Some crow for Dell to eat

I won’t hide my great disdain for Michael Dell, never will due to all the people he abuses up in Round Rock. He’s the biggest welfare recipient in the state of Texas which also makes him the wealthiest man (on paper) in the state at the same time. The man didn’t invent anything in the PC business. He just took thejust-in-time inventory strategy (proven a failure with FEMA recently) and mixed it with Wal-Mart’s shiftless business tactics to make (allegedly) the biggest computer-manufacturer around. 
 
Apple has been a favorite target of his for years. Back when Apple’s future was pretty bleak in 1997, he opened his face and said something pretty arrogant since the media thought he had all the answers. Remember, being the biggest doesn’t always mean you’re the best. Look at the previous title holders IBM and Compaq. I think Dell and his followers (especially this jackass I worked with at Nortel) say what they say because they’re jealous. The Dell DJ is a joke compared to the iPod. Their computers aren’t exactly something people really want when I have discussions about the merits of the Mac versus the Windows-based competition. Their ad campaigns border on fraud when they show the so-called adventures of their US-residing interns answering tech support calls because you’re going to get someone in Bangalore India if you actually do call. I must admit their ad campaign with the Dude was mildly amusing, especially after the actor was busted for weed. Hopefully he received career counseling from David Leisure (Mr. Joe Isuzu). 
 
I digress (par for the course). As you can see from this New York Times story I saved for everyone (the site archives everything over a week old) to see the history of Michael Dell shooting off his mouth only to have his foot land in it eight years later. The stock market is fickle and Apple’s market capital can decline overnight but it’s nice to see that Apple is a tad vindicated by taking a long-term strategy.