dontlunch

Dump the trial CDs

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Environment submitted by uklinedancer 04/25/07

Along with the idea of not installing all this trial bloat-ware that we need to uninstall, I suggest Dell stops shipping those CDs for Tiscali, Orange, AOL, whatever (I'm in the UK, YMMV). Drives me nuts - we resell Dell and we discard 100% of these before the customer gets their system.

With all the environmental issues going around, and considering all the positive stuff Dell is doing, causing the dumping of tons of unwanted CDs each year is a big negative.

In fact, I'd almost rather they didn't ship the CDs and left the software on the hard drive. I can charge the customer for cleaning the stuff off, but I realize that most people just don't want any of it. 2 Comments »

All Dell products should be available globally

Dell submitted by hjwasson 04/25/07 **NOT LIKELY**

Consumers should not be restricted on what is available to them based on geographic location!

I've learned that Dell does not offer all models of computers outside of the United States. That seems strange, since Dell is a direct vendor, using web sites and toll-free phone numbers to make sales - and the products for the most part aren't even made in the US! Dell should offer all their products to everyone, regardless of where they live. If Dell wants to charge a little more for the shipping, I'm sure the users would be willing to accept that to have more choice. 12 Comments »

Put the computer in a different room from the monitor/keyboard.

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by jmxz 04/25/07

If there are any cables that'll carry video across a house (and no doubt there are - cable TV is a proof by existence) I'd rather just ran that cable from the garage where I'd have an (ideally rack mountable) computer & dsl modem, etc.

It'd be even better if it didn't need a cable - I'm not sure if any of the powerline networking solutions would do it - the HomePlug alliance has decent industry support (Intel, LG, GE, Linksys, Sharp, etc) - and HomePlug AV talks about sending video through powerlines. http://www.homeplug.org/home< advantages would be:
* I stop caring how loud the fans & disk drives & graphics card are.
* I stop caring how the machine heats up the room.
* I don't need massive power strips for all the plugs.
* I get the space back in this room.

Note that this is different from a thin client - because thin clients are subject to the poor video performance of whatever card they put in the thin client. I still want the massive loud video card - just move it to the garage and stream the video to the monitor on my desk. 4 Comments »

Dell Business Units should communicate better

Sales Strategies submitted by gkings70 04/25/07

Why is the burden of due diligence the customers responsibility? We have to check with Dell.com/tv then with Dell.com then with QVC or HSN then with dell.com/higher ed then dell.com small business then dell.com /government. THey all offer different pricing schemes... or sales or freebies but how do we know we are getting the best deal unless we check with all of them... Isn't Higher Ed always suppose to get the best pricing? What can you do to help the customer get the most for their money? Comment »

Use Ship Method Customer Pays For

Service and Support submitted by rockettech 04/25/07

There seems to be a new trend in buying online products- Tiered shipping options with tiered pricing but the same shipping method (UPS Ground). I've been the victim of this little trick from more than one vendor, more than once. Why try to bilk a few more dollars out of customers by decieving them? If you offer expedited shipping, send it via an expedited method- don't ship via a method that should get it there in time. I hate paying a premium price and it still gets sent UPS Ground! Does this bug anyone else? Comment »

hard drives

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by blackeagle 04/25/07

make a hard drive that can easily be poped out so that u could interchange more then one hard drive, have one for music, one for work, and one for school. 10 Comments »

Dell should give back to the community, by offering computer programming, and repair classes in our public schools.

Education submitted by jakerivers 04/25/07

Dell should give back to the community, by offering computer programming, and repair classes in our public schools. I believe if each of our major U.S. Corporations setup up classes related to their line of work in our public schools we could turn our Country around. Dell could start offering these classes in grade school, sort of hands on, and these children could then take classes offered by Dell in Jr. High, High school, and then college. I have worked at a few companies in San Jose that had internships and summer jobs for high school students. In some cases some of the top paid employees where still in high school.
Jake 3 Comments »

Support

Service and Support submitted by iceman54 04/25/07

Eliminate offshore support. Comment »

Air Purifier / Filter for the Dell desktop PC

Desktops, Environment submitted by kyliemanders 04/06/07

Most people leave their desktops on 24/7. Since we already have a cooling fan in place why not give us a removable cleanable air filter.
This would keep the inside of our Dell PCs free from unsightly dust as well as purify the air we breath.
You can make additional profits selling replacement filters. These could be scented or offer health benefits such as reducing allergens. These would be applicable for both Vista and Linux PCs. 16 Comments »

"switch it off" power switch

Desktops submitted by sunpat 04/26/07

I'd like to be able to turn off my base unit so it draws no power from the mains after I have shut it down.

At the minute it has a small red light & the mother board is still powered, hardly good for the environment is it?

A switch on the back would be fine. 4 Comments »

Support: Do away with destructive methods

Service and Support submitted by steve2 04/26/07

Especially the often mentioned formatting in order to bring the computer back to factory state, just in order to see, if some defect persists there. In the linux world, where Dell will hopefully soon arrive, bringing the computer into a known factory state is done without touching the harddisk by booting the operating system on the first installer cd ( that one is called the "rescue" system, some more modern distros have a "live" system instead, that is more complete and starts up by default). If the error shows up in that system, the hardware is defect. Comment »

Provide a way to associate similar ideas/posts

IdeaStorm submitted by hjwasson 04/26/07

There should be a way to associate many similar posts together. If you page through IdeaStorm, you will find clouds of posts regarding "Please don't kill the Axim," "Fix the search feature," etc.

1. IdeaStorm members should be able to click on "This post seems similar to another post."

2. They can then paste the URL of the similar post(s) and click Okay.

3. There should be an "I agree/disagree" voting function for each URL, similar to the current promote/demote. This would appear on all of the potentially similar posts.

4. Once the agree value reaches a set threshold (say 100 points), the posts become associated.

5. Associated posts get a sub-heading stating "This post is associated with x, y, z" and there should be an aggregate value of all the points earned by the associated posts.**

**This is the heart of the matter - if there was an easy way for Dell (& all of us) to see just how popular a general topic of discussion was, I think you'd be able to spot huge trends that might otherwise get buried because no one individual post got enough posts to rise to the top of the discussion lists. 10 Comments »

IdeaStorm should check to see if your post is similar to existing posts

IdeaStorm submitted by hjwasson 04/26/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**

One of the greatest failings with IdeaStorm's otherwise wonderful concept is that many similar posts are created - and although they all get votes, no one post gets enough votes to rise to Dell's attention.

When you submit a post, I would like to see IdeaStorm search for similar posts, and if it finds any, prompt you:

Your post seems similar to this/these post(s):

1. Yes, it is. Please make my post a comment to the existing post instead (& I will vote on that post).

2. No, they are different - but related. Please associate my post to the existing post.

3. No, my post is not related - continue posting.

#2 is related to my suggestion to be able to be able to associate similar posts:

http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/66450/Provide_a_way_to_associate_simila...

For all of this to work, Dell would have to vastly improve it's search ability within IdeaStorm (perhaps collaborate with Google?)! Use Google's advanced search features, with www.ideastorm.com as the domain to search, if you want to see for yourself the differences in how well the search features function.



Duplicate ideas suggestion feature has been added.

41 Comments »

Option to exclude gray/voted articles from lists.

IdeaStorm submitted by arclight 02/26/07

An option to exclude articles that a user already voted on when bringing up a list in IdeaStorm. For example- to be able to bring up "popular ideas" list without any 'grey' vote articles appearing. 39 Comments »

Better Windows Vista Drivers for existing hardware

Operating Systems submitted by hoopsomuah 04/26/07

Despite what people who hate Microsoft say Windows Vista is actually a pretty good operating system. There are several improvements that are offered over Windows XP.

Unfortunately having bad drivers for it can result in a very bad user experience. Slow Startup and Shutdown are often attributed to bad drivers. Bad Network drivers can really ruin the wireless networking experience.

Having better drivers would really improve the Vista customer experience. Please don't solve the driver problem by releasing new hardware that is works great with Vista. fixing drivers for existing users is a great way to reward loyal customers. 1 Comment »

More education about Vista

Operating Systems submitted by hoopsomuah 04/26/07

I don't think I've seen an opinion on Vista anywhere from Dell. How well does Vista perform on the machine I'm thinking of buying? Can I trust the Vista Experience Index score? I expect Dell to be an advocate for the customer here.

It's nice that Dell is listening to the voice of the customer and bringing back XP but I don't believe that Vista is snake oil. I believe that there are advantages to getting Vista with a new PC (assuming the right drivers are available). I'd like to learn more about those advantages form the Dell perspective.

I'm editing this to address some comments:
I realise that Vista is not for everyone. Windows is not for everyone (although Microsoft would like it to be) and that's why I think Dell should provide alternatives like Linux.

However for those of us that actually want some of the features in Vista, It seems like it's in Dell's best interest to help me find the right Machine. If they don't I'll end up returning the machine and while that costs me a bit, it also costs Dell quite a bit. So don't let me buy a machine with Vista if Vista won't run well on the machine. Also, If there is hardware in a machine that I can only take full advantage of by running Vista, please let me know that. (Of course if you lie about that the court of public opinion will find you out eventualy and I think I'd have a pretty decent legal case)

Knowledge is good even when coming from a source that you don't trust it's more information that you didn't have before. 6 Comments »

Get All My Drivers

Software submitted by hoopsomuah 04/26/07

I would really like software that profiled my XP or Vista system for My Service Tag and my Device IDs. This application coudle then download all my drivers for me.

Today I can go to the Dell Support site and either give it my Service Tag or have it detect it. After that I have to figure out which dirvers to download. I would prefer to have the correct list given to me based on a probe of my machines hardware configuration. 4 Comments »

Built in mic and speacker for notebook

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Inspiron products submitted by gt_ng 04/26/07

It would be a good idea for Dell notebooks (especially Inspiron) to come up with built-in mic and speakers, at least for ease of use for audio conferenece elsewhere, rather to bring along headsets and mic. 3 Comments »

Makes the prices consistent

Sales Strategies submitted by painterhenry 04/26/07

1) sometimes when I use the system configurator to upgrade the spec of a certain lower end system, the resulting price would be less than the cost of a higher end Dell preconfigured system of exactly the same spec! Similarly, sometimes when I use the system configurator to downgrade the spec of a higher end system, the resulting price would be less than the cost of a Dell preconfigured lower end system of the same spec! Please eliminate this kind of inconsistency.

2) Another price inconsistency happens when you do upgrades with the system configurator. For example, for a given Dell preconfigured system, if one wants to upgrade the basic 20" mon to a 27" one, the price of the monitor (figured as the price when you buy it stand-alone from Dell ) plus the upgrade cost *exceeds* that of the price of a 27" if you buy it as stand-alone! This again is silly as it discourages upgrading as if to punish someone who wants to upgrades.

So, what one usually does is to take the basic 20" mon and then order another 27" and then sell the 20" away. I think this is not what Dell wants to see.

3) Final price inconsistency is a Dell component sometimes costs more than the retail price of the same component. For example, one can buy a 8800GTX card (eg Asus) cheaper than the *upgrade* cost (upgrading from a 7900GS to 8800GTX via system configurator)!
So, what one usually does is to get the basic 7900GS and then go out and buy an Asus 8800GTX and then open the case and switch them. This is something Dell does not want to see too. 5 Comments »

Dell Tablet PC

Laptops submitted by gautam 02/16/07 **IMPLEMENTED**

The XPS and E series notebooks are great, but a move into making 12.1 and 14.1 inch tablet PC convertible notebooks would be fantastic. I can easily see the m1210 and the e1405 being ported to the tablet medium.
Check out what Glenn from the tablet team has to say about the Latitude XT.




194 Comments »