Direct2Dell

Adamo XPS: Thin, Elegant and More

DELL-Mike S — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:30:00 GMT

You might have seen some of the online buzz about the Adamo XPS on sites like Gizmodo, CNET and Engadget since our recent announcement. I wanted to take moment and provide some insight into this addition to our Adamo product line-up. Like Lionel mentioned, the Adamo brand has always been about providing cutting-edge innovation, premium design, craftsmanship, and luxury to the high-end consumer. This started with the original Adamo Thirteen which utilized authentic materials throughout including an aluminum frame and glass display assembled with Swiss watch-like craftsmanship. With the original Adamo, we worked to deliver this at a mere 16.4mm high and that helped make it the world's thinnest laptop at the time.

We wanted to build on that. That's why we decided to take some of the knowledge gained during the Adamo Thirteen development and push it even further. The result is the Adamo XPS a laptop that is 9.99mm. To give you an idea of how thin 9.99mm is, most cell phones today are thicker. The current iPhone is 12.3mm thick and a common USB port, found on most computers these days, is 7.5mm.

To arrive at a product this thin, we had to really start from the ground up. The traditional 'clamshell' laptop design just would not work. Over lots of late nights brainstorming, sketching, and prototyping we finally arrived our unique hinge design which results in an angled keyboard that is similar to a traditional desktop keyboard.

This angled keyboard allows for more efficient cooling, improved acoustics, and most importantly it folds into the display essentially disappearing when the laptop is closed. When you want to open the system again just swipe your finger across the cover and the keyboard pops open. Very cool and very James Bond! I've seen that GottaBeMobile.com mentioned that the latch does require power to open, which is true. If you find yourself needing to open the system for some reason without power (or if there's a technical issue with the battery and AC adapter), we've provided an override tool that does the trick. We've also included a 'hot swap' feature that allows you to switch batteries while in sleep mode without turning off your system.

The engineering team needed to be really creative in order to maintain the 9.99mm height. Lessons learned from Adamo Thirteen included unique mounts that allowed us to remove the metal casing surrounding the Solid State Drive. The team also split the motherboard into multiple pieces to allow the other components to be in the same plane. That is, in a traditional laptop the motherboard sits at the bottom, the keyboards and other component sits on top. All of this was too tall for the Adamo XPS so we effectively put the keyboard, and other components at the same level as the motherboard to minimize height. The team also needed to relocate the I/O ports (USBx2, audio, Display Port, and power) to the LCD since the palm rest was thinner than the ports.

Beyond making it thin, we didn't want to compromise on hardware. It sports a Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz ULV processor, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD drive and a slick 13.4 inch HD display. If you want to see more photos, Brian Solis posted some good ones on his blog, or you can check out the Adamo XPS set on Dell's Flickr page.

With its ultrathin yet sturdy design, aluminum enclosure, diamond cut logos, metal keycaps, and wing-inspired design accents we set out to make the Adamo XPS simply breathtaking. A lot of effort went into designing the next product under the Adamo brand. We hope you like the Adamo XPS.

The Clipper Group: Simplifying the SMB IT Experience

DELL-Antonio J — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:45:00 GMT

Today I would like to share the following article, Dell Expands the Data Center Options, which discusses the importance of simplifying the SMB IT experience. SMB datacenters have the same requirements from large data centers to remove complexity and make simple the IT process. This article does a great job presenting how well Dell is working to address these requirements from a SMB perspective. SMBs need to improve efficiency with more flexible and agile data center requirements, while controlling the costs. With our newest enterprise offerings – servers, storage, software and services we are working to deploy to our customers the infrastructure solutions that match the SMB data center requirements.

You can check out the article on The Clipper Groups's site.

ATI CrossFireX – Dual 1GB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4870 with GDDR3 memory

DELL-John B — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:01:00 GMT

A few days ago I ran across an interesting thread on notebookreview.com, where Alienware customers noted some confusion regarding the graphics memory on the ATI HD 4870 in the Alienware M17x. Some folks were reporting that their invoices listed the memory as GDDR5 instead of GDDR3, and were wondering which memory was actually on the card.

Just to clear up any remaining confusion, the card definitely has GDDR3, *not* GDDR5. While we’ve taken steps to correct the invoicing error, I hit up some folks from our engineering team to provide more detailed information on the subject.

The Alienware engineering team evaluated both GDDR5 and GDDR3 with the 4870 card. Because of specific design constraints associated with notebooks and the 4870, they found that the GDDR3 memory provided the better overall user experience for gamers. There are no current plans to offer GDDR5 in combination with a 4870 in the M17x.

Alienware will honor full refund requests for customers with incorrect invoices. I do recommend testing the cards for yourself before opting to return your M17x, though. I think you may be pleased with the results

OPI Colors Now Available in Dell Design Studio – That’s La Paz-itively Hot!

DELL-Sarah R — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:00:00 GMT

As you may have read, Dell has partnered with the color experts at OPI to bring 26 classic nail polish colors to the Dell Design Studio. Starting today, you can personalize your Dell Studio, Inspiron or Mini laptop with your favorite OPI color at Dell.com, whether for yourself or a holiday gift for the color lover in your life.

Many of OPI’s top selling colors including I’m Not Really a Waitress, Big Apple Red, Princesses Rule!, Louvre Me Louvre Me Not, Cajun Shrimp and Green-wich Village are now available. Looking for something bright? Check out Need Sunglasses? yellow, In My Back Pocket orange (Alyssa Kolsky Hertzig’s at Allure Magazine’s favorite) or my personal favorite Teal the Cows Come Home. Want to make a statement with some shimmer? Try Happy Anniversary, Smitten with Mittens or Holiday Glow.

You can view all the 26 options online and check out the full set of images on our Flickr site. Let us know what you think!

Also, check out the inspiration from OPI behind some of your favorite shades:

La Paz-itively Hot!

“Inspired by the lifestyle and culture I equate with South America – a passion for music, for love, for life – this color expresses the kind of wild abandon that makes me want to take off my shoes. And dance on the beach. With the wind in my hair. What can I say – it’s a hot color, not for the shy.” - Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI

I’m Not Really a Waitress

“Living in LA puts me in the heart of the entertainment industry, where you can see celebs and celebutantes just by grabbing a latte. My inspiration behind I’m Not Really a Waitress, OPI’s best-selling shade of all time, is the response you hear from every would-be actress who is waiting tables until her big break comes along. Created for the OPI Hollywood Collection, this is one shade that’s totally ready for its close-up!” - Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI

Big Apple Red

“Who doesn’t love New York? It has everything – fashion, theatre, four distinct seasons, energy, excitement, and the best bagels anywhere. Hands down. The place where the official color of fashion is black, this city offers big buildings, big ideas, big beauty – and big inspiration. For this big color.” - Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI

What You Need to Know About the Windows 7 Upgrade Process

Lionel_Menchaca — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:45:00 GMT

It’s been a busy time since Windows 7 launched last week. Many customers who bought systems after June 26 have registered for upgrade kits to move from Vista to the of Windows 7. So many, in fact, that we've had to address performance issues on the Windows 7 upgrade site. We've also recently corrected an issue that was causing incorrect ship date information in some cases.

Update: I heard from customers like Direct2Dell reader johnkett, shf doc and a couple of others that they could not get beyond documenting their current version of Vista during the registration process using the Chrome browser. Switching to Internet Explorer works. Firefox works as well.

Each upgrade kit will consist of two things: the Windows 7 operating system disc and an Upgrade Assistant DVD, which contains Windows 7 drivers and more. In this post, I want to take a few minutes to explain the process of getting your Windows 7 upgrade kit for eligible systems. First, I’ll outline the core steps of the process, then will explain each one further from there.

Determine system eligibility
Register your eligible system for the upgrade at https://win7.dell.com.
Place your order for the version and language of Windows 7 that you want
Once you successfully place your order, you can check the order status from the Windows 7 upgrade site at https://win7.dell.com

Checking system eligibility: You can buy a qualifying machine from June 26 - December 31, 2009. Check the system eligibility link (see image below):

Registering your system:

To register your system, start at https://win7.dell.com. You'll be prompted to enter some information like your name, e-mail address, the date of your purchase, the system type and service tag. In the Tell Us About the OS Purchased section (see below), be sure you choose the right OS version and details like 32 pr 64-bit. One common issue here is that customers are not choosing an OS language at this point in the registration process. If you do not specify an OS language, Arabic is the default language.

Some customers are running into an issue where either their system is not being recognized or that their system is not eligible for the upgrade even though they meet the eligibility requirements. If this is happening to you, feel free to let me know in the comments of this post or contact me (see the details in the last paragraph below).

Once you get through these details in registration, you'll be asked to create an account user name and password. You should see a screen like this one when you finish the registration process:

Soon after, you will receive an e-mail that confirms that you've registered. Form there, you will need to place your order.

Placing your order:

First step is to log back into the Windows 7 upgrade site. From there, you will see all the systems you registered in the top row. Assuming your OS language is available (see schedule here), you will be able to place a check in that box, the click the Add Kits to Cart button. Once it is moved down from the Registered section into your Upgrade Cart section, click the Complete Your Order button:

From there, you will be asked to complete details like your shipping address and credit card details (if shipping & handling fees apply). You will then be asked to confirm the order, review the terms and conditions, and complete your order. Soon after you complete your order, you will receive an e-mail that confirms your order details.

Checking Order Status:

At this point, once you log into the upgrade site, you will see an Order Status link. The time it takes to ship the upgrade kit will vary based on lots of factors like volume and where we're shipping to. In some cases, it may take up to 2 - 4 weeks.

If you encounter issues in any of the steps above, you can comment on this post or contact me directly through sending me a private message or you can e-mail me here. If you go that route, please share your service tag or order number, and let me know some details about your specific situation and I will try to help.

Many of the resources are found at the Dell Windows 7 Upgrade Site. That’s where you’ll find things like the FAQ, the System Eligibility List, the Release Schedule. Here’s the main Windows 7 Forum Page. Another main technical support resource is Dell’s Windows 7 Support Center (click on the image below to check it out).

We know there are many customers out there who are looking forward to getting your Windows 7 upgrade kit. We'll be doing everything we can to get them out to you as soon as possible.

Sharing UK experiences on B2B social media

Neville Hobson — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Note from Lionel: Below is a guest post from Neville Hobson. He and Shel Holtz continue to be a big influence on me as a blogger and communicator. If you're interested in social media and its impact on communications not already familiar with their podcast For Immediate Release, I urge you to check it out. I'm pumped that Neville will be taking part in an event at Dell UK headquarters with a host of other folks. Here's the scoop from Neville:

If you want some insight into who's doing what in business-to-business engagement with social media in the UK, the Dell B2B Social Media Huddle on December 7 is an event that you'll not want to miss.

During a full day at Dell's UK headquarters in Bracknell, we'll be hearing about and discussing insights and examples of B2B communication with social media from a wide range of business people who have direct experience of planning and executing communication strategies in which social media have played a measurable role.

The aim of this informal event is to bring together senior communications and marketing professionals to exchange and share experiences on B2B social media for mutual benefit.

The event is divided into three principal sections:

A general overview of the B2B social media landscape
Case study mash-up / unconference
Roundtable sessions on:
- Integrating social media into your programmes in the right way
- Social media and monetization techniques

The second section - case study mashup/unconference - has great promise to be the most interactive experience for everyone. There's no set agenda: if you have a business story you'd like to tell, you can do that on the day.

We've got a terrific line-up of speakers to help everyone make the most of the day:

Neville Hobson, Head of Social Media Europe, WeissComm Group, UK
Richard Binhammer, Senior Manager Corporate Communications, Dell Inc., USA
Steve Lamb, PR Manager, Microsoft Ltd., UK
Benjamin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder, Redcatco, UK
Kerry Bridge, Digital Media Communications, Dell Public Sector, Dell Ltd., UK
Jamie Grenney, Senior Director of Content, Community and Social Media, Salesforce.com, USA
Michelle Goodall, Online PR and Social Media Consultant/Trainer, Econsultancy.com
Sarah Wright, Enterprise Programmes Marketing Manager EMEA, Juniper Networks, UK
Henry Clifford-Jones, European Director, Advertising at LinkedIn, UK

You can get the details, including the agenda, in the event PDF at Slideshare. The brochure will be updated as more speakers join us.

The event is free of charge: if you'd like to participate, just sign up.

Dell Highlights Green Leadership with U.S. Congress

Gil_Casellas — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:25:00 GMT

I had the pleasure this week of sharing Dell’s environmental achievements and commitments with Members of the United States Congress. I testified at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement, meant to examine federal government policies to purchase and dispose of IT in environmentally responsible ways.

I highlighted Dell’s green operations, including our improvements in energy efficiency in our facilities, our use of renewable energy, and our achievement of operational carbon neutrality. I also described the work we are doing with our suppliers to encourage improvements in their operations. But the Representatives were most interested in the ways that we help our customers – especially the federal government – achieve their environmental goals.

As an original and active participant in the ENERGY STAR and EPEAT programs, Dell helps shape the standards for environmental stewardship, while we provide a broad range of products to the federal government that meet these high standards. We also help our customers rethink and improve how they use IT, from the desktop to the data-center. Finally, I described how our industry-leading programs for disposal of unwanted electronics help customers, including the federal government, ensure that environmental stewardship extends throughout the complete life-cycle of the IT they purchase.

If you’d like to learn more about our environmental initiatives, I invite you to check out my full prepared testimony, or visit www.dell.com/earth.

Windows 7 Migration and IT Expert Voice Site

Lionel_Menchaca — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Recently on Direct2Dell, we’ve hit you over the head with several consumer-focused Windows 7 blog posts, but the fact is that Windows 7 has a lot of implications for businesses as well.

It’s no secret that many companies are still running Windows XP on client PCs. In a survey we recently with Federal IT decision-makers, 72 percent said they did not adopt Vista. That said, I think Windows 7 will reverse this trend and many businesses will be migrating to the new OS.Take a look at Bruce Eric Anderson’s post on Inside Enterprise IT where he dives into the details and asks about migration plans.

That’s the backdrop for a new information portal we’re launching called IT Expert Voice. It’s a project we’re undertaking with Federated Media. While Dell is sponsoring this site and some of our folks will provide input on topics of interest, editor-in-chief Esther Schindler is responsible both for assigning the insight cases and for selecting what content goes on the site.

From the About section of the site: “IT Expert Voice is a resource for IT professionals who are concerned primarily with making technology work in their organizations, and in particular with deploying Windows 7 in a sane and trouble-free manner.”

Esther's primary areas of focus will include virtualization, mobility, storage, cloud services, and automated management - but you'll also find plenty of other technical overviews (tuned for an enterprise audience, obviously). If you've got other areas you'd like to see them write about, shoot an e-mail to Esther with your suggestion.You can also ping her via Twitter @estherschindler.

If this sounds of interest to you, I’d welcome you to check it out at www.itexpertvoice.com. You can also follow them on Twitter @ExpertVoice.

UK heroes tread the path to success

Steve Felice — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:00:00 GMT

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting the launch of our Take Your Own Path campaign in the UK - our seventh country launch in Dell's first globally integrated marketing campaign for SMBs. The event was held at the St. Pancras Grand, an art nouveau-style oyster bar inside the station that houses the Eurostar trains bound for Paris and Brussels. The inspiration being that Take Your Own Path is all about a journey, and that the heroes have arrived at their destination.

Our heroes cover a diverse range of industries but all have one thing in common - a burning desire to follow a dream and make it a reality. It was a real honour to meet such an inspiring and enthusiastic group of entrepreneurs. I also had the pleasure of congratulating the co-founders of A Suit That Fits.com - winners of the UK Dell Small Business Excellence Award 2009 who were invited to the event as special guests.

Each of our UK heroes - Lonely Planet, Good Energy Group, Jagex, Masternaut and Innocent Drinks - spoke to the assembled media and partners about how Dell had made a difference to their business - from being able to communicate from far flung places to the excellent service, and always delivering and being great to work with.

I was especially filled with great pride when several of the heroes mentioned how they really appreciated the way we took personal responsibility in meeting commitments to help them succeed. Beyond the technology and service that we provide, it is when we take the initiative to go that extra mile for the ultimate benefit of our customers that we deliver a truly competitive differentiator for Dell.

You can see photos from the event on Dell's official Flickr page and also watch some of the videos from the morning. The event generated significant media coverage in the UK, including CNN International, Marketing Week, IT Pro, Yorkshire Post, New Media Age, Marketing Magazine, and Hexus.

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Dell's aim is to be the number one SMB technology brand globally by delivering solutions that delight our customers, and this campaign is proof of our progress in this journey.

Create a Mini for Me with Dell Design Studio

DELL-Anne C — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:20:00 GMT

Today we expanded the Dell Design Studio to include the Inspiron Mini 10 and Mini 10v. This means that you can order a Dell Inspiron Mini that is distinctly and uniquely yours because for $85 you customized it with one of more than 200 original works of art and designs. For example, to celebrate the upcoming World Series, Yankee and Philly fans should check out their respective team design options (I will be checking out the Cardinals in anticipation of next season). Remember - each team has three design options ranging from the conservative "classics" to the edgy "die-hards."

Another favorite category will be the (PRODUCT) RED artwork, which generates a $20 contribution to the Global Fund in the fight to eliminate AIDS in Africa. We recently updated this collection adding new artists like Ben Grieme and Emil Kozak. Ben's designs are based on details found in his own photography - he will zoom in on one small element in an image until it's unrecognizable in its original form. Emil on the other hand has an eye for detail, and then subtly works in another, almost subliminal layer that often contains obscure references, or codes and hints.

Here's perspective from Ben Grieme: "(PRODUCT) RED challenges us to think differently about ourselves and how our responsibilities towards others affects all of us as whole. It asks for personal responsibility towards ourselves, our world, and to share ownership of worlds plight. In this series of work, I ask the viewer to give new life and meaning to the objects presented in their hues by adding the contexts of their own lives to the work. Mirroring the challenge set forth by (PRODUCT) RED to give life to a cause by sharing ownership, I hope to give life to the work through sharing ownership of the pieces with you all."

The Art section of the Design Studio currently houses the "Illuminations" collection, organized by guest curator Gordon Hull (check out the interview with Gordon - it definitely provides some interesting perspective.) I took my daughter on a tour recently and she picked out Rainbow Cloud Colorful light by Kamau Patton as her favorite, while I lean more toward Jim Drain's Wellwell.

We moved several of the most popular designs and artists like Derek Welch (Horizonte del Infinito) and Korakrit to the Classics section. Amazingly enough, designs by our inaugural artist, Mike Ming, remain some of the most popular, and can be found there as well.

We will of course continue to offer several color options on the Inspiron Minis, the most popular being Passion Pink, which generates a donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. However, in the next week or so we will unveil an expanded palette created in conjunction with the color experts from OPI, with unique choices like Dear Santa, Smitten with Mittens and Pompeii Purple. As we moved closer to announcing our relationship with OPI, there were two reactions inside Dell: the women were excited and the men confused (most had to be told about OPI, leading nail lacquer supplier worldwide). I advised one of my more skeptical male colleagues to do some quick market research with his wife, which he did. Within a couple of minutes of hitting send on an email to her, she responded with her current top three colors, plus what their 11-year old daughter prefers. She definitely validated that this program resonates with women everywhere.

By expanding our personalization options to include the Inspiron Mini devices, we are allowing people to customize a Mini for Me (not to be confused with Mini Me). So have fun, make it unique and ensure Inspiron Mini is never confused with someone else's no matter where your travels take you.