More Frequent Driver Updates
Service and Support submitted by xiphi
08/11/07
Dell seems to be slow at releasing drivers. ATI has released many updates to their video drivers since May, while Dell has yet to release anything since then. Dell's driver support should be synchronized with ATI, NVidia, Intel, etc...
Dell has yet to also release fixes to their current drivers. For instance, on the Inspiron E1505 with Windows Vista, the Sigmatel audio driver lags at the beginning and end of every song. The only workaround is to disable the audio enhancements. This should not be acceptable.
Dell please release fixes/updates more frequently. Don't leave your customers hanging with no fix in sight.
690
Ability to delete your own comments please!
IdeaStorm submitted by arclight
02/27/07
Please have a delete comment feature on IdeaStorm. The merges have created comments in unwanted places. In addition, people somtimes change their ideas with the edit button making comments un-needed or no longer relevant.
Blanking and changing the comment does not solve the issue- it leaves new comments appearing in "Latest community activity on items [user] is involved in ".
If no delete ability is going to be added, perhaps have a way to get out of unwanted articles appearing in "Latest community activity on items [user] is involved in ".
510
No monitor
Monitors and Displays submitted by kushboy
02/19/07
One of the only reasons I won't even consider purchasing a computer from Dell is that I was told I could not purchase a system without also purchasing a monitor as well. I don't need a monitor, so don't make me buy one, and I won't.
1360
Support your hardware, whether or not it came with Ubuntu pre-installed
Service and Support submitted by jon_anderson_ca
08/13/07
I just got off the phone with technical support. The tech told me that, even though I'm grappling with a hardware problem, he would only support me if I'm running Windows XP. Actually, he *would* support me if the computer came with Ubuntu pre-installed (and if that were an option a year ago, I would have went that way), but since it didn't, he refused to support me.
I can understand not training people to support tons of Linux distributions, but this is not a software issue... it is a Hardware Problem. What OS I run is irrelevant.
Here's a rough transcript of the end of our conversation:
[ after 10-15 minutes ]
Tech: I need you to check your Battery Properties.
Me: The design capacity is 7800mAh, the last full charge was 1400mAh, [etc.]
Tech: How do you know that?
Me: I use Linux. [ note: I'm running Ubuntu, which Dell sells on laptops now ]
[ long pause ]
Tech: We only support Windows.
Me: This is a hardware issue, not an OS one.
Tech: I agree, sir, it's a hardware problem, but I can't support you unless you run Windows, or unless we shipped the laptop with Linux on it.
Me: Okay... but you can see the problem as soon as the machine turns on, *before* the OS boots! It's a problem with the battery's control circuitry!
Tech: I'm sorry, sir, but we are trained on Windows, and won't support you unless you are running Windows, or unless Dell supplied you with Linux.
Me: Thank you for your time, goodbye.
790
Easy access to fans for cleaning on laptops
Laptops submitted by celticgibson
04/22/07
As we all know, the inspiron laptops get hot once dust builds up on the CPU/GPU grills and it's impossible to clean them without having to resort to taking the latop apart. It would be awesome if you could put blank plates on the bottom of the laptop, where the fans take in air, to allow for easy access for removal of fans and hence the cleaning of the grills. This would save many a problem with overheating hardware and endless tech support problems.
2340
Make Dell Ubuntu PCs available to businesses and non-profits
Linux, Sales Strategies, Small Business submitted by wyleyr
06/20/07 **UNDER REVIEW**
Dell is apparently not yet willing to sell Ubuntu-based PCs to business users, non-profits, or other organizations larger than a "home office." See this Ubuntu forum thread for more:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=478975
If Dell is serious about offering "choice" to consumers -- the main reason that they're offering up Ubuntu -- they ought to offer it to all their customers, including commercial and non-profit organizations.
Perhaps the greatest barrier here is that these other customers often require different support contracts than home users. It wouldn't be necessary to offer the same support options to organizations that purchase Ubuntu PCs as are offered to home users, or to organizations that purchase Windows PCs. (Perhaps Dell doesn't need to offer any support at all, except for hardware; as long as Canonical can support these organizations.) But they ought to at least have the option of buying the boxes, even if they have to get support in a different way.
7460
Child-Friendly environment to protect parent's files.
Software submitted by lizblake
06/04/07 **REVIEWED**
After my child and his friend erased our family photos and somehow inverted the display of our family computer... I purchased a software program to give the kids the equivalent of a "gilded cage" to run only software and websites I approve. Similar software would make a great addition to the Dell home computer line-up and could be aimed at families with toddlers, daycare centers, churches, daycare centers, kindergartens, etc.
The software I purchased was called Peanut Butter PC [content removed by moderator] If you don't wish to develop your own, maybe you could license Peanut Butter PC... We absolutely love it.
Liz Blake
We constantly evaluate products that can improve data safety, Internet Safety and access controls. Read jeremy_f's post for more details, and stay tuned for additional enhancements.
3740
http://www.dell.com/open shouldn't steer people towards Windows
Dell Web Site, Linux submitted by limulus
08/02/07
If I want to look at the open source offerings on Dell's site, there's a nice short URL that redirects to the appropriate page: http://www.dell.com/open
However, some of the wording on the page sounds like it was written to DISCOURAGE people from buying those systems and steer them towards Windows; an excerpt:
---
Not sure Open Source is for You?
The main thing to note is that when you choose open source you don’t get a Windows® operating system. If you’re here by mistake and you are looking for a Dell PC with Windows, please use the following link.
Shop Dell PCs with Windows
---
To make the page better:
* remove the "Not sure Open Source is for You?" and "Already an Open Source fan?" sections or change them to something like this:
---
New to Open Source?
A very important thing for people familiar with Microsoft Windows® but new to open source to note before buying is that it is an alternative to Windows®, not a cheap version of Windows®. Programs specifically designed to run on Windows® will NOT run by default on Dell's open source systems. If you want to run programs such as "Microsoft Office® 2007", "Adobe Photoshop® CS3", "iTunes® 7.3" and "The Sims® 2" you're in the wrong place! (Dell's Windows® systems may be found here.)
If you already knew that or are ok with it, please continue shopping below...
---
* if its to be kept, move the "You asked, we listened." part down into the Ubuntu description, but get rid of the "advanced users and tech enthusiasts" mention; installing an OS (regardless of the OS) is usually the most difficult step (and one not done by 'average users') but Dell has done all the hard work (most notably by selecting compatible hardware) and after that Ubuntu is really not that hard to use :)
* in the "What Is Open Source?" section, the following sentence needs work: "A downside is that some open source software requires intermediate or advanced knowledge to use, and in the case of operating systems, may not be compatible with the same software applications and hardware as Windows operating systems."
What is the reference for "advanced knowledge to use"? Are we talking about the command line? Ubuntu can be used without ever seeing it. Perhaps consider striking that. The real meat of the issue, of course, is that Windows embraces proprietary things and its an uphill battle to try to support them in an open OS. Perhaps use the following:
"A downside is that consumer software applications and hardware choices which are compatible with the proprietary Windows operating system may not work in an open source environment or may require significant tweaking to make them work."
(for software, the tweaking is a reference to Wine... for the hardware, we can hope for support in future Ubuntu versions ;)
2310
All possible options should be available via the website
Dell Web Site submitted by steve0073
07/27/07
On the Dell website, many options are not available. But they are available when ordering by phone. For example, the Inspiron 1720 can't be configured with an 7200rpm harddrive, but it can be ordered with such harddrives by phone (yes, I asked).
Now, this is what I don't get:
Every person who wasn't asleep during the last 20 years can tell you that taking orders by phone is much, much more expensive for a company than taking orders via a website. Orders by phone take time, use up expensive human resources. You maybe need to hire more people for this, and the already hired ones are stressed out and don't have the time for real special cases where they would be really needed. And they maybe even forget to call you back because they're just too busy (yes, happened to me twice now).
That adds up to more costs and bad customer service.
If you would allow configuring everything on the website, you would have a lot less people calling your customer service.
So please Dell, provide all the possible options directly on the website so we can order what we want/need much easier and with less stress, and less cost for you.
2010
Better selection of Linux notebooks
Linux submitted by kasoroth
08/07/07
An Ubuntu notebook with higher specs would be nice. At a minimum, I'd want a decent monitor option (1920x1200 resolution), a decent NVIDIA video card option, and gigabit ethernet. I'd also prefer an AMD processor, and a price point about $50 less than an equivalent Windows system.
2340
DVI or HDMI out on all laptops models?
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptops submitted by tommarnk
07/06/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**
this would be a big jump, if dell add "DVI out" on all dell laptops, so people can connect to there LCD Displays or LCD HDTVs natively
the picture quality will be grealy improved
this should be easy to do as most of new chipsets has dvi out
not many laptop manufacturers add "dvi out" to there lower end products, so it might be a wise move to do so
all LCD monitors and lcd hdtvs has dvi or hdmi in so it might work well
and meybe remove the old VGA out and put a singel DVI-I, it can be used as analog (VGA) to, by using VGA-to-DVI-I adapter like tose used on
standard computer graphic cards for years now
many people like me connect monitor via dvi or hdmi to get the best picture and color quality
The offerings for the XPS M1730: Dual-link DVI-I (support for 30-inch displays) and HDMI via DVI adapter. Check out all the specs for the new systems.
3850
Make memory upgrades EASIER, not more difficult
Sales Strategies, Simplify IT, Laptops submitted by nicopoon
08/19/07
I've always been able to upgrade memory myself on notebooks and laptops, but am concerned to see that Dell has made it so much harder to upgrade memory on new notebooks. You apparently now have to take the notebook apart by removing the keyboard to access memory slots. Why make it so hard for your customers, Mr Dell? All I can see is a lot of unneeded support calls and parts failures as a result of this change.
Besides, I am stunned to see memory prices on the online configurators. 4GB of notebook memory for $400+, while anyone can get the same quality memory under $150 in retail?
Please: either make memory price competitive, and I'll buy the 4GB upfront, or make it easy to upgrade it... before users break their notebook in the process.
1160
Don't make it difficult for people to find Ubuntu machines
Dell Web Site, Linux submitted by xivulon
08/09/07
Ubuntu is now shipped to Europe, but it is hidden away and not that obvious to find. If you did not follow the news, you would probably have missed it completely. What link do people usually follow when buying a laptop at dell.co.uk? They follow the most preminent links:
Notebooks > Home > Home Essential Notebooks
This is where they usually end up to: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/notebooks_good?c=uk&...
The inspiron 6400 does come with Ubuntu, but do you see a "Select with ubuntu" button anywhere? I don't think so. If you want a Ubuntu machine you have to get there via a completely different route, by selecting the OS first (on the less visible left column) and then the machine... You can do that for XP too, but with XP you can also select the machine first and then the OS. Why is it not the same with Ubuntu? Moreover, if you click on the laptop image, it will automatically select Vista (thus giving it far more preminence).
So, I am glad Dell started shipping Ubuntu, but to me it looks like they only want to make informed geeks happy, while hiding the option to average joe. If Dell was really serious they should have Ubuntu listed in the customization section of each and every supported machine.
Customize your Operating System:
* Ubuntu Linux [subtract £30]
* Genuine Windows XP [Included in price]
* Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic - English [Included in Price]
* Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium - English [add £23.50]
* Genuine Windows Vista™ Ultimate (32Bit) - English [add £117.50]
There is already a conflict-resolution message, so you could easily signal incompatible OS/hardware choices. The above is what I call "choice", anything else is muddling the water.
3240
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.
21520
Ubuntu on 12.1 or 13.3 inch laptops
Linux, Laptops submitted by miceagol
05/31/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**
Preload Ubuntu on your 12.1 (XPS M1210) or 13.3 inch (XPS M1330) laptops. As it is now, there's only one choice for a laptop, and that choice is not a light laptop. The 12.1 inch and 13.3 inch laptops are much better to carry around than heavy 15 inch++ laptops.
Check out the Idea in Action update.
10280
 track my votes
|
|
