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May 28, 2008 3:58 PM PDT

Michael Dell's got a Dell Netbook, and you don't

by Dan Ackerman

Carrying around a prototype is a CEO's prerogative.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

We didn't think we'd miss much by skipping All Things D, the conference hosted by grandfatherly tech journalist Walt Mossberg, but we were clearly wrong.

Head Gizmodo guy Brian Lam ran into Dell founder Michael Dell at the show and caught a glimpse of what appears to be a not-so-top-secret prototype laptop. With a bright red shell and a body that reminds us of the Asus Eee PC and the HP 2133 Mini-Note, this mystery laptop is very intriguing.

Does it have an Intel Atom CPU? Is it a surprise back-to-school model, or is it just a prototype that may never be released? Will it hit the sub-$700 price tag of other Netbooks? All excellent questions...

New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan.
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by Mr. Dee May 28, 2008 7:22 PM PDT
Michael Dell, if you are reading this, could you fix my Dell Latitude c840 purchased in September 2003? It won't boot and all my data is on it.
Reply to this comment
by Remo_Williams May 28, 2008 8:20 PM PDT
*******, for $80 and a copy of R-Studio you could have pulled that data off by now... but point taken.

my response is for the author of this teaser ad: hey, aren't you supposed to be GETTING THE ANSWERS to those questions? what is it about "blogger" that equals "lazy"? oh yeah, it's the dearth of actual facts.

-R
Reply to this comment
by lionel_menchaca May 29, 2008 8:15 AM PDT
Mr. Dee:

Sorry to hear that your Latitude D840 is causing some problems. Feel free to send me an e-mail (lionel_menchaca@dell.com) and I'll be glad to get you in touch with someone who can help.

Sincerely,

Lionel Menchaca
Chief Blogger
www.direct2dell.com
Reply to this comment
by MaxPepVal August 5, 2008 6:42 AM PDT
Could anyone contact an American speaking person at Dell for me? I have always had Dell computers and been happy with them until March when I purchased a Dell Vostro. It has been nothing but problems and I have been on the phone for numerous hours trying to understand someone about what is wrong with the laptop. I had to send it back because the mother board went out after two months and I also lost all of my wedding photos as well. They supposedly repaired and sent it back but it had the same problems all over again. I had asked for a refund and they sent me another Vostro laptop which I received yesterday and then had to spend another additional 2 1/2 hours with a someone who I had a difficult time understanding. I asked to speak with a supervisor and they transferred me to an american, name witheld in New Jersey who was incredibly rude as well. I guess there is no way that I can get a full refund since I can not find any one that I can get a straight answer from. I have
had such a miserable experience with Dell. I wish they made products with integrity like they used to and also wish that they still had some kind of customer service. I am stuck for the time being but I will tell everyone I know exactly how I feel about Dell in the future.
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by aftigr September 2, 2008 6:37 PM PDT
Well I have had pretty good luck with Dell tech support for the last ten years. I have heard horror stories from people with every single company you can think of, but I have found personally that if you are technical and push your point you will get what you want - EVENTUALLY if you can outlast them!

That said - has anyone ever tried "LINKSYS" tech support??? Outsourced to somewhere, but it will definitely make you want to bash your head against the wall! I will never buy Linksys again...
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