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Automatic driver downloads

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Dell Web Site submitted by sangelnet 02/27/07

There should be a widget that searches for all your drivers, with out you having to go thru all the work.

A little balloon should pop up and say "New drivers ready to install" 1 Comment »

Re-establish Dell as providing hassle-free, best value for money

Sales Strategies, Service and Support submitted by mjw 02/27/07

When buying a Dell product it used to be the case that one was confident that they were making a smart purchase. Getting a great product at a great price with minimum hassle. You no longer had to search around for deals - if you just bought a Dell you couldn't go far wrong.

In my view several things have eroded that comfort feeling that I used to have when buying from Dell. First and foremost I believe is Dell's website and how difficult it makes life when trying to find the best product at the best price.

It is extremely time consuming and often impractical now to be sure as a customer that you have obtained the best possible price. When buying from the Dell website you will see a different price and different discounts depending on whether you go through Home, Small Business or Large Business routes. This means that it takes my 3 times as long as it should do to configure and price up a product since I have to do it in all 3 places and compare all the differences.

My company also gets a corporate discount so, in addition I have to price it up in the EPP part of the website as well. When I try to save my configuration to come back to later, I find that I can't compare all my configurations that I set up in the various different areas of the website on one page. If I'm logged in under EPP, then I can only see my EPP configurations.

Then I need to spend hours hunting through websites like FatWallet looking for discount coupons or rebate deals. In the end I would rather procrastinate and put off the purchase until I see some amazing deal on FatWallet or simply buy from HP or Acer.

In my view Dell needs to simplify this process of bargain hunting such that every day of the year as a consumer we can immediately count on getting Dell's best price and not fret about missing out on some discount or deal hidden away in some other part of the site. In fact I think the site would be much better without the Home/Small/Large/EPP split.

Even if I am buying a computer for Home use, I still would rather buy a Lattitude (but cannot if I'm in the Home section) than an Inspiron since I am more familiar with Lattitudes since this is the model that my company provides me at work. Why confuse things by making it difficult for the customer to find the products that they want to buy or to be able to compare Dell's whole product line side by side?

As a customer it gives me the impression that somehow Dell is trying to deceive me somehow by concealing its best products and prices in the hope that I will be lazy with my bargain hunting and over-pay for a product. This kind of feeling makes me less likely to trust that I will get the best price if I shop through Dell.

Mark 1 Comment »

Steve Jobs is No Genius

Service and Support submitted by robert 02/27/07

Steve Jobs is no genius...he hires geniuses. Dell is showing some smarts by hiring talented people from other industries. Why not hire people/consultants outside of the computer industry to develop market-shattering design changes. Maybe aerospace, clothing, or race car designers/engineers are what is needed to get some fresh ideas. Look at Dell through different eyes. Why build the same mistake over and over that everyone else is building. Why not transform Dell into the "new frontier" in design and innovation. Productivity and sales always seems to go up when exciting things are happening in a company. 4 Comments »

Install LinuxBios instead of the usual BIOS.

Linux submitted by the_tick 02/27/07

Since Pre installed Linux has gained traction, why not go the next step and replace the proprietary BIOS with an OSS version? 1 Comment »

Don't limit these new possibilities to just the US

Sales Strategies submitted by vamp 02/27/07

I've been reading some great ideas and hearing some positive things about what Dell is doing with this feedback.
But please, PLEASE don't limit these new great features to just the US.
There are 6 billion non US citizens: they also want linux pre-installed, openoffice in stead of ms office, linux/windows multiboot, ...
Please release these things worldwide! 2 Comments »

Dell Notebook Volume buttons should be hardware switches

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptops submitted by kire2 02/27/07

I suggest that the Dell notebook volume buttons (up, down, mute) be made hardware keys and NOT be software dependent. This way annoying sounds e. g. during startup or by applications can be switched off, independent of the operating system and boot phase.

IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads do it that way which is very convenient.

Comment »

Dell HomeConnection

Broadband and Mobility submitted by thelonghornfan 02/27/07

Can you please create a product that wirelessly connects my TV to my computer? It should include a remote for me to control the computer from my couch. The idea is: I have movies, videos and photos on my computer. I want to watch/view them in my living room. While others make a product, i want a Dell! Comment »

Laptop & Desktop Boot in seconds from Flash Drives

Broadband and Mobility, Desktops and Laptops submitted by reg 02/19/07

Have laptops and PCs that boot quickly & quietly from fast internal flash drives,
and run the whole OS and application programs in RAM.
The New Dell PC will boot from internal Fast USB 2.0 flash drives in just a few seconds.
The Hard drive can stay powered down, completely off, unless the user needs to store some extra large files (video, photos).

Laptop Battery life is measured in days, not hours.


Have 2 Recessed USB 2.0 Slots.
Two USB Flash Drives would fit neatly into the laptop.
In this way the whole OS and Apps run in RAM, and stores data files on an 8 GB flash drive.

The 8GB is used transparently as the 'On Line' Storage, with a hard drive acting as secondary storage.
This gives desktops and laptops much greater speed and power savings.

<font> On-Line/Near-Line Storage Model for Laptops</font>
1. OS and App all run from RAM (so the machine should have 2GB+ of RAM)
2. Modified files are worked on in RAM, and stored on the Flash Drive
3. Older (non-system) files, that are 'inactive', get pushed down to the hard drive,

Hard Drive files are stored with on-the-fly hardware compression / decompression (back to RAM), with the flash drive file replaced with a pointer to the hard drive file.
Data is always safely copied down to the hard drive on shut down.



The flash drive is removeable and upgradeable, so later if someone wants to upgrade to a 32GB flash drive, just unplug and plug in the new one.

On-line / Near-Line storage works great on very large data servers, where data is mostly write once, read infrequently.
(Also known as Write Once, Read Mostly - WORM drives.)

It's time such ideas are put into practice for desktops and laptops.


You can run your Dell Laptop TODAY from 100% Flash Drive - Pen Drive using Puppy Linux.



www.puppylinux.org delivers a complete, small, fast Linux Distribution including all major tools in under 90MB. You can add Open Office, GIMP, Firefox, Thunderbird, etc and they all fit right in a USB Flash Drive.
Pupply Linux Applications.
Download Puppy Linux so you Can Try Flash Drive Dell Notebooks Today. 21 Comments »

4 RAM slots on laptops

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptops submitted by theblackcat 02/19/07

Currently most desktop PCs come with 4 slots to insert RAM. This is extremely useful since it is often much more expensive in total to buy 1 DIMM then it is to buy 2 DIMMs that are each half as large. However, DELL laptops only come with 2 slots for RAM. So if you wanted to get 4 GB of RAM you would need two 2 GB modules, which is extremely expensive (as you can see on the website). However, if the laptops were to have 4 RAM slots instead of 2 then you could have four 1GB modules and save a ton of money (close to $500 on the Latitude D820, for example). At least on the larger laptop models there is plenty of space, the RAM modules are pretty small relative to the size of the laptop and the bottom of the motherboard is mostly empty space from the looks of things. This could also be extremely useful with the move to 64 bit processors, since they can use far more than 4 GB of RAM but currently it is not possible to have more than that simply because of how the laptops are designed. 2 Comments »

Surge-protection standard in notebook adapters

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptops submitted by mikeweb 02/23/07

Notebook adapters are huge, they must have at leased a surge protection in it. Or there must be a small device as an accessory available for modem, usb and lan connector as well. Comment »

Supply a D drive standard (D for Data)

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by mikeweb 02/23/07

In the end everybody needs to re-install Windows. Some very often, like me. On the first time you have to shrink C and add D for your data. But it can be very simple to supply a dell computer standard with a D drive and have a simple but fast backup (for data still stored on C) and restore (ghost fresh windows). Combined with the choice witch software to install (acrobat reader, firefox, MSN, AOL, OpenOffice, etc.) you have quick a fresh OS. (Windows is always growing and at the end so slow you have to re-install) 1 Comment »

Low-End Laptop for Kids

Laptops submitted by kenjennings 02/23/07

Offer a low-priced, low-spec laptop designed for kids. Say, something in the $149 to $299 range. Not quite as low-spec as the OLPC, and somewhat more conventional. Make it durable and survivable -- mostly surface mounted components with either a shock-isolated hard drive or multiple digital storage media slots.

Partner with a company like Mattel to produce a complete theme for the laptop based on popular icons of the toy industry, such as Barbie or Hot Wheels. Color the case according to the theme and apply graphics skins to menus and programs that reinforce the theme.

Since we're talking about a low-spec system it is obvious it won't be running Vista. Use Linux. Include OpenOffice, Firefox, other productivity programs, simple desktop games, and educational software with interfaces customized to the theme.

Provide parental controls over the system configuration and network access.

(For reference, my two year old has one of the Barbie "laptops" which is a small embedded computer and an monochrome LCD screen. She plays with it all the time, but I know she's going to outgrow it far sooner than the recommended age range once she learns to work the mouse on a real computer.) 12 Comments »

Why pay the Microsoft tax when u can get the same for a lot less?

Dell, Sales Strategies submitted by uomolinux 02/23/07

I'm now a Mac fan but still use a Windows laptop here at home and probably will use a PC for the rest of my life since I need a PC here and at the office, I'm a technician. I wok in a mental health, non profit organisation, witch rely heavily on old PC since we can't afford to pay the Microsoft tax.

Mos users use the computer for word processing and Internet(Firefox), software that can run easily on Linux. My point is that if our organization didn't had to pay the MS tax we could probably afford new computers witch is not the case right now since most desktop are still expensive due to the MS tax, witch probably account for 200$ to 300$ more with Office included, not much for rich corporation but way to expensive for US.

I know that Dell computers are great and not very expensive, but think about a computer without MS products(MS tax) they would be way more attractive for poorer corp or organizations, there is a market there just for Dell to grab if they consider offering alternative to the monopoly-money-hungry MS. 2 Comments »

Upgradable Video Cards

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by kinerry 02/23/07

Really, it's simple. Have a compartment where video cards can be easily removed and replaced with a newer/different card. Beats the heck out of buying a completely new system to upgrade just one part. Comment »

Scientific Systems

Dell, Education submitted by operon 02/23/07

It will be very nice to have Dell shipping high-performance computers for scientists. I am a bioinformaticist working in a group with lots of Dell computers, however, I have found then very disappointing in performace for our work, even that they are leading edge machines. So, the central point of the idea is that Dell manage to have a line of computers with early adoption of technologies, and designs focused in performance. I would be glad do buy a quad-quad core machine with 16Gb of RAM and 2Tb of storage as my desktop instead of a less powerfull workstation and a server. Of course, Linux and Solaris should be among the OS options for the system. Scientific computing is a market section that is growing in the last years, specially in the Biology, Physics and Chemistry communities and I am sure that such type of systems will have a good reception. 8 Comments »

change hard disk

Servers and Storage submitted by jul_ius13 02/24/07

possibility that users changes hard disk (no tagg hard disk) Comment »

OS Reinstall CD's

Service and Support submitted by xhotardx 02/24/07

How about auctually including real install cd's for the original OS. So when you have to reimage I dont have to spend 2 hours uninstalling stuff that I dont want. Why can these not be provided for free? If a consumer is paying for a license there is no reason that you cant front the 4 cents and give them a copy of that software (even microsoft is cool with that). 10 Comments »

Use name brand cases & power supplies

Sales Strategies submitted by fluxharmonic 02/24/07

Make the machines with name brand cases and power supplies. And when I say name-brand, I don't mean Dell. Dell is not a name brand. Use parts that can be easily replaced or swapped out with components from local computer shops. They are better quality and non-proprietary, which means happier consumers. Comment »

Bloatware

Service and Support submitted by jiz_star 02/24/07

Do not install the "junk" onto new computers. Thats the first thing that I have to fix (Delete) when a customer calls and complains that their computer is too slow. Of corse I get paid to do it, but I would rather get paid more to do something else. I havent purchased a dell in four years, but back then they came with the operating system as well as driver discs. Ive heard things about Dell not giving them to you anymore and when you fire up the pc for the first time there is a screen that asks if you would like to create them?? Maybe I am wrong but that is just silly.

Dell should stay away from making their own hardware...why not just make stuff that works with everything else? My college just got some new Dell XPS desktop computers, no PS/2 ports? Why? No USB2.0??? WHY?! At least there is a floppy drive in each computer, dont ever get rid of those. Why is Dell still giving out Ball Mice with their computers... they are very unreliable after about a month because they get so dirty inside.

The way in which you open a Dell Computer Case has always been easy, DONT GET RID OF THAT. No screws or any fancy detachment methods. And, YES, we do open them up, there is no reason to stay on the phone with tech support for an hour just to finally get them to say that they will send a person out to help, which we have to pay for if it isnt under warranty.. If the CD drive goes, Im going to open it myself and fix the problem.

Tech support, another problem, I cant tell you the number of times that Ive had to call and get some tech support specialst from India that has NO IDEA what Im saying or how to solve my problem. I would rather PAY for the call and have it taken in the USA to get someone that at least knows what Im saying. Another thing about tech support is that they treat the customer as if they are 10 years old. Im sure that there are customers out there that need to be talked to like that but if I know what the problem is, and I know how to get to the control panel, please dont guide me every click of the way.

Product Quality; Ive had this dell for the past four years, nothing has gone wrong hardware wise. That is a good thing. I am not familiar enough with the new stuff to say if it is as good as the old stuff, but I am sure that with trying to pinch every penny, the computers arent built as tough as they used to. I have an old gateway from 2001 that I would swear is bulletproof. Stuff just inst made how it used to. The new Dell keyboards are really light weight and flimsy. Im sure they are just going to snap in half if I get made JUST ONE TIME because of some stupid error and hit the enter key too hard.

I have probably said too much and waisted someone's time, but if any of what I have said has ment something to the reader, please check out the story by Joe Peacock (Yes, real name) via the following link: http://www.mentallyincontinent.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=299
It is a very good and VERY true story about this guy's laptop motherboard that crapped out ever week. I think that he had to replace it 8 times?

Maybe this email is a wakeup call and Dell really thinks they are "user friendly" or maybe Dell knew the whole time but is making money and dont care.

Sincerely;

Ken Comment »

Windows Update CD with Current Microsoft Updates

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by itsdrew 02/24/07

Each PC comes with an image of the Windows OS that is installed and configured on the first boot. I understand it can be difficult to change this image on a regular basis to include any new Windows Updates.

Please put together a CD that ships with the PC that contains all the most recent Windows Updates for that particular PC configuration so we don't have to spend hours downloading these updates from Windows Update.

The CD should also include non-critical updates such as: Microsoft Update installed (as opposed to Windows Update) IE7, WMP, All the .NET Frameworks and service packs, All Office updates, etc.

When a new MS Update is released, it would be simple to press a new CD with the most recent updates. 2 Comments »