Let Us Choose XP For All Machines!
Operating Systems, Sales Strategies submitted by shamarkaleo
07/26/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**
Dear Dell Service Team,
After unsuccessful appeals to several levels of your support staff, I am writing to convey one last appeal regarding operating systems and purchasing options on your site.
I am the CEO of a small web and graphic design business. We decided to purchase a laptop for our staff use on trips, and after studying all our options, chose Dell as our computer supplier.
We were dismayed to find that most of the computer systems at Dell came pre-installed with Windows Vista, with only a few computers offering a choice of operating systems. Our computer of choice did not offer a selection.
I find this mindboggling, since Dell as a company won't use Vista on its own computers until after SP1 is released. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39286949,00.htm?r=8
And CNET gives Windows vista this dismal review:
"...essentially warmed-over Windows XP. If you're currently happy with Windows XP SP2, we see no compelling reason to upgrade." http://reviews.cnet.com/windows/windows-vista-ultimate/4505-3672_7-32013603.html
What is more mindboggling to me is Dell's refusal to work with our company when we appealed for a change in our order. We wanted the specific machine we ordered, we simply didn't want Vista.
As it is, the only options we were offered were:
A.) Cancel our order- though we'd already waited weeks for the order to be fulfilled - and order a machine we don't want that offers the XP operating system choice
or
B.) Wait for our machine to arrive, then go buy XP ourselves at additional cost, reformat the hard drive, and install XP on our own.
These choices are horrible! Especially since one of your own staff told me by phone that Dell has received many, many complaints about Vista.
Neither option meets our needs. We either end up with a machine we don't want which has the right operating system, or a machine we do want that we must "fix" prior to use.
So I appeal to you to allow buyers to choose their operating system on ALL your machines, not just some. You don't have to offer a huge choice, but at least one more option than Vista!
Kelli Standish
Check out the Idea in Action to find out more about Dell offering XP.
1720
Downloadable, PDF format, full technical specs for all systems
Advertising and Marketing, Dell Web Site submitted by benjesuit
06/12/07 **REVIEWED**
Before I buy, I would like to have the options of downloading the full technical specifications of the system. Not just the brief specifications. Place a link under "tech specs" tab that allows you to view or download the full specification PDF file for those of us who care about and understand such things. This way everyone is satisfied.
We are looking to improve the specs pages by making them consistent across all product lines, provide more in-depth specifications and making them available in a printable format.
13650
256MB Geforce 9500M GS Upgrade for the M1330! Possible!!!
XPS products submitted by q0987
Feb 23
For all those of you who wanted 8600M GT performace inside a 13.3 inch shell read on...
The next generation of Nvidia graphic cards have just been released and the Geforce 9500M GS should definitely be the prime candidate to replace the current 8-series 8400M GS residing within the m1330 chassis.
Now you may notice that the model numbers (400-500) suggest that the 9-series card is more powerful than the 8-series, which it is, but you may also be apprehensive and reluctant to cry out in joy because of all the talk about how a more powerful GPU fitted into the m1330's small body would generate too much heat and reduce battery life resulting in the loss of true portability.
I share those feelings, however you should know that Nvidia's 9-series has a card up its sleeve (no pun intended). This card comes in the form of a smaller fabrication process.
You see the 8400M GS was built using a 80nm fabrication process to manufacture it. The 9-series uses a 65nm fabricating process which reduces the size of the chip and has the benefits of reduced power consumption and lower heat emissions. Don't ask me exactly how this works because I only have a vague understanding.
Before I go on lets quickly take a look at the graphic cards that were released -
The 9-series currently consists of two mobile graphics cards. The 9300M G is basically a shrink of the 8400M GS with the exact same performance but slightly more power efficient and with less heat being emitted as a result. The second card released is the 9500M GS which has the same performance as the 8600M GT but also gains the same benefits as the 9300M G. Both the 8600M GT and the 9500M GS have more than twice the power of the 8400M GS.
What this comes down to then is that if Dell used the 9300M GS to replace the 8400M GS in the m1330 then you would get improved battery life and less heat emisions without sacrificing performance.
This next bits gonna be alittle more tricky to put into words, but here goes anyway... Next up, the 9500M GS.
Well as I see it, if you can use the benefits gained from the newer cards you can upgrade the performance without generating more heat and using more power than in the current 8400M GS equipped m1330. This would undoubtedly mean we lose the battery life we could have saved and the lower heat emissions but we gain a performance boost without using up anymore battery life than the current m1330 - there you go Dell, two problems solved in one neat package.
Although even if we do use slightly more power and produce more heat than the current m1330, the benefits gained from other revised components such as the newly available Penryn processors will compensate for this and help to negate the overall effect. Also once Montevina becomes available the RAM upgrades from DDR2 to DDR3 will further improve battery life and heat emissions so in the end the fan won't have to work any more harder than it already is today. Plus the m1330 does also have the Solid State Drive options and LED backlit screens for even more power efficiency which you could make compulsory when adding this mainstream graphics card. If you really have to cut down anything, then give us ATLEAST 256MB of the available dedicated GDDR3 graphics memory with the 9500M GS instead of the maximum 512MB. That alone would be a vast improvement over the measly 128MB provided with the 8400M GS (not counting the 128-bit memory interface the former would also bring).
Another thing that Dell could also do is change the materials used to construct certain parts of the m1330 such as the lid and base. For example if titanium was used to incase the components then it would allow for better heat dissipation so you wouldn't have to worry so much about things getting hot inside. I am sure people wouldn't mind paying alittle extra for this luxury (seeing as how it is targeted towards the enthusiast afterall). I know I wouldn't.
If this were done correctly then the m1330 would become the real portable gaming rig it was meant to be.
If however you don't really care about the performance boost and like it just the way it is and would rather have the benefits of improved battery life and lower heat emissions than you can opt for the 9300M G. Even better for those not too concerned with performance but want the rest than you would be able to choose the integrated X4500 (when Montevina comes out) which will supposedly be 3 times more powerful than the integrated graphics available now and may also promote improved battery life and heat emissions (even when compared to todays integrated graphics equipped m1330).
Dell should make these options available so the m1330 continues to appeal to all types of customers e.g. gamer, college student, business user etc.
Dell I am tellin you, make sure you let the consumer decide. I am actually giving you the options you should list -
1. Integrated Intel GMA X4500 (Business user)
2. Nvidia Geforce 9300M G (College student)
3. Nvidia Geforce 9500M GS (Gamer)
4. ??? - BinaryGFX/Hybrid GPUs (ALL USERS)
Even better than this would be if you just add both integrated and discrete graphics cards and have the ability to toggle between the two. You wanna game, switch to discrete. If your browsing the internet or typing up an essay then use integrated.
Alienware have done this with their m15x and using what is identified as BinaryGFX. This has allowed them to add a 512MB 8800M GTX into a 15" chassis and when switching to integrated they have a touch-sensitive control labelled "stealth mode"!
And in case your thinking "thats a 15 inch thats why you can add both" then take a look at the 13.3" Sony SZ6 series or how about the 13.3" Asus U3. If they can do it why can't Dell. At the rate the m1330 is going at its gonna be left way behind! Even LG has been able to put in a NVIDIA GeForce 8600M class graphics card into their 13.3" P300!!
Alienware have also used another great idea. They've come up with the Smart Bay technology which can also be found in their top-of-the-line m15x. If this were also thrown in as a feature with the m1330 then you would be able to swap out your optical drive to obtain an enormous increase in battery life. As this is just an after thought it may just be too radical an idea to pull off. But I thought I'd mention it anyway. Afterall, you never know what might happen.
Dell owns Alienware, right!? So why are they so behind when compared with Sony, Asus and LG?
But suppose if everything I just mentioned was added to the m1330 - you can all imagine the impact it would have on portable gaming! It would be Sweeeeeet!
The m1330 could end up desimating all competition in 2008. To be honest, I consider this to be the real ultraportable XPS that we've all been waiting for all this time! No wait (adds Gigabit ethernet, backlit keys and tweaks the design to reflect coolness) - now we're talking!
Oh! One last thing to think about. Would changing the name to "The M1337" appeal to anyone other than myself!? :)
EVERYONE START PROMOTING NOW TO MAKE THIS A REALITY!
Feedback on this idea would be welcomed both from Dell and IdeaStorm users.
Here is a list of articles on this site that have asked for a more powerful graphics card inside the m1330 -
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75366/Offer_256MB_discrete_Graphics_on_...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/71568/DELL_XPS_M1330_with_more_Graphic_...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75165/Allow_the_133_XPS_M1330_Laptop_to...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/72990/Love_the_new_XPS_M1330_but_need_m...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/73545/XPS_1330_Video_Card
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/74876/Less_plastic_please_on_the_XPS_M1...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/71342/M1330_Resolution__Graphic_Card_Op...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75525/Update_M1330_GPU_to_beat_specs_of...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75590/Updating_XPS_M1330
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75640/High_resolution_screen_and_new_vi...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75965/Implement_an_Option_of_an_Intel_C...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75526/Nvidia_Geforce_8800M_Nvidia_Gefor...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75526/Nvidia_Geforce_8800M_Nvidia_Gefor...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75879/make_the_a_XPSm1330_to_M1335_and_...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/73869/14_xps_notebook
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/76008/M1330_2008
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/71725/XPS_m1335
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/76168/Use_nVidia_Hybrid_SLI_technology_...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/102651/Offer_Core_2_Extreme_X7900_28GHz...
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/75413/Can_Dell_upgrade_the_XPS_m1330_I_...
Further information: Like the Nvidia Geforce 8-series GPUs the 9300M G and 9500M GS support DirectX 10.0, SM 4.0 & OpenGL 2.1. However unlike the integrated graphics equipped in the m1330 today (Intel GMA X3100), the GMA X4500 was specifically designed and made to be an integrated hardware solution that supports DirectX 10.0 and SM 4.0 aswell as to handle Blu-ray/HD DVD footage.
1310
Have Firefox pre-installed as default browser
Software submitted by robinjfisher
02/19/07 **REVIEWED**
Does what it says on the tin! Most people only use IE because they aren't aware of other browsers - they think Internet Explorer is the Internet! What would really drive take up of alternative browsers is if Firefox was pre-installed as the default browser so that when people look for the "Internet" in Windows, they are using FF.
Firefox advocates at Dell have initiated discussions and driven action around exploring alternative internet browsers and experiences. As you can tell from our response to the Linux community, open source continues to be a part of our conversations about new products and services.
115743
Pre-Installed OpenOffice | alternative to MS Works & MS Office
Software, Desktops and Laptops submitted by dhart
02/17/07
Provide OpenOffice.org for free pre-installation alongside Microsoft Works and Microsoft Office. OpenOffice.org is more capable than Microsoft Works, and a serious competitor to Microsoft Office, at a fraction of the cost (it's free!)
OpenOffice.org can open, create, edit and save Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.
Provide as OPTIONS for pre-installation many other high-quality free software programs such as:
- Firefox: web browser with popup and privacy controls; say goodbye to Internet Explorer infections!
- Thunderbird: email program with free anti-spam and privacy controls
- Pidgin: instant messaging all-in-one program for popup-free MSN, Yahoo, AOL and others
&nsbp;[ed: GAIM was renamed Pidgin in April 2007 to settle the issue with AOL's trademark on AIM]
- PDFCreator: creates Adobe PDF files from any program
- Scribus, Inkscape & GIMP: desktop publishing, freehand drawing & powerful image editing
- Audacity & VLC: multi-track audio editing & universal all-in-one media/video/movie/DVD player
- Stellarium & Celestia: planetarium viewer & outer-space mapping, like Google Earth, but for our Solar System
Pre-installed quality free and open source software drastically lowers the cost of new PCs, and helps prevent software piracy. Cast your vote for Linux and other free software. Cast your vote for the Universal Education PC [ed: article removed/merged by dell_admin] utilizing free software.
CHOICE is what consumers want on their new PCs, not annoying surprise circus-ware (the typical smattering of confusing 3rd party popup-infested software found on most new Dell PCs). Quality free and open source software is well behaved, and may be legally pre-installed on PCs, and legally shared with friends and family, sharing is encouraged! Cast your vote for consumer CHOICE and public transparency at Dell.
138599
Ubuntu on all models where it works
Linux, Operating Systems, Small Business submitted by jonsmirl
08/01/07 **IN PROGRESS**
I'm still throwing away copies of Windows. Recently I have ordered some Dimension 9200s from Small Business. All of these machines are running Ubuntu today without problem. They're being used to replace some PE400SCs that are starting to die. A 2GB quad core for $649 was too good a deal to pass up. It makes a great small server.
Please offer Ubuntu as a choice on all configurations where it works. I would have still paid $649 for the box and you could have kept the money you're sending to Microsoft.
We continue to explore different Linux opportunities on our systems. Check out daniel_j's comment below.
11330
High-Res XPS 1330
XPS products submitted by zero79
Feb 17
The 1280x800 resolution on the XPS 1330 is a bit low. It would be great if this laptop came in a 1400x900 flavor, or even better in 1650x1050.
210
Dell should discuss the rumored ultraportable with us
Latitude products, Laptops submitted by jervis961
Jan 17
There has been much speculation about a leaked picture of a possible upcoming Dell ultraportable. Some say 13.3 inch others think it is 15" and some even speculate it is the 16" from the XPS they showed at CES. Upon magnification you can see it has the following visable: Slot load DVD, 2 USB, Ethernet and 2 other ports (display port and power?) on the left side. Also visable is built in web cam on the LED lit screen. It doesn't appear to have media buttons or a fingerprint reader.
The guys in marketing and developement must be getting sick of being scouped by Engadget and with all the flack they have gotten over the other recent releases (XT, M1330 and M1530). Why not create some good PR, scoup Engadget for once and find out some of the complaints while there is still time to tweak the system. Discuss this system Dell as it can only lead to a better product and greater buzz for it in the process.
850
Offer 8400M GT on the XPS M1330 not the current GS Version!
XPS products submitted by tolkan
07/10/07
The Why offer the GS Which is much weaker than the GT Version. By offering the GT version the M1330 would be the best of performance and work. Considering that the 8400M GT is referred to as an under clocked 8600M GS. I really want to purchase the XPS M1330 so please Promote this. If there is currently another idea on this topic please do tell me so i can promote.
Thank You In Advanced...
-Tolkan-
700
XPS M1330 with Gigabit Ethernet
Broadband and Mobility, XPS products, Laptops submitted by macavity
07/11/07
I think it would be really good for the M1330 to have Gigabit networking for various reasons.
- if you want to move or back up your music or some videos across your home network you actually need that speed
- most other similar laptops have it. I thought it's standard now and hardwired into every board?
- gigabit home routers are on the market
- I don't want to buy a product and be behind the market right from day-1.
I bought an Inspiron 4 years ago with only 10Mbps 802.11b wifi and regretted it already 6 months into the purchase.
1350
Avoid Glare On Screens and Notebook Frames
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Sales Strategies, Laptops submitted by bobetsue
02/20/07
Glare and reflection from high glare screens, screen frames, and notebook computers is annoying and distract from function and use.
In stores, this may be a marketing ploy. Consumers may not fully understand the problem of glare. Online sellers like Dell should inform buyers when shopping whether the screen and case are "glare" or "nonglare."
When "nonglare" was introduced to television, shoppers considered it an advantage worthy of extra expense. In the art world, nonglare glass is considered worthy of extra expense.
How did we ever get glossy screens?
Dell should offer customers a choice between "glare" and "nonglare."
7448
Stop Overcharging on Notebook RAM
Sales Strategies, Laptops submitted by realskript
08/28/07 **UNDER REVIEW**
Dell really... REALLY need to stop overcharging... and when i say overcharing... i mean atleast double what you would pay to pick up the ram yourself.
On XPS Notebooks... you are charging $500 for 4GB of ram... when you could easily go pick them up at your local computer shop for $250... and pocket the other half of the $500...
It would be nice if dell could save the customers as well as the company itself this hassle.. and start charging NORMAL prices for an upgrade in RAM.
thanks =D
PS..... PROMOTE THIS!!!!
17420
Get GNU/Linux Machines in Retail Stores
Linux submitted by dpic
Feb 14
Imagine how successful Dell's Ubuntu offering could be if just one Dell Ubuntu machine was put in retail stores. If people knew of an alternative to Windows, they would go for it! So what do you say, Dell? Why don't you try to put at least one of your Ubuntu machines offered in retail stores?
6570
 track my votes
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