Full Disclosure
40
points posted to Operating Systems, Service and Support by lindahewitt
03/04/07
For the past couple of months, I have been puzzled by the fact that PC hardware vendor identify a PC as "Vista Capable" and recommend either XP, Vista Home or Vista Business.
For me, it made me wonder what was really going on and what did the hardware vendors know that I did not know, which might impact how satisfied I was likely to be with my new laptop purchase. When in doubt, I opt to wait.
IMO, Dell could become a leader in providing full disclosure of technical information, such as is provided in the URL below:
http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/
For example if USB 2.0 has been released for over a year but the hardware configuration that Dell is using includes only USB 1.1, then Dell needs to explain why? Whether these decisions are driven by technical reasons or Dell's decision to not update the hardware configuration, then this needs to be disclosed.
In terms of current technology, this applies to the following:
BIOS to EFI
DVI Riser Card Connector
True Video Card
HDMI
Solid State Hard Drives
IPKVM
DRPC with 1 CAT5 cable
HMB/DVI Inputs
I am sure that there are other technology developments, which I have not listed.
One of the decisions that many users are going to need to consider is whether to go 32 bit or 64 bit architecture.
I know that Dell tests hardware components before adding them to the hardware configuration, so just say that this technology is currently being tested before it is added to any Dell hardware configurations.
Just because someone orders a computer with XP, does not mean that they shouldn't get the latest hardware technology. Who knows, if Dell provides full disclosure on their hardware configurations, their customers may decide to purchase a more expensive leading edge computer, so that they can take advantage of the latest technology.
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