Vlogs

• New Vostro Systems for Emerging Economies: Ubuntu in More Countries

  Wed. Aug. 27, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  Today we're rolling out two new laptops and desktops that are designed to meet the specific needs of small businesses, government and educational facilities operating on a limited budget in the worlds top emerging markets. Take a look at either Steve Felice's post or Kara Krautter's post on the Small Business blog for a bit more context on that front.

  Note: Click on any of the images in these post to see larger versions of them. You can also see these photos and more by viewing this photo set at the main Dell Flickr page.

  One thing of interest to a lot of our readers is that we will offer Ubuntu Linux as an option on all four of these machines worldwide. Regular readers of Direct2Dell know that we already support Ubuntu on select systems several countries.

  These new Vostro systems will be introduced in more than 20 countries over the coming months—including Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. They will be available primarily through authorized channel partners worldwide and also directly from Dell. Pricing for the products will vary by configuration, region and country. Additional Vostro products designed for emerging markets and high-growth economies will be introduced in the coming months.

  Update: I apologize to Direct2Dell readers. I made some mistakes in some of the following tech details. In those cases below. I used strikethroughs with updated text to correct them. Again, my apologies for the errors.

  Today, we're offering two pre-configured laptops--the Vostro A840 and A860, and two pre-configured desktops—the Vostro A100 and A180. Both the affordable notebooks feature a sturdy compact design. The A840 weighs in at 5 lbs 4.48 lbs while the A80 weighs just about 5.7 lbs 5.42 lbs. 

  Both offer features like The A860 features an HD screen with an anti-glare coating and Intel Celeron or Core 2 Duo processors. Both offer all kind of connectivity features including wireless, Ethernet and modem capability. Bluetooth is an option as well. The 15.6" Vostro A860 notebook will eventually be available globally, including the United States.

  

  On the desktop side, both the Vostro A100 and the A180 are meant to tackle everyday business needs. The entry-level Vostro A100 comes standard with Intel's Atom processor. The A180 supports Celeron and Core 2 Duo Pentium dua-core processors. Like the laptops, both of these systems tha Vostro A180 can be ordered with Ubuntu or Windows Vista Home Basic as well. The A100 will be offered with Ubuntu and supports up to 80GB hard drives and a 16x DVD drive. Both systems The A180 supports up to 160GB hard drives, and either DVD or DVD+/-RW optical drives.

  If you're interested to learn more about these products, take a look at this vlog with Kirk Schell from Dell Commercial Products Team. Besides giving an overview of these systems, he provides some insight into why products like these play an important role in reaching these rapidly-expanding economies.
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• New Mobility Technology Meets Old World Charm on the Orient Express

  Thu. Aug. 14, 2008
  by Kerry Bridge, EMEA Digital Media Communications

  As part of our launch of ten new laptops this week, we held an event on the Orient Express, largely to exemplify all the mobility features of the new range. Where better to do that than on a train? We were joined by around seventy journalists from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

  As well as hearing from Dell spokespeople about the laptop breakthrough features, we got to enjoy a sumptuous lunch and take the opportunity to socialise and take in the countryside. I enjoyed meeting some familiar faces as well as making new friends and Twitter buddies.

  

  I have been very impressed with the real-time journalism that I’ve seen over the past few days. Check out a great summary of the day here from LJ Rich, on her blog Geek Chic and from her good friend Annie Mole. I also posted a few photos from this event on our Dell Flickr site where you can see our journalist “digital nomads” in action.

  I did some filming on the train, asking several of the Dell team what feedback they had received from the journalists so far. Watch the video below to get a summary of the day.
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• New Dell Latitude Notebooks: No More Business as Usual

  Tue. Aug. 12, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  Today we’re officially unveiling our new line of Latitude laptops to the world. Based on the amount of internal buzz and the volume of work it took to get us here, this is about the biggest product rollout I can remember—besides maybe the launch of the Latitude brand back in 1994 when Dell re-entered the notebook business. Enough with the history… let’s talk new products.

  We're introducing seven new Latitude notebooks today—they are the ones we build for business customers. For the entire lineup, our product teams have been focused on designing laptops that can meet a variety of business user needs. If you consider yourself a demanding user who rarely works in an office, take a look at my post over at DigitalNomads.com to better understand what mobility features set these notebooks apart from the competition. 

  For notebooks, thin and light is a barrier of entry. Battery life is critically important. So is connectivity.  And these days, design matters more than ever. As we store more of our work on laptops, reliability and data security are also key. Our teams focused on making improvements in all these areas across the product line. Beyond that, we're also introducing new technology options like backlit keyboards, external SATA drive connections, DisplayPort capability; USB PowerShare allows users to charge mobile devices via the Latitude's USB ports even when the system is powered down.

  For an overview of the new Latitude notebooks, watch this video from Brett McAnally from our commercial mobility products team:

  Here are some examples about what to expect from these new Latitude notebooks:

  • Excellent battery life: some system configurations can get up to 19 hours. But it's not just the largest batteries that benefit—we've made improvements on battery life whether you use a 6-cell, 9-cell battery or a battery slice. In this video, Jim Leftwich, the engineering lead behind these new notebooks, offers insight into how we did just that.
  • All models offer lots of connectivity options: Wi-Fi (802.11n), several mobile broadband options, WWAN, Ultra-wideband and Bluetooth 2.1. Most are WiMAX ready, and can be ordered with an optional GPS. 
  • All kinds of security options: smart card and fingerprint readers, hardware-based disk encryption, contactless smart card technology. Another hardware-based security feature is Dell's ControlVault solution that centralizes user identity key management and storage.
  • Centralized control via software—Dell's ControlPoint software allows users to manage battery power, network and connectivity configurations and system security settings all in one place. I'll blog in more detail about it soon.
  • In the coming weeks, we will offer color options on the E4200, E4300, E6400 and E6500 in addition to Mica-Brushed Metal Black: Regatta Blue and Regal Red. The E4200 adds Quartz Pink as an option, and the Latitude E5400 and E5500 are available in Matte Black.
  • Slick design that doesn't sacrifice functionality: our team focused on balancing a aesthetics with durability and functionality.  Besides the looks, these laptops feature full-frame magnesium alloy construction and all-metal hinges. Take a look at this video where Steve Belt from our engineering team talks about how we tested things like the keyboards and the metal hinges on these laptops.

  And for a bit more on the design front, I got a chance to sit down with Eric Bogner, who was one of the design leads for these new Latitudes to ask him a few questions:

  Ultra Portable: When portability matters most 

  We have two models here, and they will both be available in the coming weeks. The 12" Latitude E4200 (pictured below, note: click on any of the images here to see larger versions) starts at about 2.2 pounds—making it the lightest corporate laptop we've ever built. And besides the color options I mentioned above, the E4200 can also be decked out in Quartz Pink.

  

  And the Latitude E4300 starts at about 3.4 pounds. It's our first Latitude to feature a 13.3-inch inch display.Update: I stand corrected: Direct2Dell reader KMan correctly informed me that his "venerable" Latitude CSx sported a 13.3" display. Thanks for keeping me honest.

  It supports options like a contactless smart card and a built-in camera. Both models come standard with backlit LED display to make them smaller and lighter and to give them an edge in battery life. They can also be ordered with a backlit keyboard and next-generation SSD drives.

  Another cool option that will be available on both the Latitude E4200 and E4300 in the coming months is something called Dell Latitude ON. It is an application that gives you access to your e-mail, contacts, calendar, attachments and the Internet without the need to boot into the system's main OS. The Dell Latitude ON mode will enable multi-day battery life since it utilizes a dedicated low-voltage sub-processor and operating system. I'll share more specifics on this feature in the future. 

  Essential: The features that you need

  The Latitude E5400 and the E5500 laptops are designed for customers who want the best value possible in a business laptop. But that doesn't mean we skimp on features: both models support options like fingerprint readers. The Latitude E5400 supports options like mobile broadband and GPS while the larger E5500 offers options like dual pointing devices. The 14.1" E5400 starts at $839 and the 15.4" Latitude E5500 starts at $869.

  

   

  Mainstream: A balance between top performance, extensive feature set and price 

  These two notebooks offer the widest range of battery options and overall features. Bottom line, if you're looking for a feature, either of these laptops probably offer them. These support options like backlit keyboards, LED backlit displays, a battery slice option, a camera or even a 256MB discrete card graphics option. The 15.4" Latitude E6500 provides support for the stringent Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). The Latitude E6400 starts at $1,139 while the E6500 starts at $1,169.

  

  Besides these Latitudes, today we also unveiled the Latitude E6400 ATG semi-rugged laptop and two mobile mobile workstations:The Dell Precison M2400 and M4400 products. We also introduced a concept 17-in mobile workstation that supports up to 16GB RAM, upcoming quad-core processors, a graphics card with 1GB and up to a terabyte of storage on two hard drives. You can find more information at www.dell.com/nocompromise. I'll blog about all of these products soon.
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• Latitude XT Software Update is Here

  Tue. Jul. 15, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  Since my post about multi-touch coming to Latitude XT customers via a software update. Several sites like GottaBeMobile, jkOnTheRun and Gizmodo mentioned it, and Joanna Stern from Laptop Magazine even published a pretty solid overview and video demo of the new functionality.

  Now let me get to it... the download is now available for Latitude XT customers at the following links:

  • Vista 32 Bit
  • Vista 64 Bit
  • Windows XP Tablet

  If you'd rather get there on your own from the Latitude XT Drivers & Downloads page, the update is called N-Trig - Application in under the Input Device Drivers section. All versions have a date of 7/15, and both Vista versions are 14MB and the XP version is 15MB.

  

  Here's a video where Hans Eilers from the Latitude XT team walks customers through installing and calibrating the update:
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• Multi-Touch Capability Available Tomorrow for Latitude XT Customers

  Mon. Jul. 14, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  Since we introduced the award-winning Latitude XT tablet, capacitive touch capability is one thing that set it apart from the competition. Several weeks ago at the Wall Street Journal's D6: All Things Digital Conference, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer highlighted upcoming multi-touch capability that Windows 7 will bring. Chris Flores' post and video kicked off a flurry of conversations in Techmeme, and we were pumped that they used a Latitude XT was one of the machines Microsoft used show off multi-touch in Windows 7.

  But, Latitude XT customers don't have to wait for Windows 7 to use multi-touch. Tomorrow we will introduce a software update globally via support.dell.com for the Dell tablet that will bring multi-touch to both Windows XP and Vista. With this update, customers can use the functionality in several standard apps like Google Earth, Outlook and Microsoft Office, web browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer 7, and XP's Windows Picture viewer and the Vista's Windows Photo Gallery. Take a look at this video from Hans Eilers and Roy Stedman from the Office of the CTO for a demo of how this works.

  I'll add the link to the software update here in this post when it's ready.

  Update, July 16: I forgot to update this post with the links. If you'd like a bit more detail on how the install process works, take a look at this post from yesterday.

  • Vista 32 Bit
  • Vista 64 Bit
  • Windows XP Tablet

  
  
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• Why Technology is Important in Health Care

  Mon. Apr. 14, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  In previous posts related to health care, I've talked about better patient care and E-prescribing. In this post, I wanted to talk more broadly about the role technology can play in health care. The work of Dell, Allscripts and the other partners in the National E-Prescribing Patient Safety Initiative is one example of collaboration among companies to enable technology adoption in health care. This sort of cooperation is critical to enable technology integration across the health care ecosystem and among medical tools and devices.

  Hospitals and caregivers have hundreds of applications and devices, many of which can’t share information. Think of cell phones as an example—imagine if the different brands of phones and service carriers weren’t able to talk to each other. That’s often the state of connectivity among devices in health care.

  Leadership within the industry and the government can drive an overall commitment to standards. Dell works with many other companies as part of the Continua Health Alliance, an organization dedicated to interoperability of health care devices. Interoperability standards that allow independently manufactured products to work together enables improved quality of care, improved efficiency, reduced errors and lower costs.

  Dell has been committed to a standards-based approach to technology and believes this methodology can be applied successfully in health care. Part of Dell’s approach to driving standards in health care is collaborating with leading healthcare technology providers to bring complete solutions to customers that integrate hardware, software, services and devices. Dell’s work with GetWellNetwork is one example of this type of collaboration that benefits patients. Through the interactive patient care system developed by GetWellNetwork, run on standard Dell hardware and deployed by Dell services, hospital patients can access education, communication and entertainment tools designed to improve their hospital stay and also make the delivery of care more efficient and consistent for caregivers.

  Dell has broadened our focus on health care and life sciences because ultimately, technology can help manage cost and efficiency and improve patient care. Here's the third and final vlog with Glenn Tullman, CEO of Allscripts, where he discusses how we're working with them to broaden technology adoption across the health care industry. If you have ideas on what Dell can do to further the integration of technology and health, would love to know your thoughts.

  Format: flv Duration: 5:05

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• Let’s Create a Clean Energy Future

  Wed. Apr. 02, 2008
  by Dane Parker, Dir—Environmental Health & Safety

  Right now, Paul Bell is part of a global conference call with the CEOs of TXU, Waste Management and The Climate Group  to announce that our corporate headquarters is now powered with 100 percent green  energy, an important milestone in our commitment to become the first carbon-neutral computer company.

  This is an exciting day for the entire Dell team, not only because we’re taking another step in becoming the “greenest” technology company on the planet, but also because we’re challenging other companies to join us in integrating renewable energy into their operations. Put simply, by striving toward a clean energy future, we have an opportunity to further empower the ReGeneration – people of all ages who care about the planet.

  We’ve already saved more than $1.2 million and avoided nearly 8,200 tons of CO2 by replacing lights and retrofitting air conditioning units throughout our central Texas facilities. The power-management initiative we’re running with 1E has saved $1.8 million and avoided 11,000 tons of CO2 globally. Also, as a result of the hard work of thousands of employees, we’re running ahead of schedule in achieving our carbon neutrality goal. See the vlog of me below for more details, and if you're interested in learning more, take a look at www.dell.com/greenpowernews.

  Format: flv Duration: 2:22

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  Our challenge to you: let’s work together to create a clean energy future. Let’s open dialogues and make the environment part of our daily conversation and actions, following the well known advice of Gandhi and ‘be the change we want to see in the world.’

  If you haven’t already, be sure to join the ReGeneration and add your voice to the thousands of others working toward a “greener” future. To join, look for this image on the right hand section of the ReGeneration.org site. Clicking on the image below will take you to the main site:

   

  Change begins with each and every one of us. Together, we can change the future for our planet!
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• GREEN: The New Black in Corporate Computing

  Wed. Mar. 05, 2008
  by Rebecca Thorburn, Green IT/ Power & Cooling

  Several weeks ago, I blogged about Michael Dell and members of our ReGeneration team were in Washington, DC to participate in the IT Energy Efficiency Summit hosted by CIO magazine. Gary Beach, publisher emeritus at CIO, conducted a moderated Q&A with Michael during the event, which was attended by about 100 CIOs and other IT decision makers from the public and private sectors.

  In this recent article, Are You Green?, Gary recaps his discussion with Michael and suggests that "green is the new black in corporate computing" - an IT fashion point that Dell strongly agrees with! Gary shares key takeaways for any CIO who wants to introduce green into their operations, including getting your CEO on board with your energy efficiency initiatives; reducing power consumption in your data center; aligning your IT and facilities departments; and holding your suppliers accountable.

  Gary intends to continue his green conversation with Michael with an online Q&A to be published on or around Earth Day, April 22. Stay tuned for more details on that. In the meantime, check out the following vlog in which Gary shares his thoughts and observations on the noticeable "awakening" happening amongst CIOs around the growing need to go green.

  Format: flv Duration: 5:20

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• Dell EqualLogic Discussions at VMworld

  Thu. Feb. 28, 2008
  by Kerry Bridge, EMEA Digital Media Communications

   

  On Tuesday, I attended the inaugural VMworld Europe in Cannes, France, where Dell was a platinum sponsor discussing the future of virtualization. It was held in the same conference centre as the Cannes Film Festival. I attended the opening keynote and then joined the Dell team on the exhibition floor to see what they were sharing with customers on the Dell booth and in the breakout sessions.

   

  Note from Lionel 2/28: This was originally published at 10am in the category area. Due to a publishing oversight, did not publish it on the main page. Re-publishing now.

   

  During the keynote session Diane Greene, president and CEO of VMware, shared VMware’s future vision for virtualisation and we also jointly announced that Dell will begin the process of putting VMware ESX 3i hypervisor across all virtualization-certified Dell PowerEdge servers starting in early April. One thing that impressed me was that customers will be able to purchase this solution with a single click

  , easing virtualization planning, deployments and management.  

  The other thing that really impressed me was that almost all the presenters focused on green IT. It’s great to see Dell as well as other companies putting such a focus on ReGeneration.

   

  At the Dell booth I met with John Joseph, VP of marketing for Dell EqualLogic storage solutions, and Tim Sherbak, Dell’s manager of virtualization solutions marketing. You can hear from the vlog that there was a lot of footfall and buzz in the Dell area.

  Format: flv Duration: 4:45

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  I also attended a breakout session with John where he shared that Simplifying IT with virtualization goes beyond the server. Storage infrastructure needs to be easy to deploy, manage and scale as well.

   

  It was great to meet our new EqualLogic team. I saw a demo of Site Recovery Manager (SRM) on the stand, an integrated snap-in to VMware VirtualCenter that provides a way to set up and test your disaster recovery strategy before you need it. Even at a first glance I could tell that with SRM, disaster recovery and business continuity are no longer expensive, complicated, uncertain processes. Another example of how Dell solutions do simplify IT.

   
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• Michael Dell Talks Green at IT Energy Efficiency Summit

  Wed. Feb. 13, 2008
  by Rebecca Thorburn, Green IT/ Power & Cooling

  Michael and other Dell team members spent the greater part of Wednesday morning last week in Washington, D.C. participating in the IT Energy Efficiency Summit. Dell partnered with CIO magazine to host this first-ever event designed to provide CIOs and other IT decision makers with insight into energy efficient computing strategies.

  In a moderated question and answer session with CIO publisher emeritus Gary Beach, Michael discussed various aspects of the greening of the IT landscape. (See highlights from his comments in vlog below.) He discussed Dell's drive to become the greenest technology company on the planet, our ReGeneration movement, how we consider the environmental impact behind everything we do as a business and the importance of carbon intensity—stay tuned for more on this front.

  He also shared different ways organizations can minimize their energy footprints, such as incorporating more energy efficient systems across their IT infrastructures, utilizing advanced power and cooling solutions and leveraging virtualization technologies. By applying an energy efficient approach to every aspect of their operations, Michael reminded attendees that their organizations stand to significantly reduce energy costs while meeting their corporate green initiatives. Put simply, embracing energy efficiency makes good business sense.

  Driving energy efficiency into the data center is certainly a topic of growing importance among CIOs considering that such facilities are massive consumers of power. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, data centers account for an estimated 1.5 percent of the nation's energy use. This number is expected to double within the next five years as power and computing performance demands continue to increase, costing an estimated $7.4 billion annually.  

  Attendees at the forum also heard from David Rodgers, deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency with the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Rodgers reiterated Michael's point regarding the critical role that IT has and will continue to play in reducing overall power consumption. He spoke of the federal government's efforts to continue growing the economy without growing our nation's energy use, and encouraged attendees to make use of technology in new and innovative ways to help lower energy consumption within their organizations. Rodgers believes the path toward a more energy-conscious culture will be driven by industry rather than federal mandates. He envisions a future in which the IT industry works more closely with the federal government to help define new standards around energy use and drive increased adoption of energy efficient technology and best practices.

  We want to thank CIO magazine for organizing the IT Energy Efficiency Summit and helping to bring attention to an increasingly important subject. Here are video highlights from Michael's conversation with Gary Beach during the event.

  Format: flv Duration: 8:34

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