Controversial discount PC vendor, Microworkz Computer Corp, the inventor of the iToaster, has been wound up, chairman Rick Latman said yesterday. Microworkz is in fact closed, Latman told a news agency.
The Seattle-based company is in the hands of a group of lawyers, whom Latman declined to identify. Out-of-pocket customers and creditors may find it difficult to recover money owed to them. There are not a whole lot of assets. I don’t see that creditors are going to get a lot, Latman said.
Microworkz began operations in April, touting a PC with one year’s internet access, via internet service provider, Earthlink, for $299. The internet subscription alone was worth $240. Droves of customers were attracted to Microworkz’s web site where the product was offered but complaints about non-delivery soon mounted.
Latman branded the first promotion a disaster last month. The company overhauled its business model and tried offering internet appliances but delivery problems and customer complaints continued to pile up. The company now faces a lawsuit filed by the State of Washington on behalf of 95 customers, who claim that they never received computers or refunds. Former strategic partner, Earthlink, also faces a pending lawsuit. The lawsuits could be amended to hold company executives liable.
Microworkz officials have said the company may try to sell the intellectual property behind its internet-enabled toaster, the iToaster, that never made it to market, to raise funds. However Latman was not hopeful of the iToaster’s prospects yesterday. I’m not sure there is a market for it, he said.
