the movie on my HDTV.

I know that some of the Lenovo/ThinkPad Display Port outputs are video only.  I don't know if any of the Display Ports provide video and audio to a Display Port to HDMI adaptor.

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

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Ronframos wrote:

I know that some of the Lenovo/ThinkPad Display Port outputs are video only.  I don't know if any of the Display Ports provide video and audio to a Display Port to HDMI adaptor.

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the new thinkpad laptops can stream both video and audio.

[Mark_Lenovo Former Administrator]

All,

I think this thread has run it's course as we've heard some pretty good feedback, but now we are begining to stray to other topics....

We'll be sure to share news of updates to our e-support site capabilties and our outlook for chat and additional  community initiatives here.

Best regards,

Mark