If you work in a company that has a lot of Dell computers and you are tasked with going around to get all the details, this is easy enough for the desktop as this is located in an easy to get at place but Laptops in docking Stations are a real pain. I came across this Utility which will not only display the service tag and the Express code (needed when you call up dell support) but also a link to the drivers and the warranty pages.

As Windows 7 Looms Closer to been released – 22nd October 2009 to be exact, is it a big jump from Vista before it or is it just more of the same? Read on for my very own view on a brand new machine.

New Machine – Pre Installed OS

Having just took receipt of a brand new Dell XPS 435MT which features a Core i7 2.66Ghz CPU, 3 GIG DDR3 Ram (I’m getting more later) and a X58 Motherboard – we power it up and then set about updating it from hence it came to make sure it was right up to date.

The first thing that I noticed was the LONG Boot time, it sat there as if waiting for something and around this we had a Laptop of much less power going from power off to desktop and ready to rock and STILL the desktop was loading. Was I missing something here? was the new Quad Core 2.66 Core i7 not fast enough, was the DDR3 Ram holding out on me or had Dell stuffed so much crap on there it was a 486 in disguise?

Installed Sofware

Dell has included Vista Premium 64Bit along with Norton Security, Microsoft Works 9 and Roxio DVD writing software. I first removed all signs of Norton (horrible thing) and then got rid of half the Dell crap and finally – set about updating it.

Around and Around

I was rebuilding my other machine with Windows 7, this been a Core 2 Duo and I had finished not only putting on the OS but a good handful of applications by the time the Vista machine had grabbed the first round of updates and rebooted – which took forever I may add. I finally got Service Pack 2 and all the Applications I think I might need on there and did a very quick compare – which was basically switch both machines on at the same time, this been the Core 2 Duo with Win 7 64bit and the new Dell with a Core i7 and Vita 64Bit. The C2D Machine was not only on and loaded but I was working on it and STILL the Vista machine was loading the desktop – how crazy is that?

Time to rebuild.

I had enough of this Vista thing and wiped the machine this morning – I installed Windows 7 64Bit RTM version, installed all the Application I need and what a difference. From switch off to fully working desktop, very fast indeed – now it started to feel like I had actually upgraded the processor. My advice is that if you are indeed still running Vista on your machine and you have the ability to get hold of Windows 7 – I suggest backing up your data and formatting that machine + Install Windows 7, you will not regret it.

Fences is a one-of-a-kind program, allowing you to draw labelled shaded areas on your desktop, which become movable & resizable containers for your desktop icons. These groups can help bring organization and consistency to your computer’s desktop, solving the “constant mess” problem that has plagued the desktop since its inception.
Fences also helps you finally appreciate the wallpaper you have hiding behind all that clutter.
In addition to its organizing features, Fences offers a novel quick-hide feature (in-patenting-process). Double click your desktop, and all your icons will fade out. Double click again, and they’ll return.

System Requirements

● Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7

● On Vista and Windows 7, both 32bit
and 64bit versions are supported.

This freeware program (which is still in Beta) allows you to basically organise your icons into groups (fences) and the group can be re-sized, moved and so forth. Once not the main thing, they disappear (all icons) until you click the desktop again.