Ahora si Dell apuesta a más opciones.

Después del retiro de ventas de licencias al mayoreo de Windows Xp el pasado 30 de junio, algunos productos están siendo condiserados para venderse precargados con Linux.

Los modelos portátiles anunciados disponibles con Ubuntu 8.04, son el XPS 1330 y el Inspiron 1525, a un precio de 949 y 549 dólares respectivamente. Su arquitectura es similar a los mismos modelos con Windows aunque con un procesador a velocidad inferior y la mitad de memoria RAM. Los modelos con distribución GNU/Linux cuestan 50 y 25 dólares menos que los que instalan Windows Vista.

El modelo de escritorio con Ubuntu es el Inspiron 530N a un precio de 449 dólares, 50 menos que el modelo 530s gobernado con Windows Vista con idéntico hardware.

Dell ha comunicado que ampliará su oferta con Ubuntu en el mes de agosto, preinstalándolo en el XPS M1530n y el modelo Studio 15n.

Todo depende de varias cosas, desde un soporte técnico por parte de los fabricantes de hardware [tomando en cuenta la posición de Nvidia y su negativa a convertir en Open Source los 'drivers' de sus tarjetas] y también la respuesta de público a perderle miedo a esta alternativa a los productos de Redmond.

Dell va en serio con Ubuntu

Los modelos portátiles anunciados disponibles con Ubuntu 8.04, son el XPS 1330 y el Inspiron 1525, a un precio de 949 y 549 dólares respectivamente. Su arquitectura es similar a los mismos modelos con Windows aunque con un procesador a velocidad inferior y la mitad de memoria RAM. Los modelos con distribución GNU/Linux cuestan 50 y 25 dólares menos que los que instalan Windows Vista.

El modelo de escritorio con Ubuntu es el Inspiron 530N a un precio de 449 dólares, 50 menos que el modelo 530s gobernado con Windows Vista con idéntico hardware...sigue

LEER mas en theinquirer.es

According to the Direct2Dell website, the dudes at Dell have announced that you can get the Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) flavor of LINUX on the XPS M1330N and Inspiron 1525N notebooks as well as the Inspiron 530N desktop. But apparently there's more coming:

"In early August, we will also add the XPS M1530n and Studio 15n to the line-up. This is just in time for LinuxWorld where we will participate in a number of the conference sessions. That will be your chance to hear directly about what’s been accomplished over the last year and where we see it going in 2009."

It's nice to see a mainstream computer company step up to the plate and support LINUX. But I do have one question. Right now if I phone Dell, they are versed in the hardware and supporting the Windows install that comes with it. Will the same hold true for LINUX? After all, you'll likely to attract some LINUX newbies who don't know a bash shell from a DOS prompt. They're likely to require more hand holding than the average Windows user. My feeling is yes, but I'd love to know for sure. Anyone from Dell care to comment as I do know that people from Dell read my blog?

"Well, uhm...Why should I? What's in is for me?", I politely inquired.

Reporter Josh Davidsburg piped up, "It's social networking", as though he was speaking someone who was a little Facebook impaired...true enough I guess.

"Josh, I know what Facebook is, but still the question, what's in it for me? I mean why should I?"

And here's the thing. No one ever really fully answered that question. My son and daughter are on Facebook, that I know. And I know there are plenty of actual adults, not just teens and 20-somethings, who are also on Facebook. But can anyone explain to me what one actually does there? I mean, is it an easy way to keep up with people that you'd otherwise not see or communicate with? That would be pretty cool, though it also assumes the idea that people you know and want to communicate with, are also on Facebook. Would it enable me to stay in better contact with my taciturn emailer son? I don't know, maybe. I hear he'd have to "friend" me..... I might really enjoy it...I mean, I heard a lady in the grocery line ahead of me say, "All this computer stuff, I just don't fool with it." I wanted to tell her that she was missing out on some things that might make her life better, that she really could do it, and should become computer literate. I remained mute, of course. Nothing worse than a tv person telling you should be doing. The audacity.

Sooooooo, I put it to you. Are you on Facebook? Do you like it? What do you get out of it, and is it worth my time and trouble? Take a lot of time?

And on to the blue screen of death....it's started showing up more and more often when I turn on my laptop at home. So far, I've been able to restart her (a Dell), and it goes away, but the fatal error thingie is kinda scary. And I didn't do anything.....just closed all the windows I had opened and then gently closed it. Is my computer starting to breathe very shallowly....you know what I'm saying...is it...dying? Noooooooooo....I love it, and though it's a few years old, surely it has some life left in it. Any ideas on what I should do to it?

  Anyway, it's Friday(♥)....there's Artscape this weekend..always fun...and sweaty. Stay cool, be nice and come home safe. Cause we miss you....

I would never consider myself one of those people that hopes to fall into the city sewar and their break their leg just to sue someone. I think it's crazy, and actually sort of scary when you think about the things people can AND do sue over these days.  Remember the lady at McDonald's who settled her lawsuit because she spilled her coffee on herself? Someone should sue her for being one sue-crazy lady. 

This Dell Classaction lawsuit, however, is something completely sue-worthy, and supports the reason attorney's were meant to be around...at least in my opinion. Here's what the attorney covering the lawsuit said in his recent press release "Paying employees for all the time they work is not a novel or controversial concept," says Plaintiffs counsel, Derek Johnson. "It is time for Dell to comply with the law."

This is one lawsuit I'm jumping for joy about actually. I want them to be exposed for the way they treat people. I know a lot of people negatively affected by this, and I hope that they all get their compensation back. 

Here's my 2 cents for what it's worth:

As a former Dell sales rep, I had to scrutinize EVERY paycheck--which sometimes would be 4 a month because of the way sales bonuses and such are paid--because I one day caught on that I wasn't being paid what I was supposed to....and not even close. I'd talked to HR many times about it, which got me no where except the same old "yea, that's what the fine print says in the contract when you were hired." Guess that's what comes along with ambiguity (which is Dell's word of the day). After working there almost 2 years, I know that this was also the case with almost all of my friends  and colleuges that work there too.

Sadly, I consider myself a former Dell employee because I had to quit, and it was all due to compensation. I would have liked to have been a lifer, but I they forced me out because of the way they conduct business. I was a top performer every single month I was there, and won MVP along with NUMEROUS awards, but they forced me to quit because of their unethical ways of doing things; I have much higher integrity than that.  I would hope you would do the same thing. Michael Dell should fire himself like Donald Trump has done to himself in the past. Donald, however, re-hired himself, but I would recommend Michael stay fired and hire new management to come in and straighten that place out. Sometimes we all need to fire ourselves. Dell also needs to hire some Organizational Development specialists and Leadership and Change Management consultants to TRY and pull the company back together. Honestly, at this point, from an internal viewpoint out of corporate, I don't really think Dell is capable of doing it, at least not until the employees are ALL on board and get excited about their jobs. That, combined with the fact that they need to somehow figure out how to re-earn the business of their high-margin customers that switched to HP)

For example: get this--at Dell, you can "over-perform" and have to PAY the company back because they as a business unit UNDERPERFORMED. Yep, talk about motivating for sales reps. Imagine twice learning you owe your company $3k because you sold TOO much! One year I sold over $5 million in sales. Guess what my Christmas bonus was?!?!?! Nothing!!!  There was a Rep of the Qtr banquet and guess who paid for their own drinks at the really expensive cash bar?!?!?! The employees!!! Ha. Another Dell classic is when they bring you lunch so you can't leave at lunch and have to continue working. No breaks really, except for smokers.

The sad thing is that many customers have no choice but to deal with Dell, and they too suffer from the results of Dell's unethical compensation practices.  Dell employees are angry and super dooper stressed, and their customers can hear it in their voices and their emails. Hence why they've moved away from being the #1 player in the computer space. I see them continuing to loose market share because employees aren't on-board with any sort of L-T vision, and the customers are burnt out from issue after issue, and are taking business elsewhere--like to HP. 

These images are just some floating around on the web...Not so good stuff...

In February 2007, two Dell call center employees sued the company for underpaying employees and now the suit has been given class-action status, giving the other 5,000 or so call center employees a chance to join the lawsuit party.

No specific damages are being sought, but the suit does say that the employees are owed at least $5 million.

The suit alleges that Dell's time reporting system does not accurately track the hours worked by call center sales reps and that workers are not allowed to correct these errors. Supervisors are able to make such changes, but the suit alleges that the changes are either not being made or not being recorded properly by the time reporting system.

Additionally, the suit claims that the time reporting system automatically deducts a full hour for employee's lunch breaks even if they do not take a full hour.

If all that is not enough, the suit also claims that workers are not paid to attend mandatory meetings that take place before their regularly scheduled shift, nor are they paid for the time it takes them to prepare for customer calls.

Dell disputes the claims, saying that they "take pride in ensuring that our actions are in compliance with the law."

[Via Computerworld]

Dell and Wal-Mart have decided to test out a new service offering in 15 Texas Wal-Mart locations to offer tech support services to Wal-Mart shoppers.

Thew new Solution Stations will be in-store kiosks that will offer assistance to shoppers with things like PC repair, home entertainment system setup, wireless networking, etc.

Looks like the service will be offered to anything Wal-Mart carries and not just limited to Dell branded equipment.

If the trail goes well I'm sure we'll see this offering expand...but there's a decent chance it won't go well so don't hold your breath. People that know what they're talking about most likely won't work for what Wal-Mart and Dell would be willing to pay them.

[Via Gizmodo]

"For Wal-Mart, the program provides an opportunity for us to understand more about what our customers need and expect in home installation and technology services, within a specific market," according to a statement on Wal-Mart's Web site. "These Solution Stations will provide our Dallas-area customers with added services, repair and consultation so that they can reach the best solution and value for their home entertainment technology needs."

From where I stand, this is potentially a Win/Win for both companies. Dell already sells PC products through WalMart and this move will get them in front of more customers. WalMart gets something that sets it apart from other retailers and allows it to compete against Best Buy and their Geek Squad offering for example.

As long as these guys don't act like Geek Squad and hunt for porn on customers hard drives, this could be a good thing.

According to Gartner, Mac sales grew 38% year-over-year to edge out Acer/Gateway/PackardBell for the No. 3 spot in the United States after Dell (DELL) and HP (HPQ). IDC recorded slightly slower growth (31.7%) and has Apple still trailing Acer by 2,000 units -- not a statistically significant figure in a quarter in which Apple shipped an estimated 2.37 million Macs worldwide.

Gartner puts Apple's U.S. market share at 8.5%, up from 6.4% a year ago; IDC has it at 7.8%, up from 6.2%. Both reports are preliminary.

Apple still doesn't make the top 5 in either company's list of top PC vendors worldwide, although IDC's Loren Loverde says it came in No. 6. (link)

It's worth noting that while its competitors were cutting prices to boost sales in a tight domestic economy, Apple managed to grow faster while maintaining profit margins that are the envy of the industry.

And if you count iPhones and iPod touches as computers, says 9to5 Mac's Seth Weintraub, "you get a whole new ball game."

Below the fold: the charts from both reports.

Gartner charts courtesy of AppleInsider.

The first road bump in getting Ubuntu running on my Dell xps m1530 laptop had to do with the touchpad. The touchpad on th elaptop was pretty much useless, it woudl just go crazy. After googleing it was eventually easy enough to find a how to for addign soem special command to the kernal line, and now all works great.

The biggest and most trouble some problem was getting my laptops wireless to work in Ubuntu. Ubuntu unfortunetly did not recognize wifi car at all. This was a major bummer because what is  a laptop if you cant get wireless internet?

The wireless card on my Dell xps m1530 is a Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Mini-card

To gte this to work I spent a long long time in the irc and someone super friendly helped me out. Below I will post the logg of our conversation:

A little bit down the road, I can't help feeling I made the right choice. After being severely disappointed by repeatedly delayed and non-capable "Vista-capable" systems, and frustrated by Apple's apparent decline in hardware quality, I smiled today looking at this bit from Engadget on Dell putting out a few more systems preloaded with Ubuntu. This along with the price breaks / hardware upgrades you get by opting for linux (e.g. a 66% percent more solid state hard drive capacity on the Asus EEE 900) and Canonical LTD's big push into developing mobile/netbook optimized systems, really has me believing that the current model of operating system development -- doing so by monopoly -- can't last much longer.

dell لپ تاپ جدید 300 دلاری خود را معرفی کرد. این لپ تاپ در زمستان امسال قابل خرید خواهد بود. و تا آن موقع پول های قلک ما اینقدر خواهد شد. البته اگر قیمت آن در ایران هم به سرنوشت asus Eeee که رقیب مستقیم آن است دچار نشود. چون لپ تاپ 300 دلاری ایسوز اکنون در ایران 650 هزار تومان فروخته می شود.
شایعه های روی وب می گویند که نوت بوک دل یک صفحه 8.9 اینچی تا 12.1 اینچی خواهد داشت و دارای پردازشگر اتم اینتل atom 1.6 GHz 3 پورت USB ، یک وب کم، WiFi ضخامت 0.82-1.22 اینچ و وزنی حدود 990 گرم خواهد داشت.
منبع: Ubergizmo

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Cheating: alter ego's the even number American stamp.

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Pop at this moment up to reason about whether inner man voted Muppocrat cream Republifraggle atop the Goon Pigs public square.

Unfortunately for VMware there's another aspect to their problem in that ninety percent of their sales organization is made up of former Dell employees. In fact there are so many ex-Dell sales people at VMware that they have had a self-imposed moratorium on hiring from Dell. As we know, until recent years, Dell was a very successful company. In fact they never had a layoff until 2001. For the first 16 years they were layoff free. Now those same sales people are at VMware and they have never experienced a downturn in sales or if they have they have not proven their ability to successfully fight their way out of it.  I know several experienced sales people who are former Dell employees, but they in the minority.

Dell was the least expensive and that goes a long way to selling units in the PC world. When HP and others figured out a way to produce boxes as cheaply that’s when Dell started to lose. When you are the price leader people are willing to talk to you. When you are the only one with a solid product in an emerging market again people will be willing to talk to you. When you are neither the experience of your sales people shows very quickly.

Having so many Dell sales people in-house means that VMware is prone to the same issues Dell has experienced over the past several years; Dell’s ability to build value is questionable; the Hunter/Farmer model which Dell was built upon is not effective and with Citrix, Symantec, Microsoft, et al, on the horizon I believe that in the long term VMware has it’s work cut out.

Buchi neri, riscontri vacui, svarioni investigativi. Cominciano a vacillare le granitiche risultanze della prima ora. Anche perché nell'ordinanza d'arresto di Ottaviano Del Turco una sola intercettazione sembra dare conforto all'impianto accusatorio. Il resto è frutto delle sole dichiarazioni dell'imprenditore-pentito Vincenzo Angelini (e dei nastri da lui registrati) che quando s’accorge di rischiare la galera decide di collaborare. In extremis è passato da corruttore a concusso, ecco perché bisognerebbe andarci cauti sulla genuinità di certe dichiarazioni.

I conti non tornano
Il gip è chiaro: «Le indagini non hanno evidenziato sin qui situazioni atte a riscontrare incassi diretti di denaro contante in conseguenza delle dazioni effettuate dall'imprenditore Angelini». Ma c’è un però: «Tale circostanza, però, non è assolutamente idonea a inficiare l'ipotesi accusatoria». Il ragionamento è tortuoso, capzioso: se non c’è traccia che i soldi siano effettivamente finiti nelle tasche di Del Turco, vuol dire che li ha presi qualcun altro per suo conto. Allo stesso modo l'acquisto di tre case con i proventi della corruzione sarebbe riconducibile solo a «operazioni immobiliari non del tutto trasparenti». Da qui ad avere la prova ce ne passa. Perché se è vero che al presidente della Regione l'imprenditore Angelini ha versato tangenti per 6 milioni; se è vero che nei conti correnti del presidente non sono emerse cifre enormi fuori posto; se è vero che le intercettazioni di Del Turco sembrano andare tutte in una direzione sfavorevole all'accusa; se è vero anche che nelle «sospette» operazioni di giroconto per l'acquisto degli appartamenti di Del Turco c’è una fuoriuscita di liquidità al massimo di 1milione e 279mila euro (tre operazioni da 269mila, 576mila, e 453mila euro), la domanda sorge spontanea: ma dove sono finiti i restanti 4milioni 721mila euro di tangenti di Ottaviano Del Turco? La Gdf li cerca ancora.

Fonte: http://www.ilgiornale.it/a.pic1?ID=276777

Occasione per parlarne, ieri mattina, la presentazione nella sede di viale Romagna del nuovo cda, di progetti e linee guida per il futuro. Situazione economica e sociale del Paese difficile, dati allarmanti con l’inflazione al 4 per cento, stagnazione produttiva, proletarizzazione del ceto medio solo alcune delle criticità indicate da Zaffra come rischiose per l’edilizia economica e sociale.

Fonte: http://www.ilgiornale.it/a.pic1?ID=276683

Dizüstü bilgisayar mı, laptop bilgisayar mı, notebook bilgisayar mı, taşınabilir bilgisayar mı? Aslında bunların hepsi aynı kavramı anlatan sözcükler. Türkçe olan dizüstü bilgisayar ifadesini kullanmak en uygunu.

Dizüstü bilgisayar mı, masaüstü bilgisayar mı? Aynı özelliklere sahip masaüstü ve dizüstü bilgisayarlar arasında genellikle kayda değer bir fiyat farkı vardır. Dizüstü bilgisayarlar aynı işlemleri, daha hafif, daha az elektrik tüketen ve hacim olarak daha küçük parçalarla yaptıkları için masaüstü bilgisayarlardan daha pahalıdırlar. Eğer bilgisayara gereksinim duyduğunuz zamanlarda yeriniz sabitse, dizüstü bilgisayar almanız uygun olmayabilir. Ancak günlük yaşantınız bir koşuşturmaca içinde oradan oraya gitmekle geçiyorsa ve bu sırada bilgisayarda yapmanız gereken şeyler oluyorsa, dizüstü bilgisayar tercih etmeniz daha uygun olacaktır.

Dizüstü bilgisayar alırken nelere dikkat etmeliyim? Bilgisayarlar söz konusu olduğunda, bilgisayar alırken göz önünde tutacağınız bütün etkenleri burada sıralama olasılığı yoktur. Farklı ihtiyaçlar nedeniyle farklı modeller göz önüne alınabilir. Biz bu sayfada size bir ilk fikir vermesi açısından en önemli dizüstü bilgisayar özelliklerini ele alacağız.

Ağırlık. Daha önce hiç dizüstü bilgisayar kullanmadıysanız, yarım ya da bir kiloluk bir ağırlık farkının zaman zaman ne kadar önemli olabileceğini tam olarak fark edemeyebilirsiniz. Özellikle yoğun günlerde, ya da bir yerden yere yürüyerek gitmek durumunda kaldığınız günlerde, ağırlık ciddi bir sorun haline gelebilir. Bu nedenle bütçeniz el verdiği ölçüde hafif bir modeli tercih etmeye çalışın.

Pil ömrü. Dizüstü bilgisayarlar hem elektriğe bağlanarak çalıştırılabilirler, hem de içlerindeki şarj edilebilir pil sayesinde birkaç saate kadar bir elektrik kaynağına bağlanmadan da çalıştırılabilirler. Çalışmalarınız esnasında pille çalışmanızı gerektirecek en yüksek süreleri tespit edebilirseniz, gereksinimize uygun pil ömrü olan bir model tercih etme şansınız olur. Pil ömrünün uzaması maliyeti arttıran bir faktördür, ve ihtiyacınızdan daha uzun pil ömrüne sahip bir dizüstü bilgisayarla bütçenizi sıkıştırmak istemeyebilirsiniz.

Sabit sürücü boyutu. Çalışmalarınız esnasında ne büyüklükte bir sabit sürücünün size yeteceğini kestirebilirseniz, gereğinden büyük bir sabit sürücü alarak bütçenizi sıkıştırmaktan kaçınabilirsiniz. Sabit sürücü büyüklüğü, dizüstü bilgisayarda maliyet yaratan başlıca unsurlardandır.

Ekran boyu. Ne büyüklükte bir ekranın sizin için iyi bir çalışma ortamı olacağını mutlaka düşünün. Eğer ekran rahat çalışmanıza olanak verecek kadar büyük olmazsa, dizüstü bilgisayar yatırımınız boşa gidebilir, bu nedenle bu nokta üzerine düşünmeniz çok önemlidir.

Başka? Başkası dizüstü bilgisayar satıcılarında :) Dizüstü bilgisayar satıcılarına gereksinimlerinizden bahsederseniz, sizin için uygun bir model belirlenmesine yardım edeceklerdir.

10% di sconto su tutti gli Inspiron, Studio e XPS Dell per ordini superiori a 1299€ utilizzando questo Voucher Code BWXMDFS$DLB01S

Dell sconto

This is were the nice people that charitably visit this not-so-frequented blog come in.

1) The Targus backpack is hideous. Help. Where do i get a swankier one ?

2) A name. A name. A name. My earlier desktops were christened Mangaiyarkarasi and Tamilchelvi. Hit me with some exotic, preferably Nordic, definitely not Japanese, names.

3) Where do I get eye shades? or should I say eye-masks? This technically shouldn't be here but ever since I moved in a week back, I have hardly gotten any sleep thanks to a burning ball of gas a hundred million miles away blazing through the window.

The person that best helps me out with this, or even better, goes on to buy me the backpack and eyeshades gets custody of Savitri this October. (For those that didn't know, Savitri is what my mom calls THE THING)

Next update, specs and pictures in about an hour. Hopefully, I would have Ubuntu up and running on the XPS by then.

--

Okay here are the pics.. I know it is crappy

And here are the changes to the basic M1530 model
1) Upgrade to a T8300 processor

2) 4 gb RAM

3) A 7200rpm hard drive

There wasn't much of a choice otherwise. This exercise leaves my dad's bank account leaner by 58k. I can hear a certain person yelling 'Daylight robbery' Kid, you need to learn how to rip apart the sales guy on the other end of the phone :D  A 256 MB Nvidia Geforce 8600 GT should give me some basic gaming muscle.  I must tell you Vista sucks as usual and I am having trouble getting the webcam and the  video drivers to work on Ubuntu. But then most notebooks aren't Linux friendly. Downside, three USB ports and the Optical Drive is terribly slow. And I must be the biggest idiot on earth to not have gotten a Lan Cable yet. Dell shipped me the thing in FOUR DAYS !! So i guess  I can be excused. The screen. Huh, I have seen better screens. It is not a Mac :( but it is a bargain for what I shelled out.

I can't game yet thanks to Sid G who MUST have the first run on it.

Next morning I found it with a blank (i.e. black) screen and the dreaded message "No boot device can be found". First thought: "it has rebooted". Second thought: "and it cannot start". I press the power switch to turn it off, wait 5 seconds (they say you need to wait for the capacitors to discharge ;-)) and switch it on again. Dell logo, first boot messages, and click, click, click, click, click...

The hard disk was clicking. The click of death, as they say. Clicking noises inside a hard disk only mean one thing: there is something mechanical going wrong. I could visualise the disk heads landing on the platters and leaving a trailing trench and lots of nasty particles scattered all over the place. My precious data!

Backups? Yes, of course I do backups. But not every day. I would back up my data every day in a production environment, but for my home stuff I considered that weekly backups were enough. I have been thinking about buying some kind of low-cost NAS device for a few months, because doing backups to DVDs is a pain. I even considered buying a DAT tape unit, but they are expensive. So my backup policy at that glorious morning when my hard disk crashed was, more or less, weekly backups to DVD.

That was the policy. The crude reality was other. My last backup, which I hastily recovered from the cupboard, was dated on the 15th of May. Almost one month of lost work. Yes, I know this is my home laptop, but I do a lot of .NET development (mostly experiments and nerdy stuff), writing and emailing. Damn.

So I sat down, grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and outlined my disaster recovery plan. Two steps: first, send the broken hard disk to a data recovery service place; second, get a new hard disk. Wait a moment. My laptop is already 4 years old, and even with a new hard disk it would not be much faster. So, why not make of this disaster a perfect excuse to buy a dazzling new machine?

After some minutes googling around, I decide on dtidata, a data recovery company that looks good. They say they don't charge you a cent if they don't get your data back, which looks reasonable to me. On getting a new machine, I spend five seconds pondering the possibility of buying a MacBook Pro and then jump straight into the Dell configurator. I've always been curious about the Precision mobile workstations, or whatever they are called. They are sexy little beasts. Well, not that little, since the Precision M90, the one I fancy, starts from 3.8 kg. But the 17-inch screen and the 2-GB RAM well deserve it.

I have shipped my broken hard disk, conveniently wrapped in bubble plastic (they call it "packed air"), and I have ordered a Precision M90. I only hope they can recover my data.