How about another update on the highest voted ideas.
IdeaStorm submitted by jmxz
Jun 19
It seems many of the highest voted Ideas are the most neglected by Dell
Pre-Installed OpenOffice | alternative to MS Works & MS Office (currently with 138079 points) has been one of the top-5-highest-voted Ideas on IdeaStorm since Feb 07. It has no "Status" regarding whether it's in progress, or rejected; and the only comments from Dell were just one employee's personal opinion.
No OS Preloaded (with 85050 points), has also been one of the top-5-highest for over a year. It's status is the same partial implementation (available on a couple models) that has been true from Dell since long before IdeaStorm was around (2004, if I recall). Clearly the Idea is popular because people want to see it on more models. Rather than just labeling the Idea as "partially implemented as always" - could you give some update on the progress on this Idea.
Firefox instead of IE (with 115593 points) has also been a top-5 idea for over a year. With the recent release of FireFox 3 - along with great press from the technology and business industry alike, another update on this idea would be very welcome. The recent Forbes article Why Firefox Matters clearly sees Firefox as the industry leader, and Wall Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal explicitly states that Firefox 3.0 Is the Best Browser for Web. Surely Dell would want to offer the best for their customers, no?
1030
Dell should buy AMD.
Dell submitted by drewness
Jun 7
Dell Should buy AMD and offer AMD chips on most systems. Limit Intel offerings or eliminate them entirely. I just read today that the FTC opened a formal investigation into Intel sales tactics. We know how it works- Microsoft and Intel threaten the PC makers with loss of discounts if they don't play by Microsoft & Intel rules. Very uncool bullying tactics!
-240
re-use of shipping boxes
Environment submitted by parasite
May 25
Shipping boxes for desktop computers and monitors are the perfect size and durability for small animals to use as a place to sleep & play. Or you can spend a few hours and go overboard like I did--anyway, it's better than sending more boxes to a landfill.
210
Offset keyboard for 17" laptops
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Vostro products, Laptops submitted by donut
May 16
The new Vostro 1710 looks pretty good, but the keyboard positioning could be improved for the next design refresh. This also applies to other 17" laptops with numeric keypads.
With current models, the keyboard as a whole is centered on the laptop; the borders at the left and right edges are the same width. That means the main part of the keyboard (not the numeric keypad) is offset significantly to the left. The trackpad is also offset to the left. That results in a skewed typing position if the laptop is directly in front of you.
My idea is to have the keyboard mounted as far to the right as possible. The main part would of course still be offset to the left, but a little less so. Obviously the difference won't be huge, but even half an inch would be an improvement. The border to the left would then be wider, perhaps giving enough space for the indicator LEDs? If so, the function keys could then be made full size.
One other thing: The right side of the Caps Lock key could be made recessed/lower, to reduce the likelihood of accidentally pressing it instead of A.
50
Let Home customers know it's OK to buy from the Business section and vice versa.
Advertising and Marketing, Sales Strategies, Small Business submitted by jmxz
May 7
From a conversation with Dell's robert_p, under a different Idea it seems that "Home" customers are welcome to buy from Dell's "Small & Medium Business" section, and Dell's "small and/or medium business" customers are welcome to buy from Dell's "Home & Home Office" section.
This is very useful since often computers in the "Small Business" section may be more appropriate for home use (the Latitude's light weight and reliability make it a great college computer); and often computers in the "Home" section may be more appropriate for office use (where the better graphics options in Home are valuable for graphical visualization). It's also useful because an identically-spec'd system may be cheaper the Home Section one week, and then be cheaper in the Small Business section the next.
I think many Dell Business and Home customers are missing out on the best deals and failing to find machines that meet their needs because the home user's are afraid of falsely claiming to be a business and because the business customers are afraid of falsely claiming to by buying systems for personal use.
So a few ideas:
1. Assuming robert_p's right in saying Home Customers are welcome to buy from Small Business - add links to the Home product pages saying "If you don't see what you need here, check out Dell's Small Business section. You're welcome to buy those for Home use too".
2. Assuming robert_p's right in saying Small Business are welcome to buy from the Home section - add links to the Small Business product pages saying "If you don't see what you need here, check out Dell's Home section. You're welcome to buy those for Business Use too".
3. Extrapolating - if it's also OK for Home an Small Biz customers to buy from Dell's "Large Business" and "Government, Education, Healthcare & Life Sciences" section, add those links too.
4. Make a price comparison engine that compares the prices of an identically spec'd system from each of Dell's sections so I don't have to manually dig through all of your painful to navigate website sections to compare Home vs Small Business myself.
710
Allow anyone to get any product in any channel (home, business, etc.) on the Dell site.
Sales Strategies submitted by winoffice
May 4
Sometimes Dell posts some products only in certain channels; for example home offices cannot get Vostros.
It is like saying that business users want Vostros, but nobody in, for example, a home office, would want it. But some home offices might want it. For some people in home offices, it might be exactly what they might be looking for. The same applies to all channels and all products actually.
In any case, this is extremely annoying for those who do encounter this.
An idea has been submitted and suggests that Dell merge all channels into one for simplicity. But until then Dell, please offer all products in all of your channels.
(I want to note that I posted this in an earlier post, but that was only for PCs. I decided to generalize it to all products).
670
Dell Small Business vs Dell Home
Sales Strategies submitted by jamesmoroni1
May 2
The split between Dell Small Business and Dell Home has been an endless source of confusion and frustration for price-sensitive customers. I don't see the need for the two separate divisions. I've purchased computers from both, and keeping track of where I bought which machine is very frustrating. It also makes it harder to be sure you're getting the best price.
Dell SB and Dell Home should go away -- it should be just Dell.com. There could be special options for people who want to purchase several machines at once, but there's no need to have separate storefronts -- the needs of small businesses and home users are very similar.
370
Ubuntu laptop price for 1525N
Operating Systems, Sales Strategies, Laptops submitted by cpo
Apr 25
Similarly equipped laptops - one with MS Vista, and the other with Ubuntu: Inspiron 1525 vs. Inspiron 1525N. The only difference is the wireless card. Please tell me why the Ubuntu version is $110 more. (Canada). I don't want to subsidize the sales of Microsoft machines when buying a machine with open-source software.
pricing done online April 25, 2008
no coupons used.
Inspiron 1525
--------------------------------------
Now $788
Processor:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5550 (1.83GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic Edition
LCD Panel:
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
Integrated Webcam:
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Memory:
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Hard Drive:
250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Video Card:
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Optical Drive:
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Wireless Networking Cards:
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini-Card
Bluetooth Option:
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate) Primary Battery:
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Sound Card:
High Definition Audio 2.0
Inspiron 1525N
------------------------------------
Starting From $898
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5550 (1.83GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache) Operating System:
Ubuntu Linux version 7.10 with DVD Playback
LCD Panel:
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
Camera:
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Memory:
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Hard Drive:
250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Video Card:
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Combo or DVD+RW Drive:
8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Network:
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Wireless Networking Cards:
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Bluetooth Option:
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate) Battery Options:
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Sound Card:
High Definition Audio 2.0
280
Replace RJ45 phone jack with an USB LAN adapter
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Desktops and Laptops submitted by jonathan_hsu
Apr 21
If Dell is going after the low cost UMPC market, I would suggest replacing the RJ45 phone jack with an optional USB2.0 Ethernet adapter, like a small and elegant adapter showing here, http://www.zoltantech.com/UsbLanA.php.
For reasons such as:
1. Now a days wireless is a must-have, and the Ethernet becomes redundant, more than 80% of the time it is not used.
2. An Ethernet controller consumes power even when the CAT5 cable is not plugged in. So you conserve power and prolong battery usage time between charges.
3. On the same token, less heat generated. Therefore less chance for the fan to turn on if it is needed at all.
4. Save you a PCIe slot.
5. Save you real state for thinner body design by not having RJ45 phone jack.
6. Save BOM cost.
-230
New Inspiron / Laptop Keyboards that do not "Catch" fingers
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Inspiron products, Laptops submitted by gear
Apr 18
The Inspiron 1525's keyboard (which is standard across the Dell Laptop line - I believe - has a terrible problem.
The low profile keys have a tendency of "catching" fingers If you should depress the key at the edge close enough to touch the edge of the next (not depressed) key.
If you have big fingers, this problem gets more serious.
The old Dell 8600 I had had the same flaw which can cause key caps to be detached if they happen to "catch" my finger.
What is needed is to redesign the keyboard, increasing the key's side skirt depth (even if it increases the profile of the keyboard slightly) to prevent this "catching".
A even better idea is to offer replacement keyboards that have different feels to them, ranging from tactile keyboards with or without a "click", to ones that are "hard" vs. "soft" feel.
Finally, the silver color of the Inspiron 1525 keyboard has another annoying flaw, which is it reflects and causes glares if used in bright lights.
Can you make the keyboard in different colors that do not reflect as much light?
150
Highlight newly available options
Dell Web Site submitted by shrndegruv
Apr 18
In the last week the XPS M1530 has had 2 new features available:
1) LCD up to 1920x1200
2) LED backlighting on 1440x900 res.
It would be nice if this was highlighted on the dell website, preferable on the man xps page so a user doesn't have to actually start configuring a machine to see it.
Also, maybe allow user to subscribe to an RSS feed that highlights newly available options.
Finally, it would be nice if customers new in advance what will be available in the foreseeable future (say, 6 months). Potential customers like myself, who are waiting for certain features (LED backlighting on the 1680x1050 xps m1530) would appreciate that.
430
Quality Checks by Humans
Service and Support, Desktops and Laptops submitted by lambchops468
08/31/07
I ordered a Inspiron 1520 and I am fed up with the issues:
crashed hard drive (first 6 days) (I will forgive this one, happens on every manufacturer, its just luck)
vibrating optical drive (shakes entire notebook, abnormal, new one fixed it)
Grainy Screen
Headphone Noise
Casing Defect (bulge in case seam, can see inside notebook)
I think that dell should instute a quality check system on the computers they ship out. Not just tests that can be run on the computer automatically, but a actual person physically inspecting/testing the function of the notebook such as:
- Grainy Screen/backlight bleed (go get a HP laptop and see the difference, go to the store)
- Headphone Noise
- Casing Defects
- Optical Drives that make too much noise
- squeaky keys
- and other issues that cannot be detected by a hardware check running on a CPU
If you do not have the finances to create such a program, then you can add the service as part of the warranty, with a garuntee that the devices that are checked will not have problems on arrival. (So therefore the QC is optional)
This will actually make/save money because people like me won't have to send their laptops back and forth wasting your shipping money/technician fee replacing parts that would be replaced anyway at the quailty check program.
you could also send a special survey to early-adopters to identify the biggest problems in a new computer line and check those at quailty check, certifying those parts free of defects.
990
Start by improving tech support
Service and Support submitted by stultificare
Apr 16
I have a laptop that won't POST. In my first online chat with Dell, the tech diagnosed it as bad memory. I knew this was wrong because the memory worked fine in another laptop and known good memory didn't help out my laptop.
So I got on chat again and the tech determines that it's a bad LCD panel. I tell the Dell tech that I think it's the mobo, but he says it's the LCD and dispatches an on-site tech with an LCD kit. If a new LCD fixes a laptop that won't POST, it'll be the first time in my years of tech support that that's been the case. I try chatting with another Dell tech, but none of them will send me a mobo until the LCD swap is tried.
The on-site tech shows up and the first thing I tell him is "I don't think this is going to work." He laughs and says that he saw the work order and doesn't think that this will work either. Sure enough, it doesn't.
So I hit up another Dell tech and finally get a motherboard and a technician dispatched. The next day the tech decides not to show up or call. I get on Dell chat but nobody can give me contact info for the tech. That's especially frustrating because while I don't like changing laptop motherboards, it's something that I can do and if I knew how to reach the tech, I could have gotten the part from him.
Around noon I let my Major Account Rep know that the tech hasn't gotten in touch with me. My Major Account Rep says he'll escalate the call. The net effect of the escalation does not result in a technician coming out that day. It does result in my Inside Account rep calling me at 5:30pm to open a ticket which then results in my getting an email a couple of hours later that the replacement part has been dispatched.
So I have a dead laptop and a part that's been dispatched. In other words, it's back to square one. I can't wait to see if the technician will show up tomorrow.
The especially good part is when I asked if there was a way that I could just ask for a part to be dispatched and I was directed to the Warranty Parts Direct site where I had the opportunity to pay money to become certified to to the job that Dell Tech Support should be doing.
Instead of trying to be all cutting edge, try improving the basics:
*Hire tech support personnel who can think and troubleshoot and have enough flexibility in their job to send out a new mobo even though the blinking lights indicate that it's an LCD problem.
*Keep a closer rein on the on-site techs so that they can be easily reached.
*Make an "escalation" of a trouble ticket actually mean something.
As an aside, I've tried Dell Gold Support and found it no better than regular support. I've also tried to get support on systems purchased with 4-hr same day support. I've never succeeded in getting same day service.
Here's a contrast: At my old job, we had a Lenovo laptop that kept failing. Someone finally complained to our sales rep who looked up the specs of the system, managed to find a laptop of nearly identical specs, and he drove it over to our office himself and swapped it for our flaky one. And that was a place where we only bought a few dozen Lenovos each year.
330
Review the TOU to see if there is a way to INCLUDE younger participants
IdeaStorm submitted by phubert
Apr 16
Are there legal issues?
Can the TOU be rewritten to eliminate/circumvent them?
Where does the conflict lie (between age and participation)?
Clearly, according to 'approved' (aka 'over 18') participants, there have been and are younger participants who, perhaps unknowing of the age restriction in the TOU, have registered and participated constructively.
How does this put the site or Dell at risk?
Again, is there a way to redesign the TOU to open the door to them?
After all, there've been FIVE YEAR OLD geniuses who could have participated equally or better to any of us now here!
Isn't it ours and Dell's loss to exclude them???
If you want fresh ideas, where better to go??
130
Software Business
Sales Strategies, Software submitted by amyp
Apr 11
Why not get into the software business - specifically the open source software business? With the recent Gartner report about Windows being broken, it may make sense for Dell to both reduce its costs and increase its touch with customers by offering complete software solutions for a percentage of its markets. This is more applicable for the consumer rather than the corporate markets, but over time, you may see IT departments become interested in and embrace the open source movement.
And Dell would be there first.
Open source operating systems along with supporting applications would provide the foundation for this new venture. Dell would build on this by offering extensive online training and support, supplemented by moderated forums, extensive FAQs and simple upgrades.
All of this would be available either under subscription or as an extension of a warranty, with free participation for the duration of the warranty.
Most general users access only a fraction of the capabilities of any software package. There is not a specific need to ensure absolute compatibility with every function of the MS office suite; however, interoperability would be needed.
Moving to open source could also be made in coordination with the gaming companies, giving them additional support to offer versions that work on the popular open source OS versions.
90
give feedbacks to ubuntu 's community
Linux, Service and Support submitted by siger
Apr 10
hello dell,
you have created ubuntu computers and it's a very good idea. You may have conquered new customers (I hope for you) and ubuntu may have conquered new customers as well.
To improve linux you could create a tool to enable dell ubuntu users to transmit feedbacks to ubuntu 's developers to modify the operating system.
180
Help out with Linux drivers
Operating Systems, Vostro products submitted by sathiyaneo
Apr 10
I bought a vostro 1000 notebook loaded with Vista Home basic. I recently installed SUSE 10.3 and later Ubuntu 7.10. On both occasions i'd to curse myself for not having proper drivers for browsing net. Yes... I develop problems while surfing net. My network cards driver isn't recognised it seems. Can any body help me get out of this.
Why don't dell ship their drivers developed indigenously or supply drivers through net?
270
 track my votes
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