Gratuitous Dell Bashing Thread!

[bhtooefr]

Yep, we need one. Why?

Because I'm using one of the Latitude D610s that my college just got in for library use, because it's got an IR port (my X21 does NOT have one... ), and I need one to get an app moved over to my phone.

Keep in mind, these impressions are coming from someone who used to use a Toshiba Satellite 405CS (an old P75 laptop), a Dell Inspiron 1100, and I use an X21 on a daily basis.

First off, it's heavy. Of course, not as heavy as the Inspiron that I had, but heavy. Granted, I'm used to the X21... but the X21 in the UltraBase is lighter than this thing.

Then, the keyboard... is downright atrocious. Even my old Inspiron had a better keyboard.

But, that's nothing compared to the eraserhead mouse (I refuse to call it a TrackPoint). First, it's only two buttons, so no scrolling. Then, those two buttons make my X21's left button look downright firm. Finally, the thing handles NOTHING like a real TrackPoint - it's REALLY hard to aim.

Also, the thing flexes horribly...

[BillMorrow]

excuse me, BUT..

your X21 does NOT have an IR port..??

i thought EVERY thinkpad since the 755 series (at least) had an IR port..

IBM did manage to disguise them pretty well..

check again..

and correct me if i am wrong..

as to bashing DELL, go for it..
but i admit to using 6 (yes, SIX) 20 inch DELL displays..
why..?
because i can deal on the price and if there are any stuck on pixels, i can return one..
also, last i heard, NEC made these for DELL..
so far, all perfect and working fine..

[jdhurst]

On Infra Red ports: It's not a given that recent laptops all have Infrared ports. My A22e (2655-A7U) did not have them, but all my later laptops did.

On Dell Bashing: Let's not. I don't think Dell machines are particularly good, and that is based on harsh experience with them, and not emotion. But this is a ThinkPad forum and our time would be better spent working with and promoting ThinkPads.
... JD Hurst

[Navck]

http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmes ... c=23765462
This topic shows the utter fanboys yelling at me.
"U SUK IBM LOSZOOR!!! OMG" - One of them on instant messanging!
Dells are heavy.
They're considerablly THICKER than R52s sometimes.
XPS Gen 2 = BYE BYE battery life
Non Buisness Notebook support? HAHAHA!!! Thats "the next step up from NOTHING!"
www.ihatedell.net
Nice employie and worker experances here
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=12839
Psst, Dell, quit calling my computers "JUNK!"

Heres a nice quote from a person who wants a XPS Gen 2 but doesn't have one

XGothicSerpentX: XPS > Crappy thing
Fortenraven: Meh
Fortenraven: I have an IBM laptop
Fortenraven: You call it crappy?
Fortenraven: Try having titanium slap your head.
Fortenraven: XPS Gen 2 - Bullet goes through, kills you
Fortenraven: IBM T43 - Stops bullet in laptop. Doesn't set lap on fire, has more than ****ity "45 minute idle time"
Fortenraven: PS ICQ XXXXXXXX
Fortenraven: ICQ user, ask him about XPS Gen 2
Fortenraven: Who needs widescreen
Fortenraven: Unless you watch HD-TV with it expanded 200% on your laptop
XGothicSerpentX: Which one has more functionality?
XGothicSerpentX: XPS
XGothicSerpentX: Therefore, you're wrong
Fortenraven: T43
Fortenraven: Now now, talk to that ICQ user first
XGothicSerpentX: No, mother ****er
Fortenraven: Yes
XGothicSerpentX: No, *****
Fortenraven: No
XGothicSerpentX: **** off
Fortenraven: PS. T43 is stronger, more durable, security chip, able to detect a fall and stop its harddrive, keyboard light. Which is more functional now?
XGothicSerpentX: Look
XGothicSerpentX: You don't realize that the XPS is the fastest lap top ever tested by PC gaming world. Thusly it kicks the **** out of your T43 or whatever *** piece of **** you call it ***lord.
Fortenraven: So?
Fortenraven: Fast =/= Battery life
XGothicSerpentX: Battery Life =/= everything. ITS POWER LOSER
Fortenraven: I also can drop my laptop, and it will be fine
Fortenraven: Can that XPS be dropped, then stepped on
Fortenraven: And still work?
XGothicSerpentX: Who is dumb enough to first off drop it and second off step on it?
XGothicSerpentX: You mean yourself right Navck? When you're being ****ed in jail? I'll see your *** in jail getting ****ed
XGothicSerpentX signed off at 7:37:07 PM.

Well... I'm 14, hes 16. Whos more mature here now.
PS - My laptops feelings were hurt from him.

Edit:Note the ICQ number is for a fellow TP owner. I guess he refuses to, because he wants to win this.
Note offensive language usage.

PS - This guy also used a few racial slurs againist me after he unignored me to spam, didn't save that conversation anyways.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=13097
Some bsahing here too

Note from Moderator: First of all, no one cares about your arguments in other forums. Show some maturity by keeping it out of here.

Second, review the Posting Guidelines noting particularly Item #6 under Cardinal Rules which states "6. Respect the privacy of others. Do not post other's phone numbers, addresses, pictures, etc., without their express permission." I removed the ICQ number you posted. Don't do that again.

[bhtooefr]

BillMorrow: The X20 and 21 have an IR port cover. However, it is well known that they don't actually have the necessary header on the motherboard, or the port. Many a X20/21 owner has been frustrated by this fact, trying to transplant a 22-24 IR port into a 20/21.

Also, I agree that their LCDs are the one thing they do right. FWIW, it's Samsung that makes the panels used in there.

jdhurst: Wouldn't you rather have all of the Dell bashing in one place? It's going to happen, anyway, with Navck on here

[GomJabbar]

Beware of the cockerels.

[BillMorrow]

Navck's long dissertation or list of a conversation with another person just shows how nice it is here and the reason we want it kept that way..

for me, its a waste of time to bash DELL..
they are making tons of money, last i heard..
and in todays society, money is used to judge success..

now for samsung panels, i can say they are excellent..
samsung LCD TV's are excellent and if these DELL displays DO use samsung panels, thats one more "feather" in samsing's hat as far as i am concerned..

[leoblob]

.... how nice it is here and the reason we want it kept that way...

This is unquestionably the most polite, most respectful "community" that I'm a part of. I really appreciate that.

[bhtooefr]

More to throw in...

I'm working on this paper, typing prewritten text (it's for a Word class )

Anyway, I cannot STAND the Dell RT7D50 "keyboards" that they've got here on the lab PCs.

Someone found them, for $18 from Dell, and $17 on eBay. Here's a writeup, with lots of comments saying that they suck http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000327.html

I'm sorry, but I'll take a $5 Model M any day. Or, do what I did, and just e-mail the completed document to myself (from the laptop - I love ThinkPad keyboards ) so I could print on the lab PC.

[benplaut]

older dells, from win2k range, aren't really too bad... just heavy (but the build quality is fine)

newer ones are total &%$#... my school used to have them, but so many broke that they took a loss and bought a bunch of Emachines (considerably better)

the family desktop is a 2001 dell 4550, it's not too bad (but the case is a bit pinchy-wirey inside)... the newer ones are the problems

[bhtooefr]

Urgh, I hate the 4550s we've got...

Their GPUs APPEAR to not actually have Win2K drivers. How dumb is that?

[bhtooefr]

Well, my school ordered in an Inspiron 2200. (Thank you, Len-oh-no rep, for dropping the ball on an 1842-SRU order, so that they had to order a Dell... ) So, time to bring this thread back to life.

Anyway, build quality is better than I thought it would be. Not that that's good or anything. The body itself is solid - I'll venture to say that it's almost as solid as an R50e, except in the optical drive bay area, where it's actually MORE solid, due to the fact that Dell didn't have to yank an eject mechanism, and didn't add support to that area to make up for the missing eject mechanism. HOWEVER, the screen flexes BADLY. Also, the screen isn't as nice as, oh, the 14.1" screen that my old 1100 had, nor the 15"ers that either the school's 1150s or my dad's R50e have.

Apples to oranges, but a 14.1" 2200 is lighter than a 15" R50e. However, that's a pointless measure, except for the fact that 1842-SRU is a 15-incher.

The touchpad is usable. It's a touchpad, though. You guys know how I feel about those. If I were to end up stuck with a T series, or some R series with a touchpad, I'd get the bezel to cover it up.

The keyboard has decent FEEL, but it's CRAMPED, and has a bad layout. C'mon, my X21's keyboard, which is smaller, is less cramped.

Now, for the ugly: the battery. It's an 8-cell on the 2200, from what I've read, but with one thing that should never be on a modern laptop. It's a frickin' NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE battery! WTF was Dell thinking? My TEN YEAR OLD THIS MONTH TOSHIBA has a LiIon battery!

[AndyL]

A NiMH battery on a modern laptop? WTF?

[bhtooefr]

I'd get you a screenshot, but I've already got the laptop deployed.

Anyway, it says "Battery Chemistry: NiMH" right there. Also, AnandTech's review of $600 laptops mentions that it's NiMH, but doesn't make a big deal about the fact that it's NiMH. (However, it knocks it for poor battery life.)

[Navck]

NIMH? I'm going to laugh. Even PalmPilots have Lithiums (Polyer or Ion.)
Lets just say my school is Dell'd right now. Theres only Apples and Dells. You can only compare Apples to Dells in public school systems (Apples to oranges, get it?)
But I do hate their keyboard layout. Cramped. (Visited a guy at California Insitute of Tech, he had 6000 widescreen. Lets just say my keyboard felt trillions of times better and I kept hitting the right alt key for windows menu and the lack of trackpoint annoyed the hell out of me, as well as the lack of back and forward browser keys confused the heck out of me and for some reason his keys were unreasonablly small to me... *Contiunes forever...*)

[AlphaKilo470]

I thought NiMH had laft the laptop field many years back. They can be good if you are very careful with them but they still die faster then LiION. LiION is really the most practical solution for now as they tend to last longer under good care. The older than dirt LiION batteries for my ThinkPad 760 (I have three of them) have been kicking strong for quite a while now. They hold just around a two hour charge each.

[bhtooefr]

Well, the Inspiron 1150s that my school has don't have a cramped keyboard, just a not great layout.

Anyway, this 2200 seemed to have VERY small keys. (Actually, I think it's that the key TOPS were smaller, but the whole key was the same size as a standard laptop key.) FWIW, it FELT more cramped than this X21. Kinda sad, seeing as this X21 has a lot smaller keyboard.

[AndyL]

Anyway, it says "Battery Chemistry: NiMH" right there.

I didn't mean to imply I doubted your veracity - the "WTF" was aimed at Dell rather than you