IdeaStorm
Over 19,075 ideas submitted. 741,226+ votes. 98,023+ comments. 537+ ideas implemented.
Comments Page (2 of 6)
Make Dell Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7 .iso Files Available to Download
I would like to request Dell to make Dell Microsoft Operating System .iso files available to download. These .iso files should include, the latest service packs, the latest version on Internet Explorer for that OS and nothing else. For example: • Window XP Professional 32 bit with SP3 & IE8 • Windows Vista Business Edition 32 bit with SP2 & IE9 • Windows 7 Professional Edition 64 bit with SP1 & IE9 Of course make all versions of Windows available to download from say 2000 Professional including Vista/7 starter. This has become more critical because Dell are (by default) no longer shipping OS DVDs when you purchase a new Dell system. In fact the lower end systems such as the Inspiron do not even have the option to purchase reinstallation media with the system. While there is a link to request media in the U.S. It is less convienient to get the media elsewhere. I think even alot of U.S. users would prefer being able to download the .iso file direct from Dell. I know there is the Dell Datasafe program but its method will give you all the preinstalled software etc. which the end user may or may not want. I know that many end users will not create the media and only will only look for it when it is too late. e.g. at hard drive failure. In addition I and some other users have experienced some reduced performance after installing the latest Service Packs/Internet Explorer. This may be due to some conflicts with ATI/Realtek drivers with the Service Pack. Restoring to factory settings cannot fix this problem as the Service Pack is again installed after the drivers. Installing Windows and then the Service Pack prevents such a problem. A Dell windows installation DVD with the Service Packs slipstreamed would be the best solution to prevent this problem. Digital River, Microsofts online store partner have .iso files available for both Windows Vista and Windows 7 which can be found here. These can be used in conjunction with a Dell OEM product key, however it does not give the Dell logo in system and phone activation is required. Dell are a big corporation and should be able to settle a deal with Microsoft to make the Dell custom .isos available for download. There could be an online form where the user has to enter in both their Windows Product key and Service Tag providing that their Product Key is not faded. For those that do have a faded product key, there must be a backdoor somewhere a user can instead submit a picture of their faded COA and be allowed to proceed. I have made a sketch of what the form should entail. It is fairly simplistic. Since the first stage of the form makes the user input their service tag, links could be provided to Dell parts and upgrades. Dell of course may make additional revenue here by recommending the user to purchase a larger hard drive from Dell or additional memory from Dell and say it is Dell recommended to do these upgrades before installing Windows. Note they could also have a link to upgrade to a newer version of Windows such as Windows 7 Ultimate or an upgrade from XP/Vista to 7. This will suit Microsoft aswell as it will provide them with more revenue. The user could then purchase the software upgrade and instead download that .iso file. Could do a similar thing with Microsoft Office OEM Upgrade discount or Full OEM version if not originally purchased with the system. I was going to say that Dell could charge a reasonable fee of $5 for the service of downloading the .iso files although I would rather that they wouldn't. However I think if it has the suggested OEM hardware and software upgrades, then it is probably a better means of revenue for them. Just to note I posted a similar idea here before but that was based on XP and not as well thought out.
Categories: Advertising and Marketing, Operating Systems, Service and Support,
Touchscreen
Mar 29, 2013
7 Votes
Status: Acknowledged
Dell should provide touchscreen options for all their products. Windows 8 is designed for touch and can be difficult with just a mouse.
Categories: Desktops and Laptops, Operating Systems,
Browser only dell machine
May 8, 2013
1 Vote
Status: Acknowledged
In past we have seen OS which runs all kind of softwares, then comes OS for mobile which limits to selected and lightwait software.Current market and products: Market is fragmented between OS that run everything (locally e.g. Windows or cloud e.g. Google book) and OS that runs on mobile.Cost and Size of machine and OS depends upon where they are for everything or for mobile. New market and product:Idea here is to have an OS which run only browser i.e. machine which run only browser. So we need to have OS and machine which is trimmed to run only browser.Benefit: Its a new market and product lineIt will bring down costLarge community which need gadget only for internetMore use cases, I will be providing based on further request.
Categories: IdeaStorm, New Product Ideas, Operating Systems,
A more useful tablet for students
Apr 25, 2013
4 Votes
Status: Acknowledged
There needs to be an ARM based tablet along the same line as the xps 10 or latitude 10 but with a few enhancements. Keep or improve the keyboard dock of the the XPS 10. Consider implementing a new docking port that alows the tablet to be docked in a flipped position so that when the keyboard is closed the screen can be facing in or out so that a user may keep the tablet in the dock while using their tablet touch only. Add a Wacom graphics tablet style preasure sensitive touch pen feature to the tablet to enable handwriten note taking, diagram drawing, or anotations on pdf documents, ebooks, powerpoint slides etc.. DITCH WINDOWS!!!! The market has spoken no one wants an ARM based windows tablet. Other than microsoft office there are no apps for the OS. Windows slows down the device, waists the storage capacity, and inflates the cost of the tablets. Windows RT also prevents users from installing a different OS if they would prefer to do so. Instead use Android as there is actual app support. Consider using Ubuntu touch when it is ready. Switch to a 16:10 or 4:3 display in the tablet and also consider using a high PPI screen. 16:10 looks better and a higher resolution would be beneficial to drawing and writing. Make the tablet price competitive with other android tablets. By ditching windows you will have eliminated most of the extra cost so that should not be a big problem. Allow users to unlock the bootloader and make open source drivers available.
Categories: New Product Ideas, Operating Systems, Mobile Devices,
new tablet android dell
Apr 24, 2013
2 Votes
Status: Acknowledged
this tablet android operating system must have this pear also declines somehow should allow running applications. exe
Categories: Operating Systems, Mobile Devices,
Too few configuration options (e.g. for high screen res) put buyers off
Apr 11, 2013
3 Votes
Status: Acknowledged
When looking to buy a laptop, the available configuration options are very limited. There are a few base models to choose from, and it's not possible to customize each base configuration. For example the screen resolution, CPU, RAM and factory-loaded OS are fixed and can't be changed.This can really put potential buyers off, because in order to get a desired feature (e.g. 1920x1080 screen instead of a horrible low-res 1366x768 one) the only choice is a high-end model costing hundreds of dollars more. As opposed to being able to upgrade the screen on a lower-end model for much less.Take for example the Vostro 3560 page at http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/vostro-3560/pdThere are four base models, priced at $569, $699, $719, $999. Only the $999 one has a 1920x1080 screen. If the $569 model would be fine for me except for its screen, am I going to pay $430 extra for the high-end model? Or am I going to check out competitors' products?Another strange thing is the factory-loaded OS. Only the $719 model has Windows 8, the rest have Windows 7 SP1. So if I buy the $999 high-end model to get the high-res screen, I can't have Windows 8. [Windows 8 Pro includes downgrade rights to Windows 7.]
Categories: Desktops and Laptops, IdeaStorm, Operating Systems,
Begin offering Linux!
Apr 16, 2013
1 Vote
Status: Already Offered
With the disaster that Windows 8 has been, Dell would be better served if it started offering machines with Linux. In the past I've tried buying a few machines with Ubuntu preinstalled and I gave up when I saw that a machine with a free OS was costing more than a machine with Windows.Unless Dell wants to bet it's future on a product like Windows, it should give serious thought to offering Linux or no OS at all. Linux is sufficienly advanced to the point where major hardware is supported out of the box. I ran Ubuntu and OS X on a Vostro 1520 with 4GB RAM for a year and was so pleased with the stability of Linux and OS X that I ended up buying a MacBookPro.I have now been running my home network which has a couple of Macs, a Dell precision, a Dell Optiplex and a Dell Poweredge since 2010 Windows free and I've never been happier. My Dells happily run Ubuntu/Mint and I no longer have to patch the OS everyday, constantly worry about viruses and constantly have to pay for subscription charges for Firewall and antivirus software. The best part is the same machine runs so much better with Linux compared to Windows. Just look at the amount of memory Windows and its drivers/Antivirus/Firewall take even before you run anything and then compare it with what's loaded when Linux runs on the same machine.Whether Dell makes the move away from Windows or not is up to Dell, I would definitely consider buying a Dell if it came with Linux/no OS and was cheaper than the same machine running Windows. I could never quite understand why a machine with Windows is cheaper than Linux or no OS at all. Is Microsoft paying to subsidize the cost?Wake up Dell and listen or you find yourself in a situation where you wish you had!!
Categories: Desktops and Laptops, Operating Systems,
Abandon Secure Boot
Mar 30, 2013
2 Votes
Status: Acknowledged
While Microsoft would claim Secure Boot is about device security it has not gone unnoticed that the true effect of this technology is to secure Microsoft's market share.Secure also has the following effects: Reduces system recovery options as the presence of secure boot makes using third party OS independent recovery tools difficult to impossible. Prevents non-technical users from exploring "alternative" operating systems. The presence of Secure Boot prevents users from even booting into a live CD. Many Linux and BSD distributions are distributed on Live CDs. Secure Boot promotes the OS monoculture that has given rise to the malware issues that the world currently faces. Most malware attacks will not be prevented by Secure Boot because they rely on social engineering to circumvent security measures and do not attack the boot sector or the OS kernel. Secure Boot gives Microsoft an unreasonable level of control over hardware they did not manufacture. The introduction of Secure Boot is arguably an anti-competetive move on Microsoft's part. Microsoft unilaterally introduced this technology while threatening to exclude OEM's from the Windows 8 logo program if they did not comply. While it could be argued that Secure Boot can be dissabled on most systems. Most OEMs, including Dell are not entierly forthcoming with clear information on how this is accomplished. In deed on some OEMs PCs it seems Secure Boot must first be dissabled from within Windows 8 it's self before it can be dissabled in the UEFI firmware.Secure Boot is an entirely unnessesary complication in the boot process of modern PCs. It should be removed and abandond.
Categories: Desktops and Laptops, Operating Systems, Software,
Dell XT3 - fix Rotatable Screen & Windows 8 drivers
Feb 25, 2013
4 Votes
Status: Acknowledged
First, you need to fix the rotatable screen on the Dell XT3. You can rotate to the left or right 90 degrees, but you cannot rotate it 180 degrees. Rotating it 180 degrees is inportant because putting the XT3 on a podium requires that you have the power and video cables in front of you, which always get in the way. Having a VGA output enables us to connect it to any sandard video presentation system. Otherwise, this machine excels for presenting interactive presentations in a classroom environment.Second, there are only a handful of touchscreen PC's that are Intel i7 capable, of which we went with a Dell XT3. We use the Dell XT3 to run Microsoft Office and create presentations using Camtasia Studio. The XT3 performs well and thanks to the Intel i7, it can render large presentations made in Camtasia in a matter of minutes! It also runs large Microsoft Office files with no problem. These presenations are uploaded for students to view online, but this would be impractical to do on a lesser machine.However Dell no longer offers any portable tablet PC that even compares to your XT3! Stepping from Windows 7 64-bit on a Dell XT3 with an Intel i7 with 8GB RAM to any of your notebooks or tablets is a large step backwards! None have the power of the XT3! You can't carry around an Optiplex 9010 All-In-One either.At the least, make drivers available for the XT3 for Windows 8! We understand that the screen won't support '5-point' touch drivers, but anything past four is probably overkill anyways.Some of us actually do serious work on a serious machine and the XT3 gets the job done. Fix the drivers, update it for Windows 8, and you'll be one of the few vendors that actually have a hot machine to run 8.
Categories: Desktops and Laptops, Operating Systems,
Request Reinstalaltion DVD form [Rest of the World]
Dell are currently shipping out most of their systems without reinstallation DVDs. For US customers there is an online request form for Reinstallation Media. For those customers not in the US you will need to contact Dell technical support and ask for one. The customer numbers are available here. Many customers have contacted Dell via this form in the US and got the media for free or charged a small fee. For those outside the US e.g. customers in Europe (I am from the UK) we have to phone technical support which is in general a worse experience then filling in a form. We have got mixed results because we had to contact Dells Technical Support via phone and depending on the agents competence on the end of the line it is possible to get the most unhelpful situation: “Your system is out of warranty you cannot get a reinstallation DVD.” “It will cost $60 for a Reinstalaltion DVD despite purchasing your system last week and have no option of getting the reinstallation DVD with the system. i.e. European customers are getting ripped off.” $30 should be the maximum price but $10-$20 would be better. “We have sent you out a Reinstallation DVD it should arrive in a few days (2 weeks later) we are having problems sending one and want permission to cancel the order.” The Operating System DVD is necessary for many problems that can go wrong with Windows or for installation of a new hard drive. Dell DataSafe does not cover it and does not offer the ability to perform a clean install. Ideally we want a Windows .iso as mentioned here. The idea is simple; make this form available for the rest of the world. If pricing is involved put the price for systems in warranty and if there is a further charge for systems without warranty mention both prices. $60 is unacceptable for a DVD, $30 max but $free-$20 would be better. Also make reinstallation USBs (that are write protected) available as many systems are coming without DVD drives, you can charge slightly more for these. Make the reinstallation USBs identical to the DVDs. Finally Dell will only send out DVDs once or maybe twice, I think the quota should be rest if a Service Pack is released, its best to use the Reinstallation DVD/USB with the most up to date Service Pack (for the USBs they can make a special utility to update them when a Service Pack is released).
Categories: Operating Systems, Service and Support,