Dell next business day support - maybe not quite what you expected

We have had this Dell XPS700 since November 2007. It was the 4th Dell we purchased, and only recently we bought our 5th Dell computer, a 15inch Dell Studio laptop.

Why do we buy from Dell?

· Usually the price is fairly good
· You can configure the box exactly as you want
· Delivery 1-2 weeks.
· Pretty reliable.
· On site service/warranty can be extended to 4 or 5 years.


Normally, we will configure the computer with the latest high spec components hoping that we can get around 4 years out of each PC. This works out pretty good all round and minimises the amount of reconfiguration required when you get a new computer.

Unfortunately, the XPS700 just froze up the other evening. We switched it off, waited for 30 seconds, and then switch it back on again. The screen remained black. There were no keyboard lights. The fan came on and stayed on (normally it would just stay on for 2-3 seconds). The power switch remained a solid amber. We could not run any diagnostics as the machine was totally non responsive.

There was nothing we could do to diagnose what was wrong.

Just in case there was a problem with overheating, we left the computer switched off all night. Next morning we tried again. Same response, or lack there of.

Fortunately, we had taken out a four year next business day , on-site, extended warranty.
I am sure that most of you would expect that all you would need to do would be to call Dell and tell them the problem and an engineer would come and diagnose the problem and then fix it.

NO. As they tend to say these days, “it does not work like that”.

This is what it says in the Dell Warranty terms and conditions, yes I am sure that at the time of purchase everyone reads all of the terms and conditions and that everyone is aware that before a Dell engineer is despatched to fix your computer you will spend a couple of hours kneeling over your dead computer removing memory cards, putting them back, swapping them around switching your machine off and on and reporting the colours of various light switches.


“To complete the diagnostics the customer must have convenient access to the faulty system
when calling technical support…

For each call, the Dell technician has been trained to undertake a process to ensure the
fastest possible resolution. To do this the technician will request the customer’s assistance to
help “troubleshoot” the problem in order for the technician to diagnose the fault. The
diagnostic process will enable the Dell technician to identify the system part that has failed, if
any, so that a replacement part can be provided.

Examples of what can be included in the scope of the fault diagnostics are:
• Running diagnostic tests appropriate for the problem reported.
• Installation of service packs, components, supplements, updates and patches for
specifically covered factory-installed operating systems, firmware and BIOS.
• Installation and default configuration of Dell factory-installed operating systems,
application software and drivers.
• Testing a factory-installed network interface card (including wireless) by testing with
manufacturer’s diagnostics & pinging another PC.
• Testing a factory-installed modem by connecting it to an analogue telephone line
(not a PABX line).
The Dell technician will work together with you to ensure that you are properly instructed on
how to proceed.
OPENING THE SYSTEM
Accurate problem diagnosis may not be possible without opening the system. Normal
Troubleshooting procedures may also include opening a system to reseat parts. The Dell
Technician will inform you if this is necessary and work with you to do so. Opening the system avoids delays in resolution but must be done only with the guidance of the technician who will advise of all necessary safety precautions.

I just think that opening up the system, by someone who is completely inexperienced and has had no training on how to avoid static problems, touching memory cards, removing them, swapping them around and switching the system on and off with the cover removed is NOT a good idea. After all, why do you think the customer paid for an extended warranty and on-site support?

After all this, I was told that an engineer would be despatched to replace the mother board. Given what was achieved by opening up the system and playing around with the internals for an hour; the only difference it has made is that instead of an engineer being despatched with a couple of tiny memory cards and a mother board he is being despatched with just the mother board.

We will find out if the mother board fixes the problem or if the customer is then required to further diagnose a technical problem for which he or she has had absolutely no training whatsoever.

24-Jan-2011 Update: If you are OK with opening up your PC case and reseating the memory boards, then you may even consider doing away with Dell support all together and building your own PC. There are an excellent set of articles on the UK Shopping blog starting with Build your own computer or buy from Dell? (Part One).

Snails pace delivery of broadband planned by Tories

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said a [technically ignorant] Tory government would deliver speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) to the "majority" of homes by 2017. For mathematically challenged Tories that is SEVEN Years from now, and not all homes would be included.

South Korea already has the most successful broadband rollout in the world. Something our own politicians could learn from. The Korean government provided $1.5bn to create a backbone network and another $1bn in loans to ensure companies took broadband to rural areas.

Our Knuckle head Tory shadowy chancellor said cabling in rural areas could be paid for by private investors or part of the licence fee.

Both Tories and Labour really are clueless when it comes to moving this country forward, as for the Lib-Dems they are still working on what “clueless” means.

The plan is not “should be” but MUST be (at the very minimum) 100MBs download and 10Mbs upload for every home by the end of 2012. The South Koreans are already planning 2GB/s broadband for everyone in the 2012 timescale. Who says our politicians are clueless and lack vision and ambition for our country?

Homes are looking for HD TV; television on demand; immediate download of movies and music; and support for a whole range of new internet enabled devices.

Remember, Gordon Brown in his first attempt at bankrupting big business with the £20Billion auction of 3G licences, failed to see that in only a few years we would be running out of mobile bandwidth.

The plan would be to create an integrated structure for super-fast broadband that would cover every home and business in the UK by 2012. There are a number of ways to do this:

1. Tell BT that they either create the infrastructure of they lose it.
2. If BT are unwilling or unable to make the investment themselves then other companies would be invited to make bids.
3. The Government could fund the whole project AND take All the profits.
4. A group of companies with or without government support could fund it together. Companies and government would takes profits according to their original investment.

Unfortunately, Tory ideas of the BBC funding broadband or Labour’s idea of a 50p tax are the sort of ideas one would expect from the calibre of politicians the country is electing these days.

Everyday, it appears that we are getting closer and closer to becoming an Idiocracy. You definitely have to watch this movie and make judgements as to whether you think we are moving closer to this political utopia or back to a more sensible way of getting things done.

Limmy's Show

I stayed up late to watch Stephen Fry and company on BBC2 in QI XL on Saturday night. BBC 2 had scheduled a new show: ‘Limmy’s Show’ to broadcast immediately before QI.

Lucky Limmy, an audience who like comedy drawn to his show whilst waiting for QI.

Oh, but you have to sympathise for anyone who actually watched Limmy’s show. It must rank as one of the worst shows ever broadcast. Does the BBC no longer have any standards? How could such unutterable drivel get past any quality control?

A sketch show is not easy to put together, and you will get some sketches that don’t quite hit the mark. Limmy’s sketch show, however, was a complete failure. Not one single sketch could have drawn a smile from even the most happy and easily pleased person in this universe.

I do hope BBC Scotland wake up and pull this show before the public are put to the sword again. Torture is illegal you know.

The person who thought that this show was of broadcast standard and allowed the public to view such utter mince hopefully will realise this was a tragedy of such epic proportions that a career as a hermit would be much more appropriate to their qualifications and taste.

Should Mick McCarthy and Wolves be punished by Premier League?

Mick McCarthy appears to have rested his strongest side against Manchester United. No doubt, reasoning that his side had no chance of getting even a draw at Old Trafford. The reasoning continues that if he rested his strongest side they would all be fit, fresh and raring to go at home to Burnley on Saturday.

There are a number of reasons why such logic does not work and such practices should be severely punished by the premier league.

At the start of this evening Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) were lining up to play Manchester City. Spurs were 10 points behind Manchester United in the table. However, if Wolves had played their weakest side against Spurs on Saturday and Spurs had won and Wolves played their strongest side against Manchester United on Tuesday Night then Spurs could have started the evening only 4 points behind Manchester United. Instead of finishing the evening 7 points behind Man Utd. They would have finished the evening only 1 point behind Man Utd, after their 3 – 0 victory over Man City.

Football is a funny old game. Results and performances are unpredictable. A team at the bottom of the table CAN pull off the occasional surprise by beating a team at the top of the table.

What happens if the season has one game to go. ManUtd and Chelsea are level on points. Wolves have nothing to play for, they are already relegated, but Mick McCarthy is a Manchester United supporter, he hates Chelsea, and their last game of the season is against ManUtd. Mick decides to give his favoured team a better chance of winning the league by fielding a team of reserves. Or, what happens if Mick McCarthy is being pressured by a betting syndicate to throw the game?

By choosing to field a weakened side against Man Utd on Tuesday evening, some will argue that what Mick McCarthy did was throw the game.

Arguing that what he did was cynical, desperate, unprofessional, and dishonest; lacked integrity, lacked ambition, and defrauded the fans; perverted the competition and demeaned the Premier League may not be considered unreasonable.

In Scotland, Rangers and Celtic are the strongest teams by far, but every week teams challenge the Old Firm honestly and with even more vigour than against the other teams. Managers get their teams fired up and they play out of their skins. These teams are a credit to themselves and their managers. If they lose, the managers have got the satisfaction that they got their players to perform and the knowledge that they can demand such performances every week.

As a football supporter, I expect my team to go out and do their best to win every week. In fact I demand it. If my team had a manager that deliberately held back or a player the constantly shirked his responsibilities I would not be particularly happy.

As the chairman of a football club, I would not entertain a manager who would deliberately throw a game or thought that a game was a lost cause before taking the field.

Why do Wolves want to be in the premiere league? Why does Mick McCarthy want to manage a premier league team? Is it just for the money?

Players want to be tested against the best. Great players would be disappointed if they were taking on the best team in the World and that team was unable to play their best team because of injury. They would feel insulted if the opposing manager rested his best players simply because the opposing manger thought that their team was inferior.

Real football players want to play every week and they want to test themselves against the top teams and the top players. Real managers are the same.

Thinking as Mick McCarthy does is for LOSERS.

Managers like Mick McCarthy and teams with the attitude of Wolves have no place in the Premier League. In fact I doubt if they would be tolerated in a Sunday League pub team.

The Premiere League should punish Wolves by deducting 3 points and actively discourage this activity.

Wolves should apologise to their fans and every team in the Premier League.

For their lack of ambition and their lack of integrity relegation is what Wolves deserve, this season and every season until they are no longer involved in professional sport.

Let's Have a Totally Democratic Leader's Debate

John Ryley, the head of Sky News, has written to the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to invite them to take part.

There should be a debate. It should be open and democratic and not just include the failures from the past aka Labour, Conservative and Liberal.

Gordon Brown has not had an original idea that has benefited the country in his whole political career. The scrapping of the 10p tax level, he had to reverse. The unfair treatment of Gurkhas, he had to reverse, thanks to Joanna Lumley. The most recent his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, only after being publicly humiliated by former Army General Sir Richard Dannatt.

David Cameron, at the Conservative Party conference has proposed a little tinkering here and there. WAKE_UP!!! The country is £800 BILLION in debt. His plan would not even cover a fraction of the cost in interest payments.

Nick Clegg. Poor Nick Clegg. He is in charge of a party so committed to being on the job that they can’t keep their trousers on. Those that can either appear to be too drunk or too old to care. It is a real shame because this country is crying out for a viable alternative to the recent disastrous administrations that have befallen this country.

So let us not permit Sky News, sibling to the airhead bimbos we see on the US Fox channel, home of the page three boobies, and plaything and power broker medium for Rupert Murdoch to screw us again.

The debate should be open to ALL political parties who satisfy certain criteria. We desperately need new blood and new ideas. An open and democratic solution would be to allow any party who, at the last election, had at least two candidates who did not lose their deposits.

A true British debate would include parties from Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. It would include parties that the British public have given a vote to.

A national debate should not pander to past failures.

If you agree, then let your voice be heard, add a comment and pass the word.

Panasonic SDR-S15 Camcorder and the Extorionate Cost of Replacement Batteries (VW VBJ10)

I bought this from amazon.co.uk
for £159.92 on 9-Jul-2009. The camera has worked well. It is light and easy to use. At the same time I also ordered 3 x SanDisk 8GB SDHC Secure Digital Cards (£11.50 for all 3).



Battery life is always a problem with camcorders and although the SD cards provide ample storage, I have found that actual recording time is limited to 35-40 minutes. This is because the battery will be out of juice by then.



The obvious answer is to buy a spare battery (Panasonic Model No. VW VBJ10). Now remember that the camera is great value at only £159.92, but the spare battery costs £103.99 ( or 65% of the cost of the camcorder - which included a battery).

Yes, there are alternatives, but you have to be careful. I bought one of the alternatives, but it was physically the wrong size.

So there are two problems:

1. Panasonic are charging way too much for their batteries, and that for me will be a disqualifier the next time I buy a product.

2. What is a good alternative battery?

Finally, there is one problem I have in actual use of the camera. The image size is 704 x 576 pixels which gives an aspect ratio of 1.22222:1 not 4:3. Even when shooting 16:9 the image size is still 704x576, except that the top and bottom of the video have been removed (letterboxed).

This is not a problem if you simply plug your camera into your TV set and play. The 16:9 picture is pretty good. However it does become a problem when editing videos and you have to tell the video software that you are using an aspect ratio of 0.8182:1 (576/704). Why? I don't know, but that is what it takes to work.

The true reason behind the economic collapse

The true reason behind the economic collapse

The chart below shows the $ oil price per barrel between 2000 and Feb 2009

The Number one reason was the extraordinary high oil prices. Why has no one mentioned this?

Number two the Banks made some monumentally stupid investment decisions, but remember the reason many of these mortgages went bad was the knock on effect of the high oil prices.
Peter Lynch, the legendary portfolio manager for Fidelity’s Magellen fund which increased in size from $20 million to over $14 Billion ( between 1997 and 1990), gave some sage advice when he said that you should never buy an investment unless you can explain your reasons to a child of ten within two minutes.

Why have the banks have cost us (the tax payer) £trillions of pounds? Do you know? Has anyone explained it to you in a way that you can readily understand? Do not let anyone tell you that it is too complicated. Anyone who tells you that simply does not understand. The public is due a proper explanation. Mortgages that went bad are not the full story. That explanation should come from our Political Leaders and those responsible for the economy.

The public have been let down by their leaders: Political Leaders, Financial Leaders, Industrial Leaders and the Press.

Yes the Press! The press failed to ask the hard questions. The press failed to do their homework. The press did not investigate wrong doing. The press did not investigate incompetence. The press needs to get back to doing its proper job and stop being spin doctors for their favourite political parties.

The public have also been let down by the managers of their pension funds. These are the people who vote to give company chairman and director’s huge salaries which cannot be justified in any way, shape or form. They have a huge say in how companies are run and have a huge responsibility to monitor the companies in which they invest your money.

Warning signs regarding the management of funds had already been seen when it was discovered that many fund managers were just investing in each other’s funds, paying themselves huge salaries and bonuses and relying on the fairy tale that the stock market would just keep rising no matter what.

The warning signs have been there for the banks since Nick Leeson’s rouge trading caused the collapse of Barings bank in 1995. Nick for his part spent six and a half years in a Singapore jail. Why have none of the traders been prosecuted for their part in the current financial fiasco?

We will now return to the number one reason for the economic collapse: the extraordinarily high oil prices ($150/barrel). The economy is a delicately balanced eco system. There needs to be sufficient money running throughout the system for all the parts to function properly. If you like, the economy needs financial lubrication, or cash.

If one resource gets all the lubrication then other parts of the economy will be starved of that vital lubrication. In the UK we have statistics like 7% of the population control 90% of the wealth. Of course if that 7% got greedy and tried to up the percentage of wealth that they controlled then parts of the economy would dry up. They would no longer be able to buy goods and services. The goods and services parts would also then dry up. The system would begin to fail.

This is what happened when oil prices escalated out of control. People had to spend five times as much on energy costs and other parts of the economy went without. In the UK petrol went as high as £1.30 per litre. It cost some people more than a days pay to fill their tanks for a week (20% of their earnings just to get to work). The system began to fail.

There is no doubt that that catastrophe was made far worse by our greedy bankers gambling their assets on high risk investments which they clearly did not understand. They were paid huge salaries because it was assumed that they new what they were doing. In fact they knew didly squat. We need to remember this and adjust the salaries of business leaders in line with their abilities and not their job titles or their inflated egos.

It must be obvious that many of our leaders are running around like headless chickens. The US Republican Party and their spin merchants are spouting the most unutterable garbage. Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, is full of bluster and bullshit.

Banking chairmen and Business Leaders are the first to look for the lifeboats. What ever happened to Women and Children first?

It must also be remembered that the decisions taken by Tony Blair, George Bush and every single politician who voted in favour of the war in Iraq are primarily responsible for the events that have unfolded since that ill judged decision was made.

What do we need to do here in the UK?

1. Oil prices must be lowered still more to 2002/2003 levels ($30-$35 / barrel).

2. Domestic energy charges for Gas and Electricity must be returned to 2002/3 levels.

3. The massive amount of Government spending must be turned towards investment

projects which will return our investments within 10 years.

4. The UK must be self sufficient in energy (includes vehicle fuel, domestic energy, and

industrial energy usage) within 10 years. This is the best investment we can make.

5. The banks must work out what their investments are really worth and look to see if there

is any true underlying value that can see then make use of these assets. They should not

be permitted to just write them off and let the tax payer pay.

6. High speed broadband (100mbs/sec) should be available to every home and office in the

UK by the end of 2012. The current plans are truly pathetic.

7. Roads, Bridges, and Rail projects must be brought forward and completed by 2015.

8. Hospitals, Schools, and Prison Projects must be brought forward and completed by 2015.

9. The country’s infrastructure must be in a fit state to take full advantage of the economic

upturn when it comes.

The real concern for everyone here in the UK is that the same morons are still in charge.

Online Shopping made easy

The RatingsWorld website gives you the ability to search approximately 300 stores and 1.5 million products from a single site. You have the best choice on product, price, availability and service.

Find exactly what you want, whether it is clothing, dvd's, video games, or anything else you can think of.

Items I found:

Ipod Touch

Wii Fit

Sony HD TV

London Theatre Tickets - This is the best layout of London shows I have seen.

The search function is really easy to use and the filters help you remove all the items which are only loosely associated with what you are looking for. It is then easy to do price comparisons from the results returned.

How to post html source code to your blogspot blog

I had a project the other day which required that I post some HTML and some vb.net source code to a blogspot blog. I was fortunate to find an entry for the Microsoft MIX 10K competition that did just that.

The entry is called Blog My Source Code, by the Luddite Developer.

Before downloading the app I would recommend that you have the .NET Framework Version 3.5 SP1 installed.

You can find the application here.

The application does just what it says on the tin. Simply cut and paste the source code to the application, press the Encode button, and copy the result into your blog. Job done. I gave it five stars for its simplicity.

The Solution to Entering a British Football Team at the Olympic Game

Only people based in England appear to be in favour of a British Football Team competing at the Olympics.

The English have absolutely no concern that competing in the Olympics could cause Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to lose their status as independent football nations. That would mean Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would no longer be able to compete independently in the European Championships or the World Cup.

Of course, they appear completely oblivious to the fact that England would no longer be able to compete as England in these competitions either. There would be only one team representing the United Kingdom in all football competitions world wide. It would NOT be called England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Even club team representation in the European Champions League and EUFA Cup competitions could be affected.

The situation is highly political as many football nations are unhappy that the United Kingdom has four independent votes in FIFA and EUFA and would dearly love to have the UK reduced to a single football association and a single vote at these levels. Sepp Blatter appears to be no friend of British Football, just witness how helpful he was to Real Madrid in the Ronaldo situation. Michelle Platini was also quoted as suggesting that Ronaldo should be allowed to go to Real Madrid. So much for unbiased leadership.

Given the current political situation (in football) it would be extremely unwise to set a precedent by entering a combined British team in any Olympic games.

However, it does appear extremely presumptuous of the English FA to then assume that they should represent the United Kingdom.

The most reasonable solution would be for Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland to compete for the honour of representing the United Kingdom at the Olympic Games, just as any athlete has to compete to earn their place in the Olympic team.