Slashdot Log In
Dell Begins Selling Inspiron Mini 9
Posted by
timothy
on Thu Sep 04, 2008 03:33 PM
from the lightbulbs-in-round-rock dept.
from the lightbulbs-in-round-rock dept.
mocoloco writes "A week after the rumored date, Dell has begun selling their entry into the netbook/subnotebook/UMPC market, the Inspiron Mini 9. The base system for $349 includes Ubuntu 8.04 "with custom Dell interface", 512MB RAM, and a 4GB SSD. There are options with XP, one that includes an 8GB drive and a $40 instant savings, another with a 16GB drive and 1GB RAM that has a $55 instant savings. Curiously the Ubuntu systems are a pre-order at this point, to be shipped within 15 days. Also, no Red option yet."
Related Stories
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Not in Canada (Score:5, Informative)
Like normal its not on the Canadian site. Usually launches in the Us of product is on the same day in Canada but Dell dose not give us Canadians as many options for pc/laptops as they do to the US. HP also has a limited website for product configuration/product compared to the US. Considering how closely tied we are and how most company release Canada/us same time this would be in Canada to.
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Funny)
You should learn to proofread. You're giving us Canadians a bad name, therefore Dell won't sell their new products to us.
Parent
Re:Not in Canada (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Munitions export laws. You guys are poised to attack us. Look, you've even amassed all your population along our border. And you don't even pronounce the letter 'o' correctly in 'about'. And don't even get me started on about the beer....
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, it's weapons-grade beer. You've also stocked up most of this continent's oil too... hmmm.
Parent
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah. OK, well, uh, we found, uh, this mouse in a bottle of YOUR BEER, eh. Like, we was at a party and, uh, a friend of ours - a COP - had some, and HE PUKED. And he said, uh, come here and get free beer or, uh, he'll press charges
Parent
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Informative)
Historically, the reason that Dell hasn't released products in Canada at the same time as the US is because they need to sell it in French as well as English. That means they have to translate the manuals, and that they need to provide French-language technical support. Doing otherwise would open themselves to a lawsuit for discrimination. They don't have French tech. support for *any* of their Linux offerings, which is what explains this one. That's what prevented the Insprion N-series Linux-based systems, as well as the XPS One from being released in Canada.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
And yet they'll release to France next, right?
That's what they did for ubuntu systems, at least. =/
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Informative)
Good point. I probably wouldn't have thought of that even. It's just another reason why having mandatory second languages hurts companies and the consumer.
Lots of companies dealing in Canada don't have french support. Even many Canadian companies don't. Head over to to the West Coast (French is primarily spoken in Quebec eastwards, and dwindles the farther west you go.) By the time you reach Vancouver the odds of a small business having any one that speaks french above a pre-school level is pretty low.
Sure their products still have bilingual labels and instruction booklets and they'll happily ship them to Quebec, but that's about the extent of it, and its not expensive to have a translator write those for you. Point is, lots of Canadian websites and companies are english only.
Dell does have to provide french language manuals and labelling with their products which is a minor burden, but they do not have to provide french language support.
They offer french support not for regulatory reasons, but for competitive reasons, to appeal to french speaking Canadian, and also to make them eligible to sell to large Canadian enterprises and government entities that require bilingual support for practical reasons -- they want to buy computers from a company that provides support in the same languages that their employees speak.
Because Dell chooses to offer support in French, its in the interest of customer support simplicity to offer it consistently across all their products, not just some of them.
Parent
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Insightful)
Big disclaimer: French is (or was) my first language. I live 100% in English, 'cept when I visit long-time friends or family.
As an ex-Quebecer, I have absolutely no pity for unilingual French speakers. English is the de facto language of business and of the world. Chinese people speak English. Indian people speak English. Dutch people speak English. Hell, Chinese people IN QUEBEC speak French and English. So why the hell do less than half of all Quebecers speak any English ? I'll be quite frank: if they're too dumb to learn English, they're too dumb for me to give a damn. I make one very narrow exception, and that's for people who didn't have English classes in school at the time - that was a while ago!
Now don't get me wrong, I think French is a lovely, expressive, intelligent language, and I would never want it to vanish. Even our cussing is artful and rich! But less than two percent of the whole world speaks French, and the great majority of them live in France, about 90% of all French speakers, to be exact. There are roughly twice as many French speakers in France as there are Canadians in Canada! So really, why does our so-called Government force every single business to do backflips for this tiny demographic sliver of society ?
I don't know of any other non-religious nation that is so anal about language. Do English people in Japan whine to the government about not being about to read anything on the goddamned menus ? No.
Parent
Re:Not in Canada (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd call that stupid for you, for not having done your research in advance.
Please explain, how is it worse for you to have a product available in a language that you do not speak than it is to not have that product available at all?
Parent
Re:Not in Canada (Score:5, Funny)
"reboot your PC" - "rechargez votre PC"
"reinstall the operating system" - "réinstallez le du système d'exploitation"
I've got most of the work already done!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
What about bilingual English/Klingon? Should be a fair number of them.
The value of Windows (Score:5, Informative)
I just love it! Go price out the same specs with Linux or Windows. The Windows machines are cheaper! Gotta love this, Linux is now more valuable than Windows!
Yes I know what is actually happening, Dell is keeping Microsoft happy. But lets all spin this as Windows is now the option nobody wants and see what happens. :)
Re:The value of Windows (Score:5, Interesting)
No kidding! Go fully-loaded with Linux and it costs $20 more! LOL. MS must be practically giving them XP.
Parent
Re:The value of Windows (Score:5, Informative)
They are. Having dealt with some OEM contracts, XP can end up as low as 5$ per license. Then add what companies pay Dell to install crapware, and you end up with negative cost (until people start developing crapware for Linux anyway)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yea people don't seem to realize that the crapletts are a source of cash. Dell probably makes a good $30 more installing Windows than Linux.
I wouldn't mind paying for Windows version if only I could use that copy of XP on a different machine.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
There are enormous economies of scale in the Windows marketplace
I understand, but are you telling me that Dell's cost to install Linux on a hard drive exceeds $20 + the cost of the Windows license? Dell is legendary for cutting costs - I doubt that the load costs them anything significant... hell, they may even dump the responsibility on a vendor.
I think it is much more likely that all the income from the crapware on a Windows install more than makes up for the cost of the Windows license.
Re:The value of Windows (Score:5, Interesting)
Yea, well couldn't you get the Windows one, refuse the EULA, and get $100 back? That sounds like the way to go to me. :)
Parent
Re:The value of Windows (Score:4, Insightful)
The Windows OEM EULA leaves the refund/return policy up to the manufacturer. While some manufacturers have paid out to placate angry customers, they're not required to give refunds. Since Dell actually supports Linux on this laptop, they'd probably just ship you a Linux restore CD to wipe away Windows. (At cost to you, of course.)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:The value of Windows (Score:4, Interesting)
lets all spin this as Windows is now the option nobody wants and see what happens. :)
Nobody wants? Lots of people want Windows. Surprising though it may be, outside of technically aware circles, there are many computer owners who don't even know Linux exists. Then even if they find out, how many shops sell Linux software on their shelves? Again, there are still lots of people who like to buy their goods in high street stores.
I'd buy the Windows version, put the backup media aside, then install Linux, in full knowledge that if I decide to I can change to Windows with ease.
I wouldn't want a machine without an option to install Windows on it if I want to, and that means getting the licence when I buy the machine.
But then I must be a freak, because I like Linux and Windows XP. Ok, not Vista, I'm a freak, but I'm not crazy.
Parent
Re:The value of Windows (Score:4, Insightful)
> Surprising though it may be, outside of technically aware circles, there are many
> computer owners who don't even know Linux exists.
Outside of technical circles most people only know Windows exists from the PC vs Mac commercials. Try an eeepc and you will know understand that if properly preloaded the average person can use Linux just fine, especially on these new small machines where running 3D shooters isn't going to be an option anyway.
> I'd buy the Windows version, put the backup media aside, then install Linux...
Thats you. Me, I am typing on this Thinkpad that we wasted money on an XP Pro license for that MIGHT have accumulated twenty hours of use in four years, because we didn't have a choice. Then I probably blew more than a man day on getting Linux up and fully twiddled. Gimme a preload anyday and keep yer stinkin Windows sticker. Now if Dell would sell one preloaded with XP AND toss in a Linux recovery disc I'd think about it. Somehow I suspect Microsoft won't be subsidizing that option though.
Parent
Re:The value of Windows (Score:4, Interesting)
Funny that the build your own doesn't allow you to select the OS. It would feel so good to select one of the Windows configurations and be able upgrade to Ubuntu. But with any luck once Ubuntu isn't a pre-order, you'll be able to.
Parent
Re:The value of Windows (Score:5, Interesting)
It is more of a fact that they need to alter the production line and put a different OS on the system. Thus costing more as it is an exception to the process. When you are mass producing things every step of customization costs more. Having Linux or Windows option means most likely the drives default come with windows on them and then there is an extra step to reimage it with Linux. This doesn't have anything to do with Linux being better or worse then Windows, or even the cost of the licenses that dell needs to pay for it is about costs of mass production. Say each Windows License costs Dell $100.00, it is quite possible the extra step in production is costing dell $120 for an exception of a Linux image (Labor Costs+Benefits, QA, support, inventory....) It all adds up.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The value of Windows (Score:4, Funny)
This irks me, if you go to the "design" tab and hit "Meet the Mini" it says "Look for Ubuntu Linux 8.04 with custom Dell interface when customizing your Inspiron Mini 9, or upgrade to Genuine Microsoft Windows XP."
So XP is considered an Upgrade? Aaarrgh!
Parent
Curiously (Score:4, Insightful)
There are options with XP, one that includes an 8GB drive and a $40 instant savings, another with a 16GB drive and 1GB RAM that has a $55 instant savings. Curiously the Ubuntu systems...
Aren't eligible for "instant savings."
Instant Savings= money we pass on to you for loading bloatware?
"With Custom Dell Interface" (Score:5, Funny)
Cue ominous music...
$99! (Score:5, Interesting)
yourblog [direct2dell.com] found via endgadget. [engadget.com]
Re:LED Display? (Score:4, Informative)
Just means that the LCD is backlit by LEDs rather than a cold cathode. It's a good thing, as I understand it - lower power, for one thing, but not any actual new display tech where the LEDs form the pixels as in OLED displays.
Parent
Available in the UK (Score:4, Informative)
Review with video (Linux version)... (Score:5, Informative)
Shipping Date - GRRRRR (Score:4, Informative)
I just ordered mine a few minutes ago and got my order confirmation. The anticipated shipping date is October 10Th !!!!!
Cheaper Widescreens Yet? (Score:3, Interesting)
I bought a Dell Inspiron 8000 in 2001. For $2200, it came with a 15" 1600x1200 screen, the first one in an under $5000 notebook. I knew I was buying a PC that would stay "current" for quite a while (despite its P3/1GHz and slowish CD-R). But if I want to jump to the next higher resolution now, 1920x1200 (1080p), I've still got to spend well over $2500.
After the past 7 years, in which notebooks, TVs, projectors, phones, iPods and everywhere else I look have made substantial LCDs a huge mass market, why aren't these things cheap yet?
I don't really need a palmtop PC to take everywhere. I'd rather keep my phone with me all the time, and use it as a remote and mic/earphone when I'm near a PC (maybe booting the PC off my own secured Desktop stored on the phone). If P4/2GHz/1GB/GPU notebooks with 1080p (1920x1200) screens 15" or bigger were $500 each, I'd buy a bunch of them to leave in my usual haunts, instead of schlepping them around.
How long must I wait?
$99 with another Dell machine (Score:3, Informative)
Look at the keyboard before you buy! (Score:5, Informative)
I was actually considering one of these until I took a close look at the keyboard.
They moved the quote key.
Look at it! The '/" key has been relocated from right next to your pinky to somewhere weird! How the fuck am I supposed to touch type with that monstrosity? WTF!
Anyway, buyer beware.
With 4, 8 and 16 GB of RAM... (Score:3, Interesting)
It seems that mini-laptops such as these almost REQUIRE the user to carry extra/external storage media/um. If one is to put Mandriva or PCLinuxOS, or SUSE or Fedora, etc, on it, say, and add even just 1/2 of the available popular mag-distributed DVDs, one would be short on space in a short period of time after adding personal /home/user/user's-files.
Another thing: I am soooo sick and tired of those kiss-ass computer makers running adverts such as "[Dell/Toshiba/Fujitsu/Sony/HP/et al] recommends microsoft (operating system) (for all your computing needs)", as IF there is no Linux/FreeBSD/BSD available. IF windows WERE all there was, then there'd be no NEED for ms to payola these guys to even say such slogans/subliminal types of messages.
It would be nice if some of the US advertising laws would have to follow some European laws where product placement cannot disparage or misrepresent other competing products. Even better, it would be nice if some products (such as operating systems) were required to list at least 4 (or some number of) competitors or near-competitors. This way, mshaft would not keep getting the near-free ride they get.
If those adverts said, "microsoft recommends vindoze wista instead of (Ubuntu/Mandriva/PCLOS/Red Hat/SUSE/Fedora/et al) for all your computing needs (such as surfing wired or wirelessly, burning CDs/DVDs/watching DVDs, creating web sites, writing programs, composing music, managing servers, doing some CAD, hosting content, learning to type, studying astronomy, and a few dozen other things that ALL of these OS' can do equally as well as or better than our own wista).... See you sales person for a demo/floor comparison!", why, then Linux/Open Source would probably finally get some improved/increased professional polish, Linux-specific vendor drivers, more press, and increased loosening of ms' illegally-obtained near-death-grip control of the market.
Now, if only Linux land comes up with a true end-user WYSIWYG database/front end like Lotus Approach. If only i could legally get my hands on win XP pro to replace vista (the piece of crap it is, using 1.5 GB RAM and nothing to show for it relative to XP -- and to Linux as regards graphics bells and whistles), which is crippling two of my Lotus SmartSuite apps....yeh, IBM might have released patches, but STILL....
Finally, what'll REALLY be awesome for mini-/mid-full-size laptops/portables will be unpluggable/swappable video chip modules so that users can get more out of their graphics-related task software. Not necessarily to increase time between hardware upgrades, but to give more flexibility for situations when weaker video options limit us. For example, it would be nice to not have to buy external bulky video splitters. My backpack already is at 35 lbs, what with my 8.5 lb, 17-in display, dual-hard drive Gateway, my mouse, 3DConnexion, several books, about 2 inches of 8.5x11 papers, adapters, USB tip converters, index cards, and other miscellaneous stuff, with enough space to stuff in my lunch. Hell, even when I carried my 2001 Sony Vaio, in another, smaller back pack, with a portable Canon printer and wedge-like surge strip, one of my friends asked, "Man, what the *fuck* you got in there? You look like a BACKPACK bomber"...
Re:Needs an HD option (Score:4, Insightful)
> SSD is cool and all, but a 80GB disk would be cheaper
And be larger, heavier and draw more power. You are missing the point of a SMALL laptop.
Parent
Re:Needs an HD option (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Discounts make the Windows=Linux in cost (Score:5, Informative)
The discounts on the two windows based versions equal out the cost of configuring the Linux version exactly the same. The resolution of the screen is 1024x600 making it slightly better than some competitors.
I don't know how you configured yours, but if you specify everything:
1GB DDR2 at 533MHz
16GB Solid State Drive
Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 capability
Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
Windows=$479
Ubuntu=$494
Parent
Re:Linux + Bigger HDD? (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Custom Dell Interface? (Score:4, Informative)
Parent
Most higher-end EEEs come with Linux... (Score:3, Interesting)
...whereas the higher-end Minis come with XP.
Re:I rather have an eee (Score:5, Interesting)
I get about 7-8 hours of *actual* battery life with my 1000H in the field with the optional Asus AL24-1000 8800mAh battery for Eee PC 1000H (yes, I ebayed it straight from Taiwan/China). NOTE: The 1000H comes default with the Asus 6600mAh AL23-901 battery (about 5-6 hours *actual* runtime).
I yanked the OEM 1GB SODIMM and replaced it with a PC-5300 2GB Corsair Value Ram SODIMM. (After updating to the latest Asus 1000H BIOS, it detects the full 2GB SODIMM, whereas before the BIOS update it only detected as 1GB, but still worked fine at 1GB...) It appears the Atom chipset memory limit at 1GB is artificially crippled initially.
Also yanked the OEM Wi-Fi card and installed a much better Intel 4965AGN Wi-Fi card.
I am about to replace the OEM Seagate 5,400RPM SATA 80GB HDD with a 64GB SATA SSD, but the run times named above were with the factory HDD and the Asus WinXP performance profiles set to "Auto". (Note that the Asus Eee 1000H has an 80 GB HDD with two 32GB partitions, the OS is ont he first one and the second one is not used. (but present as a D drive. Ans yes, you can install any notebook SATA drive, including the 320GB Seagate model, according to my buddy). Not sure why the 32GB WinXP partition, but it can be modified by pulling the drive and using Partition Magic (or whatever) to delete the other partition and change the size of the primary 32GB partition to fill the drive...
As I understand it, Microsoft has deliberately restricted the systems that can be licensed with OEM WinXP by mandating that devices having screens smaller than something like 10" or 11", and no more than 1GB of RAM, a HDD no larger than 80GB, and a processor slower than 1.8GHz. (Someone feel free to correct me on the exact WinXP OEM Netbook licensing hardware restrictions, but I have read about there somewhere recently...)
It is probable that the *nix versions of Dell's teeny PC can have larger/better hardware installed because *nix does not cripple the Atom-based PC's hardware restrictions.
The REAL QUESTION is, will Dell do what Asus did and allow their BIOS to allow 2GB of RAM and different NICs and BT modules and HDD. (But I rather doubt that Dell will release a 8800mAh battery for their Atom-based Netbook... I would like to publicly state to Microsoft that, "I think that a hardware *restriction* policy for OEM Netbook WinXP is just a bunch of CRAP!" Maybe Linux will eat their lunch because of it... Too bad I have to have windows for my work software...
Parent
Re:I rather have an eee (Score:5, Interesting)
I think you're mistaken abut the 1GB memory and the BIOS update. To expedite boot-up, the eee skips alot of the hardware checks that precede the OS initialization. You can restore them in the BIOS setup.
My 2GB stick wasn't recognized as more than 1GB until I entered BIOS setup for the first time. I think that was the first opportunity the system got to say "Oh, look, new RAM."
I assume that flashing the BIOS also forces a hardware check on restart, which would explain why it suddenly started working for you.
Parent
Re:I rather have an eee (Score:4, Funny)
Geez, that's a lot of "yanking" and "pulling". Are you sure you're talking about a laptop? If the processor should ever fail, I wonder if Asus is going to honor the warranty considering the case has been violated more than Paris Hilton.
By the time you're done, you could have had Steve Jobs personally build you a custom MacBook with knurled hand-rubbed walnut trim.
Parent
Re:I rather have an eee (Score:5, Informative)
It had an AzureWave AW-NE766 Mini-PCIe card factory installed so just I removed the standard white and black antenna connectors and swapped cards with my Intel 4965AGN card. (because the Intel card has more features and is well-documented.) I just had no third antenna to connect to the center "gray" antenna connection on the Intel card, but it works fine.)
Here is an article of an EeePC 1000H it with the back cover off, etc... http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1474/2/asus_eee_pc_1000h_under_the_covers/index.html [tweaktown.com]
Parent
Re:I rather have an eee (Score:4, Informative)
Parent