Lastly, regarding tech support, I don't want to make any comments about India or anything, but the policies that they make these technicians over there follow result in unimaginably poor customer service. I was helping a family friend talk to tech support because this Dell wouldn't turn on.

Now, one would imagine that this would be the simplest tech support call to make. First you ask if the computer is plugged in. Then you verify the user is pushing the correct button to turn it on. Then you ask if any lights are coming on in the front. Then you ask if any fans are coming on or if the user can hear any noises in the computer when the power button is pushed. If these all fail, you send a technician out to the house.

This is not how it happened for this poor fellow (we'll call him Mr S). The first tech told him he had to speak with a manager, and would call back in half an hour. Two hours later Mr S called Dell back because he hadn't heard anything. This rep gave him the same routine, and another two hours pass. Finally, after 2 hours of talking, 3 hours of hold music, and 6 hours of waiting for return calls, a manager decided to send a technician out to the house.

Now, I know that it costs them a lot to send someone out, but I imagine it costs them a lot in man hours on the phone and the loss of a customer. Plus, as a result I'm not going to recommend Dells anymore.

This was a long shot from my experience my freshman year of college, when I had a problem that a tech support person couldn't diagnose over the phone in an hour, so he sent a technician to my dorm room. That impressed me. Their service no longer impresses me.