European update
Dixons Group now have a partnership with eMachines in Europe, to manufacture and supply PCs through their UK and European operations. These machines are also tested and approved by Dixons themselves through their own product evaluation department at PC ServiceCall. Because of this, quality control is considerably better, as Dixons have a say in the design features and build components.
The outcome of this is that even the tech support people at PC ServiceCall feel good about these machines, as most problems are easily resolved over the phone. The few issues there are can be put down to user error or software problems, and hardware problems are certainly no higher than with say, Compaq. I can state this with some confidence, as I work as a trainer for PCSC, and obviously, train people using their machines.