OMG Della--gag me now

Note: Since the internet backlash against Della, Dell has toned down the site. An article here.

Always considerate, Dell has designed a totally cute new site/product just for women! Since I primarily look to computers for complementing my accessories, for allowing me to gossip via e-mail, and for helping me sum my caloric intake, I am going to run out of my office screaming "OMG" and purchase one immediately.

View the awful Della website here*. ( abominable, alarming, appalling, atrocious, deplorable, depressing, dire, disgusting, distressing, dreadful, fearful, frightful, ghastly, grody, gross*, gruesome, grungy*, harrowing, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrific, horrifying, nasty, offensive, raunchy, repulsive, shocking, stinking, synthetic, tough, ugly, unpleasant, unsightly )

Sorry Dell, but being patronizing does not encourage me to buy your products? In fact, if I didn't have work to do I would go home right now and throw my Vostro 200 out of the window? (It's a piece of crap anyway. Plus, it's not pink.)

To make my complaints more specific: 1) the product is poorly marketed with little understanding of its target demographic and 2) the website is patronizing, assuming that women use computers for e-mail and as a looks-enhancing accessory. While I am not against having a "cute" computer, color and size do not provide adequate specification. Not only can women handle having full specification of the memory size and processor speed of a computer, but (gasp!) they may even shop for a computer based on its performance. I mean, when I do learn to use Microsoft Word I'm going to want it to be fast, right?

The good thing is that the sensible women of the internet are already speaking out. Here is a comment from the Tech Tips section:

...This is a load of fluff that only serves to provide insight into how Dell perceives my demographic. Essentially, we women will buy anything if it comes in pink and fits in our purse.

Come on Dell! Treat us like intelligent consumers and not like trained monkeys....

Here is another great comment from the site which sums my attitude as well:

HAI I ARE WOMEN AND I THINK THESE TIPS ARE GRATE!!!! THANKS U FOR HELPING ME IMPROOVE MY LIEF WITH THESE HELPFUL HINTS. LOFLCON!!!!

Feministing and Gearlog have good posts about this.

Epic fail!

* Can't have any positive words surrounding the link; otherwise Google might get the wrong idea.