Darn Dell Computers

I bought a XPS M1710 laptop in the fall of 2006. Just this last week my video card went out and the laptop is useless. I went through a period of time where I was not using the laptop very much and it looks as though the laptop only has 400 some odd operating hours on it. Going online I found out 599 others were having the same problem and I actually signed a petition which is going to be sent to Dell about this problem. Worse yet, I called Dell and they won't give me a replacement video card. My only option is to send it in for $200 and they give me the same crappy video card. This has made me very upset. In the same week my sister's XPS Studio desktop machine had a failed hard drive and it looks like the video is starting to flicker. She has had the machine for about 3 months. Whatever happened to Dell computers?