brianbeze

Upgrade your Dell - Linux Upgrades for Old Dells

Linux, Desktops and Laptops submitted by barry5280 02/24/07

Maybe Dell should offer $1.99 Live CD Distributions and use that as a measure of the Linux interest. My guess is a lot of people may start ordering those. Better yet customized Dell versions of the Live CD. I'm sure some smart Tech could figure a way to set up a live CD of (Freespire, Ubuntu, Fedora, PCLinuxOS, etc) that comes with some specific Dell drivers and works well on "Dell PC's". Just a thought but maybe Baby steps are a good option. How about an option that states "Don't toss that old Dell PC" revive it with Linux. Xubuntu for older systems, Ubuntu for newer. For those people that won't upgrade thier windows 95 or 98 because they can't afford Windows Vista maybe offering them a Linux Distro based on the system they enter would be a good idea. They click the drop down that defines their laptop or desktop and then 2 or 3 Linux Distros can be offered up, and yes you could still offer some tech support for the new systems for people that are less interested in doing it themselves. 1 Comment »

Notebook Shells Are Plastic - Offer Metal Casings Too

Laptops submitted by googideas 02/17/07

Notebooks get carried everywhere. Shouldn't Dell offer an aluminum or otherwise metal casing/construction as an option?

If I am going to drop two grand on a laptop, which I just did, I sure as heck want it as rugged as possible. I don't care about weight or additional cost. I want it to last.

Plastic is brittle. A dent in the metal is better than a crack in the plastic. It's also easier to recycle.

What do you think? 33 Comments »

Could Dell Own Green?

Environment submitted by adrian 02/01/07 **REVIEWED**

Environmental concern and sustainability are today real issues with consumers and voters in many of Dell's markets. It looks as if a genuine commitment to reducing carbon and cleaning up their footprint will become a more important factor for companies wanting to strengthen consumer loyalty in the coming years.

Dell has already made its environmental commitment clear.My suggestion is that this could become a hallmark of the company - why not make the products, literally, green? If Apple can own 'pretty' and IBM/Lenovo can own 'serious', why can't Dell own 'green'?
Dell continues to do a lot to support our environment like our Plant a Tree for Me program and other activities documented on our Environment blog on Direct2Dell. Click here for more details.




77 Comments »

Sell more desktops without monitors, keyboards, etc

Desktops, Environment, Sales Strategies submitted by gordonbrown77 02/16/07 **COMING SOON**

Make it an option to not get things people may already have when upgrading a PC such as monitors, mouse, keyboard. This would be good environmentally and save people some money if they already have theae things and will not be keeping the old PC. 34 Comments »

podcast

Service and Support submitted by blackeagle 04/22/07

a dell produced pod cast on tech and dell products Comment »

Why was this deleted by Dell?

submitted by wwjfd2003 03/01/07

This is a screen capture of a post deleted by Dell on this site... why, I wonder was it deleted? 7 Comments »

Promote this if you will not buy a dell until they have pre-installed Linux options.

IdeaStorm submitted by minnow 03/01/07

Promote this so Dell can see what they will loose if they don't listen to their "valued" customers ideas. 3 Comments »

Rotate the Popular Ideas (Pre-Installed Linux | Ubuntu | Fedora | OpenSUSE | Multi-Boot)

IdeaStorm submitted by sangelnet 03/01/07

I suggest that the popular ideas should be rotated, since there are many popular ideas. the first ones are just getting a free ride to rise their points being int the front of the page.

There are many ideas equal or similar to those, still those in the front of the page are the one getting all the GLORY!!!

ROTATE THEM!!! Comment »

A forum where customer Open software needs are heard and not monopolistically dismissed.

Dell Community, IdeaStorm submitted by neodell 03/01/07

That about says it.

Sounds like a good idea. Doesn't it? 2 Comments »

Offer Pencil-Eraser-Pointers Again!

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Sales Strategies submitted by nicu 03/01/07

I like the good old pencil-eraser-pointers in addition to the touch pad. Not everyone likes them so have those and the touch pads. When I use a laptop for gaming the pencil-eraser-pointer is much easier for me to use. 3 Comments »

Fed up with Microsoft

Operating Systems, Laptops submitted by triangle 02/19/07

Each week I receive in my mailbox promotionnal offers from Dell.
Our company have only needs in laptops but we never bought a Dell because were are SMB company needing no-OS pre-installed because we run NOVELL-SuSe.

So the day each people could buy a laptop "nacked" I will change my opinion and have a look on Dell products for office and for personal home use.

My proposal is to deliver pre-installed Windows if it cost something to Dell more to nack computers and simply disagree with the EULA. Dell have no need to provides activation codes and the consumer will be happy to have the choice.

When you read Wall Street journal you can see that Microsoft course decrease since they published security updates for the most secure OS of the planet. Not very credible...we prefer running Gnu/Linux that is really more secure because they are no needs to buy additional stuffs like antivirus, antispyware, firewall...and office suite :
all come inside.

It is very curious that a world leader in computing does not see the needs of his customers : now you have to think in many ways : Microsoft, Linux and why not tomorrow Macos on regular PCs (the install protection was already hacked).

In other way it is incredible that Vista could be sold with DRM inside, reducing video quality when not drmized and many other tricks allowing the computer to do what it wants and not what wanted by his owner....simply crazy. 1 Comment »

give the possibility to choose the OS

Operating Systems submitted by nicolagiacobbe 02/19/07

Simply let the user choose what he wants. I had to put down many Dell offers for not having the possibility to avoid the Windows tax. A pre-installed Linux distro could be OK but the most freedom is to let the user choose which OS wants on his PC (if any). 5 Comments »

Remove metallic Windows sticker

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

The unremovable metallic "Vista capable" or "Designed for XP" sticker serves no purpose as soon as the laptop is in use by the end-user. Dell should design its notebooks to be sleek, stylish and simple -- and a permanent stickers is the exact opposite. This is (in part) why Apple sells the most stylish laptops, and why the one you buy is never as nice as the one you see in the promotional-pictures (no stickers!)

Replace the metallic sticker with an easily removable one !!! Dell should be large enough to stand up to Microsoft (who no doubt enforces the metal stickers). 23 Comments »

3 ideas for Dell

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Linux, Service and Support submitted by pedriedger 02/17/07

Three ideas for Dell:
1. Service
2. Linux
3. AMD chips
Good luck, guys. The computer business is changing. 34 Comments »

More RAM!

Desktops and Laptops submitted by mwmtjm 01/30/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

Do away with 512MB of memory as a base option to buy consumer desktops and notebooks. With Vista running best on 1GB at a minimum, don't make customers have a basic experience with the new OS because Dell wants to be able to advertise at a lower price point. The success of Vista -- and subsequently for Dell -- will be largely in word of mouth. Take a long-term view and build the momentum one great customer experience at a time right now!


113 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 »

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 »

Pre-Installed OpenOffice | alternative to MS Works & MS Office

Software, Desktops and Laptops submitted by dhart 02/17/07

Provide OpenOffice.org for free pre-installation alongside Microsoft Works and Microsoft Office. OpenOffice.org is more capable than Microsoft Works, and a serious competitor to Microsoft Office, at a fraction of the cost (it's free!)

OpenOffice.org can open, create, edit and save Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

Provide as OPTIONS for pre-installation many other high-quality free software programs such as:
- Firefox: web browser with popup and privacy controls; say goodbye to Internet Explorer infections!
- Thunderbird: email program with free anti-spam and privacy controls
- Pidgin: instant messaging all-in-one program for popup-free MSN, Yahoo, AOL and others
&nsbp;[ed: GAIM was renamed Pidgin in April 2007 to settle the issue with AOL's trademark on AIM]
- PDFCreator: creates Adobe PDF files from any program
- Scribus, Inkscape & GIMP: desktop publishing, freehand drawing & powerful image editing
- Audacity & VLC: multi-track audio editing & universal all-in-one media/video/movie/DVD player
- Stellarium & Celestia: planetarium viewer & outer-space mapping, like Google Earth, but for our Solar System

Pre-installed quality free and open source software drastically lowers the cost of new PCs, and helps prevent software piracy. Cast your vote for Linux and other free software. Cast your vote for the Universal Education PC [ed: article removed/merged by dell_admin] utilizing free software.

CHOICE is what consumers want on their new PCs, not annoying surprise circus-ware (the typical smattering of confusing 3rd party popup-infested software found on most new Dell PCs). Quality free and open source software is well behaved, and may be legally pre-installed on PCs, and legally shared with friends and family, sharing is encouraged! Cast your vote for consumer CHOICE and public transparency at Dell.
574 Comments »

Pre-Installed Linux on Desktops and Laptops and offer AMD

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

Dell I hope you're beginning to see the picture of why HP is kicking your [profanity removed by moderator]. You need to ask your customers what they want, don't assume.. It sounds like they want an alternative to Windows! Dahhh..

If you want to be number one offer the three top Linux Version pre-installed on you systems. You just might move back to the top.. Oh and while you're about it install AMD and do yourself a favor.. They may no longer be the top dog, but some of us want an alternative to Intel..

Nukem 5 Comments »

Linux is sure profit for Dell, who's investment requirement is near-nothing!

Dell, Linux submitted by linuxfce 02/28/07

I have a Dell e1405 laptop with Linux. SVideo, Native Resolution, Dual Core Optimization, all multimedia functions including hot keys and media buttons.

True 100% compatibility, true 100% stability, true open source.

I am an end-user who has no more than one month of familiarity with Linux, and I accomplished this. You do know your upper level techs could do this in a very short period of time.

Let's look over your reasons for not supporting Linux, and how you could evade the downsides.

1. You profit from retailing Windows more than you would giving away Linux.

True, but even if your profit is 20% of the OS sale, you could reduce the price of the Linux machines OS cost 80%, still make the same profit and at the same time be able to offer a lower price on Linux machines. The only person you'd be cutting off here is Microsoft. For you and the consumer it is win win.

2. User support is costly.

False. You could direct most users to open source forums and outsource telephone support. The open source community will take care of 90% of your support problems. See ubuntuforums.org The support is phenomenal, and it would cost you nothing to use!

3. Hardware support is costly

False. The open source community is committed to providing hardware support given that they are supplied proper technical documents. You could work hand-in-hand with this community, empowering you with possibilities never before possible.

4. Risky business, what if it fails?

As you can see above, costs, when evaluated under efficient spending terms would be minimal. The investment however, could be breakthrough for Dell as a company. 7 Comments »