Dell non-denies Alienware buyout

Maybe they could and might do it, now they're kinda sorta denying going to: apparently a Dell Australia exec, Paul McKeon, found the Dell-Alienware buyout highly dubious, despite confirmations of the buyout received by CNET editors. Of course, he didn't actually outright deny this; instead McKeon just listed a variety of reasons why he thought it wouldn't go down like Dell's strong brand, etc. Alienware was even less earnest, refusing to comment but stating straight up that "news stories like this are ultimately a strong positive reinforcement of the Alienware brand and the company's success." Great, glad this rumor is of service to your marketing department, Alienware. Now, someone want to fess up or deny this please?

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 9:42AM]

well if dell does buys alienware atleast canadians will get some better support and next day on site support! go Dell go! haha

[tcc3 Posted Mar 15th 2006 9:59AM]

You think you get support from Dell? Ha ha. Thats rich.

[mackswift Posted Mar 15th 2006 10:07AM]

hi, i'm a troll, please spam me. why thank you. [e-mail]

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 10:37AM]

LOL...Apparently you're bitter about something. Now, I do agree that Dell should not outsource their customer support and such, but I must question your attacking other cultures for the way they speak. What's with that?

[XGM Posted Mar 15th 2006 10:40AM]

Good job alienware, now ill never get the FX-60 dual sli laptop from them anymore since their with dell. Well relly this is almost an insult towards alienware.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 10:52AM]

Mack Swift you've peppered so many racist statements and stereotypes in your post that I don't know where to start or whether it's even worth my while.

Quite frankly I'd rather accept bad service from an Asian call centre than put money into the pockets of a racist and bigoted American like yourself.

They're pronunciation and accent make them difficult to understand.
They speak English as it was meant to be spoken. The reason why the British people aren't as eloquent is down to the globalisation of American culture and the bastardised form of the language Americans wield.

That said the only problems I've had with Dell are due to build quality and not their customer service afterwards. If I have any reason to disagree with this union it would be because it will dilute the quality that has made Alienware what it is.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 10:55AM]

It could be true, but I wonder what will happen to AlienWare's AMD-lines?

That, and they just built a nice brand-new facility in Miami just a few months ago.

Dell's laptops are built and shipped directly from Malaysia. The last bunch I've had to order at work came straight from over there.

-- Elias

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 11:00AM]

I've found that if you really don't want to deal with having to understand an accent(which can be hit or miss, sometimes it's thick, sometimes they speak English better than many Americans), just do their web chat. It's how I usually contacted their tech support, and when it's just text, you don't have to worry about misunderstanding. They sometimes might use slightly off grammar, but I've never had any issues not being able to get what they mean.

[NeoteriX Posted Mar 15th 2006 11:09AM]

Mack Swift,

I don't know if you've ever dealt with tech support on any kind of broad basis, but even the "American" "English" speaking tech support agents cannot follow a flow diagram and their "help" is just as useless as anyone else.

The bottom line is that your racist, ignorant, cheap little self can't have it both ways. The only reason why companies have outsourced technical support is because you want a cheap computer, but refuse to pay for the increased overhead costs for whatever mythical tech support service you demand.

Lastly, your ignorant ethnocentrist mind cannot comprehend what kind of major force India will play in the world's scientific and economic future. Both IBM and General Electric have major research plants in India. A huge and growing % of the world's Ph.Ds are emerging from India. They are a hugely populus and rapidly developing nation.

Try not to cry yourself to sleep when your reality disintegrates in the next two decades.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 11:42AM]

Let's fix this problem:
They're = They are
Their = possession or ownership
There = location or direction

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 1:06PM]

#5: I agree. dell can brag all they want about thier customer support, but the inherent problem is that you use it a lot because thier products suck.

seriously. dell computers are built terribly and you'lll find yourself using Customer Support a lot. and once you run out of your warranty they basically screw you over.

Conclusion: Do what I did. Get a Macintosh.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 1:40PM]

As an Alienware employee, I can tell you this:
THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

[BrianA Posted Mar 15th 2006 3:43PM]

Austin R. I've never had a problem with them and i've bought 4 computers from them. Only people that are too stupid/lazy to fix a problem themself think that its the makers fault. Most of the time the problems are due to a person's own stupidity and are software related, which has nothing to do with dell.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 15th 2006 6:09PM]

I bought my Dell computer, had to format the hdd and re-install windows.
Dell branded speakers didn't work and I had to replace the monitor cable.

Stupid? No. I rectified the conflicts caused by Dell's pre installed software but with the number of errors still hindering my use of the computer it was quicker to reinstall the os.

Lazy? Maybe. Ordinarily I'd build my own (did before the Dell and have done since) but I was on a tight deadline and needed a replacement PC in a hurry.
Delivery was swift and efficient but that's no comfort when they delivered a turd.
I returned the Dell and was indemnified to my satisfaction but when I buy a pre built machine I want it ready for use out of the box.

Incidentally I borrowed a friend's machine and met my deadline. No thanks to Dell.

daCuk, as someone who has bought an Alienware machine, and am very happy with it, that's good to hear.

[007craft Posted Mar 15th 2006 9:33PM]

That was very unprofessional of you engadget to change Macks post to:

"hi, i'm a troll, please spam me. why thank you. [e-mail] "

Now I dont know what he originaly wrote, but it sounds bad from the others comments. If thats the case you should simply delete his post and if you choose, ban his ip/e-mail.

But dont stoop down to a lower level and post his private e-mail address and tell people to spam it. I would hate to post on a blog and have the editor be a jerk if he does not like my post and post my e-mail address. I just lost some respect for whoever changed the post :(

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 16th 2006 8:24AM]

I would think the merger could be partially beneficial for both companies. Every merger is going to have its positive and negative side effects. Alienware makes a strong, powerful PC that demonstrates a wide variety of computer components not being biased to one particular company. I have personal experience with Alienware's customer and I'll be frank, it's dismal. When I received my Alienware laptop I destroyed their image and started fresh with my own. Driver's and/or programs they sent me were way outdated. Dell should and could if this were to happen is just phase out the XPS series and just proclaim it as Alienware for their high end line. Realistically they would rid out the Alienware name and call everything Alienware had XPS. I would like to see this happen, the whole racial thing going on above doesn't have much to do with the whole thread other than people getting on a soapbox to vent about something that has little and/or no relevance to the actual merger.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 16th 2006 10:58AM]

Ive heard nothing but horror stories about dell hardware and support, but personally Ive had nothing but good results. I have 2 Insprion notebooks and they work great. Not a single problem once you get rid of all the crap software dell installs due to "partnership" deals with aol and the like. And their phone support is hit and miss but luckily the only times Ive called is to order the laptops and got someone that knew wtf they were doing (even got my newest one for about 300 less than the website listed).

But.. Alienware doesnt fit to dells business model. Alienware makes top notch hand picked computers at a cost. Dell is just the opisite cheap parts put together as quick as possible. Nothing good can come of this.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 16th 2006 11:11AM]

I want to hope the guy from Alienware in here is right on this one. If I would have wanted a piece of (blank) Dell, I would have bought a piece of (blank) Dell! I called Alienware tech support for the very first time last night around midnight, only to have the problem solve itself while I was on the line with the tech, but I used the time I had to ask a few questions. Fairly technical ones, too. He was able to answer everything I had and oh yeah, I spent nearly no time on hold at all. I hope to HELL this doesn't EVER happen! After I've seen how much garbage comes installed on a Dell and how poorly they really run, I just couldn't ever buy one. Alienware has been, contrary to popular belief, fairly priced even. Sure, it was just a little more, but definitely worth it. I'd only ever take a Dell if I didn't have a computer, and it was handed to me free of charge.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 16th 2006 2:12PM]

I wouldn't say Dell's stuff is all crap. You have to pick and choose and be a knowledgable person when buying a PC. A D810 laptop from dell can be a fairly well equipped laptop. I priced out my Alienware notebook vs a Dell D810 and they were pretty much dead even for specs. The only reason I went with Alienware was for a Nvidia graphics card. My gain through Dell would of been a 3 year warranty. Just gotta pick and choose your battles.