On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 3:27 PM, Jerry Feldman <g...@blu.org> wrote: >> If you buy a Dell, I *strongly* recommend the "Gold Tech Support" >> package ... > > If you buy "Gold Tech Support", what do you get if you buy a laptop with > Windows installed and install another OS,, like Fedora or Ubuntu.
I've never had anything less than excellent results from Dell GTS. I've switched versions of Windows, and while they've remarked that the system shipped with something different, were still perfectly willing to help. I believe their phone menus prompt you for the OS you're running; if not, they can transfer. Back when Dell's Ubuntu support consisted of a gift certificate for Canonical, it might have been difficult, but I think their support is better integrated now. While it wouldn't surprise me to hear you're still talking to a Canonical employee, I think you can go through Dell's phone system to get there (but don't quote me on that). Outside of the "regular" support avenues, Dell also offers a Linux wiki and some mailing lists, and quite a few top-level engineers hang out there. Often you're talking to the guy who actually wrote the drivers. There's an officially supported RPM/YUM repository for the Dell management tools, and an "unsupported" repo with various firmware and other utilities. If you're running a Linux distro Dell doesn't support/train on, that may limit how much they can do for you. However, I've generally found Dell's Linux people to be quite willing to help. For example, while Dell doesn't officially support Debian, there is an unsupported Dell APT repository with all their firmware and management tools as .deb packages. So you can just add that repo and do "apt-get install smbios-utils" or whatever. Or so I'm told; I haven't tried it. > ... Dell [warranty] is 90 days. I think it depends on the product line (Latitude vs Inspiron, for example). But their standard support is worthless in any event. Thick accents, heavily scripted, unwilling and unable to help. That's why I recommend the Gold support. With Dell, customer service is basically an option. You can pay for it and get it, or not, your decision. > WRT: Gateway. We used them in 2 different companies I worked for ... I could tell endless horror stories. New systems shipped missing parts. Dust-covered, used parts shipped as new. Field service guys arriving without parts or any clue of what to do or even that they're working for Gateway. Unrecognized model/part numbers, and thus no way to get drivers. Component changes in models that they didn't know about, and thus getting the wrong drivers. Cats and dogs living together. Mass hysteria. You get the picture. -- Ben _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss/