This blog details some of my favorite misadventures in information technology, from security flaws to programming, with the occasional offtopic rant.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Dell Battery Recall
Ah, the Great Dell Battery Recall of 2006 is in full effect. It only took a sixth fire, which destroyed a pickup truck, to get things really moving.
At PennDOT, where I work, we've already found one. Luckily, our main laptop model, one of the potentially dangerous, appears to be unaffected. Only some batches are, thankfully.
But I have to ask, why is it being conducted in this manner.
Dell should know every single affected laptop. Their supply chain management system should know every relevant machine's serial number. The sales and warranty systems should have contact information for each purchaser.
A couple SQL grabs, maybe another to combine duplicate emails, and you have a grand master list of People To Contact Right Now. You include serial number, you ask them to confirm the best location to send it. If the email bounces or is wrong, you call or mail. Everybody else? you still email them, saying 'According to our records, you appear to be unaffected, but here's how to check...'
This is how you solve a problem professionally. This is using business intelligence - customer relations information you already have - to save the world.
Instead, we have mass hysteria - in businesses and government organizations, multiple points of contact, from low-level users to CEOs and regional managers are being made aware of this, and then starting multiple searches for affected laptops.
Don't tell me this is profiling, illegal, or invasive. Just don't. There's no point. As these batteries age, fires will continue to occur. But the 'important news story' will die off.
Yes, it's a ton of email - 4 million affected batteries out of 22 million shipped in the last few years. Big deal - it's better than a suit about insufficient disclosure of the recall causing someone to lose their vehicle, house, life - let alone the risk of this happening on a plane. I can just see some terrorist - perhaps a reactionary of some sort who hates technology - standing up on a plane and saying "I have a Dell Latitude D610! You all will die!".
So step up, Dell. You've shown the public that there's a problem. Show us that you are truly serious about fixing it.
At PennDOT, where I work, we've already found one. Luckily, our main laptop model, one of the potentially dangerous, appears to be unaffected. Only some batches are, thankfully.
But I have to ask, why is it being conducted in this manner.
Dell should know every single affected laptop. Their supply chain management system should know every relevant machine's serial number. The sales and warranty systems should have contact information for each purchaser.
A couple SQL grabs, maybe another to combine duplicate emails, and you have a grand master list of People To Contact Right Now. You include serial number, you ask them to confirm the best location to send it. If the email bounces or is wrong, you call or mail. Everybody else? you still email them, saying 'According to our records, you appear to be unaffected, but here's how to check...'
This is how you solve a problem professionally. This is using business intelligence - customer relations information you already have - to save the world.
Instead, we have mass hysteria - in businesses and government organizations, multiple points of contact, from low-level users to CEOs and regional managers are being made aware of this, and then starting multiple searches for affected laptops.
Don't tell me this is profiling, illegal, or invasive. Just don't. There's no point. As these batteries age, fires will continue to occur. But the 'important news story' will die off.
Yes, it's a ton of email - 4 million affected batteries out of 22 million shipped in the last few years. Big deal - it's better than a suit about insufficient disclosure of the recall causing someone to lose their vehicle, house, life - let alone the risk of this happening on a plane. I can just see some terrorist - perhaps a reactionary of some sort who hates technology - standing up on a plane and saying "I have a Dell Latitude D610! You all will die!".
So step up, Dell. You've shown the public that there's a problem. Show us that you are truly serious about fixing it.
Archives
10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007
I gotta know.... what are you waiting for? Save Internet Explorer for Windows Updates so that it still works for that, and use Firefox for all of your other browsing! It's faster and generally more secure.