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Dell's Slimy Practices

Dell is cozying up with anybody it can, damn the consumer. I have always built my own machines, but recommended Dell for others; not anymore.

Dell has now given me reason not to ever recommend their machines again.

When my in-laws needed a new machine, I recommended a Dell (that was in 2003). Just this past Easter, I was at their home and doing some service on the machine; I was using Internet Explorer and the MSN homepage (they have a different homepage set up, but this is what I use when I am on their machine to access the things I need). When I am on their machine, I use the main MSN page and an MSN page that I have personalized.

On Memorial Day weekend I went to use their machine, and all of a sudden the MSN pages on Internet explorer had been changed to "MSN powered by Dell!" Even my personalized MSN page had been changed to "MSN powered by Dell!", and both of them had all kinds of Dell-specific advertising and other garbage added to them that could not be changed or deleted! (Forget editing a column on your personalized page to get rid of the Dell crap, it couldn't be done). Even when I manually typed in www.msn.com, it came up as the MSN powered by Dell page.

INSTALLING a bunch of crap at the factory that can be deleted by the user is one thing, but putting in a back door so you can alter the end user's browser pages is another! This is also the perfect argument for ordering the OS disk, wiping the drive as soon as you get the machine, and installing the operating system from scratch.

While this is not technically "my" machine, I am the one who is responsible for technical support on it and am extremely ticked that Dell is coming in through the back door and altering things two years after their warranty has run out.
If they want to offer an operating system patch, fine. If they want to offer a driver update, fine. If they want to offer other updates that are actually pertinent to the operating of the machine, that's OK.
Making unwanted and unrequested changes to the user's personal preferences three years after the machine has gone out the door for the explicit purpose of crapping the machine up with advertising is just plain slimy.

Dell didn't lose just one customer with this move, they lost several. I will never recommend them again.

Posted by: Dave 628   Posted on: 06/07/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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