Dell to Buy Alienware? 309
An anonymous reader writes "Well, looks like rumors are flying, and Dell may have bought Alienware according to an article on cnet.
It really would fit Dell well. They are the last big manufacturer not to use AMD, and this would fill that void. Acquiring this company would also help them grow their business to where they want it to be ($80 billion anually). One can only hope that Alienware support and hardware won't be ill effected by this acquisition."
New Ads (Score:4, Funny)
Re:New Ads (Score:5, Funny)
Re:New Ads (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:New Ads (Score:5, Funny)
Customer service? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Customer service? (Score:3, Informative)
IBM always did well in this reguard, with a 30-day no questions asked return policy.
Re:Customer service? (Score:5, Informative)
When I worked phone support for laptops, the policy was three within a centimeter, four in the arbitrary "center", or seven overall. If they won't warranty eight stuck pixels because some of them aren't "in the center" then their warranty sucks.
Re:Customer service? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Customer service? (Score:4, Insightful)
They always replace mine or the credit card charge gets disputed and I have never had to pay it.
When they tell me it is "industry standard", I tell them to feel free to send it to "The Industry" who should be thrilled with it, but that it is not up to my standard.
LCD technology is no longer bleeding edge. Do I know how many components go into making a 1600x1200+ LCD screen? Yes. But I have seen enough perfect ones to know that they exist in huge numbers.
Why should I pay the same price for 5 burned pixels that someone else paid to get a perfect screen?
An LCD with ANY burned out pixels is ... defective. Period. I don't care what anyone says, burned pixels are a pain in the ass, and when you have forked out $3,000 for a machine, they stick out like a big middle finger.
I buy Samsung panels because they have a zero dead pixel policy. They also have competitively priced displays. Apparently it can be done without a company going into bankruptcy.
It's just easier and cheaper to have you accept a mistake by quoting "Industry Standards" which are no any more legally binding or carry any more weight than my preference for chocolate ice cream over vanilla.
Set your personal consumer standard. If it is not met, dispute the charge until it is met. If it is between that, or a chargeback, you will get your display replaced 99% of the time.
I've had to go through this dance 3 times, and have never settled for a fried pixel.
For the consumers that don't care about burned pixels, "slightly imperfect" LCD's should be offered to those consumers at a discount.
That way, everyone gets what they pay for.
Re:Customer service? (Score:2, Informative)
Bought an aurora 7500, floppy was DOA, took 26 days to get a new one thanks to their ineptitude. Machine randomly locked on cd insert thanks to their extra software, bios had problems, chipset fan died (twice). Now given, sometimes machines have problems, but the techs were just horrible, unskilled, and without a clue. I was regularly hung up on, ignored, and given the run around. I would have sent it back, but they were going to charge
Re:Customer service? (Score:2)
Re:Customer service? (Score:2, Informative)
On the other hand I really like the machine now that it works properly but I dread the day I have to call if something breaks.
Re:Customer service? (Score:2)
As soon as we tried to cancel, the first response was 'the parts will be here in 4 days!'. The same afternoon 'Ohh, the parts just came in!'. Whatever. We ordered a dell, with better specs for the same price [no wonder, it was two months later], and it came in two weeks late
Alienware customer service is total B.S. (Score:5, Informative)
Add to that my X, C, and V keys were DOA, and when I powered up the computer it informed me the CMOS battery was dead. Alienware advertises extensive power-on load testing -- if any of that were true, they would have found and corrected this problem as soon as they tried to power it up! Additionally the video card and wifi drivers were not installed, so their marketing B.S. about fine-tuning drivers for you is just that.
To top this all off, I had to pay a 15% restocking fee to return my laptop for a refund. That was a $4k machine. Even after their false advertising as to the laptop design and absolutely no in-house testing -- despite the falsified testing sheet that came with it -- I lost $600 to them and it was two full months until I got the 17" Gateway laptop I now have. And it runs great.
So maybe Dell will bring some credibility to Alienware, because it's totally bullshit. Do some Googling and you'll find hundreds of stories like mine.
Shaun
Re:Alienware customer service is total B.S. (Score:4, Insightful)
For those who don't know, if a vendor gets too many complaints to their merchant provider, they run the risk of getting dropped. Amex is great for this and I never use anything else when ordering online.
Re:Customer service? (Score:2, Informative)
I spent the last month or so researching Alienware as I really wanted to buy one of their desktops. After talking to their Sales Rep online 2x and on the phone 1x I had one of those gut feelings that what I just experianced wasn't what I expected. So, I started googling "alienware sucks/problems"
What I found out started to make sense once I realized that my conversation with sales reps was on par with peoples attempts at talking to customer service reps on getting issues with their machines resolved.
I
Re:Customer service? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Customer service? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Customer service? (Score:4, Insightful)
WOO HOO! (Score:5, Insightful)
All the while lining the pockets of good ol' Mike Dell.
I'll keep building my own, thanks.
Re:WOO HOO! (Score:5, Funny)
Please insert ten pages of laughter, Rofl, until the medics arrive to handle the heart attack this creates.
Re:WOO HOO! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:WOO HOO! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:WOO HOO! (Score:3, Funny)
Most of the time call center employees are told not to give out their exact location because some of the customers can get more than a little upset.
I wouldn't really think India, the answer the GP poster was speaking of, really qualifies as an "exact location"... So you've narrowed the call center down to a region of 3.3 million square kilomters. What's the upset customer going to do, go there and beat up a billion people?
Re:WOO HOO! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Introducing!.... (Score:5, Funny)
Thank you, thank you, I'll not be here all week.
Re:Introducing!.... (Score:2, Funny)
Then Thank YOU!
Luckily for you..... (Score:3, Informative)
Luckily I was there yesterday. 6/10 for effort though.
-Charlie
Obligatory: I For One Salute ... (Score:2)
Support Affected? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Support Affected? (Score:2)
The people they send for onsite are generally substandard, and it takes a near eternity to get through online, compared to other corporate hardware support. If I've got a problem on the HP mainframe, I can have a g
Re:Support Affected? (Score:5, Informative)
First we buy the higher-end support options from Dell.
Second, and most important, we take the Dell Certified Service Engineer Exams. There is a cost to this, but by keeping Dell-Certified Techs onsite in our own organization we never have to sit on the phone while someone with less ability (or even no clue at all) tries to 'diagnose' the problem. We find the problem, order the part, and Dell ships it or sends a install tech the next day.
Granted, we're a large organization with 20,000 or so systems, but the Dell Cert process is only a few hundred dollars and would pay even with a few hundred systems.
Re:Support Affected? (Score:2)
The computers will mysteriously stop using DNS even if you do a ipconfig
Nice machines... not!@
Re:Support Affected? (Score:5, Informative)
First of all, if you REALLY have an HP Mainframe, you are paying a LOT in maintenance costs. I've never seen the actual costs for Himalaya support plans (only IBM 360's) but there is NO WAY that the costs are less than what Dell charges for even Premium Platinum Server Support per machine. I'm thinking the HP stuff would run probably a grand or two per month (and that's not that unreasonable since the mainframes start at the $250K mark - 10% of the value per year is normal for support).
Dell's would be at max around a grand or two per year, which makes sense given their systems start at around the 2K - 3K range, though can obviously get up to the $10K - $20K range.
If you had difficulty getting a hard drive (3 Days???) you didn't purchase the premium support plan, which will have a guarantee to have replacement parts ONSITE in 4 hours. Dell maintains distribution centers all over the world stocked with spare parts for these customers.
If you have "Critical" systems, you spend the extra money on premium support, PERIOD. That's true if you buy from HP, IBM, Dell, or whoever. ABSOLUTELY NO VENDOR makes the 4-hour guarantee (which IMO is essential for anyone running "Critical" systems) without charging you extra.
I'm a Dell employee, but these are not necessarily the opinions of my employer...you know the drill.
Re:Support Affected? (Score:2)
Well, their phone techs are vaguely competent, though a pain to work with. They don't accept that you have done diagnostics already. Even when they are the ones that had you do it five minutes ago. But, for the most part, either they know how to diagnose a system or the scripts were written by someone who does.
then, you get to shipping the part out. Confirming the address three times on the phone and it gets sent to the wrong place. Oh, and this is after half an hour waiting
Re:Support Affected? (Score:2)
All my rich uncles have either Alienware or Dell systems. These are users who need tons of support, and they are all equally happy. Also at the school district where I work we are 100% Dell. As long as the box is under warranty or service contract Dell is amazingly responsive to service and support needs.
I hope you are joking. Dell ranks no where near the top for support/customer satisfaction and their consumer hardware tends to be some of the least reliable. I've put in orders for 100 or so identical de
Re:Support Affected? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Support Affected? (Score:2)
Obligatory grammar pedant (Score:4, Informative)
It's affected not effected.
Effected means to have actioned. Affected means influenced by.
Re:Obligatory grammar pedant (Score:2, Funny)
Do you call yourself a grammar nazi? Go outside and think about what you've done.
Re:Obligatory grammar pedant (Score:2)
Re: (OT) Obligatory grammar pedant (Score:3, Interesting)
One can hope that this acquisition won't adversely affect Alienware hardware and support.
(That is, if you're OK with the occasional split infinitive).
Too many verbs and modifiers in the original.
(I hope you're OK with this sentence fragment).
(And I hope you're OK with my use of the abbreviation 'OK').
(And I hope you're OK with me beginning a sentence with a conjunction).
Hardware and Support (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Hardware and Support (Score:3, Funny)
Ooooh. Must order one of those!
I had to check twice to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Sad to see them going lowend.
Re:Hardware and Support (Score:2)
Local shops and friends vary in quality (Score:2)
I'd add the caveat that you need to go to a PC shop you know and trust, or to a friend whom you know is capable and always available. Both of these approaches carry their own risks. The one or two people at the PC shop who really know their stuff may move away or take another job. The friend who put together your PC may grow to resent your tech support calls, straining your friendship.
I'm only a casual gamer, (whi
Re:Hardware and Support - slightly OT (Score:2)
Re:Hardware and Support - slightly OT (Score:2, Informative)
You did make me recall that every time I called Sun, I received excellent support. Especially since I was having difficulty with a machine that due to security reasons I could not send them raw core files and could not allow them access to the machine. They provided me with analysis tools so that I could extract the necessary data they needed from the core files and get into to a p
Re:Hardware and Support - slightly OT (Score:2)
A local Dell spokesman has effectively denied rumo (Score:5, Informative)
Re:A local Dell spokesman has effectively denied r (Score:2)
Alienware Support? (Score:5, Informative)
When 2 of my keys fell off on the 4th day I owned the laptop, the CS Rep (Juan) informed me that he couldn't replace the keyboard because it was more than 3 days old, but he "off the record" suggested superglue to me.
Re:Alienware Support? (Score:3, Interesting)
And don't be fooled into believing that your Alienware will never overheat, with all of those fans. I do everything I can
Re:Alienware Support? (Score:5, Insightful)
Assuming of course you pay for the expensive option where you get a special phone number to call, and where they guarantee to send a technician out within 24 hours. I paid $300 to get 3 years of that, and I was sooooooo glad I did so when it turned out the laptop I bought was defective. Obviously, I'd prefer never to get defective merchandise, but having them come to me, instead of having to do any shipping or whatever was great.
Re:Alienware Support? (Score:2, Informative)
Granted, it'd be nicer not to have these problems in the first
Re:Alienware Support? (Score:3, Informative)
Oh, so they are just like Dell? When the tilde key broke on my laptop they told me to ship it in to them for warranty repair. When it got there they told me it broke from abuse (mind you this key was about 1/3 the size of any other key on the keyboard and when this occured ~ was common in URL
Re:Alienware Support? (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't consider "good support" to include misinformation, hassles, and multiple phone calls *after* they already have taken your device hostage.
Most people would probably bend, needing their device ASAP, and pay the $300 instead of the $27.
Re:Alienware Support? (Score:2)
Are you sure about that? (Score:5, Informative)
Disaster for us independents (Score:2, Interesting)
The good thing about companies like Alienware (and other smaller makers) is that you get lots of choice and you can configure your box just about any way you want it. Also, you can change things after you buy it
Re:Disaster for us independents (Score:2)
Re:Disaster for us independents (Score:2)
Re:Damn! (Score:2)
End-run around Dell's OEMs (Score:5, Interesting)
With this, they'd get a company that makes it's own AND gain access to some supply of AMD without having to bring it in as a full mass market Dell product with the supply issues that would cause.
Samsung would probably jump for joy as they would no longer be embargoed from selling computers under their own name in the US.
Who knows. Voodoo says it's true. Dell denies it. Alienware will neither confirm nor deny. If these were politicians speaking, Dell's denial would be laughable and Alienware's respose would be code for confirmation.
Dell downplays Alienware acquisition rumor (Score:2)
From the article: "Speculation about a possible buyout has been rife since Rahul Sood, CEO of original equipment manufacturer Voodoo PC, posted his thoughts on such a move on his blog two weeks ago.
damn these blogs.
Makes more sense than XPS (Score:4, Insightful)
Now if Dell would offer Linux as a equal choice (I'm not talking about buying Linux or a 'naked' FreeDOS box on a similar system that is *more* than an XP box!). With Apple's Intel offerings starting to look great, people that want to run OS X for fun will be swayed once they try it, and people like me who have no use for XP are already planning on buying a new MacBook for OSX/Linux dual boot. If/when they have the abiltiy to run XP too, well I think Dell should be a bit worried, but they'll still beat them on price (well, not with these Aliens they won't!)
Re:Makes more sense than XPS (Score:2)
Re:Makes more sense than XPS (Score:2)
trimming the fat (Score:3, Informative)
Re:trimming the fat (Score:2)
AlienatedWare (Score:3, Funny)
Sadly it has been affected, now they are calling this new merger 'AlienatedWare', and furthermore, all tech support is done by 'aliens.'
bah (Score:2)
couldn't get much worse.
Pretty cases (Score:3, Informative)
Of course Alienware does actually make quality computers, and I purchased one myself since I don't have the time to build my own...but here's a tip....order from their small business line. Its WAAAY cheaper, you get the same components for the most part...and the only thing lacking is the flashy case that screams "Alienware just scammed me out of $500 bucks for this case".
Re:Pretty cases (Score:2)
Alienware should buy Gateway. (Score:5, Funny)
...sorry.
It is real (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=30043 [theinquirer.net]
and then got more info the other day that also backed up the CNet and AMDZone versions, so I wrote this:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=30289 [theinquirer.net]
Then the new CNet 'backpedal' piece came out, and it looks like someone is spreading hardcore FUD. So, I spent the morning tracking down rumors and leads, calling sources to see who their sources are and the like.
Short story, the sources are not talking to each other, and contrary to the CNet implications, it is not a grand plot by Rahul. I was told last week that it is a done deal, and nothing has changed that view since, but a lot has bolstered it.
The tepid denials (A friend of a guy who knew someone from Dell Australia) and the like are not what I would call good evidence. I have talked to three people who gave me some very convincing evidence about the purchase.
All that said, take it with a grain of salt, but when you start hearing about anouncement dates, it may be more than smoke and mirrors.
-Charlie
alienware burned me. Dell can improve them. (Score:5, Informative)
-Model is discontinued, and they have 0 parts for this model.
-They have no competitive upgrade, I would have bought a newer laptop if they would have given me something for the old one.
-Alienware said "sorry" and referred me to a company in CA who does laptop component repairs.
At this point I sent it to the company in CA who said the MB was totally shot. they gave me some money for the case and the LCD and shipped me my hardrive back.
Hopefully Alienware can learn a few things from Dell on how to support their products.
A totally disatisfied customer.
Alienware? (Score:2)
So seti@home [berkeley.edu] was successful after all! I can't wait to see all those new DELL PCs with true alien tech! Any Linux port to this new alien arch yet? It should be hard to get the spec from such a distant vendor!
Funny that this has been posted..... (Score:2)
http://evans.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/3/1
And, just like everything else Alienware sells, (Score:3, Funny)
Alemonware (Score:4, Interesting)
Quality (Score:2)
If Dell bought them, at least the quality would go up.
What support? (Score:4, Insightful)
Most recently I have had a problem with the little screws falling out of my laptop and with my AC adapter dying.
1. I shouldn't have had to call in to get mailed screws (which is aside from the fact that screws shouldn't have been falling out of my laptop in the first place). This should have been simple enough to handle via e-mail, but no, I had to call.
2. I shouldn't have had to wait for 40 minutes on hold when I *did* finally call Alienware.
3. I shouldn't have been lied to by the first person I spoke with, who told me that part was all set and that I'd receive it shortly. When it didn't arrive and I called back they said they were out of stock and they'd ship it when it was back in stock.
4. They really shouldn't have been out of stock of the AC adapter for a laptop STILL UNDER WARRANTY.
5. When the DID finally ship it they shipped it do an address that I haven't used with them in YEARS. I then had to have people I knew at said address (it was a previous employer) ship me the part.
All of this is on my second Alienware laptop, whose only major problem is that it resets if you bump the DVD-ROM the wrong way (this is annoying, but avoidable, and I didn't feel like sending it to them to fix it). This is my second laptop only because THEY HAD TO REPLACE my first one after months of tech support, three round trips back to Alienware TO FIX THE SAME PROBLEM, and TENS OF HOURS on the phone.
In the end... (Score:3, Interesting)
Model seen in auto industry (Score:2)
Interesting this should come out (Score:3, Interesting)
Alienware Store looks familiar (Score:4, Insightful)
This is rather wierd feeling.
It's not true (Score:2, Funny)
Dell Site vs. Alienware Site (Score:3, Informative)
And to think... (Score:5, Informative)
Now that Alienware has sunk to Dell's inferior standards, it's only logical that they allow themselves to be bought out. Dell and Alienware are practically the same thing, only one of them sells office hardware and servers, too. Think about it - overpriced, overhyped piece of shit computers sold in attractive cases? Piss-poor technical support that can't speak a word of English? The only thing these two companies still have going for them is a barely-par warranty package, and even then they're both flaky about that. They're both washed-up computer manufacturers peddling electronic turds wrapped in pretty packages.
What a drag, but hey. If you're going to build a computer right, you do it yourself.
ok, I have to bite on this (Score:2)
I go to school for a Gaming and Simulation engineering degree. To attract more students, one of the things we wanted to get to show off was a lab of alienware. We had a bunch of grant money, and a very limited amount of time to spend it before it was taken back from us, so we had to make some quick decisions.
We bought about 4 DLP projectors, some firewire DV cams, a nice security syste
Hmm? (Score:2)
huh, how is this a good fit (Score:2, Interesting)
It really would fit Dell well.
Alienware is like the Mercedes of PCs. Their computers are typically over priced and aim for a very specific niche market (gamers).
Meanwhile, Dell is a bulk seller of commodity parts. They're the Civics, man. How in the world is this a good fit? It seems more like a really awkward fit to me.
Re:huh, how is this a good fit (Score:2, Insightful)
And Toyota/Lexus
Ford/Jaguar
Etc. etc.
Re:Embarrasing (Score:2)
Re:Poseur systems (Score:2)
Re:cheap systems (Score:3, Insightful)
Talk to them. "oh yeah I used my old video card, the hard drive, keyboard, mose, and monitor for the old system."
In other words, most of the time they aren't building, they are just upgrading.
Alternately, they skimp. Maybe their girlfriend just laughed at their manhood, so they get the best video card and fastest processor, and put them in a system with the cheapest parts available. Spec sheet it might look
Re:cheap systems (Score:3, Interesting)
Dell doesn't use top end components, but their parts are quite a bit better than the real bottom of the barrel stuff you'd have to go with to meet their price points buying individual components. Most dell systems are pretty solid. There are ridiculous numbers of them out there, and except for the 270 series optiplexes, the vast majority will go their warranty period without a problem.
Have you really seen the true bottom of th
Re:Only suckers buy Alien or XPS (Score:2)