Dear Dell and Microsoft: You're not Apple

Microsoft, Dell & consumers

I have admired Matt Assay's accomplishments and diverse experience for some time, but think that he fell and hit his head on a rock for this article.

To postulate that Microsoft would even have the expertise, understanding or the technology savvy to produce Internet Explorer and Silverlight specifically for Android and iOS is a stretch, especially since these technologies are not owned or controlled or "designed" like Windows.

Worse yet, they are based on Linux and UNIX, both appauling anathema to Steve Balmer.

Any company as myopic and closed minded - and self-intentioned - as Microsoft would not know where to start supporting anything not invented (or mimicked from somewhere else) in Redmond.

At least he is giving them the benefit of the doubt for possible forward thinking rather than backward reminiscing.

Hmmm

@Davidoff

I agree entirely in regards to the non uniform Mobos. I have worked on Precisions as well, especially the newer T series.

I think Dell is aiming for some uniformity so if you purchase a Precision with 1 CPU you get 1 type of Mobo, regardless of the CPU chosen (different mobo needed for 2 CPUs).

With the introduction of the E series of Lats and Precision notebooks, there has been just 1 standard mobo for each different model, despite there being up to 4 mobos available; each one is built to the exact same standards. For example, a Latitude E5410 may have 3 different mobo's but all are interchangable.

I can't say much about the side cover though, except that some part numbers were hard to find, but we (as in myself and the guys i worked with) always found it. When i left there was a very large and far more comprehensive database being pushed out to staff to use for part ID.

While there also, we had a 1 minute call pickup time we worked very hard to maintain. So after you got through the IVR system and selected Dell pro Support for laptops, desktops or precisions, you waited for up to 1 minute before we answered.

We also were pushing hard to be a 'one stop shop' as well as 'first call fix'. We were in no rush to get rid of customers, we stayed on the phone until the issue was fixed, and we fixed it as fast as we could.

We also could sent out repair techs on site based on very flimsy diagnostics. If you called us up and had said 'the HDD is dead it's not booting', we would have said 'no worries, a tech will be there tomorrow, unless you would like to change it yourself?' if they said no, we had a tech there the next day. Sometimes we didn't have to ask anything at all, but simply said 'we'll have a tech there tomorrow to have it fixed'. and we did get the computer fixed.

Basically, the managers left it up to us on how best to serve customers. That was Dell pro Support Aus, not the US or anywhere else

Why HAS micros~1 allowed its "internet experience" to languish?

Out of spite. Spite against netscape, and they did succeed pretty well there. But they also shut out non-windows platforms and in doing that demonstratably assaulted innovation that dared forego douse itself in their special sauce. The result has become the byword of crawling internet horrors. "IE6"

And why is posting anonymously slapped with a spiteful icon these days, hm?

Missing the point

The problem is that MS simply didn't see the Internet and still doesn't get it. The world ahs changed. MS is not an innovator, it's a monopolosing juggernaught. That worked fantasitcally for years. It was clear in the late 90's that their reign was over. In order to succeed they cannot turn the huge tanker around. They need a new leader with carte blanche and vision. One who can go and compeltely reinvent the company. Sure they can continue to milk the marekets they are still successful in, stupid not to, while this is occurring but they need to a complete rethink.

BTW, the IBM of today is nothing like the IBM of old (the one that though box shiftng was more important than the OS and ended up giving birth to MS) - they almost went to the wall. In fact so did Apple in the 90's until the iPod. MS needs an 'iPod' and to set a new course - one that will eventually canablise their own market because if they don't, they will be beaten from the outside, as they are being now.

@ defiler

Microsoft didn't declare the internet finished with IE6; they stopped development 'cos they'd killed Netscape.

Firefox rose from the ashes because M$ were sitting back satisfied that their stratergy of giving IE away for free to kill Netscape's only paying prodict.