Idea Storm

Is that it?

July 19, 2012

5 Votes

Status: Archived

Promote

the public announcment of a developer laptop is basically what was on the table before you started this stormsession. Is that really what this was all about? Or was this about the next generation? If not, I feel like I've been taken for a ride.

5 Votes | 8 Comments | Report Abuse

Please login to IdeaStorm to post a comment.

Comments :

Jul 25, 2012 Comment Link

Report Abuse

Posted By:
sugarbear
I glad to see some of the Dell team members here to talk about this.

Jul 24, 2012 Comment Link

Report Abuse

Posted By: thesheep
I really appreciate that you are doing that for us, it must be a tough job. We have recently managed to open-source our project, so I can imagine how hard it must be in an even bigger company. On the other hand, it's really hopeful that you are making progress.

It really helps when you are openly explaining things like this -- then we can see exactly what we can hope for and what are the chances of getting it.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

Jul 23, 2012 Comment Link

Report Abuse

Posted By: cote
The public announcement we did last week means two things, tactically:

- As a product, we have a greater ability to respond to input in the (now) product version of Sputnik - Before the announcement, the Project Sputnik was just a incubation project, not an official product. Internally, this would mean that we'd have little opportunity to take the wonderful feedback we've been getting here into account. Primarly, the only thing in our control would be able to work on would be the software layer, and not effect the hardware or ordering process. Many of the comments here (screen resolution, horse-power, etc.) require us to start working with on the hardware side. Now that we're to be an official product, we have a better chance of doing that. In fact, it's because of the huge amount of input here that we were able to proove out that the community had enough interest in something like Sputnik to start doing something about that. Before the input here and elsewhere, we didn't have a solid case for putting in Dell's resources and efforts into a developer-centric laptop. Now, we not only have that input but, as we announced last week, we're taking that input and doing something about it.

- For the initial release, we're still targeting the same general idea but as a product, not just a project - that is Ubuntu running well on an XPS 13, the developer profile tool, and the cloud tool. We haven't shifted to a completly open process for developing these, but we're working on each of these components. Hardware wise, we're very aware (from the feedback here and elsewhere) that we need to up the hardware specs, or even introduce Sputnik on other laptops. All of those options are on the table and we're trying to sort through what's possible and when.

Speaking personally, my main goals are to (a.) get the product out the door and available on the announced timeline (this Fall, as announced last week), and, (b.) setup the process and ongoing effort to get ready to deliver even more in the next version.

We're definitly taking the input here (and elsewhere) into account in Sputnik. The fact that we've been able to so quickly move from an idea/prototype to a product commitment is very significant and wouldn't have been possible with all the input we've been getting. The next important step is to make sure we get the product out and then, even more importatly, set up the process and community for the next version.

I really appreciate this thread, here, and I'd look forward to more ways of finding out what everyone is thinking ;)

Jul 23, 2012 Comment Link

Report Abuse

Posted By: TuxRaiderPen

scalpel4k " If not, I feel like I've been taken for a ride."

thesheep "But it's not enough to just nod your head and pretend to take notes, and then go ahead with whatever you have planned in the beginning anyways."

These comments are on target, nail on the head.

I could not agree more... lots of input here, 100% ignored.

None of my development staff would use these, and we are a 100% LINUX ONLY, Period, shop. Many use their laptop as their only computer, their choice, and this is not even close to spec for what we have. There would be revolt by my staff if I purchased this for any of them. They demand and require more power than this! 13" screen, seriously.. thats not enough to have open the various windows needed in a development environment.

I want OEM sources of desktops and laptops with Linux, but I need better hardware, more hardware selections, and better or more Linux distro sources... if you want to develop on one base fine, *bunutu is a good choice... but I need to be able to get it with a KDE based distro, ie: Kubuntu.

Either listen to whats being posted here or just say your going to do what you want regardless of our input and we can all go home.

Jul 22, 2012 Comment Link

Report Abuse

Posted By: IdeaStorm Moderator Cy_J
Actually, that is not the part I meant. :)

I tried to get the team to answer some of the tougher questions I knew would come up as a result of the announcement. Check out this question on the FAQ:

Will there be another version announced that will use some of the popular suggestions from the Storm Session such a higher screen resolution or more RAM?

Our goal is, of course, to satisfy as many of the good requests as possible. That said, as every developer knows, we cant solve for every possible use case. Rest assured, however, that our intention is to make the best developer laptop possible. The current profile is just our first iteration at Sputnik.

Jul 22, 2012 Comment Link

Report Abuse

Posted By: thesheep

You mean this?

How are you incorporating developer feedback into this process?

Collecting and leveraging feedback is central to this project. On the day we announced the project we kicked off a Storm Session on Dell’s idea storm. The other place we are gathering feedback is on a forum on Dell TechCenter. Here, people who are currently using XPS13 with Ubuntu 12.04LTS can share their experiences, report bugs and give suggestions.

This doesn't really answer anything. It's like saying "yeah, yeah, we are listening to you, you are very important to us, what's on TV?".

I think that the main reason behind the enourmous popularity of this project is the fact that people finally feel that someone is listening to them and have hopes about having at least some of their needs and problems looked into. But it's not enough to just nod your head and pretend to take notes, and then go ahead with whatever you have planned in the beginning anyways.

On the other hand, I can see the problem with saying "we will go will XPS 13 for now, and if it's a success, we can work on the hardware improvements" -- that's exactly how Elop destroyed Nokia, everybody would just wait for the improved hardware and the project would be a failure. I know from myself, because I will wait for a matte screen laptop -- with all the hope I have put in this project, I can't afford buying two laptops (one now and one when the matte screen is offered) just to show my support. I wonder if there is some way out of this impasse.

Jul 20, 2012 Comment Link

Report Abuse

Posted By:
expatinasia
" I feel like I've been taken for a ride."

Why? The R+D processs is continuous, and even new products can be refined with updated features.