1420 Is Here!! Pics Momentarily

The trackpad measures in at 2 15/16" long and 1 7/16" wide.

Media Direct is a program built into the computer that allows you to use the system as a multimedia device, such as playing DVDs, audio CDs, or photo slideshows (I think) without booting into Windows. I haven't tried it yet but I'll have a bit on it in the review.

As for LoJack, I still have the CD sitting here on my desk. I am honestly a little wary of it knowing now how it works. From reading some articles online it continuously contacts the LoJack centers and lets them know where your computer is. Should it get stolen, you let them know and that is how they can find it. They also through the software have the ability to delete files or wipe the hard drive at your request, and it is these things that bother me. I'm not sure if I will install it or not.

 

That's good information to know about they can delete files at your request.
Which would be bad if someone hacked into their systems and deleted members HD. Could a hacker do this?

 

Don't know. I'm more concerned about getting an incorrect command sent to my computer, say because someone who has a computer with a similar code in their system to mine.

 

How about the notion that a company is constantly tracking your whereabouts. This is unnerving to me. And since you say they have the ability to remotely delete certain files or wipe an entire drive, could we also assume said software can watch what the end-user is doing on his/her system at any given time?

It's an interesting idea but I would much prefer a hardware solution if anything at all. For all the trade-offs in exchange for a "what if stolen" situation, it seems too Big Brother to me.

 

can you sell your 3 year subscription say on ebay? or is it for whoever installs the lojack cd?

personally, i'd just buy a laptop lock - most people will give up if theres a steel lock on your laptop.

phobos did you figure out if the 8400m gs is ddr2 or ddr3 or underlocked? using ntune/riva or one of those programs? if its ddr2 i'd like to get some credit to buy a lock or something

 

Heh, i would like to know if they just blindly sweep the whole hd, or they are actually able to see your files. Big Brother is a little stretch, for now

 

once you install lojack, can you not remove it? if someone took your laptop, couldn't they uninstall lojack. its not a piece of hardware...

 

If it was hardware you could just take it out though.

 

The Forbes article from which I am getting my information suggests that the software can essentially not be uninstalled once you install it, which to me makes me think it goes into the non-Windows portions of the drive like the MBR or something. The same article also suggests that there is hardware in many newer laptops to accomplish the same functions. (This article was from 2005 but it's the only thing I could find).

I don't see why you couldn't see the thing because it's not tied to the computer - the account registration info was on the CD case that the LoJack software came in.

 

deleted post

 

According to RivaTuner it is GDDR3 and it is at 500 MHz, which is 100 MHz lower than it ought to be. I haven't tried overclocking it.

 

Hey phobos512 I was wondering how your screen is? Does it have those well known sparkles/grainyness and washed out in all Dell Inspiron models or it is relatively clear/high contrast like some Latitudes? sorry if this question has already been asked

 

Well I think I've got the first cut of my review done. It's 10.5 pages and 5,154 words without pictures. lol.

 

Actually I haven't had anyone ask me that. It is by my definition clear. Unfortunately I have limited experience with other Dell laptops and am not familiar with the graininess that has been mentioned with respect to the other Inspiron laptops.

 

what is the font like size 72 fo it to be 10 pages and that few of words?

 

Well in old dell inspirons if you looked at a White part of the screen you could see grainy/sparkly dots and the other issue was with the colors, they were washed out compared to a normal LCD monitor. I know the Latitudes did not have this problem, I own a D630 and am personally impressed with the screen quality it has. I was hoping Dell had installed the same screens on its new Inspirons as well!

 

Wow, way to criticize man. No, it's TNR 12. I have a couple of lists for where I talk benchmarks and configuration but those don't amount to 2 pages.

Here I was all proud...

 

Haha naw man he didnt mean it like that, we are all proud of you!

 

sorry, i didnt mean it like that.

edit: damn i swear i typed this before the above post!!!!

 

I was implying that it could be in the vein of Big Brother. I'm not a conspiracy theorist by trade, but the idea of this LoJack program gives me the creeps, thinking someone could at any time be "watching" over your shoulder, so to speak. As if we don't have enough surveillance watching our actions on the internet (read: Patriot Act).

 

on the lojack website, it says that it only checks once a day you computer model, serial number, ip address. they cannot see your files. once you file in theft, they start checking that info every 15minutes.

i didn't see any information about being able to wipe your hard drive.

as for uninstalling the software, it runs "hidden" so control panel/registry/looking through folders your not going to find it. you need your "password" to uninstall it. so for most average users/petty criminals, they're probably not going to find it.

also, their policy is when your laptop gets stolen, they can refuse to take any responsibility for not being able to recover it IF the stolen computer does not connect to the internet for 30days after the theft occurred. which I think sucks...

 

After talking with my Dell rep (I know they have a reputation of not being the most knowledgable) I was informed that my computer comes pre-installed wit the LoJack software and that the CD was just to back it up or something like that. She said I wouldnt need to even touch the disk b/c the software would already be on the laptop....

 

Alas, one more reason why a hardware solution may be preferred. One that does not require booting up Windows.

 

Well then how the heck do you register it? There's nothing at all on this computer to suggest that it's installed. Very interesting...

 

And that's why I made sure and said where I read this

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/08/19/digilife-lojack-laotops-cx_daa_0819digilife.html

 

I understand now the humor in the post before about my draft review...missed that it was a joke, that's my bad It's all good folks.

 

I hope you can't tell it's installed

 

just cancelled my 1420 order

gonna build a desktop, and i bought an outlet 1210---> 689$

 

Yeah but, if my computer isn't registered and I don't know what to tell LoJack or how to even contact them, how is the software supposed to work?

 

i'm almost certain that dell rep was BSing you. if you want lojack installed on your laptop you need to install the disc and register. and no, you can not tell it is installed. wouldn't that defeat the purpose if you could?

 

Well I'm assuming that once you boot up your comp. the first time and register everything, that your internet connection will send out the info to the LoJack company and everything will be set, but then again you could be right, the Dell Rep could have just been BSing me.

 

Actually i believe he is right, LoJack is shipped as a completely different order and therefore would not have the opportunity to be installed.

 

Well, I had no pop-up to register the software. On their website it's got a section to register/install the software. So it would seem as though I am not currently protected.

EDIT
It says right inside the CD case: "You computer is NOT protected with Computrace LoJack for Laptops until you complete the installation and registration process. Just follow these 5 easy steps:

1. Make sure your computer is connected to the Internet.
2. Insert this CD into your CD drive. If the menu doesn't automatically appear, open My Computer, then click on your CD drive and double-click on LoJackLaptops.exe.
3. When the menu appears, click on the Install LoJack for Laptops button. This will open your Internet browser and take you directly to our installation and registration website.
4. When prompted, enter the Registration Code printed on the back of this CD sleeve.
5. The registration and installation webpage will walk you through the remaining steps to complete the installation and setup of your account."

And what I meant by, I can't tell that it's installed is, there was nothing that came up on first start to indicate that I needed to register or anything...So if I'd been told by a Dell rep that it was already installed and I didn't have to do anything, I would in fact NOT be protected.

 

I dono, if this is already said but lojack installs in your bios, not your harddrive so if somebody steals it, they can not clear the information unless they flash your bios.

 

Stinkin Dell reps.... sigh.. my bad guys.

 

I just found something interesting about the LoJack...one sec

 

"This is also one tough little piece of software. LoJack for Laptops--Absolute licensed the Lojack name from the car theft recovery company--can survive the entire stripping and reformatting of the hard disk. And, to make it even more invulnerable, most of the big laptop makers--IBM, dell, hp, blah blah--have just begun embedding a recovery chip on their system boards, so that even if the thief replaces the hard drive, the computer will still be able to make that SOS call."

3 ways lojack work
1.) modem -> phone number trace
2.) ip - ISP service trace
3.) And then there's a third way that even John Livingston, Absolute's chairman and CEO won't tell us about. (hmmmm...hmmmm hmm!?!!?)

 

Very interesting, I think it's a great idea, especially for college students such as myself. Something worth looking into a little more though.

 

4 hrs 51 minutes, I changed the off percentage to 2%. Said there were 10 minutes of life remaining so that gives an even 5 hours. In addition to the above I also did some Photoshopping for my review and had an external USB mouse plugged in at that time.

 

What spooks me though is the permanent on part.

 

Ya very true.... hmm

 

it said on the lojack website you can uninstall as long as you have the "password"

im not sure if you can only uninstall before you "activate" it though

 

so the 8400m gs memory clock is faster than the 8600m gt?

the 8600 people said theres was down to 400 from 700
ours is down to 500 from 600


so confusing

 

that's correct. But the 8600 has twice as many shaders and twice as much memory and twice as much memory bandwidth.

 

I don't get it how did Phobos get DDR3? aren't all the current ones are coming with DDR2?

 

The 8600m GT comes with gddr2, idk about the 8400m gs

 

I can only report what RivaTuner tells me and it says GDDR3. NiBiTor, which is supposed to be the magic utility that will answer all our questions, doesn't work under Vista.

 

I just tried using ATITool to see what it would say and it doesn't know what an 8400M GS is...It says in its log that nVidia was detected but that it can't tell what it is, so the software can't do anything.

 

Even NiBiTor v3.4a?