Dell giveth, the good Dell taketh away?

The face of computer purchases is changing. Very soon, despite Vista’s lack of performance… The face of computer purchases is changing. Very soon, despite Vista’s lack of performance when compared to its older brother, Windows XP, a student who buys a computer will have to go out of his way to install XP over Vista.

The computer manufacturers will no longer ship XP on new laptops or desktops and might even invalidate the warranty if a “non-original” operating system is loaded. It looks like everyone will need to speak Windows Vista.

The only way a customer can continue to run Windows XP from the manufacturer without fear that it will invalidate any warranty agreements, according to an article in the online technology journal The Industry Standard, is to buy a low-end, inexpensive laptop over the expensive, light workhorse many of us dream about.

Even if one agrees to give up performance for his tried-and-true favorite Microsoft operating system, the customization choices might be severely limited

Dell Computers, one of the most popular producers of low-end computers and inexpensive, entry-level machines, has announced a cut in its previously celebrated computer customization services.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Dell will save approximately $3 billion if it cuts back on allowing customers to customize their machines and forces them to choose from a few pre-configured computer packages. Three billion dollars seems like just enough of an incentive for Dell to go a little overboard.

What does all of this mean for the average consumer? Realistically, the everyday customer won’t see much of a change.

Dell will continue to cater to those users who just want a media machine or who just want a home machine for writing papers and checking e-mail.

Windows Vista won’t interfere with this, and most users won’t care that it’s growing steadily more impossible to purchase Windows XP-enabled computers. For the more tech-savvy among us, though, Dell’s announcement is a low blow.

Dell computers are known for their glorious inexpensiveness – so much so that many of us wallet-challenged computer enthusiasts will put up with Dell’s sketchy performance to save a dime.

They give the idle computer shopper an alternative if he just wants a machine to run Linux or to serve as a basic Internet server and therefore doesn’t need beefed-up performance.

Dell laptops provide inexpensive platforms to take to class – even if they are a tad heavy.

A lot of their merit, too, comes with their ability to be fully customized. The tech-savvy buyer wants to put precisely the devices he wants into the computer case.

Dell’s plan to restrict access to these services will undoubtedly lead to computer platforms that are just a little too low-end or just a little too expensive.

The entry-level machines will likely be slow with little memory. Frustrated buyers might think to themselves: “If I could just customize this a little, I’d gladly pay more for an ever-so-slightly faster processor.”

The next step up, though, will be a few hundred dollars out of price range and will have a slew of devices that most users will deem overkill.

Perhaps the next step up will add $300 to the price because of a jazzed-up graphics card that, to a buyer of an Internet server, is completely extraneous.

The XP/Vista problem will not be of concern, as these types of buyers will more than likely be loading non-Microsoft operating systems anyway. Still, some might find it frustrating that they’re forced to use Vista without an option to change.

Another major concern about Dell’s announcement is the fact that Dell plans on outsourcing much of its manufacturing to improve savings.

Although outsourcing is not a problem at face value, it might lead to a reduction in Dell’s overall quality. Even now, Dell’s entry-level home and home office machines are not known for their stunning robustness.

There is the possibility that it’s premature to worry about Dell’s announcement. After all, competition in the home computer market is quite stiff.

If Dell is able to bring down its prices successfully, manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard and IBM might be forced to follow suit. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were suddenly a price war that made computers significantly less expensive?

It might also play out that Dell will realize its mistake and quickly return to providing fully customizable machines.

Dell was one of the first, after all, to give the customer such flexibility in the computer shopping experience – let’s hope it’s not the company to take that away.