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9650

Dell's Website must work with Firefox running on Linux

9650 points posted to Dell Web Site, Linux by qgonjon 07/16/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

It's discouraging to have a Tier 1 vendor (Dell) selling Linux products and yet not really tailoring to Linux. Don't get me wrong Dell, I am not trying to take away all the good you have done. Offering Linux is a step in the right direction and I would like to see more steps taken in a monthly or quarterly basis. But, it seems that the basis for your current Linux promotion is for the Open Source enthusiast like me. I use Linux at home and at work as my main operating system. I use Firefox as my browser and I'm trying to order a Dell Inspiron 1420N. However, it seems that the embedded flash script that shows the different colors choices for the Inspiron is not working under Linux. It also shows that I can't see the different images thereafter. It works with Windows running Firefox as my vmware machine verified. But that is not the type of user that will most likely purchase a Linux laptop.

My request is simple. Can someone fix and verify that this page works well with Linux browser technology? So, that users can enjoy purchasing your Linux products and demonstrate that Dell really cares about their customer's operating system preference.

Dell I wish you the best in this venture as your success in this territory will help the Linux Desktop become a reality to the open source community.





winoffice
07/16/07		 Probably because Firefox likely cannot run ASP.NET (Dell has Windows Server 2003 servers, and their web pages have an extension of .aspx). Try Internet Explorer with WINE or other emulator.
jmxz
07/16/07		 qgonjon: "embedded flash script that shows the different colors choices for the Inspiron is not working under Linux"
winoffice: "probably because ... ASP.NET"

ASP.NET shouldn't be incompatible with Flash, should it?

I suspect he needs a new flash version from Adobe (almost as bad).
qgonjon
07/20/07		 Well instead of getting a new Flash version from Adobe he can work with the limited Flash version Linux has and just find a method that will work with it. Dell can also pressure Adobe to patch their Linux version after Dell's web team identifies the bug.
td-linux
07/24/07		 Okay, I can verify the problem exists, but the comments above me do not have it quite straight.
It seems that the images are displayed with Javascript, which should be perfectly fine. However, on Linux, when right-clicking the area it seems to be Flash. My hypothesis is that for some reason one of the Flash applets on the page is oversized and covering up the image.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, because the web browser should z-sort everything so that the Flash is covered. However, the Flash Player for Linux (even the most recent version 9) uses an older API which prevents this from working. The Flash developers are working on this bug right now, as one can see in their blog.

A workaround for Dell would be to simply shrink the large Flash applet.

BTW, ASP.NET is server side, and affects the page before it ever is sent to the browser, just like PHP. Therefore, there is no such thing as browser support, and the browser would not affect ASP.NET's operation.
dell_admin2
07/26/07		 Changed status to **UNDER REVIEW**.
qgonjon
07/27/07		 Thanks, td-linux for your explanation and I appreciate your research on this matter. And, another round of thanks to dell_admin2 for reviewing this issue. I hope we can put this issue behind us and have an equally pleasing web site for Linux users and their buggy/old technology. I look forward to purchasing more products from Dell and recommending them to Linux newbies.
qgonjon
07/27/07		 Just discovered that if flash is not installed the java script will display the images without any problems. If anyone is desperate enough you can try removing the flash plugin so that you can see what you are purchasing.
zufoo
07/29/07		 Not just Firefox, test the site in all major browsers, IE, Firefox, Opera and Safari.
jmxz
07/29/07		 @qgonjon:

Ah - that explains why I didn't encounter the problem. I have the mozilla flashblock plugin installed and only launch flash applets when necessary. I slightly less painful workaround than removing the flash plugin might be installing the flashblock one.
maverick4ever
07/30/07		 If you decide to buy an OS that has limited compatibility, you must live with the consequences. I don't understand why everyone's always bashing Windows. It's a good operating system and is compatible with almost everything worth mentioning. Instead of complaining about compatibility problems, just buy a Windows PC next time.
qgonjon
07/30/07		 Hi Maverick4ever,

You said, "If you decide to buy an OS that has limited compatibility, you must live with the consequences."

Answer: Adobe has developed an inferior version of flash for Linux which it has acknowledged and will rectify in it's next release. In addition, Ubuntu is installed for free courtesy of DELL($50 less with Ubuntu compared to Windows). Thank you DELL! And, as for living with the consequences, unfortunately, Linux users have no choice but to do so and are constantly working on getting as much support and compatibility in it's OS as possible.

You said, " I don't understand why everyone's always bashing Windows."

Answer: Microsoft is the 800lb Gorilla. It limits user freedom and choice. It promotes lock-in business models with it's proprietary formats. It has 95% of all spyware, adware, viruses, worms and trojans. Microsoft steals software innovations and makes believe that they are the ones that came with it first. They constantly violate Intellectual Property and are constantly sue for it. Microsoft patents prior art (mostly from public domain work as they have patent things like ftp, tcp, sudo, etc). Ask someone that doesn't like Microsoft and insert their reasons below:

You said, "It's a good operating system and is compatible with almost everything worth mentioning."

Answer: it's the dominant operating system because every vendor supports it and by definition must be compatible with almost everything worth mentioning. What are your criteria of a good operating system if you never tried any other? I can tell you after trying Microsoft for 10 years Macs for 5 years and Linux for 10 years that all these operating systems are GOOD. The only thing Linux is missing is the vendor support which is slowly happening. I'm willing to wait.

You said, "Instead of complaining about compatibility problems, just buy a Windows PC next time."

Answer: I live in America and I believe in choice and freedom. Linux is my choice of Operating System and it provides me with the freedom I am looking for through a community not a proprietary vendor. Why would I support a proprietary vendor when I am looking for a community run operating system? I rather work at getting Linux fully compatible as it will soon be with the help of Dell, IBM, SUN and many others.

Just imagine if the world had one ISP, one TV manufacturer, one Theater, one Computer maker, one newspaper company, one of everything. No choice. No freedom to choose. No competition. Either you like what they give you at the price or rate they ask with the license restriction they control or you face the consequences of not having it. In the case of computer this world is becoming to dependent on it to just say No! Dell is providing the Linux users choice and freedom (freedom as in open source) which gives rise to competition. This means that Microsoft must continue too innovate or bring its product in par with the competition in order for it to survive. This is what has happened to Microsoft in the past 10 years in the category of Security, Office suite and Browser technology.

Which means we all win. Microsoft users get a better operating system with better up to date software and Linux users get choice and freedom. And may the best choice continue to dominate or else remain second best.
howlingmadhowie
07/31/07		 image a secret language. there are no dictionaries or grammar books for this language. it is also illegal to analyse this language to find out how it works. if you do that you can be sued or sent to prison. now imagine that the only way to communicate in this language is to hire a translator from a foreign company. when you want to communicate with other people, you get your translator to translate your words into his secret language. his text is then sent to another translator who translates it back into your words, so someone else can read them.

now imagine that governments mandate that citizens use this language to communicate. governments use this language internally, without knowing what it actually says (downing street memos anyone?). imagine that the translator sends a list of all documents in this language back to their foreign employer.

you may wonder, who would tolerate such a system? the answer is, more and more people resist it. and they've done something about it, and that something is called linux.
maverick4ever
07/31/07		 So essentially the reason why Microsoft is always being bashed is because they are a successful company? C'mon, suppose Linux had become what Microsoft is today, u'd be saying the same thing about them. Instead of feeling bitter about the success of others, why not just join and be a part of that success. It's not that I hate Linux or Macintosh or anything, but it's just a fact that no other operatíng system is more compatible with software and hardware than Windows. It lets me do whatever I need to do with a PC and will for a very long time. Using something that doesn't have that compatibility just because it's not made by the most successful company in the world is IMO rather foolish.

But I don't want to start a big argument about an issue like this. Maybe you have some other needs with PC's that I don't have and maybe therefore Linux or Mac is better for you. All I can say is that I see no rational reason to use either, since Windows works perfectly well for me, as do all of the other Microsoft programs, such as the Office programs.
howlingmadhowie
07/31/07		 windows data formats force people to use windows products. by exchanging information in a proprietary data format, we force the third world to also use windows products and send large amounts of money back to a foreign country.

the gnu/linux philosophy on the other hand requires that all data formats are open. they can be freely implemented by anyone who wants to. i am not bitter because windows has been successful. i am bitter because it is expected of me to contribute to the continued imperialistic abuse of the third world and for me to give up my freedom to understand my own possessions.

if you want to give up your possessions and strengthen the servitude of the developing countries, you must come to terms with that yourself with your own morality. but do not force me to do the same thing.

open data formats are a necessity for a moral society. that is the big picture here. what sort of society do we want to live in? we in the first world are rich. we can afford to pay microsoft to become its slaves. the citizens of other countries should not be forced to do so.

so no, you have not understood what this is about. maybe you will understand it when you send someone a document and they reply that they cannot open it because they have the choice between feeding their family or buying the software needed. or when a third world country is 100% dependent on microsoft for their technical infrastructure. that is the evil that the gnu/linux philosophy is fighting. i do not ask that you fight with us, but i would recommend to you that you learn about how the imperialistic and colonial domination and exploitation of the third world works and has always worked. microsoft is just one more nail in their coffin.
howlingmadhowie
07/31/07		 double post -- deleted
maverick4ever
07/31/07		 Well I suppose your objective in using a PC is to make a political stand then. To me a PC is a valuable tool. I really don't care if it's made by a company that runs on standards or whether it's made by a company that has a ''everything goes'' attitude. Just as long as it works well and is compatible with anything I may throw at it.
And as for the whole imperialism stuff, I really don't care about that either. Microsoft and particularly Bill Gates are very generous. They have made contributions to solving various issues in many third world countries. However, this goes unnoticed, simply because they are the big and successful company. I see nothing wrong with an individual or a company succeeding at something and making a good profit for it. Furthermore I see no reason why we should feel obligated to help third world countries. Granted, many of them are in the state they are because of the English Empire, but many of them have brought it all to themselves with corruption and pointless tribal arguments. If they got themselves into a mess, they can also get themselves out of it.

Back to the point, I see no reason why it's a bad thing for most of the world to be using Windows based products. They work very well, they are already very popular and are made by a successful, responsible and well established company. So what if it costs a bit. If you're living in a third world country where you're lucky to eat once a day, learning to use or even to own a PC should be the last thing on your mind. Let the rest of the world that isn't dwelling in huge problems of a corrupt country use PC's and quality software to do something with their lives and leave the ones in such conditions alone to sort out their problems and get a good capitalist country established where everyone has a chance at making something out of their lives. At that point, let them join in on the great world of technology and civilization.

Undoubtedly you will once again disagree with me, but this is the last I will have of this argument. There are plenty more issues in this world to think about than who's going to be the next dictator of some banana republic. If you really believe in your political cause as much as you appear to, leave the world of computers and software to those who want to succeed in their lives and just go live as a hermit in Africa.

I'm done with this pointless discussion.
howlingmadhowie
07/31/07		 not just my objective in using a pc, my objective as a human being is to make a political stand. changing the world to make it a better place is something i would like to do with my life.

you are ignorant of the effects of colonialism and globalisation. there's no great shame in being ignorant, i know that i'm ignorant about a lot of things, however i do not pretend to know anything about them.

as for bill gates' much heralded generosity. if i recall correctly, the foundation has done some good work. it has also got another 100000 people hooked on drugs made in companies bill gates owns or supports, for example. you must remember, the law does not allow these drugs to be made anywhere else. an more effective way to help the people with aids in the third world would be to lobby for patent reform in the drug industry. however, i doubt even bill gates has enough money to do that.

one more thing you probably don't know. linux is already the second most used operating system in the world behind tron. linux is used on the most professional hardware under the most demanding loads. compared with this, windows is hobby software. linux is the operating system used by 75% of the top 500 supercomputers in the world, for example. linux is the operating system on the computers used for the special effects of all major hollywood films in the last 5 years. windows is a toy compared with linux.

btw. something i don't understand is why you would actively demote this idea. is it not beneficial for dell that they try to design their webpage so that the most possible people can use it? what reason could you possibly have for demoting this idea?
qgonjon
07/31/07		 Hi maverick4ever,

Please don't start an OS war under my idea. I respect your opinion of Microsoft and I hope you can give me the same respect. As my goal here is to help Dell fine tune their Linux business by suggesting an idea or two that will help them sell more Linux machines to Linux users/newbies. As such, I hope that we can stay focus in our comments regarding my idea and not go off on tangents.

There are other forums that focus on Windows vs Linux wars and there have been no winners to my understanding. It is a waste of time converting anyone here to a different OS. I hope that others here feel the same and ignore any OS war comments from this moment on.
ccfiel
08/03/07		 I hope dell will fix there site that is compatible to linux. thanks dell
desertc
08/04/07		 Please Note!

There is no Adobe Flash Player available for 64-bit operating systems.

Obviously this applies more to Linux - an operating system that has had 64-bit support since 2003, but there are also now Windows versions that are 64-bit, too. Additionally, Adobe limits the hardware architectures Flash Player can run through their license. [Edit: to be clear, there is no 64-bit version of Flash Player for any OS.]

From my Linux desktop, the Flash content on Dell's website is completely inaccessible.
qgonjon
08/05/07		 It does not surprise me that Adobe makes a 64bit version of their flash player for Windows. As Adobe does not have a backbone against Microsoft. This is a good reason to Thank Dell and hope they truly succeed in the Linux space.
howlingmadhowie
08/06/07		 oh, adobe don't release a flash plugin for linux on anything other than i386. it's annoying for me, because my first computer is a blade 1000 from sun dual-booting GNUlinux/solaris. fortunately gnash is getting better at such a rate that adobe flash player may well be replaced on linux systems within a year.

imagine that. free access to flv. no dubious security problems. flash on every device running a unix-like operating system.
tim_t
08/06/07		 qgonjon, thanks again for reporting this issue and my apologies for it taking some time to get back to you. We're researching the issue and I wanted to get some clarifying information to help focus our fix:

1. Just to make sure I understand the issue correctly, what specific URL are you seeing this issue on? By your description, I think that you're talking about the flash sitelet on http://www.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/inspnnb?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs, which starts with the color selector and is followed by many images. There is also the actual color selector in our configurator (http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&kc=6V440&l=en&o...) but I didn't think this was it since it doesn't have flash.

2. Which of the linux OSes and firefox browser versions are you using? I want to pass this information onto the teams that determine application and content compatibility for dell.com. I'll also make sure that we test for all of our normally-compatible browser versions on Linux.

Thanks again for your help. Tim
qgonjon
08/07/07		 Hi Tim,

you said, "Just to make sure I understand the issue correctly, what specific URL are you seeing this issue on? "

answer: The color selector in the configurator of all your Linux based notebooks and desktops below:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&kc=6V440&l=en&o...
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&kc=6V440&l=en&o...
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&kc=6V440&l=en&o...
The entire configurator process from start to finish has this problem when selecting one of the Linux based machines..

you said, "but I didn't think this was it since it doesn't have flash."
answer: Yes it does have flash embedded as explained by td-linux's post below:
"It seems that the images are displayed with Javascript, which should be perfectly fine. However, on Linux, when right-clicking the area it seems to be Flash. My hypothesis is that for some reason one of the Flash applets on the page is oversized and covering up the image.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, because the web browser should z-sort everything so that the Flash is covered. However, the Flash Player for Linux (even the most recent version 9) uses an older API which prevents this from working. The Flash developers are working on this bug right now, as one can see in their blog."

you said, "Which of the linux OSes and firefox browser versions are you using?"

answer: Ubuntu Linux 7.04, firefox version 2.0.0.6 with flash player 9 plugin for linux.

I hope this answers your questions please don't hesitate to post more questions if needed.

Thank you Dell for your speedy response to my issue.
cpcnw
08/08/07		 Arent all websites selling goods or services meant to comply with some kind of readability / useability standards ?

Shoudlnt there a be a text only version that you can use but still make / choices purchases with ?
saftaplan
08/08/07		 Don't forget Konqueror. The site doesn't work too well in Konqueror either.
yesmathew
08/09/07		 Actually Dell should concentrate on W3C standard. All dell sites should be 100% W3C compliant. http://validator.w3.org/
howlingmadhowie
08/09/07		 i think yesmathew has won this thread :)
qgonjon
08/11/07		 100% W3C compliant is the ideal web standard for Dell to implement. This is a great idea but hard for companies using Microsoft products and certified employees to implement due to the tools biased programming towards Internet Explorer. So, all that I ask is for Dell to make their Linux web pages 100% W3C compliant.

yesmthew, you should post this idea up or I will.
yesmathew
08/12/07		 As requested here is 100% w3c compliant idea - http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/73005/
qgonjon
08/13/07		 yesmathew,

Thanks for the link. I just promoted your idea. Let's hope that Dell takes this seriously.
cyberkoa
08/14/07		 Dell website is coded using ASP.Net , see http://www.asp.net/get-started/ , under who is using ASP.Net.

If Dell is running IIS , I think Dell has to ask Microsoft to make their ASP.Net+IIS comply to W3C standard .
howlingmadhowie
08/15/07		 according to netcraft, dell is indeed using iis. (although ideastorm is using a couple of linux servers amongst others. somehow, you have to wonder at dell for sticking with iis, but it is their money.

as to asp.net, i only ever write webpages myself in php4/5, python, ruby or perl. in all of these, the programmer decides if the script will generate w3c compliant code or not. i imagine it can only be the same with asp.net. the problem is instead if dell uses some sort of webpage design software with a colourful gui-interface and other such things. a friend of mine, for example, generated his webpage using software like this and the result was terrifying (i went through it afterwards reducing the code to less than a tenth of the generated size and adding comments). the html of this page (ctrl-u in firefox) looks okay. i can't be bothered to check the css, but the error console finds 6 errors (including a couple of typos, so they really should have been found and corrected in QandA. dell's main page generate about 30 errors in the firefox error console and the code itself is badly formated, so suggesting that it was generated by a program designed to obfuscate the generated code. the css file (which is defined as an html file in the html file) is not formated at all. try finding an error in that mess.
jmxz
08/15/07		 @howlingmadhowie: "but it is their money. "

Doubtful. I bet IIS is paid for as part of the same marketing funds that pay for the "Dell Recommends Vista" ad campaign.
howlingmadhowie
08/15/07		 jmxz: it is remarkable how much money microsoft has spent on iis recently. convincing people to change from apache to iis as a webserver must be costing microsoft hundreds of millions. one wonders why they are doing this, if they are not intending on introducing some proprietary protocol.
qgonjon
08/15/07		 It is not practical for Dell to make their entire website W3C compliant overnight. The best strategy is to just start with the Linux product web pages first. If Linux becomes popular enough Dell will have both experienced employees and a good reason to make their entire web site W3C compliant.
yesmathew
08/15/07		 I agree with .Net technology one cannot make W3C compliant web site unless its a simple site. See how bad is .Net technology. After paying so much money on M$ technology they are unable to make their web site W3C compliant.
jmxz
08/15/07		 @howlingmadhowie: "one wonders why they are doing this, if they are not intending on introducing some proprietary protocol."

Didn't you just answer your own question? I think their flash-clone will move that direction.
cpcnw
08/16/07		 I realise I am comming late to this thread but isnt this what proprietary vendors do? I'm talking about Adobe and Flash content and them not releasing plugins for all OS's. So, now they have some people by the balls, they persuade everyone that their 'standard' is a good thing, manouvre into a position of mainstream use, then have control over who is or isnt supported. We are supposed to be learning something here. History dictates that letting one vendor get so much control is a Bad Thing(tm) and thats what this issue is about. We as humans are so short sighted and have such short memories. Richard Stallman was right, if we are willing to give up Freedom for Convenience we will soon have neither and will be controlled by others. What we shoudl do is lobby all major players using Flash to either remove it from their website or provide a text only version that can be used by all.
howlingmadhowie
08/16/07		 cpncw: happily, problems with flash and compatibility may well soon be over
fabsh
08/16/07		 What are you saying? It works! I just ordered a Dell system while using Firefox running on Linux Mint Cassandra (Ubuntu Feisty). Everything works great on my end!
delluser
09/02/07		 Site does not work well enough under OS X/Safari. This is a closed platform, and relatively standard-compliant. Fixing the site should be no problem (if it is: your fault :)
Not everyone knows how or cares about turning around website defects using Firefox on mac.

UPDATE: There was improvement. Dynamic tables or wide tables that used to render badly w/ Safari now work ok. GOOD!
howlingmadhowie
09/02/07		 Safari is apple's version of konqueror, if i remember correctly (one of the linux browsers). just like firefox, it is pretty w3c compliant. the problem firefox/linux users have been having is in the displaying of flash animations and flash windows. basically, macromedia flash for linux is horribly buggy (as can be seen by the 100% processor load while watching videos on youtube). until macromedia does something about this, dell has three options:
1/ ignore the problem and continue treating linux users like dirt.
2/ code around the failings in macromedia flash.
3/ stop using flash totally (my preferred choice).

let's see what happens.
maverick4ever
09/10/07		 So Dell should stop using flash so that like 0.000001% of the worlds population will be able to access their site?
Or they should use their manpower to solve a problem that is not of their fault.
Or they can continue business as usual and let the ignorant linux fanboys live with the consequences of their choices.
davmcn
09/10/07		 or make Linux Fans Download something that does work with it..like Windows!!!SURPRISE!
howlingmadhowie
09/10/07		 maverick4ever: if i remember correctly, about 40% of the computers attached to the net do not have a flash plugin installed. flash is notoriously insecure and buggy (almost as bad as activeX). generally when creating an internet page, you code around the lack of flash by producing static images or similar instead. seeing as macromedia has released a flash-plugin for linux, no coding-around takes place. sometimes i think it would be best to deinstall the plugin.
maverick4ever
09/11/07		 maybe so, but it is simple enough for windows and Mac users to install. I don't understand your comment about it being buggy, cus at least on windows, I have never experienced any sort of problems with it. Since you are using linux, you will just have to live with the consequences of using an OS that practically no worthwhile standard supports. And it will not be supported any time soon, because the LINUX population of the world is something like 0.000001%
howlingmadhowie
09/11/07		 maverick4ever. you seem to be confusing a number of things here.
firstly, what do standards have to do with this? why did you even mention them?
secondly, what did you not understand about my commend about macromedia flash being buggy on linux?
thirdly, installation of flash on ubuntu is far easier than installation on mac or windows.
fourthly, you seem uninformed about the linux population of the world and i wonder why.

so basically you seem to have a problem with people who want to learn about their computers and the software that runs on them. what do you have against people learning? what is your justification for wanting other people to remain as ignorant as yourself?
maverick4ever
09/11/07		 flash is a standard, which linux doesn't support properly, you've answered that part yourself. Maybe the installation process is easier on linux, but it's pretty clear it doesn't work. So maybe I exaggerated with the linux population. However, it still holds an extremely low minority of people in the world using it. What is this about people learning something they can't with Windows. Linux is an operatings system, which the vast majority of the worlds software does not support. Frankly I see Windows as a much better platform for learning... You and all the other people trying to badmouth it are the ones who are ignorant
howlingmadhowie
09/11/07		 maverick4ever: hang on, you say "flash is a standard, which linux doesn't support properly". then you say "Linux is an operatings system, which the vast majority of the worlds software does not support".

so which is it in your mind?

quite apart from the irrelevance of mentioning "the vast majority of the world's software" (the vast majority of the world*s software cannot be bought and cannot be found outside of the environment in which it was written and therefore cannot be installed on YOUR computer anyway), with an operating system like ubuntu, i have access to way more software with much greater ease than you could possibly legally buy for windows. can you afford a copy of maya? how about a copy of blender? can you afford to fit out every school in Kenya with one copy of microsoft office for every 10 pupils? how about open office? let's not pick on office. should the children's laptop really cost three times as much, just so children in developing countries can spend hundreds of dollars a month on ego shooters?

because that's what this is about. you're talking about gaming. you may not want to admit it but you are. you're talking about going to a store and buying software.

i'm talking about accomplishing tasks on a computer and not being tied to one particular piece of proprietary software which could be (and offen is) changed overnight to make earlier versions redundant.

btw, to the best of my knowledge, flash is not a standard. i don't see it registered by the iso or the ieee.
mrw
09/16/07		 For me, Dell works with Linux and Firefox. But anyway: JavaScript, Cookies and Flash are evil an should be avoided! Normally I disable all of them by default and I am only willing to enable Cookies when I place an order (even though anything would be possible without!). So please use pure XHTML/CSS, nothing else.
anordal
09/16/07		 Dell's laptop configurator worked today with Firefox 2.0.0.3. I remember it didn't work when I had flash installed (maybe a month ago).

It didn't work in Konqueror 3.5.6 (my favourite browser) today. When I chose a color or tried to configure the other options, everything disappeared except the text over and under (including the menu on the right). The fancy hover effect was the only thing that worked.

I like Zepto's configurator better. It too uses javascript, is similar in functionality and works in at least Firefox and Konqueror. It's not so flashy either. Easy as DELL
petzymathuram
09/16/07		 This idea is quite unstable like a "jelly"...;)
My substantiation: Not all the customers are much aware about the Linux or Firewall
How will the customers who have IE & other ........etc.etc... access Dell's website then? will it not result in "bugs"?
@ Dell_Admin2 & Tim: I require your valid explanation plz.....;)
kalstolyn
09/16/07		 I've never had a problem using the Dell website with the linux/firefox combination.
petzymathuram
09/17/07		 with the recent fines on Microsoft...I think soon people will be changing their opinion on Microsoft.... very soon....;). Today I experienced server disconnection of Microsoft Appstream application intermittently. We couldnt access any MS word / Excel etc....dunno whats going on...We have separate Login Ids to login to access MS word etc.....;). I have my own iD, it is specific for each project, ie webex, vonage etc..etc...;)
qgonjon
09/28/07		 Kalstolyn,

Check to see if you have the adobe flash plugin install on your machine. As I have just looked at it and still the images of the laptops disappear when the flash plugin activates. I think that Dell is not thinking of solving this problem instead they are waiting for adobe to fix the flash plugin for them. It's too bad they can't fix it for us before then as we don't need the flash movies on that page.
kalstolyn
09/28/07		 Ah, I see. I just don't care about the pictures myself, the configurator works fine. I see where other people might get a bit annoyed though.
maverickcruise
10/04/07		 I have been using Ubuntu and Firefox and have had no problems accessing any webpage in Dell.... so what's the fuss about???
darktreb
Jan 16		 Absurdly enough, this is still a problem. Here I am on my new XPS M1330, which is a great computer, and now that I've put Gutsy on it, I can't even view the pictures for buying another Dell. Hope Adobe fixes this eventually, I guess, since it looks like Dell doesn't want to, which is too bad because List View sure doesn't do the newer, better designed Dell machines justice.
howlingmadhowie
Jan 16		 darktreb: i am reliably informed that the adobe flash-plugin also has problems on os x. i know it has problems on solaris10, because i've got a solaris10 box here atm.

looks like adobe is only interested in making a plugin that works on 32-bit windows xp. but why xhould they be interested in anything more? they have a monopoly and can afford to produce a ridiculously bad product.
jdelidc
Jan 25		 works fine for me. firefox 2 in fedora 8
helmecj01
Feb 1		 Now the dell community web site working on Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.11 on Windows XP. I am very happy!!
zanlok
Feb 1		 Since Dell is actually selling Ubuntu now, I'd think this would get reviewed and IMPLEMENTED quicker.. it's not like those users are going to become repeat customers by ordering on their friend's old Windows systems!
jdelidc
Feb 1		 changing my status.... when i'm configuring machines, i get no big pictures on the left side. only the small ones on the bottom
zero79
Feb 17		 just wanted to add another vote here for konqueror support. some of us use this alternative browser as well. thanks!
jdelidc
Feb 18		 konqueror is good. along with safari for mac. still haven't gotten around to acutlaly using opera but it looks really good
leftyfb
Mar 5		 If you block http://i.dell.com/images/global/products/flash/avatars/index.swf* in ad-block plus, it fixes the problem. I'm not sure what that flash object does, but the site works fine for me after blocking it.
davmcn
Mar 5		 it does work, tried it a long time ago though... a month ago..
rotthund
Apr 4		 Layout gets messed up here when I resize the text. Text resizing is why I use FireFox.

BTW: I block Flash now. I like the FlashBlocker add-on for FireFox.

Websites should use standards, thus supporting any broswer. While Flash is ubiquitous, it's still an application-x/* mimetype.
libertyshadow
Apr 8		 How can people demote this idea?? Is it because he said Linux and not GNU/Linux???
yannlinux
Apr 8		 Dell,

I have the same problem as qgonjon.
I run Firefox with Adobe Flash plugin on Ubuntu,

Thank you for fixing.
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