M1330 - My grievances

1) As soon as I unpacked my M1330 and compared it to my old 640m aka e1405, I couldn't help noticing how much screen size I gave up to get a slightly smaller laptop. Here are the horizontal screen dimensions of the two computers.

M1330
Screen: 11 1/4"
Total: 12 1/2"
Difference: 1 1/4"

640m/e1405
Screen: 12"
Total: 13"
Difference: 1"

So to lose 1/2" of total screen size I had to give up 3/4" of screen size. It doesn't seem fair

2) Finger grease on the matte black finish shows easily. This isn't as bad as the glossy black finger print magnets known as iphones, but it is noticeable. It wouldn't be so bad except that it's not as easy as wiping them off with your hand. Whatever you do, don't eat KFC around your xps

3) Getting used to vista is a chore and a half. I wouldn't care as much if Windows 7 wasn't right around the corner meaning I'm learning a clunky over featured, less than practical OS for no reason. That being said, it's not really the computers fault (although Dell could have posted xp drivers specific to this computer on their site) and as many things as I find annoying, there are cool features that balance them out.

4) It's nearly impossible to tell where the media controls are in the dark. On my old computer, I could either feel the buttons and go off memory to find the one I want to use, or hit any button to light them all up and look for the button I want to hit. If someone could figure out how to program the media control LEDs lit all the time, it would definitely make this a better laptop.

5) The speakers on this computer suck! Plain and simple they sound like carp. I was always so impressed with the speakers on my old computer and was surprised that Dell would take a step backwards on such a crucial component. I now understand why they shipped these computers with the Creative earphones, otherwise people would return the units thinking they had a faulty sound card.

6) The computer does have a slightly raised front left corner when sitting on a flat surface. It's only noticeable when I rest my hand on it to type. It doesn't really bother me though (yet anyways) so it's barely worth mentioning. If there was a solution to this, I would definitely fix it.


Anyways, none of these complaints are deal breakers. If these things were fixed, I would have to say, this would be the perfect laptop. I would love to tell you all the things I love about this computer, but I'm saving it for another thread

 

I applied a dark grey leather texture skin to my tuxedo black lid, and have no more fingerprint problems!

(Do a search on it in the cosmetic modifications forum.)

People have also 'straightened' their base so it lies flat. Do a search on that too in this forum.

 

Looks good... I checked out ebay and kinda liked the dark wood skin.

Fixed the wobble.. it was easy!

Thanks man, Rep!

 

I just noticed this one, you can't remove the battery while the screen is open.

 

Is that really a complaint? Just close the screen and replace the batteries. This computer boots out of sleep unbelievably fast in Vista.

 

3) Have you given Ubuntu a serious run for its money? (or rather, no money, since it's free!). In my opinion, it is a lot better than Vista in the performance department, and is less "in your face", if that makes any sense.

You should let DELL take a look at that. Computers aren't supposed to make fish noises...