I'm changing my stance on Dell

[TechnoPro]

I've been a staunch Dell defender in the past, but now I've developed a major gripe with them. On some of their cases, the front USB ports are concealed behind a flip-up cover, and then angled in such a way that it is neccesary to get down on the ground to plug anything in. And even then, it's tricky.

Am I the only one that looks at this as a major deisgn flaw?

 

[rammstein junkie]

no...there is a similar flaw in Emachine's cases

 

[PinchyCM]

i've noticed that as well. can't have it all though.

 

[LordPhoenix]

<has one of those eMachines cases>
<uses it>
<has to bend down>

 

[SrGuapo]

Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass, but it hardly seems like a good reason to completely turn your back on them...

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass, but it hardly seems like a good reason to completely turn your back on them...

Yeah the crappy support is enough by itsself

 

[SrGuapo]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass, but it hardly seems like a good reason to completely turn your back on them...

Yeah the crappy support is enough by itsself

Yeah, support always sucks, though. They are used to talking to 90 year old ladies who can't find their solitare icon because they moved it to the other side of the screen (true story).

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass, but it hardly seems like a good reason to completely turn your back on them...

Yeah the crappy support is enough by itsself

Yeah, support always sucks, though. They are used to talking to 90 year old ladies who can't find their solitare icon because they moved it to the other side of the screen (true story).

Regardless, I work as a network admin for a very large company and shouldnt have to sit for an hour on the phone diagnosing a hard drive I know is bad. Thats what you get for the extra $200-300 for extended warranty.

I buy custom built machines from equuscs.com now, may not be the cheapest, but definately the best service around

 

[TechnoPro]

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass, but it hardly seems like a good reason to completely turn your back on them...

I can't afford to turn my back on them.

But lately, when on service calls, I am relying more and more on my USB thumbdrive and getting that sucker in there can be a real PITA.

 

[arsbanned]

Use the rear ports. I agree it's a crappy design. I use a flat panel monitor which has USB ports on the side and this pretty much nullifies it as an issue for me.

 

[ucjffj]

Originally posted by: TechnoPro

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass, but it hardly seems like a good reason to completely turn your back on them...

I can't afford to turn my back on them.

But lately, when on service calls, I am relying more and more on my USB thumbdrive and getting that sucker in there can be a real PITA.

on a side note, what stuff you got on your thumbdrive?

 

[Anubis]

i have a Lain-Li case and the fornt USB ports are in the same damn place, all case designers are stupid

 

[ssvegeta1010]

An annoyance, but not enough to change my stance on Dell

 

[TechnoPro]

Originally posted by: ucjffj

Originally posted by: TechnoPro

Originally posted by: SrGuapo
Yeah, it can be a pain in the ass, but it hardly seems like a good reason to completely turn your back on them...

I can't afford to turn my back on them.

But lately, when on service calls, I am relying more and more on my USB thumbdrive and getting that sucker in there can be a real PITA.

on a side note, what stuff you got on your thumbdrive?

I have a CD which contains EVERYTHING that I would ever need in the field software wise. Similar to the Ultimate Boot CD in that it is self-booting with various hardware diagnstics, but also it contains hundreds of applications that run in Windows. Think security, netowrking, password retrieval, troubleshooting, maintenance, etc. Plus dozens of scripts and batch files I use for common tasks. All organized using an HTML GUI.

Since updating the CD and reburning it is a tedious affair (a process I usually do every 2-3 months), I use the thumbdrive to hold all the new and/or updated applications + service packs and patches as they get released. In the future, I might convcievably use the thumb drive 100%, except for the fact that I need the CD to boot for the low-level diagnostic tests. And it's not worth my time to see what PCs will boot from a USB drive.

 

[TechnoPro]

Originally posted by: arsbanned
Use the rear ports. I agree it's a crappy design. I use a flat panel monitor which has USB ports on the side and this pretty much nullifies it as an issue for me.

Funny thing you mention this...

I have the Dell 19" UltraSharp and I just noticed the side USB ports. I had seen them before, of course, but I just realized how useful they can actually be. As for using the rear ports, sometimes it proves easier to do just that even by feel alone. Mind you, I don't have a Dell, I just service them a lot.

 

[arsbanned]

Yeah the side ports on the Dell Ultrasharps are great. That's what I use. I think you're right about the rear ones being easier to access than the front.

 

[MDE]

The ports are at a 45 degree angle, it's not THAT hard to get something in there. I've used the front ports on Dells at school and it doesn't bother me all that much.

 

[ElFenix]

its so you can flip the panel back down and not have unsightliness

what is stupid is that you can't plug the keyboard into those front ports, at least on my mom's computer.