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    Dell's failed consumer products

    Dell's failed consumer products

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    Dell's failed consumer products

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    Dell Inspiron 8600 - 2003
    The Inspiron 8600 represents Dell at its peak — and the beginnings of its precipitous fall in the consumer market. The 8600 and its cheaper sibling 8500 were stellar examples of Dell's ability to assemble commodity Windows systems for low prices, and they became almost ubiquitous on college campuses around the country. But they were also cheaply made, prone to failure, and suffered badly from Microsoft's laissez-faire attitude towards viruses and security in Windows XP. These are the Windows laptops that taught people to hate Windows laptops — and sent a lot of people shopping for MacBooks.