The end of an era: Dell will no longer make XPS computers, Dell won't make Precision or Inspiron PCs anymore, either.

I don't think Signature Editions exist anymore, at least how Gary describes it. Maybe the name has been repurposed for something else recently.

Your best bet for a clean Windows is to wipe and load it yourself. As far as purchased machines, I would say Surface is the cleanest line I've seen. Beyond that, there really seems to be a correlation between the price of the PC and the amount of crapware on it; more expensive machines seem to be cleaner.

PC makers like Dell & HP work on the kickback system.
- They pay the Windows tax (every PC except for the Linux models)
- They get money from Adobe, Norton, random VPN, etc. for bundling trialware on every system. They keep this money and don't have to share with MS.
- Other than you purchasing extended warranties or a support contract, they make next to nothing on the actual physical PC.

It's just like all major US airlines are really credit card companies (selling mileage points) that just happen to fly airplanes with passengers inside them.

Almighty1 said:

Thanks Gary, so "Signature Edition" are only available via Microsoft? I wonder what does built by Dell actually come with? I thought Windows Defender was always pre-installed already as it came with Windows.

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Microsoft apparently no longer sells Dell computers. The only computers I see for sale on the Microsoft site are their own Surface brand.

A new Dell comes with McAfee trial preinstalled and active. The first thing I did was uninstall it so that Defender takes over.

Dell also comes with a number of other trials that have to be activated if you want them. I also delete those trial offers as none are anything I'm interested in.

pseymour said:

I don't think Signature Editions exist anymore, at least how Gary describes it. Maybe the name has been repurposed for something else recently.

Your best bet for a clean Windows is to wipe and load it yourself. As far as purchased machines, I would say Surface is the cleanest line I've seen. Beyond that, there really seems to be a correlation between the price of the PC and the amount of crapware on it; more expensive machines seem to be cleaner.

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They don't and it's not really a Dell thing but seems to be a Microsoft Store thing with different brands of machines as mentioned below:

TraderGary said:

Microsoft apparently no longer sells Dell computers. The only computers I see for sale on the Microsoft site are their own Surface brand.

A new Dell comes with McAfee trial preinstalled and active. The first thing I did was uninstall it so that Defender takes over.

Dell also comes with a number of other trials that have to be activated if you want them. I also delete those trial offers as none are anything I'm interested in.

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It seems like Signature was basically a clean install of Windows plus a 60 day trial of Office 365 but Signature Edition was something prior to January 2019 yet my mid-May 2019 Dell XPS 15 9570 with a build date of April 2019 from Microsoft.com is a Signature Edition model. The same is true with the April 25, 2019 Dell XPS 15 9570 Microsoft Store San Francisco that I had for a month. Microsoft no longer sells any non-Microsoft computer a little after they shut down all the Microsoft Stores. I still have two Surface Pro's, the original ones they made from I think 2016 or 2017 with Windows 10 on it that is still factory sealed in the box that I never used from the same Microsoft Store San Francisco. The original Microsoft Store San Francisco was in the Metreon Center which belonged to Sony that was in the 1990's to 2000's and basically sold the Sony Playstation and not the XBox while the Microsoft Store San Francisco that sold the notebooks are actually different companies. The Metreon Center location is not owned by Microsoft but Sony while the later is Microsoft as this is mentioned as the first thing in history for Microsoft Stores:

The last time I bought directly from Dell was in the 2000's and it never had any of the trial software from what I can remember. I never delete anything that came with the original pre-load since should the machine basically be given or sold to someone else, I will basically just reverse uninstall everything so it's the same way it was shipped. It seems even in the 2000's, there was one piece of included software that I had to get Dell to send me the install media for that is from a third party company, forgot what it was. And then even on the Dell XPS 15 9570, there was a Dell Mobile Connect upgrade that was available, not from Dell but from the company that wrote Dell Mobile Connect, and it was basically selling Dell Mobile Connect that was a later than Dell provided major version number for a charge. And speaking about Signature Edition, how many processes is a clean install of Windows supposed to have as it seems even out of the box before I added anything, there were already close to 400 processes running as soon as I login to Windows 10.

Sometimes the beauty of a nice used Dell is putting only the software that you want on them.

PCUser said:

Sometimes the beauty of a nice used Dell is putting only the software that you want on them.

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Can’t you do that with anything?

Yes, and I like Dell Precision PCs