Posted on 01/09/2009 1:54:43 PM PST by raybbr
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Computer maker Dell Inc. (DELL) (DELL), trailing Hewlett-Packard Co. in worldwide sales, could have used a home run at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Instead, it came to Vegas with a model and a mirage.
At a news conference Friday, Dell executives said the company would launch a luxury line of computers under the brand name Adamo. A model stood and removed a thin, black laptop from a bag and posed "Project Runway" style for a scrum of photographers. She did not turn on the computer, and Dell gave no details about what's under the hood.
Alex Gruzen, a senior vice president in Dell's consumer product group, would not say how much the new machine would cost, but emphasized that it would be a high-end, high-performance laptop. He defended the company's decision to launch a luxury line during a recession.
"It's not the only product we're launching," he said. "It's the right time, with the technologies and materials for us to satisfy a very important Dell customer segment."
Adamo, or "to fall in love with" in Latin, is set to debut with more details sometime in the next six months.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.excite.com ...
All my boxes are built by me - I have two. One runs on Linux Mint and the other XP Pro. Been building them for ten years.
Two laptops. One a Lenovo - ok. One a Toshiba - pretty good with Vista.
ping
I have a couple and have been pretty happy with them. I needed Windows on them and buying that retail would have made a home built system about as expensive as I could buy it from Dell.
“She did not turn on the computer, and Dell gave no details about what’s under the hood.”
Sounds like Bambi.
Also, the name reminds me:
or
A square piece of duck tape appeared where you might expect the Apple logo.
We bought laptops for our two kids in college this Christmas. We found two Dell laptops actually in stock for the sale price advertised at Best Buy - they went through the whole attempt to sell us extended service plans, and we said, no, no, and hell no - if one of the kids break the laptop, it’s on them to pay to fix it. The guy then rings up the laptops and tries to charge us $69 more for an “optimization fee.” When we asked, WTF is that, they explain that the computers had been already “set up” by whatever it is they call their IT people. At that point, the laptops were only $100 less than the MacBooks our kids really wanted (they’re $949 with student/educator discount) so we told Best Buy to take a flying leap and ponied up for the MacBooks.
We were in and out of the Apple store, with two MacBooks in 10 minutes, despite the store being crowded as could be...no gimmicks or bait and switch.
It still runs Vista.
As far as competing with Apple, it is pretty hard competing with a cult. I have a nephew that has joined the Apple cult. He showing me his laptop the last time I visited. It was nice, and did some nice things, but he was gushing over it as though it was some huge advancement. I was thinking “So, I’v seen the same thing on both Linux and Windows platforms.” I didn’t tell him that, because I didn’t want to deflat him.
The really interesting, cutting edge stuff is happening on Linux, not Apple. The problem is there is too high a learning curve for most people to even start using Linux.
IMHO, Apple is the computer for people that don’t know much about computers/technology. They make a nice system with an emphasis on ultra ease of use. The irony is Apple started out as the geek/hackers computer, and now it has become the favorite computer of the non-computer literate.
If I had to buy my grandmother a computer, it would be an Apple.
If I had to buy a computer for someone studying computer science, it would run Linux.
If I had to buy a computer for a business, it would be a Windows machine.
What is a “luxury computer”? Do the keys have a mink lining? Maybe a diamond stud on the “F” and “J” keys for finger positioning?
Somehow I think the timing isn’t quite right for a “luxury” anything.
That's simply not fair. :(
Where'd you get that?
There is such a thing as mail. :)
Not a big fan of Dell these days. I suppose they’ll work. I’ve purchased at least 150 HPs in the past year and only had one that needed re-imaged.
I'm a Thinkpad user from way back in the 80486 days. Great laptops. My T30, also running openSUSE 11.0, was one of the last of the IBM models. So far the Lenovo is living up to the Thinkpad name, but I haven't yet dropped it a couple of times while it's running like I did the T30. Which BTW, other than a corner missing from the case, still works fine.
And I absolutely refuse to use a laptop the doesn't have a trackpoint mouse. I can't stand those trackpads.
Linux often gets to have cutting-edge because the development cycle is extremely fast and you can do things like replace the entire graphic system with another one at the drop of a hat (a Red one maybe?). That advantage creates a problem though, no cohesiveness anywhere. You learn Linux on your friend's computer, you might have a learning curve on your other friend's Linux computer. Apple does keep the cutting edge in interfaces. Everybody's still trying to copy the iPhone.
As far as cutting edge in hardware, the new notebooks have shown that no OEM comes even close to Apple. They're all so far behind in the horse race the manure has dried before they catch up to it.
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