Comments on: Dell’s new “Della” Web site patronises women http://www.katescomment.com/della/ Thoughts on British ICT, energy & environment, "Cloud", and security from Memset's MD Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:21:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Rob Joneshttp://www.katescomment.com/della/comment-page-1/#comment-396 Rob Jones Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:54:00 +0000 http://www.katescomment.com/?p=149#comment-396 I think it's awesome that in a time when customisation of technology has advance to the borders of Web 3.0 that some genius in Marketing has managed to get sign off for "Mrs Beaton's guide to spending money at Dell". I am by no means a technical genius and like others like technology that looks good and is easy (god bless the i-phone) but it does strike as a little odd that a business such as Dell would 'dumb down' so badly and in such a gender focussed way. That being sad isn't there an adage about no publicity being bad publicity? (Unless of course you expensed your moat cleaning!!) I think it’s awesome that in a time when customisation of technology has advance to the borders of Web 3.0 that some genius in Marketing has managed to get sign off for “Mrs Beaton’s guide to spending money at Dell”. I am by no means a technical genius and like others like technology that looks good and is easy (god bless the i-phone) but it does strike as a little odd that a business such as Dell would ‘dumb down’ so badly and in such a gender focussed way. That being sad isn’t there an adage about no publicity being bad publicity? (Unless of course you expensed your moat cleaning!!)

]]> By: Kate Craig-Woodhttp://www.katescomment.com/della/comment-page-1/#comment-366 Kate Craig-Wood Thu, 28 May 2009 12:41:39 +0000 http://www.katescomment.com/?p=149#comment-366 @Sam My reaction was shared by a number of girl friends of mine and female work colleagues. I'm the first to admit that I like my technology to look good (Mac Air, Android G2 Google-phone, iPod, Ducati etc ;), but that site really took the piss. They have removed the most grating elements now, but the new version is still pretty awful. It is just about suitable for marketing to little girls, but not grown, educated women! My view appears to be in line with the comments on the 'tips' page: http://content.dell.com/us/en/home/lifestyle-tips.aspx @Sam My reaction was shared by a number of girl friends of mine and female work colleagues. I’m the first to admit that I like my technology to look good (Mac Air, Android G2 Google-phone, iPod, Ducati etc ;) , but that site really took the piss.

They have removed the most grating elements now, but the new version is still pretty awful. It is just about suitable for marketing to little girls, but not grown, educated women! My view appears to be in line with the comments on the ‘tips’ page: http://content.dell.com/us/en/home/lifestyle-tips.aspx

]]> By: Samhttp://www.katescomment.com/della/comment-page-1/#comment-340 Sam Mon, 25 May 2009 05:39:57 +0000 http://www.katescomment.com/?p=149#comment-340 Hmm, I'm a woman and I wasn't offended (except that it's Dell, yuck) I'm a gamer, I do image retouching, graphics, digital art, page design and a bit of A/V as well. I'm also a mom who likes to cook for my family, since I have a family I do also need to budget, I have health troubles so I try to stay relatively healthy and in shape, I have many appointments to keep in order and I happen to enjoy a few "shallow and girly" things like makeup and style. I don't wear just one hat as a woman and I'm not offended by someone suggesting that I may wish to do things other than the standard "fight the man/be the man" things that women are supposed to do these days, hell I know men who enjoy the things that you were disgruntled about! I think you need to let go of your own self esteem and confidence issues and realize that not all women are made the same, not more but certainly no less--just different and I really think that you need to stop trying to dictate what I (as a woman) am supposed to like/use MY computer for. No offense is meant by this comment but seriously, lighten up a bit--some women (and men) actually DO the things that you were so upset about, whats wrong with Dell pointing out that its OK to do those things and that their product is perfectly well suited for it? Not everything that happens in the world is meant as some kind of attack on women or "feminism" and sometimes you just have to let it go and develop more defined priorities within your causes. Hmm, I’m a woman and I wasn’t offended (except that it’s Dell, yuck) I’m a gamer, I do image retouching, graphics, digital art, page design and a bit of A/V as well. I’m also a mom who likes to cook for my family, since I have a family I do also need to budget, I have health troubles so I try to stay relatively healthy and in shape, I have many appointments to keep in order and I happen to enjoy a few “shallow and girly” things like makeup and style.

I don’t wear just one hat as a woman and I’m not offended by someone suggesting that I may wish to do things other than the standard “fight the man/be the man” things that women are supposed to do these days, hell I know men who enjoy the things that you were disgruntled about!

I think you need to let go of your own self esteem and confidence issues and realize that not all women are made the same, not more but certainly no less–just different and I really think that you need to stop trying to dictate what I (as a woman) am supposed to like/use MY computer for.

No offense is meant by this comment but seriously, lighten up a bit–some women (and men) actually DO the things that you were so upset about, whats wrong with Dell pointing out that its OK to do those things and that their product is perfectly well suited for it?

Not everything that happens in the world is meant as some kind of attack on women or “feminism” and sometimes you just have to let it go and develop more defined priorities within your causes.

]]> By: Gemma Hentschhttp://www.katescomment.com/della/comment-page-1/#comment-336 Gemma Hentsch Sun, 24 May 2009 14:19:35 +0000 http://www.katescomment.com/?p=149#comment-336 Dell seems so out of touch in this capacity...but i doubt anyone will get more than a wrist slap...I wonder how many senior managers in dell are women...or at any level of the organization, surely if they were thinking about launching this website they would have at least done some internal polling/opinions...if they asked any woman who worked there they should have been told how insulting it was, but apparently there weren't any women available for internal reviewing... (I'm not saying that there are no women working at dell just that apparently they weren't thought to exist when this site was designed) Dell seems so out of touch in this capacity…but i doubt anyone will get more than a wrist slap…I wonder how many senior managers in dell are women…or at any level of the organization, surely if they were thinking about launching this website they would have at least done some internal polling/opinions…if they asked any woman who worked there they should have been told how insulting it was, but apparently there weren’t any women available for internal reviewing…

(I’m not saying that there are no women working at dell just that apparently they weren’t thought to exist when this site was designed)

]]> By: IT PRO: Blogs: Nicole Kobie: Dell gets a sex change to Dellahttp://www.katescomment.com/della/comment-page-1/#comment-263 IT PRO: Blogs: Nicole Kobie: Dell gets a sex change to Della Thu, 14 May 2009 15:55:20 +0000 http://www.katescomment.com/?p=149#comment-263 [...] The previous version of the page, according to the wonderfully sarcastic Register, had two more tips, one of which told us ladies that a netbook can be used to “find recipes online, store and organize them, and watch cooking videos.” Watch. Cooking. Videos. My god, the internet is fabulous! If I’d only known there were cooking videos out there! Because I spend my whole life cooking, and then working out! That’s all I want to do, because I have a uterus. (Edit: Kate wrote in with more details of the deleted garbage here.) [...] [...] The previous version of the page, according to the wonderfully sarcastic Register, had two more tips, one of which told us ladies that a netbook can be used to “find recipes online, store and organize them, and watch cooking videos.” Watch. Cooking. Videos. My god, the internet is fabulous! If I’d only known there were cooking videos out there! Because I spend my whole life cooking, and then working out! That’s all I want to do, because I have a uterus. (Edit: Kate wrote in with more details of the deleted garbage here.) [...]

]]> By: Kate Craig-Woodhttp://www.katescomment.com/della/comment-page-1/#comment-262 Kate Craig-Wood Thu, 14 May 2009 13:19:01 +0000 http://www.katescomment.com/?p=149#comment-262 It appears that Dell have removed the most offensive / patronising elements from the 'Della' tech page - the ones I pointed out in fact! :D It appears that Dell have removed the most offensive / patronising elements from the ‘Della’ tech page – the ones I pointed out in fact! :D

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