Mossberg impressed by Dell's XPS One

Turns out PC Mag wasn't the only one fairly impressed by Dell's entry into the all-in-one desktop arena, Unkie Walt is officially a fan, and while he won't be giving up his iMac anytime soon, he had some warm things to say about the computer and Dell's design direction in general. In fact, as far as actual hardware goes, Walt found plenty of things he likes better about the XPS One than Apple's iMac, like the built-in memory card slots, TV tuner, back-lit touch controls and standard wireless keyboard and mouse. Still, Dell's base configuration loses out on power and price to the iMac, and Mossberg still recommends Leopard over Vista, but this seems to be Dell at the top of the heap when it comes to PC all-in-ones -- and a far sight ahead of the Mossberg-panned Gateway One.

[Thanks, webon]

[peternj @ Dec 27th 2007 11:44AM]

Leopard better than Vista? Clearly the old idiot has never really used Leopard. The latter is at best just like Vista, problems with software, drivers and hardware. Like Vista it has a lot of flash for no good reason. Leopard steals from Vista that stole from OSX.
As for the computer the Dell is vastly superior as the customer can easily gain access for upgrades of RAM, Hard Drive, Optical drive. It's also a better design than the new iMac which looks like it came from Dell last century.
Strange how Apple's design all looks the same and that design now looks like bad Wintel designs of the late 90's.
Mossberg is one of the biggest Apple fools out there. Him an Pogue make a cluster f**K of hype for the worst consumers electronics company in the world. Anyone who really uses Apple products know they break, OSX is a slug and customer care is a joke. The Apple stores are the Gap of our new Century. The same look all year round.

[David @ Dec 27th 2007 12:10PM]

Given that I use Leopard and Vista every single day, I have to say Leopard is far better than Vista. Leopard does have plenty of bugs or annoyances, but Vista has a ton more.

The XPS One is quite nice, but I'd have to go with the iMac over it. And you can upgrade the RAM and HDD in the iMac quite easily.

[mingistech @ Dec 27th 2007 12:25PM]

David is right.... I upgraded my 24 inch iMac to a 1TB drive and 4GB of RAM. No problems at all.... just a few screws.

Funny how a few years ago I had to spend 3 times as much for a pro machine and now the iMac has the balls for 3d video compositing.

[Joey Geraci @ Dec 27th 2007 12:43PM]

You won't find anyone in their right mind not agreeing with the fact that Mossberg is a fool. It is important to know what he thinks, because, inexplicably, his opinion is important to the great masses, but it must be taken in every "review" that he writes, that he is a complete and utter idiot.

[Bob @ Dec 27th 2007 12:58PM]

Didn't take long for Engadget's biggest Apple hater to chime in...

[roole @ Dec 27th 2007 1:00PM]

@Joey: Instead of a an epithet-laden rant, could you please be specific and back up why you think that person is a 'fool,' 'idiot,' etc?

I.e., advance the conversation?

[Dylan K @ Dec 27th 2007 1:02PM]

Since you guys have so many problems with Vista, maybe you'd like to lend me some of them so I can experience it, because I never have.

[Dragod @ Dec 27th 2007 1:03PM]

Ah, but you forget, Apple made Leopard. NO MATTER WHAT, anything by Apple is better than anything Microsoft made. Apparently, that is some kind of rule on the internet. Apple can overcharge for their products, make them out of cheaper products, and continuously screw over its customers, but it's still better.

Wow, that all sounds so good. I wonder why I'm not using a Mac?

[Jesus @ Dec 27th 2007 1:20PM]

@ David
We are on engadget so I probably shouldn't bother, but I can't help myself. Reading some random person on the internet say "they both have bugs but vista has way more. I use both everyday" is silly. You haven't given context or details of your statement. Most Vista bugs I run into are Driver related. They exist way more than I'd like but on a machine with good Vista drivers, I see very few 'bugs'. Perhaps you mean more conceptual design flaws? I don't know. But seriously, you don't seem like a troll, so try to be a leader and raise the quality level of engadet posts. Details, details, details. I can easily say Leopard has way more bugs than Vista. But that statement is vague and provides so little to the conversation that it wouldn't be worth posting.

And my response has nothing to do with which OS I prefer (because I’m not overly thrilled with either’s GUI or speed)

[Ethan @ Dec 27th 2007 1:27PM]

Some of us prefer Vista.

[Zak @ Dec 27th 2007 1:29PM]

@ Dragod: Why is it impossible for you to accept the possibility that Leopard might be better than Vista? How is Apple overcharging for Leopard when 1) it comes on all Macs for free, 2) it's not serialized, 3) it's cheaper than Vista, and feature-wise it's comparable to Vista Ultimate because there's only one version of Leopard, not 6. Unless you're counting Leopard Server, which is only a bit more expensive than Vista Ultimate, and it serves unlimited clients.

How is Apple continuously screwing its customers over? It sounds like you're just talking out of your ass.

[perfectionist @ Dec 27th 2007 1:57PM]

Getting away from OS wars, the hardware on the iMac is superior for the person who is looking for the cheapest an all-in-one, and doesn't need a TV tuner.

Let's compare the lowest-end models.

$1200 iMac
- 20" LCD display
- 2.0GHz C2D with 4MB L2 cache
- 1GB RAM
- 250GB HDD
- 128MB VRAM (ATI Radeon HD2400XT)

$1300 Gateway One
- 19" LCD display
- 1.5GHz C2D with 2MB L2 cache
- 2GB RAM
- 320GB HDD
- Integrated graphics

$1400 Dell XPS One
- 20" LCD display
- 2.2GHz C2D with 2MB L2 cache
- 2GB RAM
- 250GB HDD
- Integrated graphics

It's not a comparison of the same price points, but a comparison of the cheapest possible. The iMac comes out to the best deal because it has dedicated graphics for the lowest end model. The bigger HDD in the Gateway is overkill most of the time, and 1GB RAM costs ~$40.

If you upgraded the RAM on the iMac and bought a copy of Vista Premium (OEM), it would still be a better deal than the Ones.

[Pro7 @ Dec 27th 2007 2:33PM]

The OSX is not only complicated, and there is approximately 1000000000x less software available for it than for the PC, the OSX 10.5, for fact has issues and it is fashion, and nothing else. In 10 years, apple will be known as company that used to produce software. Oh wait, even today, apple is a big mp3 player producer, that used to make software nobody uses with a market share that is a joke.

[Sparks @ Dec 27th 2007 2:57PM]

As someone who uses both Leopard and Vista, I find Leopard the less-frustrating of the two. HOWEVER, this isn't to say that Vista is unusable.

Gaming, media stuff, Vista handles it great. I haven't even had many driver issues, and most of those have been quickly cleared up. But I find that Vista's performance (especially on network file operations, and indeed on some network operations in general) seems absymally slow compared to even XP on the same machine.

But running Windows Update... it should not take 7+ minutes of searching to determine if there are any applicable updates, when XP can perform the check in about a minute. It should not take a third again as long to copy a file between two local drives as it does on XP. Things like that. Nothing deal-breaking, but enough to periodically frustrate and annoy me.

This isn't to say Leopard's perfect either, just that I find Leopard's imperfections are generally less-intrusive to me, at least in my personal style of computing. Everyone uses computers slightly differently, however, so the quirks of one operating system may be a great deal more annoying to one person than another.

So, YMMV.

[blaktornado @ Dec 27th 2007 5:29PM]

"Leopard better than Vista? Clearly the old idiot has never really used Leopard. The latter is at best just like Vista, problems with software, drivers and hardware."

I've not used Vista and have no plan to use Vista, but only a few days ago did I use Leopard because I've heard almost nothing but praise towards it. I can't say the same about Vista, which is why I will never use it other than when I pass by a laptop in some computer store, give into my nerdy temptations and have a short play with it. So what if they both have bugs? From what I know, Vista has had big bugs for almost a year with no significant update to address them, and Leopard's second major OS update is already being seeded to developers just months after release. To be honest, it seems like Leopard is going to be working perfectly before Vista is.

"Like Vista it has a lot of flash for no good reason."

Maybe in terms of the dock (which can be turned off in the terminal or altered with apps like Candybar) and menu bar at the top (which actually lets you show more of your desktop background off). Apart from that, I beg to differ. The "Flash" Leopard offers takes commercial OSes nearer to those you see in sci-fi films. Core Animation lets you have beautiful transitional elements in your apps, which is something you won't get in Vista. Even if not all Leopard apps take advantage of Core Animation, it's there so in several years time, the developers can build backwards compatible apps that use core animation without worrying that their beautiful app won't be beautiful in a version of OSX from several years back.

"Leopard steals from Vista that stole from OSX."

Leopard is OSX, dummy :P

"As for the computer the Dell is vastly superior as the customer can easily gain access for upgrades of RAM, Hard Drive, Optical drive. It's also a better design than the new iMac which looks like it came from Dell last century."

I can easily gain access to upgrade the RAM or HDD in my iMac (RAM more so). All I do is lay it down and turn a screw. Not exactly difficult. The HDD is more difficult since you have to take the screen off, but for myself, I ordered my iMac with a 500GB hard drive, so no worries there. There was even the option for 1TB and it's not like External Hard Drives are unheard of. Any non-techy person could easily get one of those instead. It's probably not like they've got anything better to put into their FireWire 800 socket.

"Strange how Apple's design all looks the same and that design now looks like bad Wintel designs of the late 90's."

I don't know which part of the 90s you're thinking about...

"Mossberg is one of the biggest Apple fools out there. Him an Pogue make a cluster f**K of hype for the worst consumers electronics company in the world."

I can see you aren't referring to Apple, there. They aren't the best but they certainly aren't the worst :P

"Anyone who really uses Apple products know they break,"

Yes. They do. My Mighty Mouse's scroll ball got all clogged up... then I got a new one for free from Apple. My replacement is starting to get all cloggy too and I could easily ring up Apple care to get a new one... but since they'll probably have an update in January, may as well wait until then.

"OSX is a slug"

Compared to what? Certainly not Windows :P

"and customer care is a joke."

Maybe in America, but when I called Apple care UK, they were friendly, quick and reliable.

"The Apple stores are the Gap of our new Century. The same look all year round."

Uhhh because most stores are constantly changing? My local PC World hasn't had an interior redesign since... well.. they haven't. Nor have my local Argos, Currys, Comet, etc. which all sell consumer and pro electronics too. Apple stores are the same principal, yet they look so much better than these clunky big warehouses that house PCs.

[perfectionist @ Dec 27th 2007 4:17PM]

@pro7:
What software?
Office suite: MS Office, iWork, NeoOffice
Web browsers: Safari, Firefox, Opera
Movies: iMovie, FCE, FCP, Premiere
Photos: iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom
Music playback: iTunes, VLC, etc.
Music authoring: GarageBand, Audacity
Chat: iChat, Adium

I really can't think of any software that the Mac OS doesn't have or doesn't have an equivalent for.

More complicated is a matter of what a person is used to using. Everyone has a preference.

P.S. - Macs aren't built for gaming, period. They aren't targeting that relatively small market.

[Dragod @ Dec 27th 2007 1:03PM]

I like the One... I want one, but it's a bit too expensive for me.

[Bob @ Dec 27th 2007 1:10PM]

Yes, more expensive than an overpriced Mac.

Also...

Windows Vista Ultimate= $360.00
Mac OS X Leopard= $109.00

If you're going to hate, at least come up with some legitimate criticisms, like "The Apple retail experience is pretentious." See how that one works better because it's true?

[seoultrain @ Dec 27th 2007 4:48PM]

well, if you're gonna pick the most expensive version of vista, you may as well go for the bill gates autographed edition.

vista home premium for $109:
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-Premium-32-bit-Builders/dp/B000MFDJ1A/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1198791797&sr=8-2

no need to mislead people by saying vista is 3x the price.

see how that works better?

[L. M. Lloyd @ Dec 27th 2007 7:42PM]

Umm... Bob, I got my copy of Vista Ultimate 64 OEM for $129. You see, PC users often shop around for deals, much like how I doubt anyone is actually going to pay MSRP for the XPSOne, since Dell is constantly running specials. I think I have a $500 off any system coupon in my inbox right now from Dell. That is the amazing thing about a market where many vendors compete for your money, as opposed to all your hardware, software, and accessories being controlled by one company, you can get deals, and pay less than MSRP.

[Bob @ Dec 27th 2007 10:49PM]

Yes, I'm aware that if you violate the OEM license agreement, you can get the software more cheaply.

[Bob @ Dec 27th 2007 10:56PM]

I'm not misleading anybody. The only rational comparison is the 64 bit Vista ultimate and Leopard. Moreover, if you purchase a legitimate personal user liscence for Vista ultimate, you should be paying in the neighborhood of the price I listed above. The average consumer is not a system builder, and therefore is subject to the full retail price. Those of you who got the "deal" are simply violating the OEM liscence agreement.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Dec 28th 2007 4:45PM]

No bob, I have been building systems for myself and others for something like 15 years now. In fact, I have never bought a system that I didn't put together myself (except for laptops), and am in full compliance with the OEM terms. I think with a little research you would find that a lot more people build their own systems than you imagine.

[Dave @ Dec 27th 2007 1:10PM]

The Apple could definitely take a lesson from the hardware on this computer, specifically the memory card slots. I don't understand why Apple doesn't use them... They're practically standard on PC's these days. Besides it really wouldn't ruin the ascetics of iMacs and MacBooks to have an extra slot on the side.

[vb @ Dec 27th 2007 1:14PM]

Ahh! There are ugly holes on the side of my case!!! Nooo!! They're not white either! Whoever decided to put those there is fired!

- Steve

[haracas @ Dec 27th 2007 1:22PM]

Haha, well as someone who can get really anal about looks (pssst, i'm a designer) i actually don't mind not having memory slots XD, i only have 2 or 3 variations of USB cables to service my other electronics that need to sync with my mac and i have a card reader laying about somewhere which i can attach to my keyboard when i need to (but mostly never).

[perfectionist @ Dec 27th 2007 1:42PM]

@ Dave: It's aesthetics.
@vb: Apple has moved to a design era of anodized aluminum.

[Wood @ Dec 27th 2007 2:40PM]

And nowadays, if your computer is connected to a USB printer, you have memory card slots. Most of the printers manufactured in the last two years have CF/SD/etc. slots built-in.

[thethirdmoose @ Dec 27th 2007 5:01PM]

Because they take up a lot of space, and are unnecessary.

[Ellianth @ Dec 27th 2007 1:21PM]

i reckon he just got tired of everyone calling him steve job's bitch. So he decided to say a couple nice things, without being overly nice :p.

[Tim C @ Dec 27th 2007 1:33PM]

it really does not make a difference because mossberg is ghucking retard.

[Tim C @ Dec 27th 2007 1:40PM]

bob lets see,

vista premium (5 years)= $100 (service packs are free)
os 10 (5 years)= $645 (to keep the latest and greatest)

i think it is wise to compare the cost of the oprating system

[Zak @ Dec 27th 2007 1:51PM]

I guess it depends on how you value things like vast improvements to the OS. If you enjoy being stuck on the same version of the OS for 7 years, then Windows is obviously for you. And let's not forget that you would need to buy Vista ULTIMATE to come close to matching all the features of OS X. Premium doesn't cut it, Apple doesn't sell a castrated version of OS X. And Apple's equivalent to service packs (10.x.x updates and security updates) are also free, and they come much more frequently than Windows service packs (still waiting on Vista SP1, yes?)

[iPriest @ Dec 27th 2007 2:00PM]

Vista just keeps your computer old. It's now already outdated by the release of leopard. And why you fail to mention that service packs come free with OS X as well?

[Peter @ Dec 27th 2007 4:00PM]

Hmmm, so it's more expensive and less powerful than one of those oh-so-overprice iMacs?
Someone help me, what was Dell's strategy again?
(ROFL)

[inward9 @ Dec 27th 2007 2:02PM]

Why can't Apple add a f*ing card reader to their machines? I think their minimalist design philosophy has gone to their heads. Also, how about a home button on the iPod? Too cluttered?

[Fnet @ Dec 27th 2007 2:04PM]

Clearly the author is an idiot and an apple a*s licker... Those apple fans please realise that you are being 'milked' by apple by their overpriced products of plastic which may shine outside but with no substance inside.

[rip @ Dec 27th 2007 2:19PM]

Your absolutely right about Apple products having no substance.

Except for their MacBook Pros. Or the Mac Pros. Or the iPods. Or the iPhone... err, yeah.

So ok, the AppleTV is overpriced and doesn't have much to it. Same with the iPod socks. So your absolutely right.

[perfectionist @ Dec 27th 2007 4:18PM]

Troll correctly.
Apple has moved on to anodized aluminum.

[SteveMB @ Dec 27th 2007 4:20PM]

The iPod is a piece of crap, and the iPhone doesn't have any thing to write home about internally.

[Pro7 @ Dec 27th 2007 2:22PM]

Apple computers and the OSX are fashion, and nothing else. Mossberg seems to ignore the fact that everything on this Planet (SONY, GM, Mercedes, TV, Internet, Pentagon, NASA, Toyota, Intel, Samsung, Mayo Clinic, Universal, KRAFT, P&G, and so on) is ran, made and designed by Windows based PCs. Even the gardware used in apple computers is made and designed in Windows PCs. Mossberg is an old man, totally out of time who doesen't even know what he is saying. OSx better than Vista? Try to play a game in the OSX. Some freaks belive that there are no viruses for Macs. Well, freaks, there are also no Viruses for Vista. Apple isn't todays apple cause of the computers or the OS they make, they are what they are today, just cause of the IPOD.
Apple iphone, computers and especially the OSX are fashion, and nothing else.

[justin @ Dec 27th 2007 2:44PM]

Why should Mossberg take into account an operating system's vast user base when reviewing a product? That's like saying "The Playstation 3 has to be better than the XBOX 360 because of the amount of users that have PS2s."

To dismiss the Mac and other Apple products as mere fashion shows your lack of intelligence.

[The Dude @ Dec 27th 2007 2:23PM]

"It came with two gigabytes of memory (twice the comparable iMac’s standard amount), a 250 gigabyte hard disk and Wi-Fi wireless networking, unusual in Windows desktops."

Unusual? I got an HP Pavilion Slimline with those specs in February and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. Asstard.

"Second, the iMac, unlike the Dell, is immune to the vast majority of malicious software floating around, so you don’t have to run annoying, memory-hogging security programs."

Seriously, fucking LULz. With 2GB of memory, security apps are a drop in the bucket. Not to mention, unless you're a goddamned idiot you sure as hell better be running a 3rd party firewall in OS X. The default only protects against incoming traffic, and like Windows's built-in firewall is therefore half-assed. Running Comodo and Kaspersky consumes ~20,000 K (if that much) of physical memory on my machine. Oh teh noes, mah machinez is so bogged downz. Granted, these apps aren't bundled by default but not being a naive jackass is the best defense anyway. Once those bundled security app licenses have expire you'll be looking for freeware or just better alternatives.

[jeremydcox @ Dec 27th 2007 2:55PM]

Or you could boot vista on your Imac...

[Carbo @ Dec 27th 2007 2:58PM]

Who cares what an old fool like Mossberg thinks. Like that Apple fanboy knows anything. Anyone who thinks that Leopard is better than Vista is a delusional fool, period. I've had Vista up and running with zero problems. Leopard on the other hand runs like Windows ME. It's completely rushed garbage.

[Zak @ Dec 27th 2007 3:49PM]

Having run both ME and Leopard, I can say with factual certainty that you're wrong. Vista is completely rushed garbage though, despite the fact that it was pushed back so many times and 3/4s of its original features were removed. You say "I've had it up and running with zero problems" like that's some sort of amazing accomplishment. Do you really think OS X users are impressed by that? Seriously?

You can disagree with Mossberg all you want, but it doesn't mean you're right, and it doesn't mean he's wrong.

[Carbo @ Dec 28th 2007 11:59AM]

Know Mac users have their heads up their arses to far to be impressed. I could care less if a Mac users likes Vista, not enough of them. But I won't listen to Mac fanboys bash Vista with false lies, while they gloat about how perfect Leopard is when nothing could be farther from the truth. I use both and but Vista works far better, period. So when Fanboys like Mossberg and Ryans start posting their slants I will be here to correct.

[fortunado @ Dec 27th 2007 3:38PM]

Knowing dell the XPS one will be $999 sooner than later. Look at the $2000 XPS 1330 that can be had for $899 if you can find a good deal, or just get one from the dell outlet. The dell price will drop prettyfast or if you know how to look for a good dell deal.

[Fernando @ Dec 29th 2007 10:33AM]

Wow the trolling that goes on here is just unbelievable. I mean these editors here must love posts like these where we get all these great replies. I mean come on people look at yourselves for a second here and think before you write. Some people like OSX some like Windows, each have their ups and downs. I prefer OSX myself being that I just switched over from 15+ years of Windows. I personally think its a much more polished OS with tons or software I mean tons, people that state that there is no software for OSX are just misinformed. I have yet to require some type of software and not found it for OSX and have it not work the way it was advertised to, and best of it all its all free. The only people that argue about why windows is so much better is because of gaming. I mean seriously if you want to play games just buy a 360 PS3 or Wii or whatever. It's much more cost effective then using a PC for gaming trust me I have done the numbers, and have been in the game way too long to know better.

A little word of advice for the misinformed people out there. Don't bag something before you try it out first. Apple's OSX platform is a very great system that performs so much better then windows on any given day. Even with the latest software on 3-5 year old hardware. I challenge anyone here to install Vista Ultimate on 3-5 year old hardware and tell me that its actually useful. If you have the latest and greatest computer out there then by all means Vista will run OK on it and I mean OK.

I have a Dell Latitude D820 2.2 C2D with 2GB of RAM and a SATA 100gb 7200 RPM HD. I had Vista Ultimate on it and took 1:30 to start up a cold boot. I used BrazilMac's hack to hack Leopard onto it and this is not using the EFI hack to bypass the CD-ROM bootloader, and it booted up leopard in 25 seconds flat. I mean there is no arguing that, also since Dell has a closed BIOS it was only running in CoreSolo mode. So one less CPU core and still 1:10 faster for a cold boot. You can argue it any way you want but Vista is bloatware and thats pretty much it.

I am also happy to say that I am back to running XP pro on my D820 cause that Vista train was just a rough ride.

[L. M. Lloyd @ Dec 27th 2007 9:32PM]

You know, not everyone who dislikes OS X does so out of ignorance. Some people have plenty of serious production experience with it, and can't stand it. You talk about software availability, and I have to say that is entirely a factor of what you do. For example, where is the 64-bit version of Maya for OS X? What about 3DS Max? How about Digital Fusion? Pro-E? SolidWorks? AliasStudio? Inventor?

Depending on what you do, there is almost no software for the Mac. I find it rather ironic that the very industry Apple is so dependent on, industrial design, has almost no software running on the Mac.