Explaine why Dell recommends Windows Vista® ?

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Explaine why Dell recommends Windows Vista® ?

710 points posted to Dell Web Site, Education, Operating Systems by yesmathew Mar 12

I saw many idea related to "Dell recommends Windows". Here is one more. Based on Home user or Business user, Dell website recommends either Vista® Home Premium or Vista® Business. Explain why?

So the idea is to educate user, why Dell recommends Windows Vista? Is there any page explaining why Dell recommends Windows Vista? hyper linked to heading "Dell recommends Windows Vista®".

Otherwise does not make any sense to just display "Dell recommends Windows Vista"!

helmecj01 Mar 12	It is Microsoft tell them "Dell recommends Windows Vista" all the OEM have it on the web site like Hp "HP recommends Windows Vista® Home Premium"
stormrider451 Mar 12	Some explanation about things never hurts. Some ppl like this person might want to know why DELL recomends that and not another. I mean, its probably going to be the OS they are going to buy, so they wanna know how good it is and why does DELL think its good.
aikiwolfie Mar 12	Microsoft pay for the add.
champ Mar 13	Yup. Name 1 PC manufacturer that recommends XP. Penguin Computing recommends Fedora, but I don't think anybody recommends Windows XP. Why? I'm sure once you get down to it, it boils down to money. Dell won't say that, of course.
aikiwolfie Mar 13	Hey Dell used to recommend XP. Then strangely they decided to recommend Vista. But didn't switch to Vista themselves? That's product endorsement ;o)
champ Mar 14	"Do what I say, not what I do"
yesmathew Mar 14	I want to buy Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition, but Dell recommends either Vista® Home Premium or Vista® Business!?!?!? Explain us why?
andykling Mar 15	This is extremely insignificant. It should be up to the user to decide what they want. Vista is the most dominant OS on new PCs so why wouldn't they recommend it? It supports the latest games and applications. Notice I said LATEST!
jojoman02 Mar 17	It's M$ not dell, they have to do it or M$ can make life hard for these guys, really hard.
aikiwolfie Mar 17	andykling please for just a second stop and ask yourself exactly why Vista is the most dominant OS on new PCs?
chernobyl Mar 19	Easy if it’s for a home user they offer the home premium, because it gives you the best Vista experience and like wise for the Business edition. You DONT want to buy home editions for your work environment just because it’s cheaper and you don’t want to spend more on a business OS for features you're not going to use. That’s why they "Recommend" a certain OS over the other, for their different PC lines. That and because MS makes them tout their overpriced fluffy OS (Vista) whenever possible. Viva Windows XP SP2 !!
aikiwolfie Mar 19	I wonder if Dell will recommend Vista SP1. Apparently it's causing a few blue screen problems. But actually chernobyl I was hinting ever so slightly that there are some very good OSs beyond the very shallow Microsoft Windows code pool. OSs that don't flake out because an application crashed.
chernobyl Mar 19	aikiwolfie I agree there is more than MS out there, we just have to get a few billion people to take notice. Then we have to get a few billion developers to take notice. The fact that Dell has a Linux line at all is impressive. Unfortunley I couldnt reccomend any Linux OS to a truly novice user. Driver issues alone would be a nightmare. Companies dont like nightmares and neither do consumers, it's a plug and play world out there and Linux seems to behind the "Eight Ball" when it comes to the out of box experience.
aikiwolfie Mar 19	Driver issues would be a nightmare? Why? Dell makes sure the systems it offers Linux with, work with Linux with all the proper drivers. Drivers in that sense aren't an issue. Dells policey towards Linux is that it must "just work". Plug 'n' Play if you like. Dell even pushes vendors to make those drivers open source and have them included in the final distribution. Have you seen how Ubuntu deals with proprietary non-open source drivers? There's nothing even approaching that level of elegance and simplicity in Windows. The drivers issue is an old excuse that is solved when large companies like Dell lend their support to Linux distributions. Ubuntu is as easy to use as XP or Vista and it's easier to install. All the total novice need do is run the installer and accept the defaults and enter their details. Windows Vista has driver issues, security issues, stability issues with some software. Including it's own service pack! And it only works properly on newer hardware. SP1 breaks an extensive list of drivers (including some Intel drivers) and software. Including security software essential to protect a Windows system from viruses and trojans and all manner of nasties. Do you want to talk about nightmares? Vista is only a year old for goodness sake. This is sub-standard service on Microsofts part. And as if that wasn't bad enough Microsoft freely admit SP1 isn't perfect yet and has issues. Even though they've released it for general download by Vista users and the auto-update version will be available in April. So why are Dell recommending a product that delivers a sub-standard level of service? At the very least Dell should remove those adds until the nightmare scare stories go away and Vista SP1 is shown to be stable and secure. Otherwise Dell just aren't putting their customers first.
chernobyl Mar 19	I apologize for not making myself clearer. I work with Linux all the time and I still have to hunt for drivers that are not on the hardware manufactures website. Say a user wants to get a new printer from Dell/HP etc... They buy new printer, new printer doesn’t have Linux driver, nightmare for customer. Users don’t want to know how to implement things. They want to pick a item from a store shelf and use it no questions asked. If the driver doesn’t come on the disk or from the website, they are totally lost. I cant see Grandpa Moses searching Linux forums for updated drivers for their hardware. Not to mention to really use Linux you have to know the CLUI. It’s just like you had to know DOS when Windows 3.1 came out. Sure they slapped a GUI on it, but all the real work was done in DOS. Ubuntu, has made the transparency a lot better, but it still nowhere near Windows/Apple Then there is software, you have to emulate 90% of the software you need to use. Why? Companies don’t make a Linux version. The Electricity emulator has done a darn fine job with that, still just another piece to go wrong for Joe user. Yes Windows have these issues too but they also have the $ to back them up. I can’t recommend Vista either. MS is the top dog and until Linux takes the bone away, it will at best remain a curiosity for the majority of the sheeple. I wish it wasn’t true, unfortunately Linux users such as ourselves wishing it wasnt true wont make it any the less of a reality. On a whole I can’t recommend Linux to users. At best I recommend a dual boot for people who actually have a serious interest in learning a new and better OS. What’s that old song by Depeche Mode Sheeple are Sheeple?
aikiwolfie Mar 19	Say a user wants to buy a new printer. It's no different from buying a new printer for Windows. You check there are drivers. Especially when MS is pushing out a new OS and not all manufacturers are up to speed yet. That's a standard step you take when buying anything for a PC. You check compatibility. Consumers that don't check compatibility first are the ones that run into trouble. What is the average person going to do on the command line? They don't have to do anything on the command line. But since you've mentioned it. Average folk managed just fine with a command line environment in MS-DOS. They managed with the Spectrum ZX 80 and the Commadore C 64 not to mention the Amiga. Schools in the UK also had the BBC Micro.
chernobyl Mar 20	I agree "Consumers that don't check compatibility first are the ones that run into trouble" That’s the rub, how many consumers would buy a Linux PC and find out the hard way that not everything is built or designed to run on Linux. Of, course they wouldn’t blame themselves for not looking, they will say "why doesn't Linux provide drivers for my printer” Not understanding there really is no "Linux" to begin with. I agree the average person won’t need the command line, and in so doing will miss out on what makes Linux unique and powerful. What was average for us in the late 70's early 80's is not the same as today. I would almost say we were above average in those days as well. Today everyone wants instant gratification. They don’t want to take the time to learn, they like there point & click world. You made my point in comparing Linux CLUI with MS-DOS, Spectrum ZX 80 Commodore C 64, BBC Micro and Amiga. Today people don’t want to use CLUI they want their mouse, their precious GUI; to them a CLUI is like going through the Wayback Machine. Talk to the average person about Linux and you’ll get the deer in the head-light looks. The majority of Linux users are geeks, not mom and pop. Dell is selling to a wider base than us geeks. Until it gets more prevalent and larger companies like MS, DELL, HP, IBM, take the Linux community more seriously and not like a red-headed step child, Linux will remain where it is. Right now I would categorize Linux as a hobbyist OS. The average person doesn't even realize that their router OS, their XBOX, their MP3 player and Tivo are in fact or could be capable of using Linux as an OS. I feel your angst but for now we are stuck between MS and a hard place. On top of it all you are making me feel nostalgic for my Amiga 500
aikiwolfie Mar 20	Hmm ... yeah okay but if you don't check specs when buying software or hardware for a Windows machine then you end up with a dilemma. Your stuck with a product you can't use or you need to upgrade. It's exactly the same process with Linux. I don't know why people make a big deal about it just because it's Linux. Now when someone buys a game from a store in the UK the person at the checkout normally asks if they've check the hardware requirements because most shops try to wriggle out of PC software refunds if things don't workout citing anti-piracy measures. Checking for compatibility is something people do all the time. I also don't understand this mom & pop mentality. The people buying technology are people in their late teens to early 40s. Basically people who grew up with technology and understand technology.
chernobyl Mar 20	You make a valid point, Perhaps I overstated the mom and pop scenario. Then it stands to reason that Dell would want to include the older and younger generations as well as the geeks in their markets and by doing so they recommend the most prevalent OS. People should check requirements, I wonder if anyone has any data on how many returns are due to the lack of hardware/software requirements not being met. Maybe that’s why the stores in the UK ask Although I cant remember a time in the US when the store clerk actually asked me if I had the necessary requirements to run a certain piece of software. I never had them ask if my OS was cable of running a certain piece of hardware. I think these questions should be asked to the novice consumer or the first time PC buyer. I think what the general public really lacks is knowledge on how this PC stuff actually works. They try to treat their PC like a toaster. Just turn it on and all is well. Never mind about all the maintenance that has to go along with owning a PC. Especially if the PC has a MS OS on it.
aikiwolfie Mar 20	To me the problem seems to be more of a cultural one. American consumers seem particularly prone to the "sales pitch". Microsoft have done such a good job at convincing people computers are big and scary and complicated, it's become conventional wisdom or public knowledge or whatever. You all believe it and subsequently believe you need a company like Microsoft to deliver something simpler. At least that's what it looks like from the outside looking in.
chernobyl Mar 25	I wouldn't disagree with you there. The Amiga's demise in the United States was due in part to it being a victim to the "sales pitch" mentality. Most people probably don't realize that the early episodes of the Sci-Fi series Babylon 5 were generated and compiled on Amiga computers using Video Toaster. Too bad Microsoft wasn’t marketing the Amiga, instead of Commodore. Think how different the market would be today if that had happened. We in the US are consumers at the lowest common denominator. All we need are flashy lights and a simple tune.
aikiwolfie Mar 25	There was actually a kids video games program over here that game away one of those machines along with all the software as a prize in a competition. I think the modeling software was Lightwave or something like that? I was so disappointed not to win. Another interesting and pointless fact/myth. Supposedly the modified Amiga Video Toaster machines had a fan in the bottom so powerful that if set to blow rather than suck, the whole machine would hover 1mm off the desk.
chernobyl Mar 25	That would have been nice to win. Amiga had a huge following in the UK even after Commodore went bankrupt. I was still reading Amiga magazines in 2001, 2002, then they all went belly-up.
yesmathew Apr 3	Hilarious. Came across this comment today by some one here http://www.p2pnet.net/story/15468 ............. You have big captions such as: “Dell recommends Windows Vista on their systems”; but that is the only OS they offer on 99% of all their systems. How can you recommend something when that is the only possible option?? Hilarious.
rotthund Apr 4	Just ignore it like a banner ad. All Windows vendors say that. Notice that Apple doesn't do the Intel jingle like all the other PC vendors.
hermit74 Apr 14	XP2 is an excellent, stable, well-tested platform that I believe users should be able to choose when buying a new PC. I would certainly make that choice were it available. It is too bad that Dell has switched to offering Vista instead.
afarnen Apr 23	It's because Microsoft tells them to say it. http://www.everex.com/products/products.htm: "Everex recommend Windows Vista(R) Home Premium". http://asus.com/products.aspx?l1=5: "Asus recommends Windows Vista(R) Business for Business Computing...Asus recommends Windows Vista(R) Home Premium for Personal Computing". http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/na/LenovoPortal/en_US/special..., the same thing.
aikiwolfie Apr 23	Could be considered misleading advice. If you're mis-sold a pension plan then you have the right to claim compensation. Perhaps Windows isn't right for everybody?

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