Deb, I had a round with Dell customer service that was also very frustrating. I sent a complainant to the BBB. That took care of some of the frustration. I understand the frustration. I was ready to smash mine into the floor. My poor doggies were wondering what in the world I had turned into.  I will never buy another Dell. It will not be long now before I buy a lap top or another desktop. Dell it will not be.

Well my nephew has given me  his laptop to use until either I go postal or Dell does something.  Now I have to load all my business programs etc onto his computer.  I'm going to being doing this shortly, after I retire to my room with a cold pack on my aching head. 

rndrew01 says ...

well,i have a dell at work and a laptop dell.I think they stink.... I had one built that is awesome...:) from some online company  mycomputerclub.com and it works very well and certainly not the price....

thanks rndrew, I just checked out the site.  Terrific prices and it's got just what I want.  As soon as my rebate check comes, I'm signing up and getting a new puter, just for business

Hi guys, just joined the Nursing Link and was browsing the forums.  I fix computers to help pay for college for an organization that will remain anonymous until my time with them has ended :).

I see probably ten new laptops/desktops every day, including HP, Toshiba, Sony, Dell, Gateway, eMachines, Compaq (HP), and Macintosh (iMac's and Macbooks). 

Honestly, except for the Mac's, they're all essentially the same hardware.  I have more difficulty inside of Windows Vista with the HP's, software-wise. 

When it comes to purchasing computers, for the most part, you get what you pay for.  The Mac's are more reliable and easier to use, hands down.  They have a longer battery life and are tweaked well for their purposes (utilizing the Mac OS).  Also, the Mac's can have Win XP installed and emulated inside of the Mac OS (If you use a partition program) or can be booted from separately in place of the Mac OS. 

However, if you're not looking to spend $1200 or more on your notebook/desktop, the performance/reliability of PC's will scale with their price.  The arguments for or against certain brands can be likened to Chevy vs Ford vs Honda, etc.  It's largely based on personal experience. 

Kilios.  I spent a whole lot of money for my Dell laptop.  I also spent the money for the extended warranty.  My beef is not with the computer, but with Dell customer service and tech department.  I just received my computer back two days ago.  I found out, when I had a crash a year ago, the system was not loaded correctly by the tech who helped me, which is why I've had so many problems with my computer since then.  I have not spoken to one tech in the last year or so who's first language is English.  It is extremely frustrating to be asked the same question over and over again,and they still don't understand the problem.  OR to be told to do something and I have to ask them to repeat what they've said because I couldn't understand them.  Another policy I truly dislike with Dell, is you have to ship your computer to them for a repair, rather than having a local certified repair center available. 

The retail-level Dells aren't that bad.  However, outside of Macs, the brands are all the same hardware, just slightly different software.  I'm sorry that you guys have had bad experiences with Dell, but I hear equally good and bad about every computer brand.  When it comes to performance, you get what you pay for.  Most consumers will not find a difference in hardware reliability until you move to a Macintosh, but even then you'll have just as high of a chance of having a hard drive fail.  As people, we collectively give great weight to our individual experiences.  One person will tell me how they had a bad hard drive and Dell came out to their house the very next day and replaced it.  Another will say they never had a problem with the three Dells they have owned.  Then, of course, some people have had nothing but problems with this or that. 

Again, there are practically no differences in retail-level computer hardware.  So, we should only speculate as to the software differences.  Dell utilizes some of the fewest processes, making them boot up faster or run faster.  Their support utility inside of Vista is actually fairly user friendly.  Hewlett Packard offers extensive multimedia software, often saving the common photographer money because they don't have to go out and buy Adobe Photoshop Elements or Corel (both of these companies produce WAY better software, but the family photographer is usually happy with HP's stuff).  Gateway does not really offer any bonus software, same with eMachines.  Acer tries to implement effective troubleshooting and PC Health software, but they did a terrible job and they are nearly impossible to get ahold of.  Their computers do not even have a stable recovery environment when utilizing the partition.  Toshiba and Sony both load up their systems with advertisements and ultimately have little to offer in the way of bonus software. 

As to over-the-phone tech support - Gateway is the only company still offering North American technical support.  I understand the frustration of being transferred or disconnected endless times and then when you actually speak to someone, you cannot understand them or they do not know what they are doing.  But, Gateway excluded (for now), every other company uses support based out of the Middle East.  Reason? The last report I read over a year ago estimated that it costs ten times as much money to give an American a phone and cubicle than someone from overseas.  With the market on computers being so cutthroat, is it any surprise that quality of product and customer service takes a hit? 

Kilios - Thanks for your valuable insight - I haven't known all even though I try to keep up..

Kilios, please accept my apologies because it was not my intention to make you feel as if you offended me.  You did not offend me in anyway and I'm most appreciative for information given.