Two interesting stories about Dell today. First, they made a deal with Absolute for their LoJack for Laptops product as part of an extended service warranty agreement. This applies to their Inspirion and XPS notebook lines. LoJack for Laptops works by hiding software in the laptop that “phones home” when activated and connected to the Internet. Absolute keeps track of every device. If you laptop is stolen or lost, notify Absolute and they’ll alert the police next time the laptop connects to them, and help the police start the recovery process. Now let’s introduce Reader Bill in California, who bought an Inspiron E1705 from Dell. He says, “from the order process on, it has been a total disaster.” Hours of tech support failed, and finally he returned the laptop. But he still needed one, so he went to the Dell Outlet store.
There were so many refurbished and returned E1705’s Reader Bill said “it really scared me off. When I checked the other major manufacturers, I found very few units listed. So, would an apt conclusion be YUGO:cars::DELL:computers.” Reader Bill’s words, not mine. I don’t think Dell has a factory in Yugoslavia. Perhaps Dell’s inclusion of LoJack for Laptops is a service advantage: you can track your laptop when it’s back at Dell for service. I wonder if Absolute will offer a service to let you know when a technician at Dell actually turns the laptop on and tests it on the Internet? That might be a service worth a few extra dollars.
