Dell and Microsoft will announce later this week that they will offer customers a simple way to make a difference, through the purchase of unique (PRODUCT) RED branded personal computers and a printer. Adding to the premium experience, all Dell (PRODUCT) RED PCs are powered by Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED, that include six unique desktop wallpapers, a screensaver, two innovative Windows Sidebar gadgets and a (RED)-themed Windows DreamScene. Dell is the exclusive PC and peripheral partner of (PRODUCT) RED.

• When a consumer chooses either laptop - the XPS M1530 (PRODUCT) RED or XPS M1330 (PRODUCT) RED with Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED (starting price $1,149 for either laptop) - Dell and Windows will make a total joint contribution of $50 directly to the Global Fund, which buys nearly 4 months of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

• When a consumer chooses the XPS One (PRODUCT) RED with Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED (starting price of $1,599), Dell and Windows will make a total contribution of $80 directly to the Global Fund, which buys 6 months of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

• When a consumer chooses the 948 All-in-one (PRODUCT) RED Printer (starting price of $149), Dell will make a $5 contribution to the Global Fund, which buys more than ten days of lifesaving antiretroviral medication.

More information about (RED) is available at www.joinred.com.

It's the first Windows computer that I would put in the same class or even sightly ahead in terms of its hardware design

And if you think this is one of our Onionmodos, you can see The Mighty and Goateetastic Mossberg telling you all about it face to face. We had to watch the video twice:

His reasons are good, although I'm not so keen on the design of the Dell myself, which I find plain and vulgar. He's also right when he brings up two issues to declare that, overall, the Apple iMac still wins. First, he argues that Mac OS X Leopard is a faster and better operating system than Vista (most of us in the Giz agree on that one.) Then, he adds that the Dell is a more expensive machine than the iMac, which admits no denial: even while you add the same memory and wireless keyboard and mouse to the iMac price, the Dell XPS One is $100 more expensive than the Apple machines.

His overall verdict: best machine a Windows user can buy.

Next in the path to Apocalypse: David Pogue ditches his iPhone for a Windows Mobile Samsung, Brian Lam sells his MacBook and buys a Sony and random angel plays the fourth trumpet. [All Things D]

Nice looking from the rear:

Apple avoids the clear glass look, but both Dell and Gateway are suckers for it. The Dell has a clear lucite base that makes us wonder why the designers didn't go further. The Gateway has a funky clear keyboard arm rest that makes us scratch our heads a bit.

All mice are not created equal. Apple's wired mouse is, of course, not a favorite, but even the Wireless Mighty Mouse doesn't always behave. Dell's mouse is okay, very standard. Gateway's is the best, with a touch pad down the center for scrolling, and a cool one-piece two-tone design.

Keyboards are another accessory that can vary a ton. Dell's is my favorite because of all the stuff it can do. It has a full touchpad for mousing around, has full media controls, so you can ditch the ugly silver remote, and it's better looking than Gateway's, even if it doesn't quite have the otherworldly sleekness of the Apple. (Again why, Apple, do you ship ANYTHING with a cord?)

Here you can see all of the fun stuff on the Dell keyboard:

For the most part, these remotes are standard. In fact, the Gateway's controlled the Dell, and the Dell's controlled the Gateway. I know Apple's statement is that the remote is simple, but let's face it, that's because, compared to Windows Media Center, Front Row is too simple. I went with Goldilocks on this one: Gateway's remote is just right, a nice compact model that matches the rest of the system.

The Dell is the only one with controls on its face. They're triply redundant given the fact that both the remote and the sweet keyboard also give similar controls, but they are cool when they light up. I particularly like the disc-indicator light, which only glows when a disc is inside, and the screen shut-off switch, which does nothing to mess with your system:
More pics:

The Official Gizmodo Awards Chart:

The Spin As previously noted in this space, Dell is in the midst of a lengthy rebranding campaign. In addition to veering away from the direct-sales model, the company is desperately trying to morph from budget purveyor to technological innovator—thus the recent hullabaloo over the iMac-wannabe XPS One. This ad, however, hawks Dell's more traditional XPS setup, with screen and guts separate. It's a little tough to tell, given the Iceman's subpar elocution, but the focus here still seems to be on value, Dell's old standby. Thankfully, the company has learned that the earnestness of its past value campaigns—yes, the ones featuring the irrationally exuberant kid you loved to hate—is antithetical to the new image it's trying to cultivate. And so the Iceman cometh!

Counterspin But why keep flogging the value pitch at all? It doesn't take a genius to realize that cheap desktop sales aren't going to save Dell—not with the revival of HP and the increasing market demand for laptops. (In the last quarter, according to iSuppli, laptop shipments increased by 33.5 percent versus the same period in 2006; the growth for desktops, by comparison, was an anemic 3.4 percent.) Dell would actually seem nicely poised to start touting its geek bona fides, given the raves that have been accorded its new laptop lineup. At the very least, you'd think they'd take a page from HP's playbook and talk about features—even budget-conscious consumers are pretty sophisticated nowadays. But aside from a marble-mouthed Iceman shout-out to the XPS desktop's ability to "manage your photos and music," there's little here to rehab Dell's increasingly shoddy image—an image harmed by several years of slipping quality. (Hands up everyone who had to order replacement hardware from Dell within the first year of owning an Inspiron.)

Mission Accomplished? Dell has been promising a radical overhaul since the beginning of 2007, when Lord Michael returned from his self-imposed exile to save the flailing company. In his absence, customer service had turned abysmal, bloatware had mushroomed and innovation had slowed—prior to the arrival of the XPS One, when was the last time you were really curious about a new Dell product? But what's needed now is a coherent strategy—does Dell want to battle HP in the value desktop market, or should it be shifting its attention to laptops and, perhaps, specialty machines (e.g. gaming PCs, its iMac me-too)? The Liddell ad, as well as the rest of the Star Power campaign, is really just more of the same—keeping the Dell brand in consumers' minds, no doubt, but not doing enough to change how that brand is perceived. The good news for Dell: Reinvention is a lot more attainable in the technology realm than in virtually any other industry on Earth. Just ask Apple—or even Lenovo.

Hype-O-Meter 5 (out of 10). Once you get past the small, discordant joy of seeing a notorious badass peddling PCs, there's surprisingly little substance. And Dell should have ponied up to get the Iceman some lessons with Professor Henry Higgins.

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired, a columnist for Slate, and author of the forthcoming Now the Hell Will Start. His Hype Sheet column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

Read more Hype Sheet

Intel Core 2 Duo, Pentium D or Celeron CPU's
22 WSXGA 1680 1050, 16.7M color 300 nits, 5 ms response 1000:1 contrast LCD
1-4GB of 667/800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
3.5 up to 300GB HDD
DVD +/- RW or Blu-Ray drive
Intel GMA 3100 or ATI Mobility Radeon HD2400 Graphics
Optional TV Tuner
two 5W, 140 HZ speakers
802.11 a/b/g/n support
Dimensions: 15.9(H)x23.5(W)x3.3(D)" (40.5 59.7 8.38 cm)
Weight: 28.2 lb (12.8 kg)

There are no noises about price and release date yet, but we'll bring that info to you as soon as we have it. [FCC via PC Joint]