[WriteLog] Ports

[Richard B. Drake]

That's a bit exaggerated Ed. The only difference between
Dell's and/or Gateway's (and others) version of Win XP is
that they have added some stuff. For example when you access
the Windows help files from a factory installed Dell you
will find some stuff that takes you directly to Dell's
support site. That's actually quite helpful because it save
you from having to hunt for it. But the basic operating
system is Microsoft's Windows XP right out of the box. I
have Win XP on three machines, two I bought retail and
installed myself and one is factory installed by Dell. They
all operate exactly the same.

As far as modems and peripherals go on purchased machines
most of them are off the shelf OEM versions of standard
stuff and you can buy replacements almost anywhere. You may
have run into one specific problem, but tell me you never
had any trouble playing your own mix and match game without
a lot of experience or a team of engineers to test the
entire integrated system once it's put together. I'll take a
Dell thanks!

----
73, Rich - W3ZJ

> -----Original Message-----
> From: writelog-admin@contesting.com
> [mailto:writelog-admin@contesting.com]On Behalf Of K4SB
> Sent: Tuesday, December 24, 2002 2:21 PM
> To: writelog@contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [WriteLog] Ports
>
>
> Jim Brannigan wrote:
> > Now, when you can get a fully warranted Dell
> for $700 or less, it really
> > doesn't pay to build....
> > Jim
>
> Jim's post does make a lot of sense, but in this
> area, I can build a
> comparable setup for about $500, including monitor.
>
> What I would caution about is that Dell, among
> others, do not use the
> exact version of Windows which you would obtain
> if you bought your own
> copy. In other words, it's proprietary to Dell,
> just as the Gateway
> one is to them. The Dell OS is not the same as
> the Gateway OS,
> although both may be called XP.
>
> Also, some of the components ( most notably
> modems ) cannot be
> replaced by a common off the rack one if the
> original fails. Some work
> fine, but on one Dell I worked on, I tried about
> 3 different ones,
> before just giving up, and buying a replacement
> Dell, at, I might add,
> about 3 times the going rate for a 56K.
>
> Also, on a lot of these machines, access to the
> BIOS if either
> impossible or difficult to say the least.
>
> And on a "barebones system" do not EVER buy one
> without the CPU
> installed. There are a lot of jumpers to set, but
> if you buy the MB
> with the CPU, they do it for you. Or you can make
> a mistake like I did
> last week, and with 1 jumper overlooked, smoke
> the motherboard.
>
> Lastly, I would like to thank all of you on the
> reflector for your
> help during the year.
> Without you, I would still not have WL working.
> You're a great bunch.
>
> 73
> Ed
>
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