This will probably be the last post I write with the Dell Latitude E6400 I purchased recently.
Next week I’m going to call Dell and arrange to return the laptop for a refund.
This is the first Dell computer that I’m really dissatisfied with and, frankly, I’m surprised that Dell dropped the ball so badly. The E6400 is (at least in my opinion) a major step backwards from the D630.
There is apparently going to be a bit more getting used to this new laptop.
The other day, before I went to bed, I put my new Dell Latitude E6400 into standby mode … I’m 99% sure I did this.
The next morning, however, when I went down stairs I found my laptop powered on.
That evening, before I went to bed I hibernated the laptop.
Once again, the next morning, I found the laptop powered on.
Obviously this is pretty odd.
So last night I tried an experiment … I put the laptop into standby mode and, within seconds, it resumed from standby. I then put the laptop into hibernate mode … and 30 minutes later, it powered itself back up.
Note: Although my sales & support experience with the machine were generally positive, my experiences with the machine itself were not. I have since sent it back to Dell.
I just had some really good customer support experiences with Dell. I know, some of you are going to think this is impossible, but it really happened.
Ginny’s laptop is getting kind of old … it’s an Inspiron 8600, almost out of warranty, and the screen hinge is pretty loose. Plus she needs another computer, with more video capability, to play with Second Life.
I figured it was time for an upgrade. I was also thinking it was time for my laptop to upgrade also.
So I ordered a new Dell Latitude E6400 laptop for myself, from Dell’s Small Business division, and will give Ginny my Latitude D630 (which has more CPU power, memory, and better video than her Inspiron 8600).
I really get frustrated when it comes to hard drive diagnostics. Specifically: S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology).
The theory behind S.M.A.R.T. technology is that the hard drive is supposed to provide predictive failure information for hard drives.
The problem is, I’ve never had a S.M.A.R.T. technology accurately report a failure.
Thanks to a hint given to me by a twitter friend, we purchased a refurbished Roomba 530 from Woot last week.
The unit arrived on Thursday … and I plugged it in to get it charging as soon as I got home. I positioned the charging base in the corner of the dining room which is pretty much out of the way.
So Friday morning it had a green light, indicating it was all charged up and ready to go. So, being the good geek that I am, I pressed the button and let it go about it’s business cleaning the dining room, living room, & kitchen areas.
It dutifully started up and was vacuuming up the dust & bits of cat hair. It went from room to room, cleaning the floors up, as I thought it should.