This is likely the beginning of a long, slow march to the gallows for Dell ... much like RIM (now BlackBerry). They've amassed a large following over the years and volume sales to companies, government agencies, and others have given them a large enough base to keep the afloat for at least a few more years, but it looks like it's going eventually close up shop (or get bought out by Microsoft). When was the last time you saw someone using a Dell laptop or desktop that WASN'T supplied by their employer?
What are your thoughts - MS to make their own hardware with Dell's help?
Imagine how it would shake up the tech world if MS decided to only sell Windows with their own hardware? All those third party computer makers overseas would be left with only Linux.
Or Google Chrome. If MS decided to only sell WIndoze on their own hardware (not likely, really) then Google's market share will skyrocket.
"and focus on delivering best-in-class solutions to our customers"
Best-in-class? Hmmmm.... a new strategy.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Should have focused on that a long time ago Mike.
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126
Well said....I put Dell in that class of companies that are just trying to sell "crap" as expensively as possible to a lot of unsuspecting customers. I like companies that "best in class" is already in their DNA. If I worked for Dell, I would be ashamed of the sh*t they have been producing!
I think too many people reading these articles are only thinking about consumer "crap" from Dell. Microsoft makes a ton of money on enterprise and SMB installations. Just look at their excessive client licenses. Dell servers are still being bought heavily by enterprise and government customers so whether Microsoft's payment was a true loan or a way into future ownership of Dell, it doesn't really matter as long as Microsoft still can sell their over-priced server-based applications to Dell hardware purchasers. Apple gave up on providing server hardware because they couldn't make money on it. At this point, Microsoft doesn't have to make money on Dell hardware, they just need customers to continue buying Dell servers so they can sell (force them to buy) Microsoft software. All those people who think linux server software is king hasn't been in a government installation where (almost) everything is run on Windows servers.
Personally I think Dell products are garbage but that's what businesses and the government can afford. They depreciate them quickly and re-purchase the same type of garbage 3-4 years later, having written off the original purchase. Consumers don't have a way to do this unless they also have a small business. Apple products are meant to be used for longer than 3-4 years, which doesn't fit into the typical corporate depreciation schedule. Microsoft might have just made one of their better acquisitions in a long time. It's obvious nothing they create actually sells but their enterprise software still has a huge market with lots of income.
I can't believe I actually gave Microsoft a compliment. I need to go see a shrink!!
I'm surprised that no one has pointed out the irony in the articles i've read about this so far. He is indeed doing the exact thing that he said Apple should do in that famous stupid quote of his.
I'm not sure how anyone can say it's stupid. He said what he would do. He! He didn't say what Steve Jobs should do or make any claims that no one could salvage Apple. That may have been his implication because he, a CEO of a PC company, couldn't see how Apple could be saved, but his words weren't words as such to say it was not savable, only that he would shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.
PS: If we were to apply his 1997 quote to Dell he's only followed through with half the quote since he has not (yet) shut it down.
I could care less about Dell, but this is a good move for them.
How much less could you care for them as a company? Personally I couldn’t care less, but based on your statement I deduce that you must care for them, at least a little bit.
Maybe Microsoft should buy the company and then require an activation PC key for all the Computers sold. Not a CD Key but a PC key. That way they can dominate people even more with their product!!! Mean while Dell would die the death it deserved.
Can't wait to see Apple doing the same (for different reasons).
I doubt they could find enough investor funds buy out Apple. People on here refer to P/E ratio consistently, yet often compare to much smaller companies. Think of how many shares exist at their current pricing in this case.
Quote:
I really like what Dell is doing. Ubuntu high end laptops, more quality, etc. It's a shame they accepted Microsoft's bribe, so we won't see high-class chromebooks...
I like Ubuntu. Unfortunately it won't run several things I would require to switch. There are very specific things that keep me away from Linux, but I like the concept of a lightweight OS. I think it's silly that you call this a bribe when it's either just a loan or a stake in the company.
At least, he's putting his money where his mouth is. He's giving back the money to shareholders...
Not really. In my view he robbed the loyal shareholders. First, he duped shareholders into thinking secret money from Intel was being earned from operations. When that was discovered, the shareholders suffered. In 1997 Dell was trading at over 86 dollars a share. Today below 14. Dell ended up having to settle the matter with the government. Second, Dell bought back tons of shares of the company when accounting rules didn't require the company to report that as an expense, which again artificially inflated earnings. This accounting rules were not recommended by the accounting standards body, but put into effect anyway because of tech companies pressure on Congress. Many of these shares the company bought back were given to Dell himself. So essentially shareholders are financing a large part of this buy out through buy backs the company made when it was public. Third, Dell until recently didn't pay any dividend.
I'm not sure how anyone can say it's stupid. He said what he would do. He! He didn't say what Steve Jobs should do or make any claims that no one could salvage Apple. That may have been his implication because he, a CEO of a PC company, couldn't see how Apple could be saved, but his words weren't words as such to say it was not savable, only that he would shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.
PS: If we were to apply his 1997 quote to Dell he's only followed through with half the quote since he has not (yet) shut it down.
Honestly, why does anybody care what Dell said? Was Dell supposed to tell people how he would save a competitor? Apple was a competing company. Dell wasn't going to shed tears if it folded. He was merely throwing salt in a competing players wounds.
Personally I think Dell products are garbage but that's what businesses and the government can afford. They depreciate them quickly and re-purchase the same type of garbage 3-4 years later, having written off the original purchase. Consumers don't have a way to do this unless they also have a small business. Apple products are meant to be used for longer than 3-4 years, which doesn't fit into the typical corporate depreciation schedule. Microsoft might have just made one of their better acquisitions in a long time. It's obvious nothing they create actually sells but their enterprise software still has a huge market with lots of income.
A question. Do you have much experience with Dell consumer products? We have an 8 year old Dell desktop, a 6 year old Dell desktop, we have 3 laptops that are 5 years old, and all are working great and have never had an issue (except when my son dropped his, but warranty fixed everything for free!). I just don't see the "crap" part to Dell products?!??!? I previously had an HP laptop, and it lasted all of 2 years before I was hit with multiple issues that would have cost more to fix than a new laptop!
I am considering a MacBook Pro for my next laptop though, but have to save for awhile before I can afford it.
Buy low, sell high... Dell is working it in both directions. He made a fortune when it went public, and now is giving a small fraction back, now that is isn't worth nearly as much.
That said, Dell is suffering, and this may be their only way out.
Does this mean that anybody who was a shareholder as of yesterday, is no longer a shareholder today? And all of their shares have gotten bought out with a 25% premium?
Comments
This is likely the beginning of a long, slow march to the gallows for Dell ... much like RIM (now BlackBerry). They've amassed a large following over the years and volume sales to companies, government agencies, and others have given them a large enough base to keep the afloat for at least a few more years, but it looks like it's going eventually close up shop (or get bought out by Microsoft). When was the last time you saw someone using a Dell laptop or desktop that WASN'T supplied by their employer?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ascii
What are your thoughts - MS to make their own hardware with Dell's help?
Imagine how it would shake up the tech world if MS decided to only sell Windows with their own hardware? All those third party computer makers overseas would be left with only Linux.
Or Google Chrome. If MS decided to only sell WIndoze on their own hardware (not likely, really) then Google's market share will skyrocket.
Quote:
Originally Posted by island hermit
"and focus on delivering best-in-class solutions to our customers"
Best-in-class? Hmmmm.... a new strategy.
I'll believe it when I see it.
Should have focused on that a long time ago Mike.
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126
Well said....I put Dell in that class of companies that are just trying to sell "crap" as expensively as possible to a lot of unsuspecting customers. I like companies that "best in class" is already in their DNA. If I worked for Dell, I would be ashamed of the sh*t they have been producing!
I think too many people reading these articles are only thinking about consumer "crap" from Dell. Microsoft makes a ton of money on enterprise and SMB installations. Just look at their excessive client licenses. Dell servers are still being bought heavily by enterprise and government customers so whether Microsoft's payment was a true loan or a way into future ownership of Dell, it doesn't really matter as long as Microsoft still can sell their over-priced server-based applications to Dell hardware purchasers. Apple gave up on providing server hardware because they couldn't make money on it. At this point, Microsoft doesn't have to make money on Dell hardware, they just need customers to continue buying Dell servers so they can sell (force them to buy) Microsoft software. All those people who think linux server software is king hasn't been in a government installation where (almost) everything is run on Windows servers.
Personally I think Dell products are garbage but that's what businesses and the government can afford. They depreciate them quickly and re-purchase the same type of garbage 3-4 years later, having written off the original purchase. Consumers don't have a way to do this unless they also have a small business. Apple products are meant to be used for longer than 3-4 years, which doesn't fit into the typical corporate depreciation schedule. Microsoft might have just made one of their better acquisitions in a long time. It's obvious nothing they create actually sells but their enterprise software still has a huge market with lots of income.
I can't believe I actually gave Microsoft a compliment. I need to go see a shrink!!
I'm not sure how anyone can say it's stupid. He said what he would do. He! He didn't say what Steve Jobs should do or make any claims that no one could salvage Apple. That may have been his implication because he, a CEO of a PC company, couldn't see how Apple could be saved, but his words weren't words as such to say it was not savable, only that he would shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.
PS: If we were to apply his 1997 quote to Dell he's only followed through with half the quote since he has not (yet) shut it down.
I guess it pays to be careful what you say, you never know what people will remember.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffDM
I guess it pays to be careful what you say, you never know what people will remember.
I'll remember that...
Quote:
Originally Posted by thataveragejoe
I could care less about Dell, but this is a good move for them.
How much less could you care?
Quote:
Originally Posted by thataveragejoe
I could care less about Dell, but this is a good move for them.
How much less could you care for them as a company? Personally I couldn’t care less, but based on your statement I deduce that you must care for them, at least a little bit.
Do we really need another discussion on this expression? I we did this only 2-3 weeks ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffDM
Do we really need another discussion on this expression? I we did this only 2-3 weeks ago.
Have the Brits been out in force regarding this expression before then?
Maybe Microsoft should buy the company and then require an activation PC key for all the Computers sold. Not a CD Key but a PC key. That way they can dominate people even more with their product!!! Mean while Dell would die the death it deserved.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lightknight
At least, he's putting his money where his mouth is. He's giving back the money to shareholders...
M. Dell, the first CEO to tip his hand a couple of decades before he did what he was thinking...
It's a good thing Apple isn't doing this, or Uncle Fester would be taking MicroSoft private this week too...
Quote:
Originally Posted by pedromartins
Can't wait to see Apple doing the same (for different reasons).
I doubt they could find enough investor funds buy out Apple. People on here refer to P/E ratio consistently, yet often compare to much smaller companies. Think of how many shares exist at their current pricing in this case.
Quote:
I really like what Dell is doing. Ubuntu high end laptops, more quality, etc. It's a shame they accepted Microsoft's bribe, so we won't see high-class chromebooks...
I like Ubuntu. Unfortunately it won't run several things I would require to switch. There are very specific things that keep me away from Linux, but I like the concept of a lightweight OS. I think it's silly that you call this a bribe when it's either just a loan or a stake in the company.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lightknight
At least, he's putting his money where his mouth is. He's giving back the money to shareholders...
Not really. In my view he robbed the loyal shareholders. First, he duped shareholders into thinking secret money from Intel was being earned from operations. When that was discovered, the shareholders suffered. In 1997 Dell was trading at over 86 dollars a share. Today below 14. Dell ended up having to settle the matter with the government. Second, Dell bought back tons of shares of the company when accounting rules didn't require the company to report that as an expense, which again artificially inflated earnings. This accounting rules were not recommended by the accounting standards body, but put into effect anyway because of tech companies pressure on Congress. Many of these shares the company bought back were given to Dell himself. So essentially shareholders are financing a large part of this buy out through buy backs the company made when it was public. Third, Dell until recently didn't pay any dividend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I'm not sure how anyone can say it's stupid. He said what he would do. He! He didn't say what Steve Jobs should do or make any claims that no one could salvage Apple. That may have been his implication because he, a CEO of a PC company, couldn't see how Apple could be saved, but his words weren't words as such to say it was not savable, only that he would shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.
PS: If we were to apply his 1997 quote to Dell he's only followed through with half the quote since he has not (yet) shut it down.
Honestly, why does anybody care what Dell said? Was Dell supposed to tell people how he would save a competitor? Apple was a competing company. Dell wasn't going to shed tears if it folded. He was merely throwing salt in a competing players wounds.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rob53
Personally I think Dell products are garbage but that's what businesses and the government can afford. They depreciate them quickly and re-purchase the same type of garbage 3-4 years later, having written off the original purchase. Consumers don't have a way to do this unless they also have a small business. Apple products are meant to be used for longer than 3-4 years, which doesn't fit into the typical corporate depreciation schedule. Microsoft might have just made one of their better acquisitions in a long time. It's obvious nothing they create actually sells but their enterprise software still has a huge market with lots of income.
A question. Do you have much experience with Dell consumer products? We have an 8 year old Dell desktop, a 6 year old Dell desktop, we have 3 laptops that are 5 years old, and all are working great and have never had an issue (except when my son dropped his, but warranty fixed everything for free!). I just don't see the "crap" part to Dell products?!??!? I previously had an HP laptop, and it lasted all of 2 years before I was hit with multiple issues that would have cost more to fix than a new laptop!
I am considering a MacBook Pro for my next laptop though, but have to save for awhile before I can afford it.
Buy low, sell high... Dell is working it in both directions. He made a fortune when it went public, and now is giving a small fraction back, now that is isn't worth nearly as much.
That said, Dell is suffering, and this may be their only way out.
How does this work?
Does this mean that anybody who was a shareholder as of yesterday, is no longer a shareholder today? And all of their shares have gotten bought out with a 25% premium?