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Topic: Hardware

Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

Summary: Apple ships something with the MacBook Air that I think ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs. Want to have a guess what it is?

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Apple ships something with the MacBook Air that I think ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs. Want to have a guess what it is?

Give up? OK then, here it is:

A single USB key containing everything needed to reinstall the software on the system. So far, I'm not aware of any OEM that does this.

It's such a simple and simplifying alternative to piles of CD and DVDs, or worse still, having to rely on the integrity of a recovery partition. It's so simple in fact that I can't understand why consumers put up with anything less these days.

I know us geeks can put together a flash drive with the OS and software on it, but I'm talking about something that helps those who can't perform such miracles.

Topics: Hardware, CXO, IT Employment

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50 comments
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  • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

    That is a beautiful thing right there. So much better than all the cds that come with the other ones. Nice work apple.
    hoaxoner
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

    Why? Most OEMs already put this on the hard drive. I guess you haven't bought a computer from an OEM in a while.
    roteague
    Reply Vote

    • "Most OEMs already put this on the hard drive."

      @roteague

      Yes and when that drive fails and crashes the system, you get to call the OEM and have a CD pack sent to you or hope that you can find the CDs that the Restore partition will create, if yo even made them.

      My hp Pavilion did exactly that very thing before I could make a set of disks. Guess what? hp sent a pack of CDs when they shipped back the unit after they repaired it. I would have just purchased a new drive and swapped it out to have the PC up faster but could not because I had no restoration CDs.
      jacarter3
      Reply Vote

      • It's worse than that

        @jacarter3 , don't forget netbooks like the Acer Inspire. They don't even have a CD drive! You have to BUY an external drive, then make your own backup CD's!<br>How much simpler, and more portable is it to provide a [bootable] USB stick ? <br>Say bye-bye, hidden restore partition. Your days are numbered.
        alan_r_cam
        Reply Vote

    • As jacarter3 pointed out HD failure is a big problem

      @roteague... with recover partitions, but here is another, root kits.

      Plus had you read the article, you would have seen this: "or worse still, having to rely on the integrity of a recovery partition."

      Recovery media from an OEM cost upwards of 25 to even as high as 50 dollars. Plus you are waiting for the ship time, sometime as long as 2 weeks.

      I always make sure that I get media with any new PC I purchase.
      Snooki_smoosh_smoosh
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

      @roteague Err, does that help if the drive dies?! No. This isn't a Mac vs PC issue - there is no reason at all that an OEM can't chuck something like this into the box with your new computer.

      I see a lot of dead systems (after all, people call me when they have a computer "issue"). Most OEMs don't put restore media of any kind in the box. Sure they put a partition on the drive, and a little not to the new owner that they should make a set of DVDs or CDs to restore the system. Guess what, most of the time people don't do it. A lot of the time the disks go bad (or didn't burn properly in the first place). This is a hassle.

      So given how much you paid for the unit, isn't a USB stick with a restore image in the box a good idea?

      Personally, I love the idea.
      Jeremy-UK
      Reply Vote

      • The reason OEMs don't is because they operate on

        razor thin margins to give you that $400 laptop that folks keep insisting is just as good as a Mac.
        frgough
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

        @frgough your dumb. Mac's are just super overpriced. For $400 a laptop might not be as good as a base mac, but then again a base mac is like $1000. So if your mac doesn't have better specs than a $400 PC then Steve Jobs should be shot (not that he shouldnt be shot already for the stuff that he does).
        Jimster480
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

    They should ship a chem pak that will dissolve the computer when cust opens up boxl

    We don't need computers Are a waste of time
    X41
    Reply Vote

    • Which is why you are here today...

      @X41
      Snooki_smoosh_smoosh
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

      @X41 IF they are such a waste of time as you say then why are YOU on here? Or are you wasting time there, hypocrite?
      athynz
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

      @X41
      I've seen you spouting this in a few comments...obviously you are USING a computer to do this. That makes you very much a hypocrite...
      If you truly believe this, get rid of your computer and we'll never hear from you again...
      AmraLeo
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

      @X41 Fail Troll is Fail.
      Jimster480
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

    Such a key would add to the cost for the OEM, who would in turn charge the customer. Probably overcharge just like Apple does. So for now, the recovery partition plus the few cents per DVD to burn to is a better solution.
    Loverock Davidson
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

      @Loverock Davidson

      I can't believe it, but I'm actually agreeing with you AGAIN. Yes, OEMs would probably charge an outrageous amount for one of these, say $250 US probably. Plus the cost of the rented software.

      One thing I'm assuming is that the software is actually on the USB drive, and that it's not just a link to re-download it. If it's actually there, that's one thing, but for someone who doesn't have broadband and has to use a dial-up connection, the latter would make it useless.
      clfitz
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

        @clfitz

        $250 would seem awfully steep. I'd see them charging $25 - $50 for a 4 or 8 GB drive depending on the space requirements. I'd hope and want the software already on the USB drive just in case an issue does come up you could just plug it in and boot up to it.
        Loverock Davidson
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

        @clfitz It's on the stick. Also the stick doesn't need to be modifiable - it doesn't need to be Flash memory - it can be a ROM (in fact that's a better choice). It need not cost much at all.
        Jeremy-UK
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

      @Loverock Davidson Right, because making something in volume never gets cheap...

      Oh, wait a minute - that's not right.

      I still only see this as a damn good idea. I think it would be pretty nice on any machine to have a "restore stick".
      Jeremy-UK
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Something ALL OEMs should ship with new PCs

        @Jeremy-UK
        I think its a good idea as well but you would be crazy to think that the OEMs wouldn't charge extra for this.
        Loverock Davidson
        Reply Vote

    • If Microsoft had done this

      @Loverock Davidson

      Awesome!!!
      Innovative!!!
      Breakthrough!!!

      But since it's Apple...

      It's no good.

      Cue the Loverock double standard.
      cyberslammer2
      Reply Vote
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