boaty

Tell us WHY we don't have Ubuntu DELLs in Belgium (or other countries)

Linux, Service and Support submitted by mathieu147 Apr 2

Ubuntu DELLs are available in several european countries like France, Germany and UK. You can buy them in USA, too. But, for example, it's impossible to buy one in Belgium (juste between France and Germany) or in Canada (just next to USA).

There are many ideas (with high scores) saying «I want Ubuntu in [country name here]». It seems that DELL doesn't care.

Ok, right, you want to sell Linux DELLs only in some countries. But could you tell us WHY?

Is it a language problem? Well, install the english version and tell the buyers how to install his own language support (if you can't do it for him (you can for Windows, why not for Ubuntu?)).

Thank you :-) 10 Comments »

New BOX Desktop

Desktops, New Product Ideas, Service and Support submitted by timsmith Apr 2

Dell Computer Inc.
One Dell Way
Round Rock, Texas 78682

Attention: Dell Idea Storm Team: Jackie, Kara, and Dawn

dellideastorm.com

March 27, 2008
HISTORY

I have always had a fascination with electronics.

Over the years I have probably built more than 50 Heath Kits. Most were audio components ranging from tuners, pre-amplifiers, amplifiers, & receivers; some test equipment; volt meters & oscilloscopes; and even television sets, black and white & color.

I am an electrical engineer and I have worked with personal computers since the beginning and also worked under the hood servicing and upgrading them.

I have several ideas about what personal computers could and should be in the years to come and I would like to share my ideas with you.

BACKGROUND

TUBES
Back in the day when “tubes” were the working components for radios and televisions, they were simple to operate and maintain. While tubes had their flaws, being filament powered, when a filament failed it was a simple matter to identify the failed tube either by its function failure or by its filament failure.

Replacement and restoring operation was relatively simple. The other components of these sets, the resistors, capacitors, transformers, coils, chokes, and the other various components within the set almost never failed thus allowing many years of carefree operation.

TRANSISTORS
Then along came the transistor and it seemed that they were the perfect solution to the downside of tubes and their filaments. Transistors did not fail like tubes did. So we migrated from simple radios and televisions into complete consoles combining radios, record players, and speakers in one large cabinet.

But a downside remained. If one of the components fail it took a professional to diagnose and replace the failed item. And as the technology and components evolved we went from black and white to color television, from 78-rpm records to 45’s and 33-rpm records, from monaural to stereo, and on and on.

This meant that the big console became obsolete. Thus began the “component” era when you could have a stand along television, a single radio, a single record player, or cassette player and when one of these items became obsolete due to evolution they were easily replaced.

Of particular note was component stereo. You could have individual items such as a tuner, pre-amplifier, power amplifier, record turntable, tape recorder, speakers, and anything you could think of and they all connect together and functioned together.

Then if an individual component either failed or you simply wanted to upgrade, you could replace that component and the system still function with or without that particular peripheral item.

COMPUTERS
Since the advent of the IBM XT and AT personal computers, I have both used and serviced them. My first compatible computer was an AT compatible that I purchased from Michael Dell while he was still in school assembling the units in his dorm room.

Over the years I have tried other brands of computers and have experienced numerous problems. However today I have a Dell computer and I am very pleased with its stability.

However, there are some specific design concepts that I think could be integrated into the desktop computer that would make it unique and more reliable.

COMPONENTS versus COMPUTERS
Recently I purchased a DVD player (component) that I attached to my television set. It came with its own power supply and connection cables that interfaced with the television set. It even had a remote control. The unit was completely self-contained and had its own internal computer chip to allow the unit to stand alone and function as well as feeding data (audio, video, and onscreen display information) to the television.

When I contemplated my new DVD player and thought about what it would be like to add a DVD drive to my computer, I had to shudder. A new drive would require shutting down the computer, dragging it out from under my desk, opening the case, checking to see if there was a bay available for the unit, seeing if mounting rails and screws were required, seeing if a data cable with the appropriate connection was available, (were changes in jumpers on drives required), was there a power cable available, (was a separate audio cable required as in the case of a CD drive that I installed), and then complete reassembling of the computer and reconnecting all of the cables.

Next booting up the unit and praying that the computer does not reject the component or fail to see it. Then I would get to load the software disk that comes with the drive and reboot and again hope and pray. Then I would probably have to go out on the Internet and look for the latest download of software to make this new drive compatible with my operating system. After all of this I would probably need to run a diagnostic to see if all of these changes have screwed up the registry or other portions of the operating system.

When you really think about it the comparison, between the Component and the Computer as far as degree of difficulty, it is a no-brainer. In addition you would find that the stand alone Component not only was more user friendly for installation, it had many more features build in, it worked right out of the box, and to add insult to injury the Component was much cheaper than the Computer version.

CONCERN
My concerns / frustrations arise out of the unique place that personal computers hold. They alone are unique but it the wrong categories.

Today many, many items have computer chips built into them and they function with nearly 100 percent reliability. The one in your radio or TV you do not even think about, it just works when you need it. The same is true of your microwave or your toaster or any number of your remote controls. And what about your cell phone? The list of items with computer chips is much greater that we even realize.

Think about your car. What if your car’s computer chip and integral software operated as in-efficiently as your personal computer? We would not put up with it. We would demand that it operate properly. So why do we tolerate it from our computer and all of its software and hardware components?????

Now think about the airplane that you fly on. It has numerous computers and a failure could be catastrophic. Would you risk your life on an airplane with a computer whose operating systems was Vista?

So why should we have to suffer with a computer with an inefficient and ineffective operating system and architecture supporting these problems. As in the case of all these other items; cars, microwaves, remote controls, and etc, they all have a self-contained operating system that is truly reliable.

CONCEPT
The NEW BOX computer concept that I am proposing is radically new and would require some expensive and extensive research and development. It would probable make the computer and each of its components and peripherals much more expensive but ultimately reliable.

And I suspect people would be willing to pay a little extra for a system that was truly reliable.

THE NEW BOX

The New generation of desktop computer as I envision it would become completely modularized. Each and every internal component could be hot-swapped or plug-and-play or whatever concept you want to call it but it would actually function.

INSIDE THE BOX

HARDWARE
Inside the BOX you would find a power supply with a single cable connector that would plug into a universal back-plane bus way.

The universal back-plane bus way would have internal wiring for all power and all data highways so that items could be plugged in anywhere on the universal back-plane. There would be standardized connectors so that all items could be universally connected to the computer’s back plane.

Any component inside the box would be simply plugged into the universal back-plane and then would have available power and a data highway to all of the other components.

If you have any component failure you simply remove the item and install a new one by pressing the card into the universal back-plane. There would be numerous universal back-plane connectors for a plethora of items. (Additional items will include “software” cards.)

OPERATING SYSTEM
This is the heart of the new BOX and COMPONENT concept.

The computer’s CPU would be mounted onto a card that plugged into the universal back-plane. This would allow repairs or system upgrades with the same ease as changing tubes.

However the Operating System would be different from the existing systems. Just like my Component DVD player, each item plugged into the universal back-plane would contain its own central processing unit to manage that particular card. It would not rely solely on the Main CPU card for its functionality.

The Main CPU card would contain a central communication system to communicate with all of the components that are plugged into the universal back-plane. And using the New Modular operating system software, perform all of the necessary calculations to allow all of the components to function together as a whole system.

COMPONENTS
All of the other normal internal components found inside the typical computer; audio, video, memory, drives, and etc., would each become an individual dedicated card. Again this allows for quick replacement due to either failure or upgrading.

SOFTWARE
Generalization: without fail, eventually every software package is subject to corruption either from within or from the outside.

OPERATING SYSTEM
The NEW BOX’s new operating system would be permanently loaded onto a memory card, which would be plugged into the universal back-plane. It would be inviolate and therefore safe from corruption from any source.

When the computer is turned on and loads the programs, it would load them to a separate memory card (buffer) that would run the operating system and the applications. When the system is re-booted this buffer is cleared and re-loaded with clean data.

SOFTWARE APPLICATION PACKAGES
As with the operating system, application software packages are also susceptible to corruption. So each software application would be permanently loaded onto an inviolate memory card, which would also plug into the universal back-plane.

OUTSIDE THE BOX

All peripheral items; printer, scanner, keyboard, mouse, external drive, and etc. would each contain their own CPU, software, and buffers to allow them to be stand alone components.

Through a Universal Back-plane connector cable each component will connect to the computer and therefore to the computer’s main communications processor.

Because of the universality of this system, many or any computer components could be either internal or external. (This is similar to the USB devices that can now exist outside the computer, i.e. drives.) So adding program software card modules could be accomplished externally or even hardware upgrades.

The NEW BOX concept might actually consist of several individual boxes connected together through the Universal Back-plane cables.

One possible configuration might be the Main Box with power supply, CPU, video, main drives, keyboard and mouse inputs with an Auxiliary Box with CD or DVD drives for easy access, and another Auxiliary Box for the software cards for easy upgrading.

The possibilities are quite numerous but the system is UNIVERSAL.

SUMMARY
It seems that today when a computer goes nuts and crashes we wind up throwing out the entire unit because of the complications of repair versus the possibility that at new computer will not let us down. However as time goes by it too will eventually fail requiring a new purchase.

Or with the need for speed we replace our computer to get more horsepower.

In either case most of the components are still usable and we are throwing the good out with the bad.

But with a Universal Modular Box concept, both repairs and upgrades are much more feasible.

FINALLY
I believe that because of Dell’s entrepreneurial mindset and years of success, that Dell is in a good position to make the leap into the future of computer concepts.

And I would enjoy assisting you in any way possible to implement this new concept.

Thanks for taking the time to review this, and should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. 8 Comments »

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." 244 Comments »

Use better LCD panels in laptops.

Monitors and Displays, Laptops submitted by mlazarov Feb 26

In order for laptops to be a viable platform for graphical applications, the color reproduction and viewing angles of their displays must be addressed. Most laptops use TN/CCFL displays that suffer from poor color range and color shift. Dell should at very least offer an S-IPS/LED display option in their workstation-class laptops. I realize several of Dell's laptops already have LED backlighting, but there would a significant improvement quality if S-IPS panels were used.

Update: I thought it'd be best to illustrate the difference between TN and S-IPS displays. Below is a side-by-side comparison of a TN (left) and S-IPS (right) display from an off-axis vertical angle.

http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/10884.jpg

Having such dramatic color variation at different angles almost precludes any sort of in-field collaborative image editing or similar application. The laptop on the right is a (discontinued) ThinkPad T60p.



2 Comments »