__/ [ Larry Qualig ] on Thursday 23 February 2006 18:59 \__
>
> 7 wrote:
>> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>
>> > __/ [ B Gruff ] on Thursday 23 February 2006 00:07 \__
>> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/precn_n?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
>> >>
>> >> Well well, Dell:-)
>> >>
>> > Don't get too excited:
>> >
>> >
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/precn_380?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
>> >
>> > Dell think they can pull a fast one: selling Linux for the same price
>> > as
>> > the equivalent offering with a Windows XP licence. Just remove the
>> > "n"
>> > from the model and then search the Web, hitting the first result.
>> > The truth is suddenly unravelled.
>> >
>> > Having said that, it is nice that Dell are making progress. It is no
>> > sur- prise either. Michael Dell gave 100 millions dollars _out of his
>> > own pock- et_ to Red Hat Linux. That was over 6 months ago if I recall
>> > correctly, so
>> > it was bound to happen. The open PC (void hard-drive), on the
>> > contrary,
>> > was /more/ expensive than the equivalent with Windows. So let's call
>> > that *progress*, but avoid unnecessary enthusiasm.
>> >
>> > Roy
>>
>>
>> I agree.
>> So who cares about Dell$ if they sell PCs with GNU/Linux and overcharge?
>> Dell$ nowwhere to be seen when it comes to competitive value for money.
>>
>> There are companies like E-sys that sell supported Linux computers with
>> warranty, software like Open Office etc a lot cheaper than dell$.
>>
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=16488053918&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=89079
>> For 127.64 pounds you get a 2.26GHz PC.
>
>
> For the record... that price from E-sys is an *excellent* price. But:
>
> -> "So who cares about Dell$.... Dell$ nowwhere to be seen when it
> comes to competitive value for money."
>
> The problem is that "E-sys is nowhere to be seen - PERIOD."
>
> I'd be willing to wager that at most, one maybe two other people in
> COLA has even heard of E-sys. I'd also be willing to wager that every
> single person here at COLA has heard of Dell. This is even more true of
> the general population.
>
> So it matters very much what Dell does and what some itty-bitty vendor
> does really doesn't matter. Sorry to say, that's how things simply
> work.
Ouch. Boy, do I disagree on this one!
The University works very closely with Dell. Merely all desktops around here
are being built and shipped by Dell. That's many thousands of them black
boxes all around campus. Hypothetically, step into the IT departments and
ask the folks here about Dell support. See the responses you get. My close
colleague once took careful notes of the times of the day when he called
Dell without getting an answer. He was fed up. He then accumulated this list
of hours and passed it on as a bitter proof of inexistent support for
unreliable hardware.
Now, take myself and eSys, for the sake of comparison. Their computer is
shipped with a Maxtor hard-drive if I recall correctly. Maxtor have
definitely established some good reputation in their sector. Alas, 3 days
after I received my first eSys computer, the hard-drive went tits-up. What
did I do? I phoned the main branch in London, which gave me the number of a
technician. After a while of talking with a guy whose accent was Indian
(maybe the call centre was offshorn, yet I suspect eSys is in Asia anyway),
he agreed that the hard-drive was faulty; and *not* 'out of the box' so! I
just needed to prove this 'on the spot' by going through the BIOS and
describing some symptoms. Soon thereafter (only minutes on the phone), Dabs
sent a courier to collect my box and replaced it with a shiny new one,
without any extra expenses. I only needed to tolerate the absence of a
workstation in my bedroom, at least in that interim.
Dabs caused me a lot of trouble, including delays and patchy support, but
they are totally unrelated to eSys. They were merely the middlemen, of which
they are many that eSys negotiate with.
So there you go. Dell - s**te support, presumingly bad hardware; eSys - full
refund or replacement, immediate response to calls and no need for
arguments. I have two Dells machines, by the way. Hardware has given no
hassle so far, but I must be among the lucky ones.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: There are five regular polyhedra
http://Schestowitz.com | SuSE Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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