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Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Review
Posted by Mark Wilson at 5:50 AM on November 20, 2008
The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is a bit confused. It packs an Intel Atom processor, which makes it a netbook. But it also has a 12-inch screen, which exceeds our definition of what a netbook can be. On one hand it's a natural evolution of the genre in an ever growing screen size arms race, topping the 10-inchers like a razor company adding another blade. On the other, the Inspiron Mini 12 reaches a size and pricepoint that makes it comparable to far more capable systems from Dell in the same pricerange.
CNET has a story on the suitability of the major PC manufacturers' lines to survival in these tough economic times. There will be fewer people shopping for new PCs, and more notably, fewer businesses, and these manufacturers will have to make solid strategic moves to make it out (relatively) unscathed. So out of the top five PC makers, who's got what it takes?
Just a few years ago, most of us would have laughed at the prospect of a $US1,000 Alienware system. But such is the reality now that the company is owned by Dell. Their newly announced Area-51 750i starts at a palatable $US1,049 and features a 3GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, GeForce 9800 GT video card, 250GB hard drive and beefy 750W power supply. That's not an unbelievable gaming rig, but you still get the premium case with screwless bays and in-your-face style to spare. Units ship later this month. [
In July there were some strong rumours that Dell would be bringing out a 
The suits might fire me for this...but I'm slashing the price on this lovely Dell Mini 9 laptop to $US529. Holy crap, I just blacked out. What did I just say? Did I just say $US529? I meant to say $US1,529! Hell, I meant to say $US10,529! Well no going back now, the Dell Mini 9 laptop is here on QVC for just $US529. These are great for kids, grandparents, baseball players...wait a second...I'm receiving word that you can actually customise this same system for $US449 on Dell.com. Well...I mean...then you'd have to...go online...series of youtubes...and stuff. So, uhh, I'd recommend all QVC fans buy the Dell Mini 9 from us, then go to Dell.com and pick up a second Dell Mini 9 for only $US449. That's two laptops for under $US1000 here on QVC. Damn, still got it! [
It seems like every tech company is feeling the pinch these days, and Dell is no different. In order to cut costs, they are encouraging employees to take up to five unpaid vacation days or a severance package during Q4. CEO Michael Dell has also initiated a hiring freeze and announced that the company will be using fewer contract workers during this time. Dell hopes to trim $US3 billion off its annual spending over the next few years, and my guess is that another round of layoffs might occur if these preliminary measures don't help enough in the short term. [
Yes, there is a stigma associated with buying refurbished laptops. I understand it to a degree—I mean, there is nothing like liberating a fresh, shiny gadget from its plastic packaging prison. What I don't understand is how this stigma exists in a society where buying a used car is so widely accepted. As many others have pointed out, the process of buying a refurb and a used car are actually very similar—except the financial risk we take on with the latter is generally much, much higher. So why are we so hung up on this? We shouldn't be—and here is why.
On Halloween, our spooky Mark "The Great Pumpkiniser" Wilson discovered 
Today HP, Toshiba, and Dell issued a recall of 100,000 Sony battery packs found in their laptops sold between 2004 and 2006. Only 35,000 battery packs were affected in the U.S, with an additional 65,000 batteries recalled worldwide. Out of the 40 reported incidents, only 19 incidents have been in the U.S., thus affecting a smaller amount of people than in 
