The Tech Hub (formerly known as The Computer Shop) is a small portion of the UCD Bookstore. It is hidden behind the clothing and Clinique counter and is neighbors with the art section. The Tech Hub sells Apple computers and stocks PC's sporadically. PC's can be ordered. It also offers Epson, HP, and Lexmark printer ink. If you are smart you will have the ink cartridge you need written down, or you will be met with disapproving stares or the occasional long sigh from the sales staff. It's a little known fact that the Tech Hub can order most anything for a bit below retail, though the shipping time leaves something to be desired (wait time 7-10 business days or about 2 weeks). It also regularly stocks PC and Mac software, computer cases, flash drives, printers, mice, etc., and a small selection of cables. A certified technician used to repair Mac computers on site as well as PC's. A link leading to no text says nothing about getting your Mac repaired.

In order to buy software or hardware from the Tech Hub you must produce a valid UCD ID card. Many people find this hard to do, especially departments who aren't often questioned about their validity. Also, if you are going to purchase any software/hardware item, plan to wait a while. The sales staff is required to do a lot of extra paperwork due to the Tech Hub's use of an archaic stock tracking system, which routinely breaks down and causes general chaos and panic.

The ever-popular iPod is no longer discounted for students. Apple lowered the price after releasing the second generation of Nanos.

The sales staff is generally chill and you will often find about half of the staff using the computers or hanging out between classes even if they aren't working. Interested in more info on the sales staff? You can look up the facebook group, Tech Hub People.

The Tech Hub gets special deals on its hardware and software, called "academic discounts." This phrase has mislead many people into believing that there is a further discount on top of the listed price. This is not the case; all prices are listed as is. Often you can get a pretty good deal on a computer if there is a special promotion or sale going on, which happens almost every month.

The Tech Hub was remodeled in Summer 2006; peeling laminate from the cabinets started to pose quite a hazard for the employees, whose job became to creatively tape up the sides of the cabinets. The remodel process took weeks and for all who bore witness to it, it was a chaotic process. The Tech Hub interior is basically the same, but the cabinets are no longer square, but oddly undulating.

Computer Repair

The Tech Hub has recently obtained Apple Certification for servicing Apple OSX products as well as a wide range of Windows based products. However, their "lead" technician left in mid-August, one staff member said they aren't doing any work now, their manager is on vacation in late August, and information about computers in for repair is not always available. But, as of 8/26/14, some staff are working on existing repair orders.

• See the Computers and Electronics entry for businesses that sell computers, or the Computer Repair entry for help when they break.

Comments:

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Should this be moved into the UCD Bookstore page as a section?

Yes, I think it should. Either that or its name should be changed to reflect the fact that it's not the only computer shop in town. -Graham

If you are faculty, staff, or student, basic computer support can be had from IT Express, http://itexpress.ucdavis.edu, and if you are a student, non-hardware "repairs" (virus recovery, etc) are done by Desktop http://desktop.ucdavis.edu. -TheodoreSuryapurnama

2011-01-12 14:12:17   After having my desktop repaired here i would never recomend thier services to anyone. After having crashing problems i took it in where i was told it was a hard drive problem and was fixable. Their turnover was resonible but the fix only lasted a week before it began crashing agian. I brought it back and they agreed to give it another shot. This is when the problems began.

1st After not hearing back for a month i went in to ask about the hold up, i found out the repair technition had quit and they had not bothered to contact and finish his projects.

2nd Next the price he quoted me on for windows 7 was apperently wrong since i was told it was going to be an extra 60 dollars

3rd and defintally the most distressing was that they lost my old hard drive. Meaning that i lost 3 years of photos, documents, music, and everything else. They offered their apologies which was nice, but it was to little to late

and to finish it off they lost my power cord as well

—shambler

2011-2-4 — Did they offer you any sort of compensation at all? That's really abominable, they should be ashamed. —TrueHatch

2011-02-25 16:55:25   This is a response to "shambler" and TrueHatch, and I am sorry for the delayed response, but it has been a little while since I have looked at the TechHub entry.

The issue for the customer was a hard drive issue. The first time it was repaired, we were able to restore their hard drive without having to replace it. A month went by before the customer came back in with the same issue. We then tried to restore it again with no success, their drive was dead at this point.

Now, to address the below mentioned points: 1.) Repeated attempts were made to reach the customer in order to inform them that they would need a new drive. After two weeks, we received an email informing us to go ahead with the replacement of the hard drive. [I must admit at this point it did take a little longer than normal for us to receive the drive to install.] The customer was notified by the technician and interim technician that the unit's operating system would be required in order for the computer to be fully functional. Several weeks later, the customer arrived at the store apologizing for the delay and just wanted to pick the machine up at a later time and they would install the OS themselves (which would save on the cost of purchasing a new OS). They asked if they could come back in a week to pick it up, and that was fine with us. 2.) Yes, the technician did quote a price for the student license version of the Operating System (which is an upgrade only, needing a previous OS to install). When this was quoted to the customer, it was quoted because we were led to believe that the customer would be providing us with an OS and that we would then "upgrade" to Windows 7. When the customer was unable to provide one, they were indeed quoted the price of a full version, which is more expensive. 3.) As far as the old drive was concerned, it is always a good idea to back up your data before bringing in any computer to any repair shop. We are usually very good about trying to help customers out with this. Normally, we do try to give the old parts back to the customer after a repair is finished, but we are incredibly sorry that in this case that part was lost. 4.) We provided the customer a power cord that they picked up at a later date. (We had failed to give it to them at the time the tower was picked up).

As far as the compensation is concerned, the service fee was waived. My point in all this is, we really try to satisfy every customer. —MAdams

2011-10-03 11:03:04   Was looking around during my one hour break and overheard suggestions an employee was making to a customer. Pretty sure employee had very minimal knowledge about computer hardware. Would not ask for advice, not that I really need to. —hankim

2012-09-30 17:27:50   I find it really convenient having the Tech Hub on campus — I can run in and make a small, quick purchase (e.g., a cable, a laptop stand, a trackpad) and be out in no time, no need to make a trip to the Apple Store in the ^{#$%@ mall in Sacramento. The staff is always polite and helpful, and you can buy your items right there — no need to wait on the regular line, which at the beginning of the quarter is a major advantage. —CovertProfessor}

2014-08-26 21:10:53   Incredibly sketchy performance by Tech Hub, probably will be restored to "variable quality" when a manager is back, and/or when a lead is hired for repair operations. Being told by a staff member that no repair work will be done on an existing order, where they're in possession of my computer, is not professional customer service. Fortunately, that bozo was incorrect. I have used Tech Hub in the past and had some solid, economical work done, but I'm pretty savvy about what to ask for. —DougWalter

2015-02-06 17:22:53   Go elsewhere for computer repair. The techs won't call you if they run into a problem; they'll just leave your computer sitting on a shelf getting no repairs. They also won't be around when you visit the shop, so you can drop by multiple times over a two-week period to ask what's taking so long without getting a straight answer. You'll just end up taking your computer somewhere competent anyway, so save yourself some time and skip the wasted two weeks. At least they won't charge for this "service." —my_username