The most tangible example of this new approach is Dell’s XPS One desktop — an elegant, handsome, cleverly designed one-piece computer. If it didn’t have the Dell logo on it, the XPS One might be mistaken for a product of the PC industry’s design leaders, Apple or Sony.

Like Apple’s iconic iMac, the XPS One looks like it’s simply a sleek, flat-panel monitor. The guts of the computer have been stuffed into the back of the screen.

But this new Dell is no mere iMac clone. It makes its own style statement, even though it shares the same 20-inch widescreen display and a similar Intel dual-core processor with the base-model iMac. Where the iMac is squarish and silver, the XPS One is all black and rectangular, with speakers attached to the sides and a wide glass base. It looks more like a small TV set than a computer and, in fact, comes with a built-in TV tuner.

In my tests, I found the XPS One to be much better designed and equipped than Gateway’s iMac competitor, also called the One. In fact, the Dell XPS One is the first Windows all-in-one desktop I’ve tested that I believe matches or exceeds the iMac in hardware design. That’s no small feat, especially coming from Dell.

Unlike the Apple, for example, the Dell has a built-in slot for camera memory cards. It comes standard with a wireless keyboard and mouse, which cost extra on the iMac. Its screen can be turned off with the touch of a button without turning off the computer itself. Its USB and headphone ports are arrayed conveniently on the side, instead of mainly at the rear, as on the iMac.

And, when you wave your hand in front of the black border to the right of the screen on the XPS One, a set of blue, back-lit touch controls magically appear for controlling the playback of music or video. They go away after a few seconds. The Dell also comes with a free year of 10 gigabytes of online backup.

For my tests, I used the least expensive standard configuration of the XPS One, which can be ordered for $1,499 at dell.com/theonepc. It came with two gigabytes of memory (twice the comparable iMac’s standard amount), a 250 gigabyte hard disk and Wi-Fi wireless networking, unusual in Windows desktops.

The computer performed crisply and well for me. I installed several popular third-party programs that weren’t included, such as Microsoft Office, the Firefox Web browser, Apple’s iTunes and Adobe Reader. All worked fine.

I also successfully tested the built-in TV function, which requires a cumbersome external attachment to work with a cable box. I was able to view and record TV shows, something you can’t do out of the box on an iMac.

I still recommend the iMac over the XPS One for several reasons other than hardware design. First, there’s the software. I believe Apple’s operating system, Leopard, is superior to the new Windows Vista operating system, the only choice on the XPS One. In my tests, a reboot of the XPS One took more than twice as long as a reboot of the iMac.

And I regard Apple’s built-in software, especially the iLife multimedia suite, as superior to the Dell’s built-in software, which includes a group of Adobe multimedia programs that are less well integrated and more complex.

The XPS One, unlike the iMac, also came with a bunch of craplets — trial software like Yahoo Music and come-ons for online services like NetZero.

Second, the iMac, unlike the Dell, is immune to the vast majority of malicious software floating around, so you don’t have to run annoying, memory-hogging security programs. The first time I turned on the beautiful Dell I was met with a warning that I had “multiple security problems,” and was led to install a security suite in a complex and tedious process.

Third, defying popular perception, the iMac costs less than the XPS One. The base, 20-inch iMac costs $1,199 — about $300 less. And even if you double the memory, and add a wireless keyboard and mouse to match the Dell, it’s still $1,399 — $100 less than the base XPS One (though Dell is currently running a sale that wipes out the $100 gap). Even the cheapest iMac has a dedicated video card with its own memory, something the base XPS One lacks.

Plus, while Dell offers only 20-inch screens on the XPS One, Apple has higher-end iMacs with huge 24-inch screens for the same price, or less, than the higher-end Dells.

Still, if you want a stylish Windows Vista machine that runs well and won’t cost a fortune, the XPS One fits the bill, despite its unlikely heritage.

• Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

I’ve been testing two of the latest efforts to crack that problem. The first is from Toshiba, a company that once dominated the laptop world, but has since slipped badly. The other is from Dell, best known for larger, clunkier laptops. Both machines are stylish and worked fine in the tests, but each has flaws that might give a buyer pause.

These two new laptops, which use Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor, are very different in size. The Toshiba Portege R500 weighs just 2.4 pounds, has the footprint of a standard sheet of paper and is only about ¾-inch thick at its thinnest point. Yet it squeezes in a DVD drive. It sports a 12.1-inch widescreen display with very good resolution. The screen is lit by LEDs instead of by traditional lamps. That makes for more brightness and saves power.

The Dell XPS M1330, while still relatively small, is larger than the Toshiba. It weighs a hair under four pounds, has a larger footprint and is thicker. It falls into a hot new laptop category that features 13.3-inch widescreen displays — a size considered a good compromise between the small displays on the lightest laptops and the larger ones on the heavier models. The M1330 has some very un-Dell-like aspects to it, such as a choice of three lid colors and a slot-loading DVD drive that doesn’t require a pop-out tray.

Toshiba claims the R500 is the world’s thinnest notebook with a built-in DVD or CD drive. Dell claims the optional LED version of the M1330 is the thinnest with a 13.3-inch screen.

The Toshiba starts at $1,999 for a unit with a 120 gigabyte hard disk, a gigabyte of memory, and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking. The Dell starts at $1,299 for a model with a 120 gigabyte hard disk, a gigabyte of memory, built-in Wi-Fi (but not Bluetooth) and standard display. An LED display costs $150 more; Bluetooth is an extra $20.

I tested the base model of the Toshiba R500 and found that it performed well. My particular machine came with Windows XP, though Windows Vista is also available in a model that costs $150 more. The tiny silver computer handled everything I threw at it, including Microsoft Office, the Firefox Web browser, the iTunes music program and more.

Toshiba’s Portege R500, top, and Dell’s XPS M1330

In my tough battery test, where I turn off power-saving features, maximize screen brightness, turn on Wi-Fi and play an endless loop of music, the R500 lasted an impressive three hours, 44 minutes. I estimate that in more normal use, you could get five hours of battery life.

But my test Toshiba, a production unit, had a major flaw: The DVD drive didn’t work. Apparently, the lens on the drive had come loose in shipping. Toshiba sent another unit with a working drive, but this is a major issue because the machine uses a new, very thin type of DVD drive that seemed fragile to me.

In fact, the R500 lacked a solid feeling overall. The keyboard was OK, but the touch-pad buttons seemed flimsy and stiff, and I had the impression that this was a computer you’d have to treat gently. It also had trouble reconnecting with my Wi-Fi network after waking up from its sleep state. And it was loaded with the trial software and offers I call craplets.

The Dell XPS M1330, on the other hand, felt solid through and through. From its crimson cover to its wedge shape, it’s also a handsome laptop. The unit I tested had the LED screen and a full complement of options, which would have brought its price to $2,188.

Like the Toshiba, the Dell speedily handled Microsoft Office, Firefox, iTunes and other software. Its Wi-Fi worked very well. My test model used Vista, and had the extra memory and souped-up graphics Vista needs to work well. The M1330 isn’t available with Windows XP. To Dell’s credit, it can be ordered with no craplets on it, for no extra money. But because it uses Vista, it starts up painfully slowly. A reboot took more than four minutes.

The big flaw on the Dell is battery life, a major downside for a machine meant to travel. In my test, the M1330 lasted just two hours, 27 minutes; so, you’d be lucky to get 3.5 hours out of it in normal use. Dell says the base model would do better because it has a wimpier, but less power-draining graphics system. You can get a bigger battery for $30 more, but it makes the machine larger and heavier.

The Dell XPS M1330 is a good, solid, mobile computer that needs better battery life and can get expensive once you start ordering options. The Toshiba R500 seems like a dream machine for travelers, but its DVD defect is worrisome and you may have to treat it like glassware.

• Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. Find all my columns and videos online free at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

But as I rediscovered recently, often what you’re forced to do instead is to spend hours as a digital maintenance man wading through annoying and confusing chores.

I have set up many computers over the years, so I wasn’t shocked that the out-of-box experience was less than ideal. Still, I was struck by just how irritating it was to get going with the new Sony Vaio SZ laptop I bought about 10 days ago. It was the first new Windows machine I’d bought in a few years, because I had been waiting for Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system. I was amazed that the initial experience is still a big hassle.

I’m not even referring to the most time-consuming setup processes — transferring all your files and settings, reinstalling your favorite programs and learning the new features. Vista has actually made moving files and settings easier, and it isn’t different enough from Windows XP to make for a steep learning curve.

Instead, I’m talking about two main problems. One is the plethora of teaser software and advertisements for products that must be cleared and uninstalled to make way for your own stuff. The second is the confusing welter of security programs you have to master and update, even on a virgin machine.

I’m also referring to how slowly a new Windows Vista machine starts and restarts, even if you haven’t yet loaded or launched any of your own software.

I am not singling out Sony here. I would have had a similar experience if I had chosen, say, a Hewlett-Packard laptop. Most major PC makers feature the security programs and trial software and offers I encountered on my new Sony. They are not part of Vista itself.

The problem is a lack of respect for the consumer. The manufacturers don’t act as if the computer belongs to you. They act as if it is a billboard for restricted trial versions of software and ads for Web sites and services that they can sell to third-party companies who want you to buy these products.

I’m distinguishing these programs, sometimes called “craplets,” from the full-featured, built-in Sony software meant to enhance the computer, or from entire, useful programs Microsoft builds into Windows, such as music and photo organizers.

On my new Sony, there were two dozen trial programs and free offers. The desktop alone contained four icons representing come-ons for various America Online services, and two for Microsoft. The start menu and program menu had more items that I neither chose nor wanted. Napster, a music service I don’t use, was lodged at the lower right of the screen.

The worst was a desktop icon called “Watch Hit Movies Now!” This turned out to be four full-length films from Sony’s movie studios, which the company had preloaded onto my computer at the cost of more than four gigabytes of precious hard-disk space. But they aren’t a gift. If you want to play them, you have to pay Sony.

Then there was the security-software mess. I signed up for a 60-day free trial of Symantec software that Sony offered. This required multiple rounds of scary warnings, scans and updates — on the first day of using a new machine. Plus, when I tried to use a feature that stopped some unwanted programs from loading, I was forced to launch a second, somewhat redundant, security program from Microsoft.

On top of this, Sony informed me it had 21 different software updates available for my brand new laptop.

I also was shocked at how long this machine took to restart and to do a cold start after being completely shut down. Restarting took over three minutes, and a cold start took more than two minutes. That suggests the computer is loading a bunch of stuff I neither know about nor want. By contrast, a brand new Apple MacBook laptop, under the same test conditions, restarted in 34 seconds and did a cold start in 29 seconds.

I asked Sony about all this, and the company, while acknowledging it is paid to bundle the trial programs, said the programs are carefully selected and “provide benefits to many consumers,” up to 30% of whom act on the offers. Sony said the preloaded movies are “a key differentiator for our products in the marketplace, which we have found that many VAIO customers greatly appreciate.”

Sony also said the boot-up times I recorded are “not at all uncommon with Vista-loaded PCs” and are faster than on some competing computer brands. It defended the 21 updates on the grounds that Vista is so new that, in many cases, compatible software wasn’t available when the computer shipped.

Still, I wish computer makers would stop loading all these trial programs and offers on computers and that security precautions could be much less disruptive and more automatic. The first day of owning an expensive new gadget should be a pleasure, not a hassle.

• Email me at mossberg@wsj.com. See video versions of my reviews at wsj.com/mossbergvideo.