What would you ask Michael Dell?

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David Flynn30 May 2008, 3:00 PM

We’re off to Dell HQ in Texas, and we’re going to take your questions and comments straight to the top -- to Dell's CEO.


Next week APCmag.com will join a dozen other international tech publications for an exclusive two-day media briefing at Dell’s headquarters in Round Rock, Texas.

We’re the only Australian publication invited and we’re going to make this your chance to ask questions, and get answers to them, straight from the source – Dell’s key product managers, technology chiefs and even company founder Michael Dell himself, with whom we’ll be meeting with on the second day.

The agenda for the two-day summit includes sessions on Consumer PCs, Mobility, Design, Power & Cooling, Green IT and Storage, so questions specific to those areas are especially welcome.

You can post your questions in the comments area below. Please note that we won’t have time to put every question on the table, but we’ll get in as many as we can – and report back here with Dell’s answers!

David Flynn is travelling to Round Rock, Texas as a guest of Dell

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LHS (New user):

What is the release date for Australia?

30 May 2008, 9:15 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

djsflynn (APC staff):

LHS -- err, the release date for what?

30 May 2008, 11:35 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

djsflynn (APC staff):

Guys, can we be a little more specific with the questions -- what product are we talking about here..? I presume it's the Dell Mini-note, but all the same... :>

30 May 2008, 11:35 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

PA28 (New user):

Why are the function keys missing?

30 May 2008, 9:51 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

dwr50 (User):

Since Apple & Microsoft Operating Systems seem to be having More Problems and Linux Less Problems, Will you be installing Linux on more of your computers ?

31 May 2008, 12:46 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

RyGuy (New user):

Greetings from Canada APC!

I'm curious as to what happened to their quality flat panel monitors in their UltraSharp product line. For example, they have discontinued the 2007WFP which uses a beautiful S-IPS LCD panel and replaced it with the 2009W model which uses an inferior TN panel. The 2009W also comes with Dells “Premium Panel Guarantee” but TN panels are far from being a “premium panel” I find this statement to be a bit deceptive. Unless you’re willing to pay over $1,500CDN on a monitor all their current LCDs unfortunately use low consumer grade TN panels. The UltraSharp products were once great competition to Apple’s Cinema displays, it’s sad to see Dell's quality standards take a dive.

31 May 2008, 1:00 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

pedro (New user):

Mr Dell: Would you sell computers for poor people?

31 May 2008, 5:37 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

K (Cornerstone member):

What kind of plan does Dell have for the next 5-10 years with regards to using recyclable and biodegradable materials in PC construction, and disposal of old computers?

When, if ever, will Dell Australia release systems with Linux pre-installed?

31 May 2008, 9:38 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Dan Warne (Administrator):

My question is this: will Dell ever make its system driver installations as simple as Apple Boot Camp? Dell should make a downloadable driver DVD image that covers all its models, which provides one-click detection of hardware and installation of drivers. If Apple can do it, why can't Dell?

http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/62135/A_single_DVD_that_will_install_correct_drivers_on_any_model_of_Dell_PC

31 May 2008, 9:56 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

u752181 (New user):

Seeing as you guys have no clue, ask him does he know when apcmag.com will replace the "Kernel of an Idea", "Linux: Why I Quit" & "Future of Firefox" article links which are now all almost a year old with links to more recent articles? These links were even migrated to the new page layout. Surely you have writeen something more recent that is worth linking to.

31 May 2008, 9:58 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Dan Warne (Administrator):

Right, point taken. :-) You're quite right, we should update those. (Taking the question to Michael Dell probably wouldn't help much though.)

31 May 2008, 7:03 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Douglas (Regular user):

Will you make Vostro systems for home users, or at the very least provide an option to remove all bloatware from your systems?

When, if ever, will the desktops come in colours like the laptops?

31 May 2008, 2:17 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Aubrey (Advanced member):

"When, if ever, will Dell Australia release systems with Linux pre-installed?"

+1

Also:

Does MD expect Vista to replace XP on corporate desktops before the Windows 7 hype gets everyone shelving their migration plans and deciding to wait for it?

Does he think MS will relent on the XP phase-out date?

If Google and Microsoft had a fight in a bar, who would win?

Is he a pirate or a ninja guy?



31 May 2008, 9:52 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Wazza (User):

Lol! I think Google would have to win surely!

I would ask him where he thinks the future is in terms of devices to control your PC. I remember seeing a video released by Apple back in the 90's that suggested that within 10 years we would be living without keyboards or mice, and that all computer devices would be voice activated.
It's been 10 years and it seems that the only advancement we have is ergonomic keyboards, and mice which have a forward and back button for your browser.
So in summary, where does he see the future in terms of input devices? And how quickly or easily does he think the world will embrace this touch screen technology that M$ are working on?

01 June 2008, 9:00 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Equally I'd love to know when/if Dell would consider Linux desktops and notebooks to its AU range.

And I'd like to forward compliments on the low end Poweredge T105 and SC440 these are bullet proof (linux based of course) small business servers, and are priced well once you know how to work with Dell's regular price cycles and pseudo discounts.

And forward a person plea to keep the tacky colours and tragic wear off silver for those amused by such things and much more of the practical Vostro Titanium finishes please.

Dan I don't see the advantage of an all in one driver disk for a machine which is likely customised at order time, the Dell system works fine. Although it could be improved with some better descriptions and titles for the individual downloads.

01 June 2008, 9:12 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

petert (Senior member):

I would ask Michael Dell why he believes having customer service call centres in third countries with people who speak limited English is an appropriate way to deliver first world service.

01 June 2008, 9:54 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

databasedesign32@gmail.com (New user):

Give me a break. Do you really think that:

a)This is an original question that Michael Dell has NEVER been asked before
b)A question that David Flynn will actually ask
c)A question that would get anything aside from some diplomatic answer that means absolutely nothing

C'mon!

01 June 2008, 1:29 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

petert (Senior member):

databasedesign32, you can continue with your self-indulgent mockery and sarcasm or you can do a little bit of research to find why the question might once again have been asked. Angus Kidman raised the issue as one of the very early posts on these new APC fora, which you can find here:
http://apcmag.com/forum.htm?g=posts&t=133

Yes, the question may have been asked before but it is clearly an on-going issue. The words in my question might well be asked in another way, but the issue itself, as noted, is a continuing problem. It is an issue that also ought to be foremost in the mind of anyone considering purchasing a Dell computer.

02 June 2008, 1:25 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Chris (User):

Here's my questions. As you can see they cover a broad range of topics.
1)Why did they stop selling 15" 1920 x 1200 Inspiron laptops?
2)Are they going to bring back 15" 1920 x 1200 Inspiron laptops?
3)When are they going to bring back 15" 1920 x 1200 Inspiron laptops?
4)Will future Inspiron laptops have 15" 1920 x 1200 as a standard?


01 June 2008, 8:14 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

MiCCAS (Regular user):

In terms of Dell's decision to back users in regards to keeping Windows XP on their machines, was it a marketing stunt or a true support for users who want to keep Windows XP?

01 June 2008, 10:00 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Camios (New user):

Why doesn't DELL Australia give refunds for faulty products it sells from 3rd-party manufacturers (e.g. Microsoft mouse, Logitech keyboard, Sennheiser headphones)?

02 June 2008, 8:55 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Ask MD if he has a spare power brick for an aged Latitude C640. Or if he'll throw one in with my next order.

Never hurts to ask! :-)

02 June 2008, 11:22 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

RussellT (New user):

In relation to petert's question.

When will Dell improve its customer service and techincal support to an acceptable standard?

Also, Does Dell actually understand that its customer support is really bad?

i guess thats one reason why their computers are cheap.

02 June 2008, 12:35 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Wazza (User):

He certainly knows that there are customer service issues, and has a pretty revolutionary way of dealing with them (yeah yeah, I know, you're gonna say not revolutionary enough cos service is still bad).

But in an organisation as big as Dell, you can't kill off every issue in one go. Dell is just trying to gradually improve service over time.

As a student of management I have to hand it to him with his approach. He gets his hands dirty with some pretty low level issues which normally a CEO wouldn't go near.

02 June 2008, 12:45 PM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Another question! Since Dell thankfully provided the option of XP, Vista and the COA downgrades, could MD offer some indication of the purchase preferences of the Dell customer base.

All praise to Dell for offering choice, no doubt under considerable pressure from Microsoft.



03 June 2008, 10:20 AM (1 year ago)report abuse Send to a friend reply

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