Dell Mini Inspiron
Inspiron products, Laptops submitted by lukemcurley
May 28
Just read on Gizmodo, the new Dell Mini Inspiron looks very nice indeed. (http://gizmodo.com/393815/exclusive-dell-mini-inspiron-their-first-mini-laptop)
My only concern, as I have with all Dell laptops, it has only a crummy VGA port, no DVI or HDMI. I cannot understand this, VGA is dead and has been dead for about four years now.
Other than that it looks very slick, nice keyboard, 3 usb ports, memory card reader, vga and ethernet.
Look forward to the Mini release, but without DVI or HDMI will have to wait until Dell decides that this is an issue for many buyers.
330
Don't cave in to the RIAA
Service and Support submitted by jcm337
May 20
Here is an abbreviated version of what I will be sending to my regular blogs and podcasts (edited to fit their formats and typical areas of discussion) regarding the burdensom nature of what happens when a company like Dell listens to groups like the RIAA over its own customers. I would like to mention up front that overall I am very happy with my Dell experience so far, but may not stick with them if I see this sort of thing happen regularly.
" I used to rip streams (legally from NPR for class projects with proper citation) on my old XP machine and recently needed to do something similar on my new Dell laptop. My laptop didn't seem to have a stereo mix feature, but I knew the hardware supported it so I read through several forums where people (mainly musicians) needed that feature. After searching around, it seems that Dell had distributed drivers that intentionally disabled this feature. There was alot of talk online about how this was under pressure from the record industry to close the loophole allowing stream ripping of Internet music. I'm not sure about the truth of this, but it seems plausible considering the hardware still has this capability and it was once a very common and useful feature. Fortunately, armed with knowledge of the issue from the forums, I was able to get a support person from Dell to work with me to fix it (sort of). Apparently enough people had complained about the lack of a stereo mixer function that they released a set of drivers for an older computer that enabled this feature and I was able to apply it to my sound card by running it in compatibility mode. But wouldn't it be nice if they simply hadn't disabled the features in the first pace?
p.s. An hour and twenty minutes on the phone with tech support usually leaves me pretty unhappy, but those Dell XPS support people really know their stuff and I ended the phone call feeling pretty good about the whole thing."
In short, Dell really shouldn't lock out functionality and force it's own customers to spend hours working out rediculous hacks to appease corporate groups seeking to protect their own pocketbooks. It perpetuates a culture of ownership that is far and above what is expected in a typical capitalistic society of which I am a proud member. To criple hardware at the driver level, removing useful and legitimate features despite customer protest is unconscionable.
480
Implemented: Ubuntu Dell is Le$$ Than Windows Dell
Linux submitted by thebittersea
05/05/07 **IMPLEMENTED**
see comment from Erik down below... [Dell's Pricing Team]
$774 Inspiron 1420 (Ubuntu)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Ubuntu version 7.04
Anti-glare, widescreen 14.1 inch display (1280x800)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Integrated High Definition Audio
$824 Inspiron 1420 (Vista)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Basic Edition
Anti-glare, widescreen 14.1 inch display (1280x800)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
80GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
24X CD writer/DVD Combo Drive
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
Integrated High Definition Audio
The difference in promotion pricing was due to an error on the site, which has been fixed.
33450
Keep our Gaming Systems up-to-date
Gaming, XPS products submitted by lcualoping
08/31/07
I am an owner of a Dell XPS M170 Gaming Notebook. I have owned this notebook for almost 2 years and I am disappointed with Dell's support for this hardware platform. There has been only one official Windows XP driver update for the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 GTX video card since the system's launch. There are new games constantly being released which require newer drivers, like Bioshock, but Dell has not been updating the drivers. The only alternative of gamers is to seek hacked/modded drivers at 3rd party websites which often have questionable stability and compatibility. Where is the XPS support that was promised when this line of notebooks was launched? I have spent upwards of $3500 on this notebook and I am expecting better hardware support than this. This hardware is still considered powerful, but the drivers are not up-to-date, which hobbles the whole system.
320
Blu-Ray Shouldn't Cost so Much
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Sales Strategies submitted by fgilley
09/04/07
With Blu-Ray being in competition with HD-DVD, and Dell supporting the Blu-ray option, the systems with Blu-Ray drives seem EXTEREMLY OVER PRICED. I love the idea of blu-ray, i have a Playstation 3 with a Blu-ray player, and the movies in HD look awesome, but i can't believe that a laptop with a blu-ray disk writer is so much.
Why cant you get a CHEAP system + Blu-ray
The only option right now is to get a HIGH END 2500+ system, and then ADD the blu-ray to that system making it 3000+ dollars!!
Wheres a Consumer Inspiron or Vostro notebook with good proc, mem, ect and a nice blu-ray? somewhere around the 1000 dollar mark.. ? *maybe 1500 dollar mark with the 1920x1200 display to view in HD, and hopefully avail in 15 inch not just 17 inch models?!*
0
Provide Virtualized XP with Ubuntu Laptops
Operating Systems, Sales Strategies submitted by kwan
09/28/07
With the addition of KVM to the kernel (not to mention many other virtual machine solutions), Dell should offer Ubuntu with virtualized XP.
Dell will sell many more high end machines that have dual/quad processors and increased memory.
For myself and many others it solves our problems. We have a nice linux destktop that rivals Vista (and then some), and we can still run software under XP without the bloat/problems of Vista. This could provide a nice business solution too, were corporate customers can't leave Windows just yet, don't like what they are hearing about Vista, and want a longer term solution that works.
70
Sell Ubuntu on high-end gaming systems (noting that Linux benchmarks better than Vista on 3D games)
Gaming, Linux submitted by jmxz
10/30/07
An interesting review can be found at phoronix One area though we haven't yet analyzed is how their official Linux driver now compares to their much-optimized Windows Catalyst driver. Today, however, we will be looking just at that as we compare the ATI Radeon HD 2900XT 512MB performance under Linux and Microsoft Windows Vista.
...
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars was used seeing as it’s a brand new title and with a native Linux client and is certainly able to stress the Radeon HD 2900XT.
When setting out on the benchmarking for this article we had no idea that in all of the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars benchmarks, ATI Linux would steal the lead from the latest Redmond operating system.  Considering Linux outperforms Vista on (at least this benchmark's) 3D shooter - please sell Linux on high-end gaming systems.
250
Sell the PS3 in dell.com/open with the PS3 Linux
Dell, Gaming, Linux submitted by jmxz
11/06/07
I am in the market to buy a PS3.
As a followup to the observation that Dell has perhaps the best deals anywhere on the PS3 However that particular great deal from Dell's web site is a bundle with stuff I really don't care about (Spiderman 3, etc).
Instead of (only) positioning it as a gaming platform, how about adding it to Dell.com/open as one of your Ubuntu-capable platforms as well. Yes, the PS3's run Ubuntu, so it's already an OS Dell's comfortable with.
Some Dell competitors provide good information about linux programming the PS3.
So, the Idea is that Dell should add the PS3 to Dell.com/open. You don't really need to make any changes - seeing that Linux is already supported there; and noone expects pre-installed software on a gaming console anywhere. A nice to have would be a printed list of instructions (like in the link above) walking the user through the process.
Instead of Spiderman3 and games, please also offer accessories like the HDMI->DVI converter cable people some may need if your monitor doesn't have component video or HDMI inputs.
Yes, I know it's silly; but all-other-things-being-equal, I'd (and probably many of your dell.com/open customers) probably feel better buying the PS3 from someone who helps me get Linux running on it than someone who doesn't.
60
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."
7848
Inspiron Notebook Graphics Card Options Are LACKING...budget gamers VOTE to change!
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Gaming submitted by syrics06
11/21/07
Dell,
It wasn't but 2-YEARS ago when I purchased my Inspiron E1705. It came equipped with a Geforce Go 7900GS ($299.00 Option) which was perfect for gaming....Now, it wasn't near as fast as the Geforce Go7900GTX that was in the XPS line but it provided me with a good 'BUDGET' gaming computer.
I recently have been circling your website to find a similar budget/gaming configuration and have been unsuccessful. Why?
Dell only offers LOW END graphics cards like the Geforce 8400GS/GT & Geforce 8600GS/GT...Sure, they are DX10...but what good does that do if you can't even play a DX10 game at a reasonable framerate?
I mean C'MON DELL....A Geforce 8600GT in a 17" laptop? My 2-year old laptops graphics card is MUCH FASTER....Whats up here?
It seams you are forcing the budget gamers to either choose HORRIBLE FRAME-RATES or $2500.00+ XPS Systems that the performance will be doubled on in two months AKA - XPS 1730 w/ SLI 8700M - Being replaced in January with 8800M SLI...by the way...ONE 8800M is faster than the TWO 8700Ms....WONDERFUL...
so for those of you that just dropped close to $3,000.00...SIT COMFORTABLE KNOWING YOU ARE GOING TO BE DOUBLED ON IN JANUARY.
Budget gamers UNITE and VOTE 'YES' to "BETTER GRAPHICS CARD OPTIONS IN INSPIRON NOTEBOOKS".
Dell, all we want is the OPTION...even if it costs $300.00...let us atleast choose a SINGLE 8700M or 8800M GT in the 17" inspiron notebooks "desktop replacements".
Josh V.
840
Inspiron 1420 with NVIDIA 8600m GT 256mb
Gaming, Inspiron products submitted by npauly
11/24/07
Please offer the NVIDIA GeForce 8600m GT 256mb as an option on the Inspiron 1420. Not all gamers want to lug around a 15 inch or 17 inch laptop.
Asus, Zepto, and BenQ all recently introduced 14 inch widescreen laptops that are configured similarly to Dell's Inspiron 1420 except that they come stock with the NVIDIA 8600m GT standard.
Dell needs to upgrade their 14 inch Inspiron laptop GPU options so they can remain competitive.
*** Be Sure To Check The Comments - Lots of Good Info Here ***
340
XPS - Fully Custom Systems
Desktops, Gaming, XPS products submitted by thomasp94
12/17/07
There should be an area where people that know what they are doing would be able to put together their own system from scratch. Similar to the Part Only Bundle that was offered on the XPS 700. You would start with a cost of $0.00 and start by choosing a tower, power supply, motherboard, and so on.
You should be able to choose from any option and any part available on the XPS line as long as it is compatible with the rest of your hardware.
For instance I would love to build a system like the following:
-XPS 720 Jet Back case with side panel
-Intel P35 or X38 motherboard
-1000 watt power supply
-Light FX
-Quad 2.4 processor
-3GB DDR 800
-8800GTX video card
-Windows XP Pro or Media Center
But as of right now I can't do this, I would either have to buy a 420, which I don't want because I don't like the tower and I don't want Vista. Or I have to get the 720 with an SLI motherboard which I don't want either because they are already a dated motherboard since they will not be able to handle the new line of Intel processors due out next year.
PLEASE, Dell, cater to system builders more, we don't all need to be lead around by the hand.
350
Using more AMD Processors & AMD Gaming Platforms for XPS Desktops
Dell, Desktops, Gaming, XPS products submitted by fahdriyami
Jan 9
Dell seems to lack using AMD processors and mostly stick with Intels, now, Intel processors are powerfull and overclockable, but somehow they seem to lack reliablity in the long run. Intel have just released their new line of 45nm processors which require less power.
AMD have just released their 65nm processors (Phenom) series but there was a bug in the L3 cache. This is to be fixed in the 1st quarter of 2008 following the release of 45nm Phenoms, i suggest that Dell takes advantage of AMD's new true Quad core processor as it is very powerfull and also has less power consumption (thats what Dell is aiming for), and could easily Overclock safely by using AMD OverDrive technology. Also AMD's QuadFX gaming/enthusiast platform should be used to ensure high performance for Dell XPS Gaming Desktops, with the QuadFX Platform, you could have a total of eight cores with two Phenom Processors both at 3.0GHz. That would be great for next generation games. The only motherboard for this platform is the Asus L1N64-SLI WS (http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=136&l3=486&l4=0&model=1530&modelmenu=1) Also AMD's new "Spider" Platform is a unique gming platform that combines AMD Phenom, AMD 7-Series Chipset and ATI's 3000 Series Graphic Cards creating the Ultimate Gaming machine, which should be a bonus for the XPS Gamig line.
200
 track my votes
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