[ubuntu-uk] Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop

[James Milligan]

Wow that's had a beating!

Also the UK hasn't conformed to the EU metric system - 'we' still use  
imperial measurments.

Dell build quality is awful. The repair shop I work at gets more Dell  
PCs than anything. I haven't dealt with support yet, thank God!

James

On 4 Mar 2009, at 22:49, Alec Wright <alecjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> I bought an inspiron 6400 with ubuntu preloaded back in the ubuntu
> feisty days (about 1.5 years ago). I'm afraid I'm gonna have to agree
> - their build quality is poor, as is their support. I'm not going to
> deny that my laptop does take a bit of a beating being carried to and
> from school every day, but this is a bit ridiculous: the left speaker
> doesnt work, I've had to replace the keyboard after several keys
> stopped working, the clip at the top of the screen jams, the screen's
> hinges wobble, the CD drive keeps falling out, the xD card reader
> doesnt work, the power cable fell apart (had to buy a new one), the
> hard drive failed once - devouring my maths coursework (luckily i had
> an only slightly out of date backup), the battery's at 63% and falling
> of its nominal capacity (55.3 Wh compared to the 86.6 Wh that i payed
> for), the bluetooth doesnt work, the carry bag's disintegrated, and
> the heatsink has a kinder bueno wrapper in it.
> Ok maybe the last one's my fault, but you get the idea
> When i phoned customer suppeort for a replacement hard drive, i think
> i spent a total of about an hour on hold, and got sent from department
> to department... ubuntu support, hardware support, ubuntu support
> again, back to hardware support, please hold, ubuntu support... etc
> etc
> Eventually the replacement hard drive came, in a cardboard box
> sandwiched between two bits of foam. Good thing i'm a techie sort of
> person. I know a lot of people who, if they were given a hard drive in
> a box, wouldnt have a clue what to do with it.
> Perhaps thats because its an ubuntu laptop? The idea that all linux
> users know how to replace a hard drive, upgrade ram, reformat a disk
> or whatever needs to stop if linux is to be accepted by the wider
> community, and not just geeks.
>
> 2009/3/4 David King <linuxman at avoura.com>:
>> It is a real shame that Dell no longer sell the 1525 with Ubuntu. I
>> bought one for a friend and she loves it. Now it is either a mini  
>> laptop
>> or a much more powerful one, with the mini one being about the same
>> price as the old 1525.
>>
>> Also, off topic, why has Dell gone all American on their UK site,
>> putting lots of weights of laptops in lbs? Everywhere else vendors  
>> are
>> describing theirs in kilograms. I doubt if I will ever buy a Dell  
>> laptop
>> again.
>>
>>
>> David King
>>
>>
>> Andrew Turner wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Just got myself one of the new Dell Inspiron 15 laptops  
>>> (unfortunately
>>> with Vista - they no longer do the Ubuntu pre-installed 1525).  
>>> Thought
>>> I'd let the list know that Intrepid runs out out the box with no
>>> problems (wireless, bluetooth, compiz etc all work without any
>>> configuration).
>>>
>>> I seem to remember a thread a while back about getting a refund from
>>> Microsoft for unwanted OEM copies of Windows - can anyone enlighten
>>> me?
>>>
>>> Andrew
>>>
>>>
>>
>> --
>> ubuntu-uk at lists.ubuntu.com
>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk
>> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
>>
>
> -- 
> ubuntu-uk at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/