OT - Dell can kiss my hairy northern nards, Huh? Options

[soloracer]

I went to a family gathering in Montana for a relative of mine who is being shipped to serve in Iraq for two years. He mentioned that they had internet access over there via a wireless network and that he was thinking of getting a laptop. I thought it would be nice for the family to all chip in and buy him one. We could load it with pictures and our e-mail addresses and give it to him before he ships out.

So I called Dell and went through the ordering process. Right at the end I told them that it was going to someone who was being shipped to Iraq for two years. Their response? They cancelled the order!!! They told me that they can't sell to anyone who is taking it to Iraq because Iraq is on a banned list and that if the computer got in the wrong hands they could be held liable. I explained that it was going to a man who was in the military and they basically said that they could care less. WTF?? What do service men use over there for internet access? Two cans and a ball of string?

[MarkG]

I would be very surprised if his unit allowed him to have it there as well.  Securtiy issues, but I could be wrong.

He is right, Microsoft and other software vendors wont let you take their software into another country for any length of time. ... On the other hand, Dell is on the down slide right now in my book as well. A friend of mine ordered one from Dell and he said the guy was in India and was screwing up the order left and right. He cancelled his order and bought an HP locally. If Dell doesnt bring their support and sales back to the states, I will have to start shopping elsewhere for my clients computers in the future. I refuse to fuel a 3rd world country with my business. I dont even like buying Jap cars and parts. The only reason I got a Toyota is the price was really cheap and I got it used. Call me a redneck but if I can buy from an American company rather than some foriegn country, I will. It appears that Dell has outsourced everything but management to India.

DELL, IBM and HP are all "outsourcing" any job that can be done overseas; America is/has lost its competative edge in the only field left that we excel in: computer science. .....to the guy who bought his HP locally, wait until he needs support......Gupta, Patel or Mohammed will be glad to help him......each and every one with a months training to replace the techs with YEARS of expierence they replaced in America!

It will be impossible to deal with companies that don't outsource to India, China, Costa Rica etc. as this is the future of corporate America. Hugh companies and software mfgrs that sign multi-million $$ contracts with computer firms write into the contract that the computer firm must 'outsource' X amounts of jobs to win the bid (thus making BOTH parties culpable in the outsourcing of America).

Its not just computer firms: credit cards, x-rays, architechtural drawings, medical records, tax returns - anything that can be done via phone or fax is going overseas;

its just a matter of time before Mohammed in Bangladish sells your credit card number to Youseff in Pakistan who uses it to buy the explosives that Ahmed uses to blow up Starbucks in Tel Aviv....and YOU go to Gauntanimo Bay for a few years until someone figures out your c/c # was stolen/sold (there is no c/c protection in these outsourced countries).

Patel @ DELL was right in that there are 'denied parties lists' of persons and countries that selling computers to result in Draconian measures from Uncle Sam.

In what can only be described as ironic, it is perfectly ok to outsource American computer jobs to some of these very same countries that you can't sell computers to (Red China being an upcomming favorite......)