'Oh dear,' basically sums up my thoughts on reading that Dell has bought Alienware (BBC News). Most gamers know of the Alienware PCs, as they were one of the most high profile 'gamer-only' PCs to emerge in recent years. They also know that the PCs were good because of the hardware, stremlined software and good support. On the reverse they know that Dell are famous for installing a ton of crap on users' systems (only lagging behind AOL and HP in the 'annoying crap' chart) and so you see where a problem could emerge.

So, whether the Dell involvement spoils what the consumer gets at crunch time is yet to be seen, and whilst Dell don't have the best sense when making the PCs they at least know a good brand when they see it. But more worrying is that Alienware prided themselves on customer support, and not to knock it, but Dell are sticking most of their customer support offices in India (BBC News). Who knows where it will lead, but things do not look the most promising.