gimeit

Don't cave in to the RIAA

Service and Support submitted by jcm337 May 20

Here is an abbreviated version of what I will be sending to my regular blogs and podcasts (edited to fit their formats and typical areas of discussion) regarding the burdensom nature of what happens when a company like Dell listens to groups like the RIAA over its own customers. I would like to mention up front that overall I am very happy with my Dell experience so far, but may not stick with them if I see this sort of thing happen regularly.

" I used to rip streams (legally from NPR for class projects with proper citation) on my old XP machine and recently needed to do something similar on my new Dell laptop. My laptop didn't seem to have a stereo mix feature, but I knew the hardware supported it so I read through several forums where people (mainly musicians) needed that feature. After searching around, it seems that Dell had distributed drivers that intentionally disabled this feature. There was alot of talk online about how this was under pressure from the record industry to close the loophole allowing stream ripping of Internet music. I'm not sure about the truth of this, but it seems plausible considering the hardware still has this capability and it was once a very common and useful feature. Fortunately, armed with knowledge of the issue from the forums, I was able to get a support person from Dell to work with me to fix it (sort of). Apparently enough people had complained about the lack of a stereo mixer function that they released a set of drivers for an older computer that enabled this feature and I was able to apply it to my sound card by running it in compatibility mode. But wouldn't it be nice if they simply hadn't disabled the features in the first pace?

p.s. An hour and twenty minutes on the phone with tech support usually leaves me pretty unhappy, but those Dell XPS support people really know their stuff and I ended the phone call feeling pretty good about the whole thing."


In short, Dell really shouldn't lock out functionality and force it's own customers to spend hours working out rediculous hacks to appease corporate groups seeking to protect their own pocketbooks. It perpetuates a culture of ownership that is far and above what is expected in a typical capitalistic society of which I am a proud member. To criple hardware at the driver level, removing useful and legitimate features despite customer protest is unconscionable. 1 Comment »

Drivers Update

Dell Web Site submitted by sanjeev 02/17/07

I think it would be nice, if dell could provide the updated driver automatically. Like i have inpiron/e1505 and i went from Windows Media Center to Windows Vista Business. For couple of weeks i wasn't able to use my wireless because for some reasons my driver was not supported, but later i found the driver. So, it would be nice if dell could provide automatic driver download so that user don't have to spend much time where to go and download the drivers. 2 Comments »

switch to LED monitors

Monitors and Displays, Laptop Power submitted by yardsale Jan 16

I dont know why dell hasnt done this yet. switch all monitors on desktops and notebooks to LED. did you know that you can run an LED screen at full brightniess and it uses less power than a LCD monitor at the lowest brighting level?!? its cheaper, its energy efficent, and it needs to be done! promote this, if you demote i wanna know why! 62 Comments »

Offer Vostro to Home Consumers or optionally rebrand a Vostro an Inspiron.

Sales Strategies, Vostro products submitted by benjesuit 07/10/07

I mean, look at this:



What a wonderful colour scheme.

And it's merely a rebranded Inspiron. So why can't Home & Home office consumers obtain one if they choose? It should be an option. Some are turned off by the Inspirons silver colour scheme and would prefer the graphite grey/black look of the Vostro. 25 Comments »

Dell: Dude! You're getting Dell Instant On OS!

Operating Systems submitted by jorge 11/06/07

This is the next step Dell, get on the bandwagon now!

Elaboration: Dell use or create your own Instant-On-OS, much like or just like Phoenix Technology's HyperSpace or SplashTop! You can make the decision but get one of those on board now!

More Elaboration: its for any OS so no matter which fence you sit on you'll get faster boot times! How can you beat that!

End Elaboration----Instant On OS

This is not only the fastest to boot OS but will also make you green, environmentally and financially! On top of that you can also include the bloated Microsoft OS on a hard drive (soon to be phased out, the hard drive that is, before you MS fans get tweeked).

So add this to all your motherboards as an option when configuring a system to order, also leave the hooks in there so anyone who's shortsighted now can still add it later, at a cost of course.



More stuff! Make the Instant OS to allow writing to a hard drive, usb flash memory or usb/firewire attached drive! Also, with the ability to update it and customize it to the users apps. Without these two add-ons its just a waste of resources. So this idea will only apply if its allows for writing to media (all) and being able to update it. 37 Comments »

Licenced DVD playback on Linux like IBM & Toshiba & Lenovo computers have

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Dell, Linux submitted by jmxz 03/29/07

DVD playback involves some licensing issues that windows software providers usually deal with for the customers. These involve licenses for DVD playback related IP from MPEG-LA, Dolby, The DVD Consortium, and DTS.

CyberLink and Intervideo, the two leading software vendors for Windows DVD codecs also have Linux codecs as well:

IBM's T22 ThinkPads used LinDVD (from the makers of WinDVD):

These links have more on LinDVD from InterVideo, and Linux DVD from Cyberlink

Intervideo's InstantOn which powers Toshiba and Lenovo notebooks are also powered by LinDVD.

Could Dell work with one of these vendors (you already work with them on the Windows side) - or perhaps directly with the DVD IP consortiums - to ensure we have legally licensed DVD playback for Linux machines as well?

[edit - fixed some links because InterVideo's web page got incorporated into Corel's when they got bought] Comment »

Work with GRUB developers to make Media Direct work with GRUB

Linux, Laptops submitted by maccam94 04/30/07

Right now if a notebook user installs a standard Linux dual-boot with the GRand Unfied Bootloader (GRUB), Media Direct stops working. Please release a list of GRUB options, make a fix, or work with GRUB developers to make a patch so Media Direct works.

Also, when Dell starts offering Linux on laptops, I'm assuming you are going to go with current designs that have the Media Direct button. I'm fairly certain that Media Direct is a stripped down version of Windows NT, so maybe you could either put together a lightweight Linux setup that provides the same capabilities as Media Direct does now. 2 Comments »

Setting to Disable Media Direct in BIOS

XPS products submitted by steve.bogdanski 09/28/07

Allow users to change/disable the functionality of the Media Direct button on Dell XPS systems. Not only do many busness environments not have any use for this feature. It has now become common place to hear the horror stories of those who have reformatted their harddrives and then have that button accidentally pushed while the computer is off. This immediately thrashes the partition table making the complete system useless until it is rebuilt from scratch.

All I'm asking for is the ability for the Media Direct button to be disabled when the system is not powered on. 20 Comments »

Make Media direct optional

Software submitted by chaitanyak Jan 15

Ok first i have to say this, Media direct is a good idea for some people.

that said, i'm not one of them. people like me like to tweak our systems to no end.

unfortunately messing with media direct(which needs a 2gb partition) can really mess up your os.
i wanted to dual boot my inspiron 1520 with ubuntu and vista. so i went and created a couple of new partitions, that i could use for ubuntu. the moment i restarted, i had the vista loading bar show up...then a quick blue screen...and then it wnet to the recovery screen, where non of the system recovery options worked.

After chatting with dell tech support, i found out that its the fault of "media direct" which can only work with the number of partitions, that your system gets when it leaves the factory.

in a nutshell, if you mess around with anything part of your system that media direct needs, you well crash your system.

if you uninstal media direct, the button on the hardware will still corrupt your os everytime you press it. :(

ps. if anyone has found a way to safely dual boot their machines, please let me know. ive done it loads of times on other machines, this is the first time, ive had a problem. 3 Comments »

No DRM

Software submitted by fgarpe 02/26/07

Don't put DRM hardware or software in any

http://defectivebydesign.org/
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesti%C3%B3n_de_derechos_digitales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Rights_Management 8 Comments »

More video card choices

Dimension products, Gaming submitted by stretch4x4 04/30/07

I would like to see dell offer a wider range of graphics cards, especially on its lower end desktops. The C521, E520 and E521 can all be customised to descent specifications except for the graphics card, instead you have to move up to the 9200 just to get a better graphics card but this bumps the whole price up by at least a $1000. If the lower models also came with the option of an nvidia 8800gts or even a nvidia 7900 these could be really good machines without stretching the budget too far. Comment »

Show all the IdeaStorm ideas in one page for easier skimming.

IdeaStorm submitted by jmxz 05/10/07

I find a single page showing everything much easier to skim than having to go from page to page.
Here's a (hopefully working) example of how it might look.



It would also encourage people to have more meaningful titles.
And it makes it less bad that "search" is unusable because the browser's search feature can search within a single page.

Done right, this feature would show your votes too so you can see what you already voted on. 9 Comments »

Better looking cases

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Desktops and Laptops submitted by pringles 05/10/07

I think Dell should offer more variety for their case designs.

The XPS cases are quite an improvement over the standard case design. Yet there still isn't much choice. Dell now owns Alienware, they should take their lead. Be able to change the color of the case, add fans, add LEDs, stuff like that. Also have cases that have transparent sides to see the hardware.

Make Dell look good. 2 Comments »

Actually promote Desktop Linux

Advertising and Marketing, Desktops, Linux submitted by mrvertigo 05/10/07

Dell offered desktop Linux once but seemingly did not market it as much as it could have, the company did not make money on a Linux desktop and decided to stop offering it, this is one reason that dell needs to effectively market its newest offertings
as a desktop alternative!!!

Without a REAL attempt to market this it will die like attempts by so many others, Dell has the resources to market this!

Lets get desktop lnux out there guys! 4 Comments »

No Extra Software Option

Software submitted by ootleman 02/16/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**

Would love the ability to have a clean Vista install. No AOL software, no earthlink software, no google software - just a clean, original OS.


Check out jeremy_f's update on our current software options.


591 Comments »

Student Discounts!

Education, Sales Strategies submitted by cnmopt 02/18/07 **ALREADY OFFERED**

Similar to Apple, Dell should offer students a special discount on Dell Products. The Apple market share is currently growing in the education sector and offering [college] students a discount would be useful to counter Apple's strategy. 42 Comments »

Become the open source OEM

Linux, Desktops and Laptops submitted by ntaylor0909 02/17/07 **REVIEWED**

I read the same question on Linux forums, all the time: What is the best brand of computer/laptop to purchase for Linux. I know that there is the n series of computers and notebooks, but it could go a step further. Accept the recent offer of free Linux driver development from the Linux Kernel Community so that DELLs "just work" with Linux. Maybe look at some ideas like LinuxBIOS and/or OpenBIOS. Become the OEM that everyone recommends. There is a growing market for Open Source friendly computers and DELL could own that market.


In the past year, we've made a lot of progress on getting Linux to work well on all of our products. Our goal is to become the hardware vendor of choice for Linux users. Click here to learn more from john_h.





45 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 »

Provide Linux Drivers for all your Hardware

Linux submitted by gergnz 02/19/07 **IN PROGRESS**

I don't care whether the OS is pre-installed or not, I want all the hardware to be totally supported in the Linux kernel without in mucking around. I currently have a Dell M1210 and I wish the modem would work, just in case I need it. The web cam would work, just in case I need it. At least the Intel wireless card is totally supported. Thanks Intel!!
Drivers are available for Linux to make some but not all hardware work. We continue to work with our partners to provide for better hardware support. See more specifics from john_h.




186 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.





1193 Comments »