Dell Ships Gaming Systems Sans Bloat

An anonymous reader writes "Dell has followed up and put their money where their mouth is after HardOCP panned them last year for selling 'gaming systems' that you could not even install some popular 3D games on due to the bloatware on the system. You can now get clean installs on some XPS Dell systems. Dell is running a 'You Spoke, We Listened,' header on their site." From the article: "It seems that Dell has taken our criticism (and our readers as well) to heart and has made the much sought after move to offer select XPS systems with "limited" pre-installed software. We phoned a Dell sales representative late Monday, and he confirmed that the installation is completely clean, except for the included anti-virus program. As explained to us by Dell, There is no AOL installation, no "media jukebox", and no ISP offers to weigh the supplied operating system down."

Alienware

[LiquidCoooled]

Of course they are going to say they listened to the public, but it probably came from Mr dell having a grey alien over his shoulder now whispering things about customer satisfaction and doing the right thing.

Remember, they were shoving this crap down our necks for years then all of a sudden just mere weeks after buying Alienware we see this...

Re:I gotta say.

[crerwin]

I have the feeling that AOL or NetZero or whoever has pre-installed software on the computer is paying Gateway money per unit for the 'advertising.' If the software was on a DVD that everyone will just ignore, the cost of the computer may be more.

Re:That changes everyting.

[CastrTroy]

The thing I hate about Dell is that if you want something with a non-integrated video card, then you have to pay over $1000 CDN. I find that this is unacceptable. I can get a $500 machine from my local computer retailer with a not-too-bad AGP video card. Why can't Dell provide this?

Not that big of a deal.

[Andy Dodd]

Considering that the Symantec (specifically Norton) products preinstalled on my E1705 were the worst behaving (and most difficult to remove - in fact I couldn't completely and cleanly remove them) components of Dell's preinstall, the fact that they are leaving an antivirus in their preinstall doesn't really help much. Antivirus programs are notorious for causing performance problems.

Wonderful how Dell is charging you more to offer less. The hardware in the XPS M1710 isn't nearly good enough to justify the 1.5-2x price difference between a similar E1705 configuration (with the only difference being an Nvidia 7800GT vs. 7900GTX).

A clean E1705 would've been WONDERFUL.

Re:I gotta say.

[Telvin_3d]

Yeah, but the flip side of that is that if all those ISPs and bloatware companies hadn't paid to have their stuff on there (which they would not if it came on a DVD instead of pre-installed), that $1500 would have cost you $1600 or more.

Re:That changes everyting.

[Jurph]

That's weird - I just specced a mid-range system for a friend (lowest of the low-end 64-bit system) and squeezed in under Dell's discounted price for a comparable system by almost $150. If he had bought a Dell and refused the 24-month internet subscription and other gotchas, he would have paid $250 or more over the price of the NewEgg system I specced. Just for reference, it was almost identical to the Ultimate Budget Box [arstechnica.com] that Ars Technica publishes regularly.

My friend added a few bells and whistles where he wanted more power (a little more RAM, a better CPU) and managed to beat a comparable Dell system in price. Because he's switching from Win2K to WinXP, he had to buy the OS, but it was still cheaper overall.

you people are forgetting...

[podRZA]

Most people need the bloat. Gamers tend to also be computer nerds, and therefor can handle setting up their machine themselves. But average folks don't want to and most likely can't get their machine set up with all the software they need. How many computer users would know they even had a DVD burner unless the software was waiting for them on their desktop when they turned it on for the first time? How would people buying their first computer get online if ISPs weren't preinstalled? This is obviously a good move by Dell, but only as an option. Most people would be too confused if there was no bloat.

Economics

[stlhawkeye]

That stuff comes pre-installed because they make more money by having it there. Until they believe that they will make more money by NOT having there, it stays. That's how a free market works. Clearly, Dell has reached a point after acquiring AlienWare where a major portion of their customers will not get a Dell that they might otherwise purchase or at least consider, specifically because of the pre-installed phatware that comes on the system. Whatever AOL et al are paying for this trash, it's going to be trumped by additional sales to customers who would otherwise not buy a Dell. Further, it's quite likely Dell's business partners who push for having their shit pre-installed on Dell systems have some kind of contract, and unless Dell can lawyerweasel out of it or just wait for it to expire and not renew it, that crap has to stay on there. This is why companies sometimes appear sluggish regarding responses to the market.

"Why don't they just ..... blah ....?" we ask ourselves constantly. In some cases, there are contracts with hardware suppliers, advertisers, marketing teams, delivery and supply chains, retail outlets, and other behind-the-scenes business partners that must be, at the very least, scanned carefully by Dell's legal staff. More often than not, a renegotiation is necessary to change business practices that may impact those contracted partners. This takes time. And when the negotiations stall, there's no option but to wait it out.

So Dell is going the right thing, and the response here is almost universally negative. Not about the fact that they're doing the right thing by their customers, but that they even had to because they did the wrong thing first. Well I'll tell you what. It's rare that a business "has it right" out of the gate and never looks back. Google is one of those rare companies that has mostly pulled this off. Few businesses do it. They must learn from the market, and shape and mold their business model to maximize profit. Profits are maximized by providing the most people with what they want to buy at a price they'll pay. When the sentiments or demographic composition of that group changes, the company must adjust. Dell has become very successful while bundling garbage on their machines. Clearly the lost revenue from boycotting Slashdotters was made up for by whatever business arrangements they had with AOL and what not. As much as it may pain you to hear it, Slashdot readers make up a tiny minority of the nation's consumer population, and the portion we do make up is a weird niche that is largely disliked by mainstream retailers and traditional businesses.

So, frankly, there's been no reason to pander to the nitpicky anal retentive whims of a bunch of dorks. Until now.

You What???

[Nom du Keyboard]

'You Spoke, We Listened,'

Okay, where's my AMD X2 Processor? .
.
.
.
I'm waiting...

Re:That changes everyting.

[valintin]

That's not so weird. He has you to pick, purchase, assemble the system and provide support. You should account for your billable hours and when the system is done and your friend is happy with his new computer only then can you calculate the cost to "him".

I think you will find that by the time he's playing games you probably sucked up the difference in price, and then some, with your labor.