[SWLUG] Why I won't buy from Dell again...

[Mark Summerfield]

Just a follow up regarding Dell. I know that some (many?) people have
had good experience. But I can sum mine up as follows:

                            A true story...
 I ordered a Dell netbook with Ubuntu preinstalled. It arrived with no
 OS at all and Dell's "support" said the don't supply Ubuntu any more.
           Dell gave no apology, no solution, and no refund.
                     So I do *not* recommend Dell.

I will get the money back eventually of course since they broke the law
(1967 Misrepresentation Act), but their dreadful customer service means
it will just take that much longer...

You'd think that it would be easy to buy a Linux machine in the UK.

#1: buy a Linux magazine and read the ads... duh, where are the hardware
ads for PCs, laptops, and netbooks---or even for servers?

#2: look up on Ubuntu or similar sites for machines that are known to
work... duh, many are one or more years old, many with US specs and IDs,
and hardly seem to be available in UK shops.

#3: buy from a vendor that sells Linux machines... duh, tried that with
Dell. HP offers a list of its machines that are RHEL compatible.
Everyone else seems to be "We recommend W*s 7". I could always try the
linuxemporium but their range is tiny and none of their machines matches
my needs.

Any other suggestions?


-- 
Mark Summerfield, Qtrac Ltd, www.qtrac.eu
    C++, Python, Qt, PyQt - training and consultancy
        "Rapid GUI Programming with Python and Qt" - ISBN 0132354187
            http://www.qtrac.eu/pyqtbook.html