Couple of questions

1. Is it ok to have the laptop always connected to the power source?
2. I use refresh more than increasing brightness. Is there a way to have the key dedicated for these two actions to be interchanged? Meaning when the key is pressed, it should trigger refresh action and with when pressed with Fn key held down, brightness should increase.

By the way, I received my new Dell XPS 15 today with the following specs:

Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor (1.73GHz, 4Core/8Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 6M cache)
15.6 FHD (1920x1080) B+RGLED display with TrueLife™
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (1 x 4G)
500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 435M graphics with Bluetooth
9 Cell Primary Battery

 

1) Yes.

2) There are generic remapping programs that'll let you change Fn + whatever to one of the refresh hotkeys (ctrl + r or F5), but why not just use that ctrl + r or F5 in the first place?

 

If you press the little gearbox symbol on the touch panel, it'll bring up Windows Mobility Center. From there, you can change between function keys and media panel function for the top row of keys.

I personally switch to function keys only when I'm playing a game. Not fun when you accidentally press the Radio Switch...

 

How can I connect this laptop to an external monitor?

This laptop doesn't have a VGA port (has HDMI) and the external monitor doesn't have a HDMI port (has VGA cable)!

 

Buying one cable like this one (HDMI to VGA).
Consider it will only bring video and not audio signal.

 

1. Yes, but it isn't all that great an idea to leave the battery inside the laptop if you intend to do this. As you'll end up with a battery that can't hold a charge 6 months - 1 year after purchase.

2. You can adjust the Fn key in Dell Quickset. The quickest place to do it is by pressing Windows + X.

 

Thanks SimoxTa.

A converter like this one also should work, isn't it?

 

Yes, but consider that is HDMI to DVI, not HDMI to VGA

 

Be careful with those cables!
HDMI is a digital-only standard, while VGA is analogue only. A simple adapter cable won't do. You need a D/A converter, which might be included in the cable since HDMI sports a power supply lane, but there are also cables on the market without built-in converters which just can't and don't work (mainly from dubious sources).
It would be safer to get a converter box.
In any case you'll lose quite a lot of image quality due to the conversion.

 

Correct