My new Dell

I'm not convinced that assumption is valid.

Based on the fact that the original poster said:

" printed in a foreign language"

Printed to me, means printed as in, on paper, rather than "displayed" as
in, what would appear on a computer display.

 

Well, OP, which is it?

Notan

 

I generally avoid them (whiners) myself, but if you are going to flame, I
wish they would at least be honest about their experience.

 

This is my first foray into this group and I have to comment on this
thread. I bought a new Dell system (xp) in April and upgraded
several items at that time. No one mentioned to me that 256 mg of ram
isn't enough to get any kind of satisfactory output from this machine,
that I should have been told I needed 512 mg......

The programs Dell has put on this machine are a pain. For example,
I will never buy McAfee. They drive me crazy taking over the machine
much too often when I first log on "updating," without my input on
whether it's a good time or not. At the same time, they've missed
some emails containing a virus that Norton found through Earthlink
and removed. AOL is there. I haven't used it and even tried to
cancel but was told to wait until a few days before my "free trial
period" was up. Microsoft's Outlook Express is there. I've had
Forte' Agent for years and consider it the sweetest little software
program for email and newsgroups available, bar none. Even though I
have designated Agent as my default mail/newsgroup....the system
doesn't always accept that, telling me periodically that my default
mail system isn't set up properly.....No question Dell and Microsoft
are in bed together..... I'm just about ready to tell Microsoft's
Internet Explorer sayonara and go back to Netscape (although, didn't I
hear that Microsoft bought them out too?) There are some programs on
the machine I haven't even looked at yet.

Be forewarned that when you buy Dell, in addition to Windows you
become a captive audience to most of Microsoft's other programs, which
they will all unceasingly bug you to buy when their trial period is
up. I'm somewhat amazed by this as I thought this was the problem
raised in the government's lawsuit against Microsoft. This is my
fourth computer, my first factory Dell, although I did have a Dell
clone that was built for me, and I never had any complaints with my
previous three.

In addition to Dell having a support center in India, I have to deal
with Earthlink (not for much longer, I think) which also has their
support centers in other countries. I have to wonder if Earthlink
purposefully keeps cutting off my connection to the net whether I'm on
the web or in my email program in an effort to upgrade my account from
standard dial-up or they just don't have anyone locally (i.e., in the
U.S.) working on local problems. I think when I try to connect and am
told "unable to connect with the remote computer," they aren't kidding
about the "remote" part. Boy do I miss the good old days.


Incidentally, Irene, you've written some good responses, but I've
gotta ask: you don't seriously think Michael Dell personally reads
emails from his customers, do you?

The consumer complaint group * www.planetfeedback.com is what I
consider the best way to go. Complaints can be sent there and they
will post the problem and also forward a copy to the company in
question. Actually, it's a good place to go when researching items
you wish to purchase.

*this url will take you to Intelliseek....there, on the right hand
side you will see where to click if you are a consumer.

 

If you want to know how much RAM to buy, do some research.

You could have chosen Norton AntiVirus.

You could have requested that no ISP software be installed.

Outlook Express is part of the Windows operating system.

In other words, you are a troll with nothing of value to contribute to this
group.

Rocky

 

I do believe the folks (such as myself) that do business with a
company like Dell, do for the reason that they sell complete units and
we don't pretend to be computer hardware and software experts.

Oh really? I didn't even know the machine would come with antivirus
loaded...had I known that, I would have requested Norton, although
who's to say they give one their pick?

This is the first complete unit I've bought....all other times I've
had PC clones built for me with items I requested be installed. Dell
doesn't tell you about the garbage.

Than this is new. I've had Windows 95 and Windows 98 prior to this
latest machine....never had Outlook Express been included.

I don't think you know what you're talking about Rocky. Now who's the
troll? Why don't you get a life?

and which company do you work for, Rocky? Dell? Microsoft?

 

Lol...your post speaks for itself.

Rocky

 

more squirrel droppings by a stupid squirrel. you're the biggest troll in
this ng. can't you go find a tire to run under?

 

Sadly, as does yours.

 

I do believe the folks (such as myself) that do business with a

Windows XP will run OK with 256 megs but 512 is better. Dell's computer is
complete but you need to have some minimum knowledge of what your computer
will be used for and theeven hardware and software requirements. You don't
need to be an expert. Freedom to customize requires knowledge to make
choices. There is no one size to fit all. Home use computers can run from
about $500.00 to $3,000.00 Obviously, there's a great deal of difference in
what you can get.

I object to Dells maketing $350 computers with 128 mgs of ram shared with
video. There was an ad in today's Wall St. Jrl. This may be good marketing
but is misleading. As in everything else, knowledge is power and the
ignorant get burned.

Just go to Dell's web site. The choices are clearly described. You could
have asked a computer knowledgable friend for help or even posted your
question in this group before your bought.

This is the advantge of going to a local store and receiving advise and
personal service. You pay a little more, but in your case, it would have
been beneficial. Dell's web site DOES tell you everything being installed,
but you have to read and understand what they are saying. You don't seem
interested in learning even the basics of computers. Just a suggestion, you
might look into a Mac for your next computer.

You can use other email and news reader programs but you would also need to
learn how to install them.

I think Rocky was a little hard on you. You're not a Troll (a newsgroup
trouble starter).

 

Netscape was bought by AOL.

What you want to try is Mozilla, the open source browser. You might
hit a rare "IE only" web site, but OTOH most malware targets IE, not
Mozilla. If you have a slow connection, Mozilla's tabbed browsing is
wonderful.

 

Thanks. I'll check them out...

 

Unfortunately, I'd had such good luck previously, it never occurred to
me this one wouldn't be of the same quality. I paid over one thousand
for it, not including some of the extras I picked up at Fry's, and was
told that would get me a good machine.

How about a knowledgable son that's in the business? Can you believe
I didn't even run it past him? As for posting in this group, I didn't
even think of it until yesterday, letting my frustrations get the best
of me and keeping me offline. Incidentally, I'm not saying all my
problems are Dell related...Earthlink seems to be having some problems
that add to mine.

Also, I couldn't check out Dell's website as I couldn't get into my
previous machine, which indicated memory module problems.

Then I've misled you. I'm a big advocate of stand-alone auxiliary
programs such as Agent, Netcom, Netscape,etc., having set up a number
of them and using without any problems. My problems didn't start
until I bought this Dell.

Now you sound just like my son.

This is what my present frustration is all about. I do know how to
install and use them, they just don't function on my present
equipment. I'm going to add another 256 mg of ram, and see if that
helps. But I have to insist that I truly believe some of if not most
of my problems are due to the fact that this Dell machine was set up
to use the programs that came with it (example: when opening AOL, it
announces Dell and AOL......) and doesn't make it easy to use one's
own choices.

I really appreciate your taking the time to respond to my tale of
woe....v

 

You'll probably find the prices better at crucial.com then at Dell.

By the way the reason you originally caught flack from some morons
who post on the group is that you had the audacity to say something
negative about Dell. However, there are more than enough helpful,
knowledgable people here to make up for the few jackasses.

Shayne

 

About 10 days ago, picking up an extra 256mb of RAM for a 4600 (2 x 128) was
about $30 cheaper at crucial than adding it on the small business website,
fwiw....


Stew

 

Apparently you did not go through Dell's "customize" process with your
computer order. This would have allowed you to choose between McAfee
vs Norton, and AOL vs Earthlink, and you'd have seen all the 3rd party
software that would have (or could have) been included.

However, when I ordered a Dimension 2400 (bottom of the line, special
sale deal) machine for my missus, I found that "customizing" it would
have lost the low price. So I had to take it as is. And delete all
the puckey myself (including the myriad and redundant icons that
littered the desktop--geez I hate a messy desktop).

There have been threads in this group in the past on how to remove
unneeded software. Asking for help here is likely to be more useful
than grumbling about Dell, Microsoft, et al.

--John W. Wells

 

You're joking, right? I've overheard (and even had) several discussions
between sales personnel and customers in places like Circuit City, Best Buy,
etc.. In general the level of understanding on their part is minimal. They
are selling a product. I've heard statements that, to be kind, were
misleading and wrong. I would ***NEVER** recommend buying a system at one of
these places..... Let's not even discuss tech support for problems....

I've known people who bought Dell computers without asking me or anyone
else. These are computer illiterate people and every one was happy with what
they bought. I was the only unhappy one since if they had talked to me
first, I could have configured the system better, cheaper and more
upgradeable, but they are very happy customers, regardless.

 

This is what I've always experienced with buying components from Dell after
the original machine is received. It's always been cheaper to buy from
Crucial than from Dell.

Lately, however, I've found that adding the memory as part of configuring a
machine is more often cheaper than ordering it from Crucial. Up until
recently, prevailing wisdom was to order minimum memory and order additional
memory from Crucial. Doesn't seem to be the case now. Often it's better to
get the memory from dell and give up the rebate. Used to be the opposite.

 

All true statements... also agree on Mozilla Firefox browser.. no pop ups
with it either.. Find it a tad faster then IE on our cable system...