bogdano2

support.com Instant Technology Relief

submitted by pwalker 02/01/07

This company is getting rave reviews at Demo. Maybe Dell should take a look. Sounds like a compliment to Dellconnect. 2 Comments »

Hosted Back up Services

Service and Support submitted by boldster 05/21/07

I would like to see Dell host a back up service for users who are willing to pay a monthly subscription based on the amount of back disk space used. 7 Comments »

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.





1194 Comments »

BIOS on an SD Card

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by goonmaster 02/21/07

Normally if you screw up when you are updating you BIOS you need to buy a new computer. If the BIOS was based on an SD card then all we would have to do is put a new BIOS onto the card from another computer. Comment »

Provide XenSource bios virtualisation with multiple OpenSource OSes

Linux, Operating Systems, Desktops and Laptops submitted by awalker1975 04/23/07

Provide BIOS virtualisation on new PCs (XenSource) with the following OSes pre-installed within separate 32 and 64 bit virtual machines: OpenBSD, Ubuntu, OpenSolaris/Solaris, Fedora, OpenSuse, so that a user can experience all versions. The user can then decide which to remove and which to replicate.

The Hyphervisor (virtualisation manager) would be located in the BIOS, so that it controls whether virtual machines (32 or 64 bit) can exchange information and would also permit simultaneous booting of all virtual machines or just selected virtual machines. The BIOS could be configured to disable/enable virtualisation (and which would prevent software from enabling or disabling virtualisation features). With virtualisation enabled, an operating system install would only see the provided virtual machine as real hardware. The Bios Hyphervisor would protect and prevent another instance of a Hyphervisor from gaining control of the virtualisation unless specifically configured to allow a Hyphervisor within a single identified virtual machine. 8 Comments »

Get rid of BIOS, use EFI

New Product Ideas, Desktops and Laptops submitted by joeaguy 02/19/07

Why are PC makers so slow to swith from BIOS to EFI? Apple did it with their Intel macs, and there are tons of reports that Windows runs faster on a Mac under BootCamp than with equivalent PC hardware. There is something to be said for their simpler EFI based hardware architecture helping speed. If Microsoft is the big hold up here, surely PC makers can put some pressure on. The PC needs to shed all of the old tech that is still in the spec. 36 Comments »

Modify BIOS over the Network

Desktops and Laptops submitted by kmaule 04/23/07

Please provide a secure means of modifying the BIOS over the network. We would like to implement power saving features on our existing PC's without visiting each box. 3 Comments »

RAMDISK option in BIOS

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by supremelaw 03/07/07

Lots of motherboards still have 2 empty DIMM slots:

Given the relatively low cost of additional RAM now,

the extra RAM could easily be configured as a

Windows letter drive/RAM Disk, using a BIOS option

and adding a native driver: as the PC finishes POST,

Windows is presented with a HDD emulator

that routes file I/O to the RAMDISK instead of a

hard drive.

Either that, or promote third-party software more

actively, like RamDisk Plus and SuperCache II

from www.superspeed.com e.g. with a "package"

deal that ships software and added DIMMs together.

The latter RamDisk Plus product automatically

saves and restores the entire contents of

each RamDisk letter drive at shutdown and

startup -- very cool implementation.

These RamDisks are great for hosting

a browser cache and/or Windows swap file,

and moving both doesn't require rocket science.

Sincerely yours,

/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell

Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

http://www.supremelaw.org/ 1 Comment »

Enable Advanced Configuration Options in BIOS

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by ski4404 05/01/07

It's great that Dell is using the latest chipsets from Intel, but really what use is it if we cannot take advantage of the new features offered? Many if not all of the advanced BIOS configuration features that are present in Intel boards not supplied by Dell are missing in the Dell bios. Simple items like SATA mode switching are strangely absent (at least in the desktops -- don't know about servers). I might understand if Dell doesn't want people to overclock for support reasons, but there are many other options that should be available in the bios. 3 Comments »

Fingerprint <> BIOS authentication

Laptops submitted by sebastian_s 02/20/07

allow build in fingerprint readers (esp. in notebooks) to be used for "BIOS password protection/authentication" of the whole system and/or HDD no matter which OS (Windows, Linux, Mac OS,...) is running on the machine. 1 Comment »

BIOS Recovery

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by majestic 03/23/07

I wish Dell would take a step back in time and reintroduce a BIOS recovery scheme on their motherboards.

As an active participant in the Dell Community Forums, I've seen a lot of postings in those forum related to BIOS upgrade problems. Lately, there has been quite a few complaints related to the newer BIOS version not supporting the OEM processor that came with the system as well as BIOS upgrades that fail to properly install thus rendering the system unusable. Lately the Dimension E521 is a frequent topic. In some of these cases, Dell Tech Support honored the warranty replacement of the motherboard while others were left with the out of pocket expense of paying for the repairs themselves on fairly new systems.

All this could be avoided if Dell would revert back to a BIOS recovery scheme. Not only would it give the consumer a little confidence in knowing there is a remedy for a bad BIOS flash, but it would save both the consumer and Dell the expense of replacing the motherboard. If nothing else, at least socket the BIOS chip so that it can be swapped out in the event of a bad BIOS flash. Presently, I would be reluctant to advise anyone with a new Dell system to flash the BIOS unless Dell Tech Support was walking them through the procedure over the phone. 7 Comments »

Always include all software and driver reinstallation discs for free (or at least let us get the option to)... don't make us pay extra

Software submitted by winoffice 05/01/07 **IMPLEMENTED**

Always include ALL software AND driver reinstallation discs for FREE (or at let us get the option do get the for free if we want as follows)...don't make us pay extra in case that we have a disaster and need to reinstall from scratch...!

No Discs Included (Included In Price)

All Discs Included (this means everything -- all software discs -- OS/Security software/etc., and all driver discs -- this means Windows or Linux drivers or both, whatever applies -- add $0)

Other options (OS disc only, all software discs only, driver discs only, etc. -- add $0)

For some computers, Dell does not include the reinstallation discs. Even if Dell offers them, Dell charges extra for us to get them. In fact, the only time I seen reinstallation discs being offered without charge were for Dell XPS desktops with the flashy lights -- that is, the Dell XPS 600, 700, and 710 systems, for those ware the only systems to offer operating system options like "Microsoft Windows XP Media Center WITH REINSTALLATION CD".

Also, most of the time when software reinstallation discs are not included, driver reinstallation discs (such as XPS flashy lights, as well as printers and monitors) are not included either. Therefore, don't just include the software reinstallation discs -- include as well the Windows/Linux drivers for the hardware (depending on the OS purchased with the computer, if any, which in turn depends on the user's preferences).

Besides, Microsoft as well as ALL software companies include the discs when you get the software seperately, so why can't Dell do the same when the software is preinstalled...?
Customers no longer have to pay extra for re-installation media.




89 Comments »

coreboot (formerly LinuxBIOS) instead of proprietary BIOS

Linux, Desktops and Laptops submitted by yesmathew 02/20/07

coreboot (formerly known as LinuxBIOS) is a Free Software project aimed at replacing the proprietary BIOS (firmware) you can find in most of today's computers.
- Fast boot times 3 sec.
- Runs in 32-Bit protected mode almost from the start
- Can boot Windows too...

External links:
- http://www.coreboot.org/Welcome_to_coreboot
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linuxbios<

An Example:
- http://wiki.laptop.org/go/LinuxBIOS 92 Comments »

No OS Preloaded

Linux, Operating Systems, Sales Strategies submitted by agreer 02/17/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**

I have a XP Pro retail copy, will soon buy retail vista, I also like Linux: Make WINDOWS-FREE, and OS-Free an option for more than just expensive business lines.


Dell has systems available that do not have an OS pre-loaded called N-Series line. You can check them out at www.dell.com/nseries.

459 Comments »