Nope, just speaking from experience at 2 companies over the last 4 years with >200 systems per site. I also worked with a company previously that was a Gateway Certified Reseller and have seen how servicing works from the reseller perspective. They're typically unnecessary middlemen from what I've experienced.
No company is perfect, but some are definitely worse than others. Most local companies are missing the checks-and-balances that you get with larger competing companies.
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/01/08/0515200.shtml
Acer puts exploitable ActiveX controls on their systems that serve no usable functionality. While this may not stop you from making a recovery CD, it does compromise the security of your users.
As for NTFS, try imaging a Dual Layer DVD on a FAT32-formatted system and you'll encounter the main reason to not use FAT32 (the filesize limit). Even if it is fixable, I guess it is a question of what your time is worth. How much does the time spent converting cost your clients, and how many service calls do companies you deal with make wondering why their image creation is claiming to fail for a lack of HD space when they have plenty available?
I have to disagree with you regarding Dell. Just because they sell directly does not mean that support is lacking. If you purchase Gold support on the systems you purchase, Dell sends a technician to your site the next day. Next day service is just as good as you would get from a local shop as they'll likely have to order parts as well (and avoid any shipping costs if applicable). Granted, this won't help you if you have an incompetent sysadmin at your business that cannot troubleshoot issues themselves, but this is more of a question of a reliable vendor and the servicing they offer.
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Since the show dealt with terrorists, maybe this is a massive attack against all of the people at CBS that are allergic to peanuts.
(Simpsons)"BOMBARDMENT! BOMBARDMENT! BOMBARDMENT!"(/Simpsons)
Nope, just speaking from experience at 2 companies over the last 4 years with >200 systems per site. I also worked with a company previously that was a Gateway Certified Reseller and have seen how servicing works from the reseller perspective. They're typically unnecessary middlemen from what I've experienced. No company is perfect, but some are definitely worse than others. Most local companies are missing the checks-and-balances that you get with larger competing companies.
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/01/08/0515200.shtml
Acer puts exploitable ActiveX controls on their systems that serve no usable functionality. While this may not stop you from making a recovery CD, it does compromise the security of your users.
As for NTFS, try imaging a Dual Layer DVD on a FAT32-formatted system and you'll encounter the main reason to not use FAT32 (the filesize limit). Even if it is fixable, I guess it is a question of what your time is worth. How much does the time spent converting cost your clients, and how many service calls do companies you deal with make wondering why their image creation is claiming to fail for a lack of HD space when they have plenty available?
I have to disagree with you regarding Dell. Just because they sell directly does not mean that support is lacking. If you purchase Gold support on the systems you purchase, Dell sends a technician to your site the next day. Next day service is just as good as you would get from a local shop as they'll likely have to order parts as well (and avoid any shipping costs if applicable). Granted, this won't help you if you have an incompetent sysadmin at your business that cannot troubleshoot issues themselves, but this is more of a question of a reliable vendor and the servicing they offer.