[ale] stupid pricing games

[Jeremy T. Bouse]

Richard Bronosky wrote:
> I don't know the model but my mother-in-law is the "more expensive is
> better" type. She called Dell wanting the best. They sold her a 19
> inch hunk of Lead that she can't even tote. The screen is the worst I
> have seen since 1991. It has a "1980's (projection) big screen TV"
> bright bar that goes across the screen horizontally and shifts as you
> tilt it. The edges are so dark that you can't tell the time without
> tipping the screen back. It's an absolute disgrace.
> 
> On 6/25/09, Jeremy T. Bouse <jeremy.bouse at undergrid.net> wrote:
>> Brian Pitts wrote:
>>> On 06/25/2009 04:45 PM, Ned Williams wrote:
>>>> Ever since Dell started offering MS alternatives they have always been
>>>> higher priced for some mysterious reason.
>>>>
>>> FWIW, the Inspiron 15 starts at $299 with Ubuntu and $349 with Windows.
>>>
>>> Upgrade the processor to the T4200 and the battery to a 6-cell and
>>> you've got a decent laptop for the average home user for $364.
>>>
>> I've got an older Dell Inspiron 640m that I've only upgraded the RAM,
>> added a bluetooth adapter and swapped the Broadcom WiFi card for an
>> Intel one that I have used daily for a couple years now without any
>> problems.
>>
>> That Inspiron 15n wouldn't be bad for me, but I'd have to go with the
>> T6400, throw in the bright, glossy WLED screen, max out the RAM, give it
>> at least a 250GB drive, add in the bluetooth adapter and webcam to be
>> something I'd take home... Still that's under $600...
>>
>> Actually that's less than the Inspiron 1525 I got for my wife with a
>> T5800 and Vista that we paid over $800 for last October when her HP
>> DV6000 died. The two systems are otherwise fairly even spec'd including
>> RAM & HDD... Her's just didn't get the bluetooth adapter...
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> 

Sounds as if your m-i-l got one of their XPS series systems... They are
big and ugly but supposedly the best Dell as as they're made for gamers
and such. Inspiron series are meant more for a business laptop and a
step up from the Latitude series. Granted mine isn't as light as my old
Sony Vaio PictureBook but it's not as heavy as my old Toshiba
SatellitePro either... I carried it back and forth every day to work
until boss offered me a dual-head display workstation if I left it at
home :)