I have worked with Dell PCs at work since 1998. In that time, I have always recommended to friends for personal purchases because they were good machines. But that seems to be changing. In my current job, I maintain close to 200 Dells. In the past month, I have had to replace parts on about 9 of those computers. They have all been about 2 years old (and still under warranty). The problems that I have seen inlcude mostly bad hard drives, but there have been a few bad motherboards as well.
This recent increase in bad machines makes me thing that we are having some bad luck or that the Dell quality has gone down. They used to make some really great machines. In fact, I have 2 Dell Precision 410's and 2 Precsion 420's that I still use on a daily basis. Two of those PCs run 24/7 and have been doing that since 2001!
In addition to the apparent decrease in quality, their tech support quality has gone down as well. Not only have they outsourced their phone support, but their website seems more disorganized and slower. The slowness is especially apparent when you searh their forums.
Now, I am hesitant to recommend Dells to my friends and family. Then again, I don't know what other manufacturer I would recommend. All of them seem intent on selling REALLY cheap computers that are nearly a disposable item now.
1.06.2006
Google at CES - Video Store and Software Pack
Well... Google just finished up their big CES keynote speech. As rumored, they did announce their video store and a pack of software. Two different blogs (Engadget and LostRemote) had live coverage of the event that featured Larry Page and Robin Williams. Larry provided the announcements and Robin provided the comedy relief.
Google Pack
I've already download the Google Pack. It includes AdAware, Google Earth, Norton Antivirus, Acrobat Reader, Google Screensaver, Google Desktop, Picasa, Real Player, Google Talk, FireFox in the initial download. If you already have a current version of any of the software, it will skip that part of the download. With the Norton AV download, it will first check to make sure it doesn't conflict with a competing AV package. After it performs the initial download, the software packages are installed silently in the background. The Google Pack Updater will also download any updates that are released for the Pack. In addition to the above software, Trillian, Google Video Player, GalleryPlayer, and Google Talk are made available as optional downloads.
If you look at the list of included apps, Google Pack does not appear to be all that new. However, the advantage of Google Pack is the updater app. It provides a seemless way of downloading, installing, and updating apps. For advanced users, this would be easy to do on their own. For novice PC users, Google Pack will make their lives easier. More information is available on Google's Official Blog and at the Google Pack website.
Google Video Store
During the keynote, several partners were revealed that are releasingt content via Google Video. The two biggies were CBS and the NBA. According to the major media news sites, the pricing scheme will be similar to iTunes-$1.99 for TV shows and $3.95 for NBA games. The quality is expected to be about 640x480 and if the content producer allows it, you can transfer the video to other devices (like the iPod). Oh... The videos will be commercial free.
For me, I still don't like the price of $1.99 for a TV show that I basically already paid for with my current cable subscription. I know... this version is without commercials and is available on demand. I guess I am just spoiled. For the past couple of years, I have been using BitTorrent to download a lot of my TV. If the major studios provide a way to download the shows (with BitTorrent or Google Video), I would be willing to allow them to leave the commercials in. Heck, you would think they would work out a way to insert targeted ads with a Google AdSense type system.
Anyway... That's all I have for now. I'll post more as soon as I have had time to play with Google Pack and the video store (no word on when it goes live).
Google Pack
I've already download the Google Pack. It includes AdAware, Google Earth, Norton Antivirus, Acrobat Reader, Google Screensaver, Google Desktop, Picasa, Real Player, Google Talk, FireFox in the initial download. If you already have a current version of any of the software, it will skip that part of the download. With the Norton AV download, it will first check to make sure it doesn't conflict with a competing AV package. After it performs the initial download, the software packages are installed silently in the background. The Google Pack Updater will also download any updates that are released for the Pack. In addition to the above software, Trillian, Google Video Player, GalleryPlayer, and Google Talk are made available as optional downloads.
If you look at the list of included apps, Google Pack does not appear to be all that new. However, the advantage of Google Pack is the updater app. It provides a seemless way of downloading, installing, and updating apps. For advanced users, this would be easy to do on their own. For novice PC users, Google Pack will make their lives easier. More information is available on Google's Official Blog and at the Google Pack website.
Google Video Store
During the keynote, several partners were revealed that are releasingt content via Google Video. The two biggies were CBS and the NBA. According to the major media news sites, the pricing scheme will be similar to iTunes-$1.99 for TV shows and $3.95 for NBA games. The quality is expected to be about 640x480 and if the content producer allows it, you can transfer the video to other devices (like the iPod). Oh... The videos will be commercial free.
For me, I still don't like the price of $1.99 for a TV show that I basically already paid for with my current cable subscription. I know... this version is without commercials and is available on demand. I guess I am just spoiled. For the past couple of years, I have been using BitTorrent to download a lot of my TV. If the major studios provide a way to download the shows (with BitTorrent or Google Video), I would be willing to allow them to leave the commercials in. Heck, you would think they would work out a way to insert targeted ads with a Google AdSense type system.
Anyway... That's all I have for now. I'll post more as soon as I have had time to play with Google Pack and the video store (no word on when it goes live).
1.05.2006
Google Pack and Other Rumors
The rumor of the day is that Google will be announcing some big stuff at CES tomorrow (January, 2006). The Wall Street Journal published an article that said Google will begin selling videos and make a collection of software available as a download.
Google has always said they will make it possible for content providers to charge for downloads at Google Video. This new announcement will make that a reality as well as include information on partnerships with CBS and the NBA. While ABC has made a couple of shows available via iTunes, it will be interesting to see what shows Google will be able to offer from CBS. Many are also anxious to see the pricing scheme Google will setup. This will likely also be the debut of Google's micro-payment system that could compete with PayPal.
The Google Pack mentioned in the WSJ article came as a surprise to many analyst. The Pack is expected to include Acrobat Reader, an antivirus product (from Symantec), Firefox, Trillian, Google Talk, Ad-Aware, Google Toolbar, Picasa, and a Google Screensaver. Right now, we can only speculate how Google will bundle these apps and if there will be any added value by using the Google Pack instead of the individually downloaded apps.
Stay tuned... CES is looking good this year!
Google has always said they will make it possible for content providers to charge for downloads at Google Video. This new announcement will make that a reality as well as include information on partnerships with CBS and the NBA. While ABC has made a couple of shows available via iTunes, it will be interesting to see what shows Google will be able to offer from CBS. Many are also anxious to see the pricing scheme Google will setup. This will likely also be the debut of Google's micro-payment system that could compete with PayPal.
The Google Pack mentioned in the WSJ article came as a surprise to many analyst. The Pack is expected to include Acrobat Reader, an antivirus product (from Symantec), Firefox, Trillian, Google Talk, Ad-Aware, Google Toolbar, Picasa, and a Google Screensaver. Right now, we can only speculate how Google will bundle these apps and if there will be any added value by using the Google Pack instead of the individually downloaded apps.
Stay tuned... CES is looking good this year!
12.30.2005
PortableApps.com
John Haller, who created the Portable Apps Suite, that is the core of my own Portable Apps Collection, has created a new site called PortableApps.com. The site looks excellent and I highly recommend that you check it out. John has done great work on making apps more sutiable to use on USB flash drives and is continuing to convert more apps. It is because of his initial work on Portable Firefox that got me interested in loading apps on my own flash drive.
12.12.2005
VBScript, gift guide and more...
This past week I posted several new articles in the Wiki. I also update the Portable Apps Collection with new versions of Firefox, Truecrypt, etc. In a related note, John Haller now has a great website up for his Portable Apps Suite. John is the brains behind the portable versions of Firefox, OpenOffice, GAIM, etc. His collection is what got me started thinking about what apps could be run from a flash drive and still makes up the core of my Portable Apps Collection.
I also posted three new articles in the wiki. One is strictly for humor, but the other two are more useful. The humorous article is titled Open Letter to Users and includes some "tips" for end users from a Systems Admin. Take a look at the list and if you want to add a tip, go ahead!
The useful articles are a VBScripting guide and a Holiday Shopping Guide. The VBScripting guide cover some basic VBS stuff and has examples of a logon script, invetory script and more. The shopping guide is unique because anyone can add to this list. If you know of a cool gadget that should be in the guide, just add it.
I also posted three new articles in the wiki. One is strictly for humor, but the other two are more useful. The humorous article is titled Open Letter to Users and includes some "tips" for end users from a Systems Admin. Take a look at the list and if you want to add a tip, go ahead!
The useful articles are a VBScripting guide and a Holiday Shopping Guide. The VBScripting guide cover some basic VBS stuff and has examples of a logon script, invetory script and more. The shopping guide is unique because anyone can add to this list. If you know of a cool gadget that should be in the guide, just add it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
