MDG Computers
MDG Computers Canada Inc. is a Canadian-owned manufacturer, distributor and retailer of personal computers (PCs), notebooks and related products and accessories. The company was founded in 1991 with a single location, and now has 28 franchised locations across Canada, with headquarters located in Oakville, Ontario.
History
MDG was founded in 1991 in Oakville, Ontario and grew to be the largest domestic PC company in Canada. They are particularly known for television advertisements for MDG Direct, a division that provides financing towards purchase of select desktops, laptops and televisions. They have launched large scale campaigns with Canadian Tire Financial Services, American Express , and Visa .
Products and Marketing
MDG is a manufacturer of Desktop and Laptop computers running the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems, as well as a reseller of VisionQuest LCD Televisions. MDG has been quite popular among computer novices and demographics with serious financial needs. It sometimes sells products with prices well above the market standard, however it does offer decent financing options, and if the computer is purchased with monthly installments, the monthly rate is comparable to the market standard.
Criticism
Some MDG customers have complained about the company's sales practices, alleging that it sells faulty hardware and often makes misleading claims in its advertising. They also have an unsatisfactory record with the Better Business Bureau for many of the above reasons.
MDG has been known to have Trojan Horse-type softwares installed on its computers that periodically contacts MDG via the internet. The main purpose of this is said to facilitate their financing program - if the customer fails to make a monthly payment, the call-home software will modify the customer's BIOS, rendering the system useless. Linux users and customers with dial-up connection also get frequently deactivated. Many MDG customers are therefore, required to have high-speed internet and Microsoft Windows to use their computers. Whether this call-home software can be removed via a BIOS update and a clean install of Windows is unknown.