Retractable powers cords
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by rr
05/24/07
Dell Should start making Retractable power cords attached to the adapter especially for note books. This will prevent the users from winding the power cord around the adapter and fastening it using the rubber strap\belt.
370
Add some colors!
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Desktops and Laptops submitted by bajtalan.hunor
02/24/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**
In my opinion nowadays colors like gray or black are getting too old. Why Dell does not follow other companies like Sony or Apple or the tiny Flybook. People like colors because it expresses their personality, not everybody is a businessman or businesswoman, we like colors. For example white is getting more and more popular but there are other trendy colors out there.
So PLEASE ADD SOME COLOR TO YOUR NOTEBOOK AND DESKTOP LINES and make them look like jewelry and not like a piece of plastic, do some cool design.
We like to show a laptop to which people say WOW. So the "WOW STARTS NOW"!
The new Inspiron and XPS notebooks do come in colors now, but stay tuned for more ways to customize the look of your PC.
1070
Better explain the LCD Panel options.
Dell Web Site submitted by jmxz
05/24/07
Your e-commerce page:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&kc=6V440&l=en&o...
offers LCD panel options including
"15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen WXGA+ Display with TrueLife™ [subtract $50]"
and
"15.4 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen SXGA+ Display with TrueLife™ [Included in Price]".
You provide a potentially helpful Help Me Choose link [1] that describes WXGA, WXGA+, WSXGA+ and WUXGA, but not SXGA+.
One idea is that if SXGA+ is offered on that e-commerce page, add SXGA+ to the "Help Me Choose" page.
Also, hidden elsewhere in the Dell website[2] , but not linked by that product, you have more helpful specs on laptops that include info like Viewing Angles, Contrast Ratios, Luminance, etc.
The second idea is to add that information the the "Help Me Choose" page.
[1] a help me choose link not describing SXGA+ [2] a more useful help me choose link, but don't know if it applies to this model
490
Flag ideas as Duplicates
IdeaStorm submitted by peyre
05/18/07
Several people have commented that this site needs to be cleaned up. How about if users could flag an entry as a duplicate? That would make it much easier for someone moderating the site to catch dupes and eliminate or consolidate them.
Someone please let me know if this suggestion itself is a duplicate.
690
What Dell Needs to do to be # 1 again ..
Dell submitted by lindahewitt
02/17/07
Dell used to be #1 when it came to hardware configuration, engineering, customer support and documentation. In fact for years, Dell's technical documentation won national awards in every category that it entered in. I am not a hardware geek, but the documentation was so good that it make me want to get a Dell and do the hardware work. Now that is real marketing.
Dell's customer support was out of Round Rock and it was A+. As a result of Dell excellence in hardware, engineering, customer support and documentation, I never had a problem recommending Dell to family, friends, associates and clients. But that was in 1994-1999.
Dell needs to return to its high quality roots, if it wants to be #1 again.
It also needs to eliminate some of its deceptive advertising, where customers pay for a premium tech support warranty for "next business day" support, only to discover that the term "next business day support" is defined completely differently by Dell. BTW, my BSOD problem occurred on a 5 month old brand new computer.
Let the customer control what software is loaded on their new computer, so that it could be no OS, OS only or OS & Microsoft Office.
Set up the C partition to only contain the operating system and nothing else. Redirect all data files to the D partition for data files and set up the e partition for programs.
Then if the user gets a BSOD or Dell's tech support says that the OS needs to be re-installed, the OS can be re-installed without affecting anything else. Yes, I know that the programs will need to be re-installed but the user will not have lost any data. In this regard, all customers should receive a CD (or DVD) with their operating system on it, just in case they have to re-install it for some reason. In fact, I think that every computer should come with 2 hard drives, so that data files and programs are completely separate from the OS hard drive. In short, make the process as easy and simple for the customer as possible.
In the case of BSODs, why not develop some prepared documentation, which explains that a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) can be caused by malfunctioning hardware, the operating system or software applications, which is what makes trouble shooting so very difficult. Based on my experience and substantial research, most of the time the cause of BSODs are poorly written software. So, why not emphasize the importance of backing up before installing new hardware or software. Backup restoration should ALWAYS be tested.
If Dell wants to be # 1 and I know that Dell does, then why not deal with only those vendors that have the best products instead of putting Norton AV on the computer.
Companies that I would recommend that Dell consider developing a business relationship with are
Acronis for their True Image (backup) and Disk Director (partition) software
Kaspersky for their AV and Internet Security products
Raxco for their PerfectDisk defragmentation product
FYI ... I do not have a business relationship with any of these companies.
When Dell includes software or add-on hardware, it should always be top of the line quality. In a sense, they are endorsing or recommending this vendor, so the reputation of the vendor gets tied to Dell's reputation as well.
Make it easy, simple and a quality experience to do business with Dell. In 1994-1995, this was the reputation of Dell and it carried you to the # 1 spot. Now it is time to return to your roots.
Pet Peeve:
Every quarter, when your financial reports came out that said that Dell had increased its net profits 27% over the same quarter last year, it only served to remind me that Dell was focused on maximum profits and that they didn't care that they were short-changing their customers to get those maximum profits.
Your customers understand what is really going on and have made their purchasing decisions based on Dell's past actions.
Congratulations on IdeaStorm. This is a great idea and I think that it can work to everyone's benefit.
901
Bring the Latitude to the Home/Home Office (Latitude equals Dell style and quality as it SHOULD be!)
Latitude products, Sales Strategies submitted by hotuan87
05/18/07
Compare the touch and feel of a MacBook to that of an Inspiron. It doesn't compare. The Inspiron isn't as stylish, and has a cheap plasticky feel. The MacBooks are solid, sturdy, and, if you have a MacBook PRO, made of metal.
For college students such as myself who put our computers through the abuse of daily use, it only gets worse. My Mac colleagues, however, still show off their shiny (literally) only slightly beaten MacBooks.
The Latitude, however, is everything the Inspiron should be in terms of design and style. Don't limit the Latitude to just Business users, get it to your average consumer!
People shouldn't be comparing the look and feel of MacBooks to Inspirons, they should be comparing them to Latitudes!
830
IdeaStorm feature: Allow us to browse based on the Dell-assigned tags
IdeaStorm submitted by cosh
05/18/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**
Dell assign "status tags" to some of the popular/notable ideas on this website, but they are tiny little things under the title of each idea, and there is no way to search or browse by them.
If we had a page on IdeaStorm so we could see ideas based on each status tag it will let everybody see what effect IdeaStorm is having, in addition to the few ideas mentioned under "Ideas in Action". It might also reduce the number of duplicates for very popular ideas, if people can see what Dell has already acknowledged.
The status tags being used at the moment are as follows:
- Acknowledged
- Already Offered
- Coming Soon
- Fixed
- Implemented
- In Progress
- Not Likely
- Not Now
- Under Review (formerly, Under Consideration)
- Partially Implemented
You can see a sample of how this works on my categorizer web site, here. Some of the information may be out of date, but it works for most purposes.
Status tag links have been launched.
1640
Pre installed software
Software submitted by vaughnhart
05/22/07
My idea is to make a list of software options available and allow us to choose exactly what we want on our system. Provide the list and a clear description of what each software choice provides. Just like we choose amount of memory, size of hard drive, etc.
590
Hello Again - Dedicated Teams
Service and Support submitted by dell_admin1
05/18/07
Dell wants your feedback on the following idea intended to improve customer service and support:
We're considering a dedicated team approach for customer service, where a customer would interact with the same people whenever they need customer care or technical support.
UPDATE (May 18 at 8pm Central):
A number of people are asking for more information about this idea so they can comment. However, this idea is not a defined “offer” at this point, so many details have not yet been determined. That’s why we want your feedback! Others have asked if this idea would cost extra or not… in this case, that has not yet been determined and we’re hoping to use your comments to help define the answer.
990
Advertise Graphics RAM correctly
Advertising and Marketing submitted by joffe100
04/20/07 **UNDER REVIEW**
When we say we want to buy a 512Mb graphics card we really do want a 512Mb graphics card - not 512Mb with 256mb physical memory with 256mb shared! This is really BAD and misleading advertising - you do not see other RAM memory being sold 1Gb (512Mb physical, 512Mb shared!)
Should read: 512Mb physical memory and it actually be 512Mb physical memory
NOT: 512Mb** and then some tiny asterixed disclaimer on a linked page that points out that the 512Mb is some funky combination of 3Mb physical and the rest being pulled from virtual memory - this kills many graphic intense apps and games...
suprised no-one has sued over this? Not sure many buyers are even aware....
4060
Provide Linux compatibility information on all products up front
Advertising and Marketing, Linux submitted by spm
02/21/07 **REVIEWED**
My company used to buy all out IT products from Dell. The main reason we don't buy any Dell products any more is that it is so difficult to get information from Dell on Linux compatibility, except from a few very expensive high end products. Calling Dell product support to find out if a particular product will work with Linux and where to get drivers is an offputting experience. Dell sales staff seem to take a perverse delight in telling customers that they don't support Linux, and when I tell them that I don't want support from them, only compatibility and driver information, they tell me that they can't give me that information, nor information on chipsets which might allow me to locate information from elsewhere.
The bottom line is that I expect at the very least to be provided compatibility and chipset information before I buy a PC. Neither myself or any other customer is going to buy a Dell PC to test it on Dells behalf - product testing and certification is the manufacturer's responsibility, not mine. White box suppliers, and other mail order suppliers on the other hand are only too willing to provide motherboard, chipset, and component information etc. to allow me to check compatibility.
The reason why we no longer buy any Dell products is simple - we use a small number of Linux PCs in our office and all the servers in our office run Linux. We buy all hardware, peripherals including low end desktop hardware so that they are deployable with both Linux and Windows. We do this for obvious reasons - for example, we might want to plug in a printer originally purchased for use with Windows into a Linux server print queue, and we may want server applications to print to the printer. We may want to redeploy Windows Desktops later as Linux desktops - for example to use as a shared data access desktop. Therefore, although our desktop PCs are overwhelmingly Windows, we won't buy any hardware that isn't Linux compatible, even if it is intended for use with Windows initially. Dell unfortunately doesn't meet those needs, and we cannot buy equipment from Dell. I am sure a lot of other companies which use Linux in the office have similar issues.
Here is what Dell needs to do to have a chance of winning our (and other's) custom:
1) Advertise and inform about Linux compatibility or otherwise. Finding out about compatibility before buying is the most difficult thing about Linux, not installation or configuration. Any company that can do this has a huge advantage for little or no cost.
2) Provide full Linux compatibility information on all Dell products - not just high end desktops. Ideally, certify products for the top distros - RHET, SLES, Debian, the latest free Fedora, OpenSuSE, Ubuntu if possible. Linux users don't necessarily want a preload - most Linux users are quite capable of installing Linux themselves and would probably install some other Linux distro if one was pre-installed. Preinstallation is only useful to us as an indication that the product is Linux compatible. If a feature is only partially supported by Linux, say so and say what is supported - Linux users will understand, and may not need all the features, or like us they may only want the Linux compatibility for possible future redeployment. If driver support is external (most will be) then provide links pointing to those sites in Dell support, and if you need to make a disclaimer to avoid liability for a third party products outside Dell's control, do so. Again Linux users will understand.
3) Exclude products from the Dell inventory that don't support Linux as far as possible. Generally for every part that is not Linux compatible, there is one that is Linux compatible for the same price.
4) Don't ask customers to pay the Microsoft tax. Linux machines or no-OS machines with zero cost OS and no support should cost significantly less than a Windows pre-loaded machine. Customers know when they are being cheated and don't like it.
5) Linux support (except for driver information) is not usually required (except for servers), only web based information. If the customer needs Linux support, it will probably be from an independent consultant/techie rather than from Dell. Sell your Linux PCs as "Linux OEM - no support" PCs at a significantly lower cost than the equivalent Windows PC.
6) Linux on the desktop is most competitive on the low end desktop - particularly for schools etc. Sell Linux PCs preloaded onto low end desktop computers with appropriate free software for that market, at a competitive price rather than on high end workstations.
Upfront Linux capability would be difficult to implement on our web store. But, check some of the alternatives john_h posted.
10300
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
Do not hire nontechnical people for techsupport
Service and Support submitted by jbrogers
02/17/07
This is the main problem with the India call centers - they have no idea what they are doing. They are obviously reading a scripted diagnosing tool and have no personal knowledge of computing issues.
I have both home and business accounts with Dell. When I call in for support on my Business account, I get a good old-fashioned American geek, who instantly understands that I am fairly technical, and doesn't treat me like an idiot.
The Indian call centers, not having knowledge themselves, do not recognize that I know anything, and treat me like an idiot as they read from the diagnosis tool. Yeah, I know the computer is plugged in. Yeah I know that I have internet connectivity. Sheesh.
8926
Crapware
Sales Strategies, Software submitted by mcneiljohn
05/06/07
Completely eliminate all crapware on new computers, but provide access to all trial software versions on a dvd requiring conscious action by the user to install and provide a booklet with a brief description of the promoted products.
I will shortly replace my aging Inspiron 8000 and hope to not be initially frustrated by having to remove unnecessary and unwanted programs.
3330
Laptop cooling
Laptops submitted by kdickensheets
05/21/07
Why not have cooling for laptops draw air from the sides and exhaust through the back rather than the bottom. Travelers often put their laptop on their hotel beds or sit them on their laps on airplanes usually blocking the fan opening make the unit overheat. My wife often leaves hers running on the bed and it heats up because of lack of proper air circulaton.
1470
Fully Upgradeable Laptop
Laptops submitted by badblood
05/19/07
Produce a Laptop where everything can be upgraded. Asus is doing it - and here it is:
You name it: Processor, LCD, hard drive, memory, graphics card, optical drive -- take the old one out and put a new component it, all within minutes. The notebook is designed around the core principle of it being easy to upgrade.
Maybe you already have a flexible computer like this one?
3140
 track my votes
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