Disillusioned with Dell

It use to be if a friend or family member was in the market for a computer and they asked me what brand to buy, I would say without hesitation Dell. However, I no longer recommend Dell. The problem is one of quality. The computer business has become increasingly competitive, and in order to stay competitive Dell (as well as all other manufactures) has been forced to cut corners whenever possible. Unfortunately, these cost cutting measures have resulted in a loss of quality as well as poor business decisions.

Increasingly I've run into Dell computers with hardware problems. Granted all manufactures have problems every now and again, but lately it seems like Dell's are having more problems.

Dell has also made some poor business decisions. My wife's laptop recently started displaying a boot error about the AC power plug. Something to the effect of the power plug is not connected to the machine even though it clearly is connected. After researching the problem I discovered what has to be one of the dumbest "features" added to a laptop. Most laptops have a 2 prong power plug - positive and negative. Well Dell has gone to a three prong plug. No, the third prong is not for ground; the third prong is a communications line between the laptop and the power supply. The intention being the laptop communicates with the power cord to ensure the power cord is a genuine Dell power cord. If it's not, you get this message. Are you serious Dell!?! So if we buy a 3rd party power cord we run into this problem. Ours isn't even a 3rd party, it's a genuine Dell. But apparently the propriety chip inside the power cord goes bad after time. Dell's intention was to force people to buy genuine Dell parts, but this decision only annoys and frustrates users. Great business decision Dell. :(

So what manufacture would I suggest? Without a doubt I suggest building your own computer from quality parts if you know how. Then you'll get top-quality name brand components. But what if you don't know how to build your own computer? Well HP is currently number one and I haven't had problems with them. However, HP is rather expensive. I've had great experiences with Acer lately, they are growing fast, and from my experience make great machines with great prices.