Just a quick note:

Over at Dell they have a tax rebate, aka stimulus check packages, all starting at under $600 bucks. But these specials won’t last since they are ‘limited time offers’, which rumor has it is about 2 weeks or so. The Inspiron 1525 at $599 offers at whopping $359 in savings according to the folks at Dell.

Take a look and see what you think.

Haven’t received your stimulus check yet? No problem. I would venture a guess that there will be additional offers coming after this one.

Or say charge it and pay yourself back later.

Comments welcome.

Dell site is here.

Tags: dell, laptop, desktop, stimulus checks, offers, site, under $600, deal

Over at the Your Blog site from Dell, there is an interesting article which explains fully the downgrade rights spelled out by Microsoft. What is interesting about the entire concept of downgrading, is that this right was actually for corporate clients who may need to stick with Windows XP because of coporate software compatibility issues with Windows Vista.

The article also explains that this is not anything new which is contrary to what some are saying. The fact is that Microsoft had the same policy available when we switched from Windows 2000 to Windows XP.  Let’s face it. Most of us can’t remember the problems we all faced when we switched over to XP and we also have forgotten the problems associated when Windows XP SP2 was first introduced.

The article goes on to state:

What are the rules?

• Customers can purchase select systems that include a license for Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate, and have the OS downgraded to XP Professional, which Dell installs.
  • Vista Home Premium and Vista Home Basic are NOT part of the downgrade rights program, NOR is XP Home.
• The Dell systems that are part of the downgrade rights program are:
  • Latitude laptops, OptiPlex desktops and Dell Precision workstations
  • Dell Vostro laptops and desktops
  • Dell Gaming systems - the XPS 630 desktop and XPS M1730 laptop (Note – Vista Ultimate is the only DGR OS option for these systems)
• Dell offers the downgrade right program service at no charge on corporate client PCs, and charges a fee ($20-$50) on Vostro and XPS gaming systems.
• Microsoft has stated the ability to provide the Windows XP recovery media ends on Jan. 31, 2009. After this PC manufacturers/system builders like Dell cannot send out Windows XP media. There will be a few exceptions to this date – for example, some Volume License customers who get images installed through custom factory install (CFI)  can continue to receive Vista licensed systems with XP installed.

I think that Dell has explained the ins and outs of what the downgrade rights are and who qualifies for the right as specified by Microsoft.

Comments welcome.

Dell Your Blog article is here.

Tags: dell, your blog, xp, vista, downgrade, rights, explained, qualify, costs, more,  

Now that Dell is dumping their XPS line of computers, it is time for Alienware [owned by Dell] to step up to the plate. The people at Alienware seem raring to go and have plans for a low-end gaming system based on the AMD-ATI combo. But this system is going to offer another surprise. Price.

Take a look at these specifications:

 The $1,699 system–cheap by game PC standards–will come with 4GB (DDR2 800MHz) memory, a quad-core 9550 (2.2GHz) Phenom X4 processor, and a 3870 X2 board with two ATI HD 3870 graphics chips, said Marc Diana, Alienware product marketing manager for desktops. The system will ship within 48 hours, he said.

To add to the system is also a high end motherboard from Asus As noted above, $1,699 is a fairly reasonable price. It should be interesting to see how the reviews are for this system and also how well the system sells. The public is aware of the Alienware brand and I doubt Dell will need to do much sales pitching to get the Alienware products up and going.

Comments welcome.

Full article is here.

Tags: alienware, amd, ati, asus, gamers, low-end, pricing, desktop, system,  

Several sources, including the Wall Street Journal, are reporting that Dell will eliminate their XPS models of computer systems starting next month. Dell had purchased the gaming company Alienware back in 2006, and has finally decided to push this well respected gaming computer system[s].

One can only wonder why it has taken Dell so long to make this decision. Having two gaming system models competing against each other seems counter productive since they are owned by the same company. Having Alienware as their main gaming system seems like a logical choice and should benefit the company.

So what do you think? Is this a good idea or should Dell keep the XPS model?

Comments welcome.

Full WJS article is here [requires subscription]

Tags: dell, xps, alienware, models, change, gaming, computer, systems, pc,  

I spotted this over at the Dell IdeaStorm site and found it interesting and thought I would share this with you. Seems that a new Dell Vostro laptop owner is complaining that the heat from his laptop is frying his hand. The user is a lefty and the heat vents from the laptop are on the left hand side. The poster of the comments also has a suggestion that Dell make a deflector to divert the heat away from a lefty’s hand.

In the comments it states:

I recently purchase a Dell Vostro 1500. Its a great computer, but as a left handed mouse user, the heat vent on the left side of the laptop is excruciatingly painful. In addition, 3 months after I purchased this laptop, my LCD panel developed a yellow vertical line down the screen. I believe this was caused by my hand blocking the air circulation of the vent. (~just a guess, but I read on the Dell forums that heat is one of the reasons this occurs).

I was offered the option to return this computer, but other than this problem I am very satisfied with it and would prefer to keep it (with a repaired LCD panel) if Dell can offer a solution.

I suggest that Dell build a simple and cheap heat deflector for lefties and send it to any user that complains about this problem. If not, they should at the very least place a warning on the Vostro online store site and warn left handed users about this problem.

Maybe one of you Vostro owners can confirm this as a problem. Another question? How much heat is this laptop putting out?

Comments welcome.

Dell IdeaStorm forum article is here.

Tags: dell, vostro, laptop, heat, lefty, left, handed, problem

If you belong to any of the online forums, or even visit any of the tech blogs, you may have noticed comments from visitors that are actually advocates for some of the major OEM’s. With the Internet being the most popular way for some of us to vent our anger when we have a problem, more and more companies are employing people who actually surf the Internet looking for problems and providing assistance.

I have noticed that during the past year or so, more and more support is being offered online in the forums or blogs, than has previously been offered. For the most part, tech support has always been a one on one with the customer either calling or emailing  a company. Now with the Internet, people are obtaining help and assistance for all to see. This makes good PR when everyone can actually view a representative from a company actually helping a client online.

So what do you think? Have you been helped online?

Comments welcome.

Tags: help, tech, support, forums, blog, blogs, forums, representatives, pr, assistance,  

Dell has a new blog site being manned by Dell employees who are sharing some of their experiences and advice. In one article I read they were showing off the new laptops which included some nice art work and which they state are ready for sale. These new laptops add a touch of elegance to the boring gray/black colors of the past. On the blog it stated:

We are truly living in an age of self-expression. And when it comes to personal technology, from smart phones to laptops, we love to personalize. What we carry often defines us. It can tell others who we are, who we aspire to be and how we live our lives.

Since the beginning of Dell, we’ve taken pride in how we’ve enabled you to custom-create PCs that offer just the right functionality. But functionality is just a piece of what’s important – many of us want our PCs to reflect our individuality or a youthful style.

We think many computer aficionados will like how we’ve combined artist Mike Ming’s work with the compact Inspiron 1525 laptop. Inspired by the movement and abstract momentary communication from surfing, movement of water and the world around him, Ming’s work is vivid, empowering and playful.

It does appear that Dell is upping the ante on laptop systems. The company has previously mentioned they are targeting laptops system for added revenue.

Comments welcome.

Dells site is here.

Tags: dell, blog, new, employees, updates, art, work, design,  

Seems that Dell doesn’t like people who touch type, and decided to move a key around and misalign the keyboard. Users who purchased the new Dell Vostro laptop, noted the Z key out of place. Take a look here. Dell confirmed the mistake and the keyboards will be replaced. But what is amazing, is how this could happen in the first place. Who made the decision to move the keys around on the standard keyboard?

So now Dell has one more issue to add to their woes. Quality assurance. If they can’t get the keyboard right, it would make one wonder if the guts inside will work as advertised.  Dell was hoping to increase their laptop business by at least 50%, but this is a rocky start for the computer company.

What do you think? Is the keyboard issue minor, or will it hurt Dell?

Comments welcome.

Tags: dell, vostro, keyboard, quality, laptop, 1310, 1510, touch typing,  

It is getting interesting. HP and Lenovo are joining Dell and will continue to offer Microsoft Windows XP as an option to Microsoft Windows Vista. But Microsoft has stated that all XP installs must cease on June 30, 2008. So what’s happening? Well the OEM’s seem to be using Microsoft’s own ‘downgrade rights’ to circumvent the no XP rule. [See my ‘downgrade rights’ article here.

To add to the problem, the NY Times and Wall Street Journal have some thoughts that Vista may not be doing as well as the Redmond folks might wish us to believe. Using some strange accounting magic ala Anderson Accounting, the numbers for Vista sales do not appear to add up. When taking the number of copies that Microsoft says have sold, multiplied by the number of OEM and retail sales, Microsoft should have more money than Fort Knox.

Microsoft counters that because of their pricing for 3rd world countries, Vista sales are good, but profits are lower. Whatever.

Which brings us back to the policies of HP, Lenovo and Dell. If Vista was so hot, wouldn’t these companies just make the switch to ALL Vista systems on the 30th of June as dictated by Microsoft? If these OEM’s sell a computer and make a profit, why should they care which OS is on the computer?

It should be interesting to see what Acer decides to do. Acer has been an outspoken Vista hater and has not made any brownie points with Gates and company. Now that Acer controls Gateway and eMachines, and is 4th in sales, they may have no choice but to go with the flow.

Thoughts anyone?

Comments welcome.

Tags: microsoft, hp, acer, gateway, lenovo, hp, computers, windows, vista, xp,  

One would think that Dell would of shouted this from the roof tops, but they have chose to simply put out a news release on their new Premium Support Service. In seems the once #1 computer company, has listened to customers and is going to provide ‘old fashioned’ technical support once again. You remember the old Dell technical support? Support people that actually would solve your problem and who spoke English.

On their site Dell says:

To further enhance a great customer experience, Dell today announced forthcoming expansion of its consumer services offerings aimed at delighting customers and helping them get more out of their digital lifestyle.

Dell’s new premium support service is to provide a dedicated team of technical professionals which customers can contact directly for support of any Dell-branded product. This new fee-based offering is designed specifically for those customers who want to engage with the same dedicated team each time they have an issue with any of their in-warranty Dell-branded products.

The premium service offer provides household support by an advanced support team in North America for one year. The technicians are empowered to address a comprehensive range of issues across the breadth of Dell’s product line.

“Our commitment to a great customer experience has never been stronger,” said Ray Roman, vice president Dell global consumer services and support. . “This premium service is all about making the tech support experience more personal; users who want high-touch support can now receive it. We’re excited to bring them to the market.”

In the future Dell is looking to expand this type of service to retail customers as well those who purchase Dell products online.

Comments welcome.

Full Dell article is here.

Tags: dell, service, premium, technical, support, program, dedicated, help