So long, Alienware, it was nice to know you

According to the Wall Street Journal (paid subscriptions only), Dell is about to buy Alienware. (More details from ZDNet here.) Pretty soon Dell customers will be able to spend $10,000 for a PC.

It will be interesting to see how those first buyers react when they have a problem with that Dell PC and get shunted into the world’s worst technical support system. I’m still getting comments on posts from 2004 like this one, and the quote from Dell CEO in this post is priceless and clueless at the same time.

In the six months or so since I last wrote about Dell, their service has become worse. I’ve now been waiting 24 days for Dell to repair a defective motherboard on a notebook computer that’s still under warranty. The sheer incompetence of their support organization is breathtaking.

If you’re thinking of buying a Dell – or an Alienware – think again. There are plenty of well-run companies you can give your business to. You’ll get a better computer, and your blood pressure will stay within medically acceptable bounds. Trust me on this one.

Wireless access anywhere

I’m traveling this week, which has given me a chance to try Cingular’s Broadband Connect service.

So far, so good. I’ve had reliable service in every location where I tried it, including some where my mobile phone could barely get a signal.

The best use so far? This past weekend we drove from New Mexico to Arizona on I-40, into what the National Weather Service described as a “severe winter storm.” I checked the forecasts and satellite images before leaving home, but things can change during an eight-hour drive. We were prepared to stop halfway and spend the night if necessary. Instead, I was able to monitor the weather ahead in real time (from the passenger’s seat, of course) and determine that we could safely press on.

For the next few days, I’ll get a chance to try the service in airports, hotels, and office buildings.

It’s hardware day!

I didn’t plan for this to be hardware day, but that’s the way it’s working out. I’m having some issues with network connectivity on my new Windows Vista installations, and I’ve confirmed that my router is the source of the problem. A replacement is on the way, but for now I’ll need to swap in a different router from a different manufacturer to get back up and running. That should take a half-hour or so. In addition, one of my two seven-year-old Mag Innovision LCD monitors appears to have died. It’s hooked up to the Dell 8300 that I’m planning to use as a Windows Vista test bed, so I’ll need to replace it right away.

I always, always look on hardware failures as an opportunity to upgrade the things that have the most impact on my workday. I considered buying a cheap LCD to use with the test system, but I’m considering buying a new high-end display instead and shifting displays around the office till everything looks right.

Currently, my main desktop PC is attached to a pair of 18-inch Dell UltraSharp LCD monitors running at 1280 X 1024 (SXGA). The Media Center PC on the other side of the room has a 20-inch widescreen Dell UltraSharp 2005FPW (1680 X 1050 resolution). I could really use some more screen resolution, so I’m tempted to upgrade to 1600 X 1200 (UXGA). That means going to 20-inch (or larger) displays, which cost a minimum of $450 each. Buying two of those would put a serious dent in the hardware budget.

An alternative strategy that I’m seriously considering is getting one new 21-inch LCD that runs at UXGA (I’m seriously tempted by Samsung’s 21-inch 214T) and using it as my primary monitor, then moving the widescreen 20-inch Dell LCD to my desktop and pivoting it into portrait mode so it runs at 1050 X 1680. (The two 18-inch LCDs now on my desktop would move to the Vista test system and the Media Center PC.) In that configuration, I could use a browser and outlook on the UXGA monitor and get more usable working space in Word. With Windows Vista Inside Out and Special Edition Using Office 2007 both in the pipeline, I’ll be using Word to crank out a few million words over the next few months. So that should be a pretty good configuration for my needs.

The increase in working space is pretty impressive: My current dual-monitor setup (two monitors at 1280 X 1024) gives me 2,621,440 pixels to work with. The new configuration covers 3,684,000 pixels, which is a better than 40% increase.

What refresh rate should you use with an LCD monitor?

What refresh rate should you use with an LCD monitor? The answer might surprise you.

If you’ve ever used a CRT monitor, you know that fine-tuning your refresh rate is essential. The refresh rate of a display is measured in Hertz (abbreviated Hz) and specifies the number of times per second that a display is illuminated. Setting the refresh rate to 60 Hz – a common default value – tells the monitor to redraw itself 60 times per second. For most people, that setting on a CRT monitor is too slow, resulting in an annoying flicker that can cause headaches, eyestrain, and fatigue. Bumping the refresh rate to a higher number can reduce that flicker, as long as the monitor itself can handle the faster rate.

So, what if you have an LCD monitor? You can safely ignore the refresh rate setting. Changing this number in Control Panel has no effect on an LCD.

Why? This snippet from the NEC Monitor Technology Guide explains it well:

Flicker is a result of phosphor decay; that is, after the energy from the electron gun is transferred to the phosphor material, the energy and the resulting light begin to decay very slowly until the electron beam hits the phosphor again. …

Since LCD monitors do not employ phosphors, refresh rate is not a concern. Basically, the transistors in the LCD remain open or closed as needed until the image changes. This can be a point of confusion for some consumers, however, since most graphics cards still “ask for” a refresh rate setting. This is due to the analog nature of existing graphic cards (see “Inputs” section) and their support for CRT displays. While refresh rates do not apply to LCD monitors, most LCDs are set up to accept any settings from 60Hz and above.

If you still use a CRT monitor, check its specifications and then experiment to find the refresh rate that works best for you – it’s not a one-size fits all setting.

But if you use an LCD monitor, you can take this item off your list of tweaks.

Update: Although the refresh rate setting will not affect your comfort (LCDs don’t flicker), you might find that a change in refresh rate setting affects the LCD’s performance. This article at Apple’s web site, for instance, reports on possible playback problems when using Final Cut to play back video clips on a monitor set for a 60 Hz refresh rate. If the LCD manufacturer specifically recommends a different refresh rate, go ahead and use that setting. In most LCD monitors I’ve seen, the default setting of 60 Hz is ideal for everyday use.

New gadgetry

I didn’t realize it, but apparently I made a New Years resolution to replace a bunch of the hardware I’ve used for the past couple years.

I’ve got a new Acer TravelMate C314 Tablet PC to replace the trusty Toshiba 3500 I’ve had since 2003. I’ll have more on my first impressions of the Toshiba in a post later today.

My iRiver H120 has lost its slot in my traveling bag to the Creative Zen Vision: M, which I’ll be writing about over at Ed Bott’s Media Central.

I’ve got a few other gizmos to talk about, too.

I’ll update this post with links when the other pieces are ready.

Q&A: Windows Product Activation

Two system builders left interesting questions in the comments section of my earlier post, Everything you always wanted to know about Windows Product Activation.

TJ asks:

I was just wondering if anyone knows of any tool out there that is able to validate a keycode, I mean to check if this keycode is still valid, has not been activated. I know I can call MS but when you have to check over 100’s of licenses its not really convenient.

I know of no way to check the validity of a Windows product key except by trying to activate an installation. In fact, if such a tool did exist, I presume hackers would target it immediately with a flood of requests to find valid, unactivated keys.

The answer (and it doesn’t work retrospectively) is good record-keeping. If you keep unactivated license codes in one file folder, you can pull one out and use it when needed. As soon as that code has been activated, write down the customer’s name and invoice number and then move the paperwork to a second folder, where you keep “used” (i.e., activated) license codes.

Next up, Jake Andrews asks:

We are a small Computer Repair service, and System Builder. We use nothing but legit software and operating systems, all are sold with the OEM OS package: CD/COA-Sticker.

However, we repair lots of Dell/HP etc systems, and often require an OS re-install, and the Keys on the COA sticker do not work without a 10 min call to Microsoft. This has begun to drive us crazy, is there no way around this? Of course the clients don’t have the original CD’s even if they were provided from the manufacturer, but with a legit Key there should be a way around this.

This one’s tricky. If the client brings in the original recovery CD provided by Dell or HP (both royalty OEMs), you can reinstall the operating system and no activation is required. If you use the key on the sticker, however, you have to call in. No way around it, as I explain in the Royalty OEM section of the original post.

If it were my business, I’d tell clients upfront that there’s a $20 extra service charge if they own an SLP-locked operating system and don’t bring in their original distribution media when they bring their PC in for repair. That should cover the 10-minute phone call.

Why do new PCs come with so much junkware?

Dwight Silverman links to an excellent post today by Claus Valca, who explains why it takes 4.5 hours to make a new PC usable. Part of the burden is updating drivers, part is installing third-party security software, but at least an hour of it is cleaning up bundled software that comes preinstalled on new consumer PCs, with users having no choice over whether to get this stuff. Dwight adds:

During a meeting with some Dell executives at CES, I asked Sam Burd about why his company loads so much junkware on its PCs. He said Dell is just trying to give people some of the software they need to get started right away.

Bullshit.

The makers of the bundled software pay cash to Dell for every copy of junkware installed on a new PC. (Hmm, where else have I seen that business model?) Pretending that this is some sort of noble customer service is a flat-out lie.

Update: And to be fair to Dwight, who is a bulldog reporter in the best sense of the word, I know that he would have liked to ask a follow-up question about who pays for junkware installations, but the press conference format didn’t allow it. Hope he gets a chance to ask those questions the next time he gets a one-on-one with some Dell execs.

Blu-ray versus HD DVD

In the race to determine the next big DVD standard, HD DVD appears to be winning.

Jack Schofield at the Guardian Unlimited Technology Blog passes along a report that HD DVD players will be available in March at prices as low as $500 . At a press event, last night, I talked with a Panasonic rep who was working at the Blu-ray booth. He said Blu-ray hardware would be available sometime in the summer, and a Blu-ray spokesperson said she was doubtful we’d be able to see hardware before mid-July.

The Blu-ray picture sure did look good, though!

Update: More details at Ed Bott’s Media Central.

How to buy your parents a PC

Remember when your parents bought you gifts for the holidays? These days, it’s the other way around. If your parents are still using the PC you bought them just before the turn of the millennium, it’s time for an upgrade.

Microsoft’s Juliana Aldous Atkinson just wrote a nice piece that lists 6 steps to follow when buying your parents a computer.

It’s not overly technical, and her checklist covers all the basics, with some nice links to additional resources.

Finally, a big enough backup disk

I stumbled across this press release from Maxell and In-Phase announcing their new holographic media:

Holographic recording technology utilizes intersecting signal and reference laser beams to store data in a number of 3D hologram images capable of saving hundreds of data pages in a single location. One 5 1/4 inch-diameter optical disc can store up to 150 million pages– more than 63 times the capacity of DVD, the companies claim.

Also, with holographic recording, a multiple of form factors, such as discs, cards, and laser wavelengths (red, green, and blue) can be used.

The companies plan to bring holographic media to market by Sept. 2006.

It’s about time removable media got out ahead of fixed media. A 1.6 terabyte backup disk? I’ll take two!