Sometime around 1851, a famous editorial encouraged westward expansion in the United States...Oh I'm too tired right now, let's just cut to the chase...The idea is that good things from the east went west, or something like that (I'm sure the Indians have slightly differing opinions on this)...

[Insert own Segway]As we all know, the Dell 2407 first appeared in Japan, and we're still eagerly awaiting its arrival on our western shores. Also well known among enthusiasts are the reported problems with text shadowing, color banding, and downward conversions of HD content in component input mode. These early reports have been referred to in my other posts...

Good news may be afoot, but American customers might have to wait for June for confirmation; It appears Dell has been working on some of these issues. Although an A01 revision doesn't yet exist, a firmware upgrade on A00 panels seems to address the text shadowing and banding.

I'll read up on it when I'm not sick and lazy; in the meantime, check out the massively informative WS Gaming Forum Thread on it. Take some time too, because I know we all had high hopes for the 2407, and reports of its demise before its debut were depressing.

Here's to hoping future revisions bring forth an excellent product. I'll be the first to shout from the highest rooftops that despite initial reviews, the 2407 has lived up to its promise.

Following the Japanese, Australian and British releases, Dell's Singapore Website lists the 2407 for s$1499, which would roughly equal $949 USD before tax and shipping. The conversion is a ballpark figure though, because it still not available in the US, so take it for what it's worth...

If you haven't tried a Singapore Sling yet, make sure you do, provided you're of age and drinking doesn't cause those around you to notify the authorities. It's also wise to drink this sweet, oft-decorated reddish-pink libation in Singapore (or at least some interesting tropical climate [Florida doesn't count, keep reading]- then you'd get points for being a world traveler; if you're from outside the USA and Florida IS international travel, try a Dark And Stormy instead.)

Now that you're enjoying a brightly colored beverage to celebrate your odyssey to some exotic locale (now you see why Florida was an exception- hey, my beloved Miami Dolphins are based there, as was I for a few years, but "exotic" it ain't- I saw MANY MORE actual wild alligators than I would have believed possible though), notice how the the colors subtlely shift from a pinkish hue on the top to a deeper red on the bottom. Note that the shift is seemless; further note that the Dell 2407, based on early reviews (referred to in recent posts), would have a problem displaying gradients without banding. The color transitions on this panel seem to lack refinement and this would surely qualify as a problem to correct ASAP in any revision.

Now look the menu which you ordered the drink from and you'll see that there's noticable shadowing around the text (no, it's not the alcohol, you've only had one Champ). The lousy printer who's responsible for the menus has something in common with the Dell 2407...Yup, you guessed it, shadowing around text (again, check some recent post for more details.)

And don't worry about sipping such sweet, flamboyant cocktails in public... Remember, you're far away on a cultural adventure. Anyway, you should be more concerned with how you're going to deal in an unfamiliar place when the gin (that you can't taste right now) and brandy kick in. Do they still "cane" foreigners in Singapore?