Dell Is Now a Private Company Again

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Dell Is Now a Private Company Again

Posted by timothy on Tuesday October 29, 2013 @04:55AM from the back-to-the-dorms dept.

Gunfighter writes "StreetInsider.com reports that Dell, Inc. completed its go-private transaction by Michael Dell, Dell's Founder, Chairman and CEO, and Silver Lake Partners, a leading global technology investment firm. Stockholders will receive $13.75 in cash for each share of Dell common stock they hold, plus payment of a special cash dividend of $0.13 per share to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Oct. 28, 2013, for total consideration of $13.88 per share in cash. The total transaction is valued at approximately $24.9 billion."

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Only one more step left... by SuperKendall · 2013-10-29 04:58 · Score: 5, Funny

Shut it down

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1. Re:Only one more step left... by CitizenCain · 2013-10-29 05:03 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Well, yeah, except that Dell was right, in 1997, about what to do with Apple as a company that made computers.
  Of course, it turned out that shifting their core business model from making computers to making gadgets was an even better idea.
2. Re:Only one more step left... by Wyatt+Earp · 2013-10-29 05:09 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Except for all the success they had with iMac, Powerbook G4, iBook before iPod
3. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:21 · Score: 1
  
  Well, yeah, except that Dell was right, in 1997, about what to do with Apple as a company that made computers.
  Of course, it turned out that shifting their core business model from making computers to making gadgets was an even better idea.
  That was then - this is now; past performance is not indicative of future performance; we all remember the correct predictions and never the incorrect ones. ...
  I can think of only a couple of reasons why Dell would do this:
  1. His own vanity/this is HIS baby.
  2. He has an idea on how to turn the company into a cash cow (i.e. no growth to make Wall Street happy) but never the less, it will continue to give him and his children returns that he couldn't get elsewhere.
  3. He's got something really radical up his sleeve that no public company in their right mind would go along with.
4. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:28 · Score: 0
  
  Mod parent up.
  It was iMac and its marketing that saved the company, not iPod. iPod just made them incredibly wealthy after they were already back on their feet.
5. Re:Only one more step left... by caente · 2013-10-29 05:33 · Score: 0
  
  Well, yeah, except that Dell was right, in 1997, about what to do with Apple as a company that made computers.
  Of course, it turned out that shifting their core business model from making computers to making gadgets was an even better idea.
  That was then - this is now; past performance is not indicative of future performance; we all remember the correct predictions and never the incorrect ones. ...
  I can think of only a couple of reasons why Dell would do this:
  1. His own vanity/this is HIS baby. 2. He has an idea on how to turn the company into a cash cow (i.e. no growth to make Wall Street happy) but never the less, it will continue to give him and his children returns that he couldn't get elsewhere. 3. He's got something really radical up his sleeve that no public company in their right mind would go along with.
  I beg for #3
6. Re:Only one more step left... by somersault · 2013-10-29 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  3. He's got something really radical up his sleeve that no public company in their right mind would go along with.
  Releasing a games console? Steambox?
  Bringing the call centres back to Britain? :p
  
  --
  which is totally what she said
7. Re:Only one more step left... by SJHillman · 2013-10-29 05:41 · Score: 1
  
  I bet it involves sharks, lasers and a moonbase.
8. Re:Only one more step left... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2013-10-29 05:52 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Strictly speaking, it's probably most accurate to say that Dell was right about Apple 1997 except that they'd just recently made; but not yet seen the payoff from, the choice to get Jobs and NEXT.
  
  Their "Hey, let's sell a confusing selection of increasingly antique PPCs in beige cases for increasingly risible prices, on the strength of our mostly-obsolete OS" strategy wasn't going anywhere, and would only have gotten worse as time went on (The price/performance of Wintels was improving, the sheer nastiness was decreasing (remember the good old days before bootable ATAPI CD drives and other basics? That's the kind of shit that made Apple's tendencies toward SCSI seem classy rather than merely expensive), and Apple's in-house attempt to modernize Classic MacOS was a miserable failure).
9. Re:Only one more step left... by FatdogHaiku · 2013-10-29 05:52 · Score: 1
  
  Bringing the call centres back to Britain? :p
  If anything he would move them to Texas to avoid future hassle when Texas declares itself a Republic again...
  
  --
  You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
10. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:53 · Score: 0
  
  Ireland
11. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 06:11 · Score: 1
  
  Why anyone would want to direct a public company beholding to Wall Street and next months profits is beyond me.
  Since he is rich already, taking the company wherever it needs to go without the bloodsuckers is quite beneficial.
  Wall Street, the largest impediment to our economy ever.
12. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 06:20 · Score: 0
  
  Except that Apple was improving even before releasing the iPod. So while mobile has become a priority today, it was not always that way.
  Dell was not right, even in 1997. And the result is his company is in the toilet, and Apple has prospered. And everyone remembers what Dell said, and how wrong he really was.
  By the way, Apple still makes computers. And they still have high margins. Guess Dell got that one wrong too.
13. Re:Only one more step left... by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2013-10-29 06:28 · Score: 0
  
  F*ck Dell, and their crap boxes. Now they are private? Then we know exactly who to blame for shoddy packaging and miserable IO performance.
  
  --
  "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
  Never been known to fail..."
14. Re:Only one more step left... by harperska · 2013-10-29 06:37 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  There is a massive difference between taking it private and buying out the shareholders for the purpose of shutting it down, even if the first step looks the same on the surface. I have no idea what Mr. Dell is planning, but in general operating a business in a way that makes shareholders happy is not necessarily the best strategy for a technology company. Shareholders want to see the goods on a quarter-by-quarter basis, and if a particular quarter is down, the shareholders interpret that as a hiccup in the company's strategy and punish the stock accordingly. However, running a technology company requires a long-term view of the future, and a roadmap for how to get there. That roadmap may require some sacrificial quarters where emphasis is put into future R&D rather than maximizing current sales. If done properly, future awesome technology to come from that R&D more than makes up for a couple of flat quarters. But the markets don't see it that way. So the only way to be able to fully achieve the potential of the roadmap is to take the stock market out of the equation.
15. Re:Only one more step left... by dfghjk · 2013-10-29 06:42 · Score: 1
  
  No surprise to see this inflammatory and grossly misleading article quoted here, from the usual suspect of course. SuperKendall is incapable of anything else.
16. Re:Only one more step left... by dfghjk · 2013-10-29 06:49 · Score: 1
  
  If you read the original interview, you would know better than to say this. Dell never "predicted" anything to be "right" about. Dell said he would return the money to stockholders as an example of why he would be a poor choice to lead the company. The rest is a bunch of fanboys jacking off over it.
17. Re:Only one more step left... by sootman · 2013-10-29 06:50 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  As much as it's fun to make fun of him now, there are 2 things to remember: 1) Apple was in pretty bad shape in 1997 -- a year before the iMac, 4 years before the iPod. 2) He's the CEO of the competition -- what would you expect him to say? "They're in trouble, but Steve is a great guy, he's done some creative things in the past, they should stay the course, work hard on making great products, and maybe someday they'll wipe up the floor with us!"
  It's not like he's the only CEO to ever do this.
  Exhibit A:
  
  Clark is not afraid to publicly dis a company like Apple, much as Steve Jobs once mocked IBM.
  "Apple," Jim Clark will sigh, as if he were talking about a horse on its way to the glue factory. "They're not doing anything... Apple blew it."
  Then, with a dismissive wave of his hand, and just the hint of a grin: "I think they're in serious trouble."
  -- SGI founder & chairman Jim Clark in Wired, 1994
  Exhibit B: Steve Ballmer laughing at the iPhone
  His complaints about the iPhone were somewhat valid at the time, but 1) he forgot that people WILL pay for a good product, and 2) if he wasn't aware of how Apple refined the iPod over the previous six years -- making it better and cheaper every year -- he's dumb as a rock. Oh wait, he was aware:
  
  Business Week: How much money will you lose per Zune?
  Ballmer: None. Apple put the hammer down there, dropped the price down to $249. If they had been $299, it would have been nicer. They have the advantage of scale. So we're at $249, too. We don't make a lot of money, not to start out.
  So I just mark that down to "standard CEO bluster." Or maybe he really was that stupid.
  
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  Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
18. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  I don't agree with CitizenCain but I will say in 1997 Dell's advice was completely accurate. Apple was dead but still moving. Jobs threw the old apple out and gambled on rebuilding it with an all new OS, new hardware designs and eventually new devices. Any misstep or just a stroke of bad luck and Apple would have become a historical footnote.
19. Re:Only one more step left... by somersault · 2013-10-29 07:14 · Score: 1
  
  Like I said, Britain.
  
  --
  which is totally what she said
20. Re:Only one more step left... by icebike · 2013-10-29 07:15 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Except those were NOT that successful, and those were precisely the computers Dell was talking about and which were sinking Apple at the time.
  Jobs vision was that he had to stop relying on desktop computers because he was clearly losing that war in spite of a few partially successful products. His vision saved the company by moving to gadgets, and letting the computer side play catch up. Jobs pretty much followed Dell's advice, pulling almost all the R&D money away from computers. He shit-canned his own operating system, went out and grabbed FreeBSD, Konqueror, and Cups, and packaged it to keep the faithful happy while the real effort went into the iPhone.
  Only his pride prevented him from killing off the computer line altogether.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
21. Re:Only one more step left... by icebike · 2013-10-29 07:16 · Score: 1
  
  This.
  Except it wasn't an "all new OS".
  
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  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
22. Re:Only one more step left... by SethJohnson · 2013-10-29 07:17 · Score: 2
  
  4. Or he has colluded with Icahn to depress the stock price such that the company is valued less than what he can get by chopping it and selling the components off. Between that number and $24.9 billion lies his profit.
  
  --
  $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
23. Re:Only one more step left... by icebike · 2013-10-29 07:20 · Score: 1
  
  I beg for #3
  I'd settle for #2.
  Dell turned sour the minute he sold controlling interest to the wall street investors who were only interested in pinching pennies.
  I doubt Silver Lake is going to be a silent partner, but they would do well to give Mr Dell his way for a while.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
24. Re:Only one more step left... by flimflammer · 2013-10-29 07:31 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds good to me.
25. Re:Only one more step left... by Wyatt+Earp · 2013-10-29 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  Except they were, they increased Apple's profitability, increased market share and brought in revenue that allowed Apple to develop iPod, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPhone, and iTunes Music Store.
  Jobs didn't "shit can his own operating system", Jobs switched from the System 7-OS 8 operating system to Jobs own NeXTStep/Mach kernel approach
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_OS_X#Changed_direction_under_Jobs
26. Re:Only one more step left... by zieroh · 2013-10-29 07:47 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Your grasp of history is weak, or perhaps just willfully ignorant. Michael Dell uttered those words in late 1997. The iMac was announced in 1998.
  
  --
  People who say "sheeple" have about as much sophistication as an AOL user, and in fact are probably actually AOL users.
27. Re:Only one more step left... by thoth · 2013-10-29 07:48 · Score: 1
  
  Well, yeah, except that Dell was right, in 1997, about what to do with Apple as a company that made computers.
  Of course, it turned out that shifting their core business model from making computers to making gadgets was an even better idea.
  So therefore, Apple was able to shift focus without shutting down, meaning Dell was wrong?
28. Re:Only one more step left... by icebike · 2013-10-29 08:01 · Score: 2
  
  Jobs didn't "shit can his own operating system", Jobs switched from the System 7-OS 8 operating system to Jobs own NeXTStep/Mach kernel approach
  Lets face it, without the totally free BSD operating system Apple would have been dead. He took the cheap way out, lashing up and locking down open source software.
  Your own link says as much:
  
  Meanwhile, Apple was facing commercial difficulties of its own. The decade-old Mac OS had reached the limits of its single-user, co-operative multitasking architecture, and its once-innovative user interface was looking increasingly outdated. A massive development effort to replace it, known as Copland, was started in 1994, but was generally perceived outside of Apple to be a hopeless case due to political infighting. By 1996, Copland was nowhere near ready for release, and the project was eventually cancelled. Some elements of Copland were incorporated into Mac OS 8, released on July 26, 1997.
  After considering the purchase of BeOS — a multimedia-enabled, multi-tasking OS designed for hardware similar to Apple's — the company decided instead to acquire NeXT and use OPENSTEP as the basis for their new OS. Avie Tevanian took over OS development, and Steve Jobs was brought on as a consultant. At first, the plan was to develop a new operating system based almost entirely on an updated version of OPENSTEP
  NextStep is simply a thin skin on top of BSD.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
29. Re:Only one more step left... by Wyatt+Earp · 2013-10-29 08:26 · Score: 1
  
  So despite NeXT being a Jobs led company and working on NeXTStep since 1989 and Jobs pushing Apple into adopting that architecture for the next Mac OS, it's a "cheap way out"?
  OK
30. Re:Only one more step left... by Aereus · 2013-10-29 08:28 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  We'll have to see the direction he chooses to take the company now. As I understand it, before "Dude, you're getting a Dell!", Dell was actually known for making fairly good systems for a major brand. I remember working for CompUSA in the late 90s, and any Dell system we sold was required by them to go through a lengthy systems diagnostic process before being released to the customer. And some of their LCD monitors are known as being among the best. (Everyone raves about the U3011, etc.)
31. Re:Only one more step left... by peragrin · 2013-10-29 09:15 · Score: 2
  
  you can just remove every instance of the word "technology" from your statement.
  Wall street only cares about this quarter. six, twelve, twenty four months down the line is far to long for Wall street. Wall street is a legal form of gambling and nothing else. real investors who actually want companies to plan for the future stay away.
  Take a look at Iridum. it took several bankruptcies before it became profitable. however if you look back at the original plans iridum still became profitable at roughly the same time it just took a lot of initial investment to get setup. but once setup up it is good. The thing is investors won't wait 20 years for profits they want them next quarter.
  
  --
  i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
32. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 09:26 · Score: 0
  
  His vision saved the company by moving to gadgets, and letting the computer side play catch up. Jobs pretty much followed Dell's advice, pulling almost all the R&D money away from computers.
  Actually he followed his own advice.
  When he was still at NeXT, he was asked (in 1994?) what Apple should do: he said move on to the next great thing as the desktop market had been lost. When he came back that thing was the iPod. Then the iPhone. Then the iPad.
33. Re:Only one more step left... by operagost · 2013-10-29 09:40 · Score: 1
  
  You base the success of a company on whether it uses free software? You just dismissed a lot of companies that sell network hardware.
  
  --
  
  Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
34. Re:Only one more step left... by mcrbids · 2013-10-29 09:50 · Score: 1
  
  Just a slightly MAJOR detail: Jobs didn't "shit-can his own operating system" - he adopted it. See, he was the CEO of NeXT, a high-end BSD-based workstation vendor.
  What he did was ADOPT NeXT's OS, putting a Mac compatibility wrapper and refine the UI so it was "Mac-like": OSX was born.
  
  --
  I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
35. Re:Only one more step left... by icebike · 2013-10-29 09:56 · Score: 0
  
  I don't base the success on any such thing. Learn to read.
  I'm saying the availability of Free software SAVED Apple, because that software gave Apple the breathing space it needed to keep the desktop computer side financially afloat long enough for them to develop the Iphone, which these days accounts for something like 75% of Apples revenue.
  Without a readily adaptable BSD kernel, a linux browser, and a printing systm, and Jobs's Next skin, all with very permissive licenses, the most rational thing to do in 1978 would have been to shut it down.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
36. Re:Only one more step left... by icebike · 2013-10-29 09:58 · Score: 0
  
  He shit-canned Apple's old OS, the one built before he left Apple, and SOLD his Next OS to Apple, but it in turn was simply BSD with a skin.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
37. Re:Only one more step left... by Grishnakh · 2013-10-29 14:03 · Score: 1
  
  Exactly. A better way to look at it is that Apple WAS shut down, just like Dell suggested. Instead of just being dissolved, however, it was bought out by a different company, called "NeXT". That company then used the Apple brand name and logo to market its own products, and was enormously successful.
38. Re:Only one more step left... by harperska · 2013-10-29 15:57 · Score: 1
  
  Very true about it not just applying to technology companies. A really good example I have mentioned before on /. that is even farther removed from the tech sector is JC Penny. Their radical plan of no-nonsense pricing was a good idea (prices in whole dollar amounts rather than $x.99 bs, as well as reasonable everyday prices as opposed to artificially inflated prices with periodic "sales" to trick consumers into thinking they're getting a good deal) which could have really paid off if given enough time for consumers to get used to it. But in the short term, consumers shied away from it, they had a couple of bad quarters, wall street freaked out, and they shitcanned the CEO.
39. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 17:04 · Score: 0
  
  If you believe that - you know fuck-all about UI and objects.
40. Re:Only one more step left... by somersault · 2013-10-29 23:05 · Score: 1
  
  (which isn't actually Ireland, I keep thinking Great Britain includes Ireland too.. but I'm probably thinking of the "British Isles").
  
  --
  which is totally what she said
41. Re:Only one more step left... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-30 03:27 · Score: 0
  
  NextStep is simply a thin skin on top of BSD.
  It would be more accurate to say that OS X and NextStep have a thin coating of BSD. The kernel is different (a Mach fork), the primary APIs are different (Cocoa/Objective-C) and the GUI toolkit is proprietary. Practically none of the things that define what a BSD is survive in OS X.
42. Re:Only one more step left... by Shirley+Marquez · 2013-10-30 05:27 · Score: 1
  
  OS X was based on BSD, so it wasn't an "all new OS". But it was new to Apple, and grafting the Mac GUI and some degree of compatibility with the Mac API onto the BSD framework was new. For a while, OS X also included the penalty box (pardon me, the compatibility box) and 68000 emulation so you could run many of your OS 9 applications. So maybe not 100% new, but certainly new enough.
43. Re:Only one more step left... by cupnoodleboy · 2013-10-30 05:52 · Score: 1
  
  Your claims that Jobs followed Dell's advice is the most ridiculous claim I have ever heard. Not only is the logic twisted and distorted, but what you stated as facts are actally all wrong.
  Firstly, Apple did not abandon its personal computer business, and Macintosh computers remains an important part of Apple's business. While you claim that Apple was clearly losing in the computer business, the fact was that after Jobs's return, he was able to make the Macintosh business profitable. In fact, Apple's profit margin on Macs sales alone is much higher than those of makers of windows boxes.
  More importantly, Apple did not pull R&D effort away from computers. Here, your claims that Jobs shit-canned his own operating system is not only factually wrong, but reveals that you know very little about Apple's history. At that time, the operating system used by Macs, known as Macs OS 9, is the one that everyone know was obsolete. The new operating system to replace it, Macs OS X, is based on the operating system developed by the NeXT computer company, which is founded and owned by Jobs. In fact, Apple purchased the NeXT computer company from Jobs in order to get its operating system. Since then, Apple continued to make significant R&D investments in Macs OS X. If simply grabbing FreeBSD, Konqueror and Cups would allow one to make a decent desktop computer experience, then Linux or FreeBSD should have a higher market share of desktop operating system than Macs OS X.
  And by calling the shift of focus to iPad/iPhones as "moving to gadgets", you have failed to realize that these gadgets are actually computers themselves, although in a form factor different from the traditional desktop. What most people used to do using a desktop computer, can now be done using an iPhone without having to sit by a desk. The operating system of iPhones is an adaption of Macs OS X, which is the technical foundation which enable an iPhone to do the same things that were used to be done by desktop computer. To say that Apple's computer line has failed and need to be killed off is like saying that Intel microprocessor business has failed and need to be killed off because the old Pentium 4 CPU are obsolete, while in fact Intel is making heaps of profits producing newer core i3/i5/i7 CPU.
44. Re:Only one more step left... by icebike · 2013-10-30 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  And you have to give them credit for that.
  Hanging an existing UI on top of a totally different kernel and OS and hardware to help users make a transition is nothing to sneeze at. (Unless, of course, when Microsoft does it).
  But to bring this back on topic, Apple did this because they realized their existing OS and hardware had hit a brick wall, and they had already lost the desktop war. They essentially did Shut it Down as both Michael Dell and Jobs had suggested and rebooted with new architectures and new OSs.
  They've Still lost the desktop wars, but they stole a march on the Gadget wars which is now well in excess of 70% of their income.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
45. Re:Only one more step left... by bware · 2013-10-30 08:47 · Score: 1
  
  They've Still lost the desktop wars [...]
  Except that Apple takes 45% of the profits in the PC market.
  Better to lose than to win, it seems.
This Just In... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:00 · Score: 0

This just in...
Dell files paperwork for upcoming IPO.
Film at 11.
Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by JoeyRox · 2013-10-29 05:05 · Score: 4, Interesting

October 6, 1997, Michael Dell was asked what he would do to fix Apple. His answer, "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders". Well Dell has returned money to his shareholders. The Smartphone and Tablet industry will take care of the shutting-down-Dell part in due time.
1. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:14 · Score: 1
  
  Dell has gigantic portion of the business market. desktop workstations, laptops, and servers.
  Just where do you think those smartphone and tablet apps are being developed? where did the back-end infrastructure supporting them come from?
  I think Dell will be ok for the time being. The day may come when our smartphone is our only computer and it bluetooth connects to whatever monitor and keyboard/mouse we happen to be standing in front of, but that's a ways off yet.
2. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by sqrt(2) · 2013-10-29 05:25 · Score: 2
  
  Enterprise customers still need millions of new workstation traditional desktops/laptops every few years. They're especially big in the medical and education markets where tablets and smart phones don't make sense.
  If anything, it's MS with their abhorred Windows 8 that's threatening Dell's traditional business success. Luckily, Windows 7 will be around until 2020.
  
  --
  If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
3. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:29 · Score: 0
  
  I don't think Dell cares about smartphones and tablets. They made their name in business computing, and back in the 90's they actually had a name that meant quality. My guess is that Dell wants to revive those days, much as Jobs revived Apple when he returned from NeXT: hopefully he's learned what not to do (cheap consumer-grade crap).
4. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by DogDude · 2013-10-29 05:31 · Score: 2
  
  The Smartphone and Tablet industry will take care of the shutting-down-Dell part in due time.
  
  My business runs on computers, not toys. People will need actual PC's for a long time to come. Very few people need gadgets.
  
  --
  I don't respond to AC's.
5. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by interval1066 · 2013-10-29 05:32 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but he was a competitor. It was a bald-faced competitor thing to say at the time, and a little dumb, but I don't fault him for it. Now he has a huge opportunity to buy back his old company, give it a little "Dell Magic", and sell the whole useless lot off for a huge profit. If that's what he does, he's simply being smart and I would do the exact same thing in his shoes.
  
  --
  Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
6. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Archangel+Michael · 2013-10-29 05:35 · Score: 1
  
  Windows 8.1 does a pretty good job of making Windows almost usable again. I still don't "get" the whole touch interface on touchless monitors, but it should be more usable for people with touchscreen laptops.
  Don't get me wrong, it is still very clunky in places, and changes who slew things just to move things around. I mean "shut down computer" is now in "settings", which completely baffles me.
  
  --
  Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
7. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by jcr · 2013-10-29 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  hopefully he's learned what not to do (cheap consumer-grade crap).
  The problem is, the windows PC market won't support higher-quality vendors. HP tried to hold out for a long time, but once Dell and Gateway had their big race to the bottom, people would just buy cheap crap and accept the higher failure rate. Alienware could serve the gamers niche, but there aren't nearly enough of those customers to keep a large-volume vendor open for business.
  I don't see Dell being able to pull out of this. He has no control of the OS, so he has no control of the user experience. He can't offer better hardware quality or service, because the market won't pay for it.
  -jcr
  
  --
  The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
8. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Skarecrow77 · 2013-10-29 05:44 · Score: 1
  
  The Latitude series of laptops has, as of the E6x20/6x30 series, turned into a very high quality laptop. I'm not too thrilled with 16x9 ratio screens (previous latitudes had 16x10), but everything else is great.
  And they aren't cheap either.
9. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by alexander_686 · 2013-10-29 05:45 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It’s high end services, not high end computers, that M. Dell really wants to do is sell.
  Take a look at what companies Dell has been buying recently. They have been high end high touch hardware (IIRC in the storage market) and consulting services. He wants to go down the same road that IBM and HP have travled.
10. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by DNS-and-BIND · 2013-10-29 05:55 · Score: 2
  
  In 1997 I would have closed down Apple too. The company was a wreck.
  
  --
  Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
11. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by JoeyRox · 2013-10-29 06:06 · Score: 1
  
  I agree but the question is whether a company the size of Dell can sustain their business in its current form/size with only business customers. Plus with Intel only eeking out 10% performance gains between processor generations there isn't much impetus for business to upgrade very often, if at all.
12. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by NatasRevol · 2013-10-29 06:09 · Score: 1
  
  Usable. If you like two interfaces to do one thing.
  It's also just fugly.
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
13. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by NatasRevol · 2013-10-29 06:11 · Score: 1
  
  Also, lots of infrastructure companies. Compellant, Equallogic, etc.
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
14. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by unixisc · 2013-10-29 06:12 · Score: 2
  
  October 6, 1997, Michael Dell was asked what he would do to fix Apple. His answer, "What would I do? I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders". Well Dell has returned money to his shareholders. The Smartphone and Tablet industry will take care of the shutting-down-Dell part in due time.
  Michael Dell's comment was made when Apple was having problems getting any native fully multitasking OS out for their PowerMacs, and bleeding red ink as a result, and going from one strategy to another - one day System 7 (emulated), another day Copeland, another day Pink/Taligent (anyone remember that?), another day BeOS and finally the acquisition of NEXT. What Apple would do later was beyond what was then foreseeable. And by the time Apple did get OS X out, Windows NT had won the battle for the desktop, and so Apple now had to venture into iPods, iPhones & iPads.
  Here, Dell has returned the money to the shareholders, and are now fully free to make sensible long term decisions w/o worrying about short term implications, even though their ability to publicly raise money from Wall Street is somewhat hampered. Dell doesn't have to make smartphones or tablets, since it knows that Apple & Samsung have that market sealed up. They don't have to continue making PCs if they see the margins remaining as thin as they are. They even have the option of fully becoming Perot Systems and just doing IT services, and leave the PCs to the likes of Acer, Asus & Lenovo, if the PC market doesn't improve.
  So Michael Dell made a reasonable comment in 1997 on Apple, and right now, he's made the right decision wrt Dell. With Wall Street off his back, he can now make sensible decisions for his company w/o burning its long term prospects for short term PR exercises
15. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by cold+fjord · 2013-10-29 06:13 · Score: 1
  
  Dell also has an IT services arm that could do well over the long term.
  
  --
  much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
16. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by rk · 2013-10-29 06:22 · Score: 2
  
  I heard this from mainframe and midrange people 20+ years ago. I'll bet they heard it in the 60s and 70s from people who said their businesses ran on paper, not machines. Since mainframes and paper are still around and doing fine, you're half-right, but those people missed the boat on the revolutions of their time, dismissing them as "toys" and fads just as you have dismissed tablets and smartphones. Those toys are more powerful than the desktops of 10 and in some cases just 5 years ago.
  I agree that nothing beats the PC for heads-down creation and data manipulation, but it's not due to the underpowered nature of these devices, but in the human/machine interface. Foldable, wearable or projection displays, better virtual keyboards, and/or advanced 3D gesture sensor systems or something else better minds that mine will think of are what will blur the lines between PCs and portable devices in the future, the same way faster and higher capacity ICs and disk drives blurred those lines between PCs, workstations, and big iron over the last two decades.
17. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by nitehawk214 · 2013-10-29 06:49 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Dell has gigantic portion of the business market. desktop workstations, laptops, and servers.
  So did Sun at one point.
  
  --
  I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
18. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by JDG1980 · 2013-10-29 06:52 · Score: 1
  
  I don't see Dell being able to pull out of this. He has no control of the OS, so he has no control of the user experience.
  Dell is one of Microsoft's biggest customers. They have more control over the Windows user experience than you think.
19. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by dfghjk · 2013-10-29 06:54 · Score: 1
  
  Dell was not asked what he'd do to fix Apple, he was asked what he'd do if he were CEO of Apple. Big difference. Dell responded that he would be a poor choice for CEO. Naturally, you don't remember this or care to know any differently. It would put a dent in the smugness.
  Nice to see all the "Interesting" comments on a Dell topic involving Apple. Par for the course.
20. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by dfghjk · 2013-10-29 06:59 · Score: 1
  
  People love to make up crap about which they know nothing. Dell was never a competitor of Apple and they never considered themselves such. Never.
21. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by green+is+the+enemy · 2013-10-29 07:10 · Score: 2
  
  The only difference being lack of vendor lock-in.
22. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 07:20 · Score: 0
  
  Just in time for the floor to fall out out of mid-range storage as a lot of companies shift their focus to more cloudy services running on cheap ass raw disk with a software layer for management.
23. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 07:34 · Score: 0
  
  Most threads on Slashdot these days devolve into a big Apple love-fest from the fanboys.
24. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by alexander_686 · 2013-10-29 07:41 · Score: 1
  
  You put that better than me.
  They are not selling naked services like Amazon’s cloud or pure consulting services like EDS. They want to sell custom hardware solutions with fat service contracts.
25. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by JoeyRox · 2013-10-29 08:14 · Score: 1
  
  I don't follow why you believe there is a distinction. If Dell were made the CEO of apple he'd be asked to fix it's problems. There, distinction gone.
26. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 10:29 · Score: 0
  
  Just where do you think those smartphone and tablet apps are being developed?
  On the Mac?
27. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 11:25 · Score: 0
  
  How's that crow taste fagballs? Here - have some more.
28. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by interval1066 · 2013-10-29 11:31 · Score: 1
  
  Oh really? And how many Macs did Dell make for Apple? Oh, that's right, they made PCs.
  
  --
  Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
29. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by rtb61 · 2013-10-29 16:38 · Score: 1
  
  You sort of have the answer. It's all how bean counters see the numbers. Back around 2000, the bulk of sales where desktop and notebooks, not gadgets now toys, whilst that was the bulk of the market, in reality it was not the bulk of the possible market, those people still not regularly buying computers.
  Now shift forward to now and sales for desktops and notebooks have stagnated, not because they are losing but because they have saturated their market, no growth. Now smart phones and tablets are selling into a larger market, all those people who were not into personal computers or notebooks, the greater number of people, so they have growth sales.
  The reality is though that smartphone and tablets are having very low impact upon desktops and notebooks (notebooks of course are having a significant impact on desktops). The numbers might seem like that, stangant at one end and growth at the other end but reality is, it was saturation at one end and a 'BRAND NEW UNTAPPED' market at the other end. Tablets are toys and the majority of individuals purchases are done on that basis.
  
  --
  Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
30. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by Archangel+Michael · 2013-10-30 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  "almost usable" means "not really usable"
  
  --
  Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
31. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by interval1066 · 2013-10-30 06:29 · Score: 1
  
  I'm in a real quandry here with the whole windows 8 thing; as a programmer I have no use for a touch screen so windows 8 is absolutely useless to me. On the other hand Microsoft used to get castigated for not innovating. So is the touch screen not the interface of the future, or did Microsoft simply blow it? I'm no fan, but the deal kind of smells like "damned if you do, damned if you don't."
  
  --
  Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
32. Re:Michael Dell hoisted with his own petard by NatasRevol · 2013-10-30 07:11 · Score: 1
  
  They simply blew it.
  Try this.
  1. From regular ie old desktop, mouse to lower right corner, click settings. You can get to control panels.
  2. From Metro ie new desktop, mouse to lower right corner, click settings. You get PC settings ie personalization control panel.
  -1 for consistency.
  
  --
  There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
Not bad by postmortem · 2013-10-29 05:09 · Score: 4, Interesting

Dell has one less thing to worry about: quarterly profits and revenue. This is right thing for struggling or declining companies. "analysts" won't bug them every moth how their market is shrinking and sales declining. Bet employees will feel safer too without threats of layoffs every time they don't meet "expectations"
1. Re:Not bad by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:21 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  You're right except for the part about layoffs. Layoffs aren't driven by stock prices, for the most part they're driven by internal numbers. This is how a profitable company can justify laying off workers that just aren't productive or at least productive enough. A company may use their decline in stock value as an outward indicator of why they're laying people off to the public but those decisions were made behind closed doors well in advance of any public knowledge.
  
  A CEO and his board don't wake up one morning to a drop in stock price and scream "we need to lay people off, NOW!!" It's a bit more sophisticated than that even if you don't agree with the layoffs.
2. Re:Not bad by rudy_wayne · 2013-10-29 05:32 · Score: 1
  
  It took $24.9 Billion to buy up all of Dell's outstanding shares. That money had to come somewhere. So, right from day one, the new private Dell is nearly 25 Billion in debt. There will have to be major layoffs and other changes, such as selling off parts of the business.
3. Re:Not bad by alexander_686 · 2013-10-29 05:50 · Score: 2
  
  Leverage (i.e. the debt to equity ratio) affects the volatility and risk of the equity holds. It has no effect on EBIT. Dell was also kicking out a lot of free cash so I don’t think there is going to be an issue on servicing the debt.
  If there are layoffs it’s not going to be to meet debt payments. It is because M. Dell wants to get out of the low margin commodity end of the market and move upscale into high end services. I have seen some hiring on that front.
4. Re:Not bad by tomkost · 2013-10-29 05:51 · Score: 2
  
  The company does not own those debts. Those are owned by the investors who bought the company and took ownership.
5. Re:Not bad by alexander_686 · 2013-10-29 05:59 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Nope, those are corporate debt. It’s standard practice in a Leverage Buy Out. A close analogy is when you refi your house and pull cash out. The value of the house remains the same, your personal value remains the same (both assets and liabilities increase by the same amount) , it just your debt to equity ratio increases.
6. Re:Not bad by unixisc · 2013-10-29 06:00 · Score: 1
  
  Not just that, Michael Dell can now determine what Dell needs to be. Do they become the rebranded Perot Systems, and stop competing w/ the likes of Asus & Lenovo, or do they become the US edition of Acer & Lenovo? Looks like they'd do a lot better being the former, and just retiring their PCs & laptop biz, aside from maintenance & warranty contracts, and just focus on selling IT services
7. Re:Not bad by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 06:35 · Score: 0
  
  This is true. Usually the layoffs come after months of hand wringing, stock holders clambering for "change," and vultures threatening to buy stocks to force their idea of change. Then after looking past their own boardroom the top managers decide to "shed" some jobs in order to placate the people who cannot think more than three days ahead. After a couple quarters of that they cash out and pull the cord to their golden parachute to land on the beach in Bermuda.
8. Re:Not bad by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 06:42 · Score: 0
  
  For the longest time, my company would lay people off to give themselves wiggle room to move funds around, making it look like we were meeting revenue targets for shareholders. If we did not have to satisfy shareholders, said layoffs would not have been necessary (in fact doing all this -cost- us in the longer term)
  Fortunately that executive has since decided to utilize his golden parachute, and managed to take his cronies with him. Good riddance.
9. Re:Not bad by SethJohnson · 2013-10-29 07:03 · Score: 1
  
  Rudy speaks the truth here.
  
  I'll even take it a few steps forward. Michael Dell has probably already collected a whole list of price quotes from entities offering to buy up these assets and that page of numbers adds up to at least a dollar more than $24.9 billion. He's going to slash jobs galore, then sell the valuable parts on Craigslist or Ebay.
  
  --
  $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
10. Re:Not bad by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 07:14 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  A CEO and his board don't wake up one morning to a drop in stock price and scream "we need to lay people off, NOW!!" It's a bit more sophisticated than that even if you don't agree with the layoffs.
  Right. It's the boys from McKinsey break the news to the CEO that after camping out in the conference room for six weeks.
Sweet! So when is the IPO? by Marrow · 2013-10-29 05:13 · Score: 4, Funny

I mean, given the climate is there really a doubt there will be one?
Just in time for Windows 8 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:16 · Score: 0

Looks like he got control at just the right time, now that Windows 8 PCs / Laptops / Tablets are flying off the shelves......
1. Re:Just in time for Windows 8 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:17 · Score: 1
  
  Windows 8 is a cunning ploy to sell more copies of windows 7 and build anticipation for windows 9.
2. Re:Just in time for Windows 8 by i_ate_god · 2013-10-29 05:24 · Score: 1
  
  like Windows vista?
  
  --
  I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
3. Re:Just in time for Windows 8 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:30 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, exactly. Just like windows ME.
Will Dell resurrect Project Ophelia? by jkrise · 2013-10-29 05:19 · Score: 3, Interesting

since they are no longer bound to share-holders; and can innovate for the sake of innovation? No need to bow down to MS Overlords and do as they or the so-called markets please. They can afford to lose a billion bucks in chasing their own dreams.

--
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
1. Re:Will Dell resurrect Project Ophelia? by jkrise · 2013-10-29 05:29 · Score: 2
  
  Replying to myself.... found this recent link talking about the possible launch of the product in December. Bad news for MS I guess:
  http://www.eweek.com/pc-hardware/slideshows/dell-moves-forward-with-project-ophelia-cloud-device.html/
  
  --
  If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
2. Re:Will Dell resurrect Project Ophelia? by IYagami · 2013-10-29 05:30 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  since they are no longer bound to share-holders; and can innovate for the sake of innovation? No need to bow down to MS Overlords and do as they or the so-called markets please. They can afford to lose a billion bucks in chasing their own dreams.
  Well... MS Overlords have lent Dell $2 billion.
  http://www.pcworld.com/article/2048627/dell-goes-private-as-shareholders-approve-249-billion-deal.html
  "Dell on February 5 announced that Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake had offered $24.4 billion, or $13.65 per share, to buy out the company. The offer, subject to shareholder approval, included a $2 billion loan from Microsoft, and debt financing from Bank of America, RBC Capital Markets, Merrill Lynch, and Barclays."
3. Re:Will Dell resurrect Project Ophelia? by alexander_686 · 2013-10-29 05:55 · Score: 2
  
  I don’t think so but I am still scratching my head over the loan.
  Bondholders have no say in how the company is run. Well, unless the company goes bankrupt. Of the cash needed it was only a small slice. There was the chance to get an equity slice but MS passed. Maybe for good will but it still confuses me.
4. Re:Will Dell resurrect Project Ophelia? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 08:33 · Score: 0
  
  Wow. You have your panties in such a bunch that you can't stop drooling at the idea of them losing business? It must be a sad life you lead. Seriously, if whatever you're involved with today was so great you'd have stopped looking over the fence to see what shade the grass is on the other side.
  
  It's telling when someone is only happy when someone else fails.
5. Re:Will Dell resurrect Project Ophelia? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 11:32 · Score: 0
  
  Didn't hear much of that from the Apple haters when Apple was down - you can go fuck yourself now and show me to the nearest graveyard - I've got some dancing to do.
What a total ripoff by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:22 · Score: 0

Talk about bilking shareholder value. The shares were worth WAY more than that in reality but they've been cooking the books to depress the value to make the venture capitalists and Michael Dell filthy stinkin' rich.
Business as usual in the good 'ole US of Murka.
1. Re:What a total ripoff by jcr · 2013-10-29 05:42 · Score: 1
  
  The shares were worth WAY more than that in reality
  Nope. The shares were worth what people were willing to pay for them on the stock exchange. Anything else is just wishful thinking.
  -jcr
  
  --
  The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
2. Re:What a total ripoff by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:46 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah! Give that money to the workers! I'm not sure why but fuck it, The People (note the fucking capitalization, you capitalist pigs) DEMAND IT.
3. Re:What a total ripoff by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · 2013-10-29 06:24 · Score: 1
  
  Well, I can think of some scenarios where the stock price does not actually reflect the true value of the company. Like Enron and world com. The price people are willing to pay is dependant on the information they have about the company. If that is wrong due to book cooking, then the value those with the faulty infomation have placed on it is also wrong.
  
  --
  Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Shipping Times by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 05:28 · Score: 0

Now that things have settled at Dell, maybe my company can get new laptops shipped to us in less than 30-40 days...
nip by abdelkhabir94 · 2013-10-29 05:33 · Score: 0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOPEOD0cDO8
This can be a good thing by Enry · 2013-10-29 05:36 · Score: 1

..though it may take a while to get there.
Dell no longer has to worry about what happens in the next quarter or fiscal year. Instead of trying to maximize profit, they can start looking a few years down the road and make some investments that won't pay off for a while. They have a better ability to take risks without the threat of a shareholder lawsuit. Employees no longer have to wonder if there's going to be mass layoffs next month to boost the stock price by a percent. But in the meantime they have very little ability to raise extra cash and employees are going to want some sort of incentive to stay now that ESPs have been discontinued. As long as they can keep their cashflow and talent for a few years they'll be fine in the server market.
1. Re:This can be a good thing by CastrTroy · 2013-10-29 05:56 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I would love to see someone else copy Apple in one regard. Make less choices for the customer. There doesn't need to be 10 different desktop models, and 10 different laptop models. Apple has 3 desktops (mini, iMac and Mac Pro), while allowing the user to choose a few basic options like amount of RAM, hard drive space, and processor speed. And they have 2 models of laptops. Customers know exactly what they are getting with Apple, and they know when there's a new model available, because it only happens once a year. With Dell, and other PC manufacturers, there's tons of different models, nobody really knows how to compare one to the other, and you never know how old the current model is, and when the new model is coming out.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
2. Re:This can be a good thing by Skarecrow77 · 2013-10-29 06:09 · Score: 2
  
  New models come out when intel releases a new processor architecture.
  the rest I agree with you about though.
3. Re:This can be a good thing by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · 2013-10-29 06:27 · Score: 1
  
  While I agree they need fewer models than they currently have for sale, the optimal number is probably higher than what Apple has. Plus, they'd wan't to keep seperate lines for buisness and consumer for part availiblilty.
  
  --
  Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
4. Re:This can be a good thing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 12:36 · Score: 0
  
  I would love to see someone else copy Apple in one regard. Make less choices for the customer. There doesn't need to be 10 different desktop models, and 10 different laptop models. Apple has 3 desktops (mini, iMac and Mac Pro), while allowing the user to choose a few basic options like amount of RAM, hard drive space, and processor speed. And they have 2 models of laptops. Customers know exactly what they are getting with Apple, and they know when there's a new model available, because it only happens once a year. With Dell, and other PC manufacturers, there's tons of different models, nobody really knows how to compare one to the other, and you never know how old the current model is, and when the new model is coming out.
  While I agree I don't mind a maze of models too much so long as there are independent reviews. A bunch of products that are similar bar the marketing isn't, but it's not the end of the world. The biggest hassle is that support cycles tend to be short so if there are bugs you end up stuck with them...I bought Dell laptops for over a decade. However I no longer have any use for Dell because if I buy from them I can no longer customise the thing. Not interested. Remove the choice, remove yourself as an option.
5. Re:This can be a good thing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 12:51 · Score: 0
  
  All fine and good but in a few years Apple will be in the same place they were the last time Jobs left. Apple is a dead-end.
6. Re:This can be a good thing by drinkypoo · 2013-10-29 15:10 · Score: 1
  
  I would love to see someone else copy Apple in one regard. Make less choices for the customer. There doesn't need to be 10 different desktop models, and 10 different laptop models. Apple has 3 desktops (mini, iMac and Mac Pro), while allowing the user to choose a few basic options like amount of RAM, hard drive space, and processor speed.
  
  This is actually more confusing and not less, especially where the processor is soldered; there actually are more models of machine, but the model number doesn't appear on the front of the machine. It only appears on a sticker on its bottom or rear.
  
  With Dell, and other PC manufacturers, there's tons of different models, nobody really knows how to compare one to the other, and you never know how old the current model is, and when the new model is coming out.
  Who cares? You buy a new computer when you need a new computer, not when there's a new shiny. Only if selling your computers is based solely on how shiny it is will someone buy a new one every year whether they need it or not. Those people are always a minority, and in this economy, there's less of them than ever. That's why Apple's making its money selling handhelds. Lots of those purchases are subsidized.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
A Great Opportunity? by ScottCooperDotNet · 2013-10-29 05:43 · Score: 1

This is a huge opportunity for Dell to become more than just a badge on custom OEM hardware, and start making innovative products. My impression is this is a tall order, they haven't really been an innovative company outside of direct sales and supply chains. Innovative products are not part of their DNA, and the inertia of existing mid-level managers will be difficult to overcome.
TFA mentions they have a long term plan, but I've not even seen much speculation on what it is. Let the rumor mill churn.
1. Re:A Great Opportunity? by uncoveror · 2013-10-29 10:03 · Score: 1
  
  Without having to turn tricks for the gamblers at the Wall Street Casino, maybe they will get back to caring about the customer. They have become the new IBM since Big Blue got out of small computers. They can be that forever if they don't screw it up, which they had been well on their way to doing.
  
  --
  The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
why the timing might not be terrible by dAzED1 · 2013-10-29 05:59 · Score: 1

With so many people predicting the death of laptops, servers, and workstations, to tablets and smartphones...despite how stupid such a claim is...I'd imagine that over the medium term the stock is substantially undervalued. If he did steps to revive things, stocks might go up, then he'd have to pay more. Now he can take bigger risks, change things more dramatically/dynamically, etc. Being in corporate america I just cannot see how anyone who does real work would ever try to do something on a tablet. They're great for taking notes during a meeting, but beyond that...such devices are for content consumption, not content production. There will still be servers, workstations, and yes - even laptops, for years to come. Windows8 may have farked some stuff up, but all the better to maybe partner closely with Ubuntu and make a mac-like integration suite, or...?
Yay! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 06:05 · Score: 0

As an independent contractor for Dell (and other companies), this is excellent news! The quality of Dell's services has decreased substantially over the last few years. Project management has been simply atrocious and is very costly for independent technicians like myself who commit to doing projects for Dell and then get cancelled without notice or compensation. I'm looking forward to working on Dell projects in the future that are as organized and efficient as IBM's.
Re:Sweet! So when is the IPO? by PolygamousRanchKid+ · 2013-10-29 06:10 · Score: 1

What's so funny about this? Folks love IPOs. Wall Street loves them. The press get all excited, and pundit talking heads start squawking. Everybody thinks that they make money on an IPOs. Actually, probably the Wall Street folks end up making the most money on an IPO.
I think Dell will just ride out the current bad weather in the PC business, and wait for blue skies, when everyone has forgotten why it went private in the first place
Then do another juicy IPO. Most companies only do one money generating IPO in their lifetime. This could be the start of a new trend of companies having a series of IPOs.
Actually, the more I think of it, this is exactly what private equity firms do: take something private, loot and pillage, and then sell it again as something remotely close to profitable.
On paper, at least.

--
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
no one will read this = stupid comment system by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 06:12 · Score: 0

The reason - their stock is so undervalued they are a liquidation target. Dell can die slow or be ripped apart. Pity no one will read this because some people don't want to attach their names to posts - like Dell employees for instance. Nice one slashdot.
1. Re:no one will read this = stupid comment system by ElectricTurtle · 2013-10-29 06:46 · Score: 1
  
  Plenty of people browse at zero, numbnuts, and you're not exactly giving anybody any 'super secret inside scoop'. Anybody with a pair of brain cells to rub together could see the same thing from the outside.
  
  --
  I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
2. Re:no one will read this = stupid comment system by rourin_bushi · 2013-10-29 07:08 · Score: 1
  
  Sadly, I would wager that the reason his comment will not be read by many folks has more to do with how far down the page it is, rather than the karma rating.
  (I browse at -1 anyway)
good by Khashishi · 2013-10-29 06:14 · Score: 1

Public corporations are automatically evil since the public shareholders are evil. Private company at least has a chance to be not evil.
A chance to start over by FuzzNugget · 2013-10-29 06:14 · Score: 1, Insightful

How about making some quality workstation laptops for business users?
We want:
- Rock-solid build quality and screen hinges
- Sturdy keyboards with standard 7-row layout (text nav 3x2 cluster, F key groupings, non-chiclet)
- Stick mouse (clit mouse, whatever you want to call it) with actual buttons, not these bullshit buttons built into a trackpad
- Understated, boxy designs (no flashy bullshit)
- 4:3 screens (or, at least, 5:4)
Lenovo has completely fucked up the ThinkPad line by removing literally every great feature that made a ThinkPad great. Go and eat their lunch.
1. Re:A chance to start over by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 07:19 · Score: 0
  
  I feel your pain, brother, but the reality is that we're going to see a devolution of keyboards into the crap MS Surface type junk.
  People who use keyboards are in the minority. Enjoy your chicklet keys while you can.
  Everything is going to be fingerpainting. Money is in consumption, not creation.
2. Re:A chance to start over by FuzzNugget · 2013-10-29 07:26 · Score: 1
  
  Right... and once everything is designed for consumption, how will anyone actually create anything to be consumed?
3. Re:A chance to start over by jader3rd · 2013-10-29 07:40 · Score: 1
  
  Right... and once everything is designed for consumption, how will anyone actually create anything to be consumed?
  The creators will use desktops.
4. Re:A chance to start over by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 10:25 · Score: 1
  
  What are you talking about? sure, now there are plastic cheapo laptops and tablets labeled as thinkpads, but the T series still offers all of the things you mentioned.
5. Re:A chance to start over by vux984 · 2013-10-29 10:35 · Score: 1
  
  We want:
  I want some of that, but don't want it all.
  Rock-solid build quality and screen hinges
  I just want Mac book pro before they chased thiness to the oblivion of an ethernet connection.
  Sturdy keyboards with standard 7-row layout (text nav 3x2 cluster, F key groupings, non-chiclet)
  My desktop keyboard has 6 rows... including the function keys... what on earth are you putting on the 7th?
  If its going to have a number pad and text nav area then yes, they need to be correct. But I don't necessarily want them, they force the keyboard part to the left, and make working on it less comfortable. I want the f to the left of the center of the screen, and the j to the right.
  And one thing you didn't mention... I want, nay, DEMAND, that the slash/pipe be above a wider enter key, rather than besdie a double-high-narrow enter key. I will not buy a laptop with the latter arrangement. I just end up typing / evertime i want an enter.
  - Stick mouse (clit mouse, whatever you want to call it) with actual buttons, not these bullshit buttons built into a trackpad
  Hell no on both. I want the multitouch apple trackpad thanks. No buttons at all, no sticks, just a BIG FLAT trackpad space flush with the case. Build a logitech touchpad into the laptop... that's what I want.
  - Understated, boxy designs (no flashy bullshit)
  No cheap plastic. Nothing sticking out. And NO STICKERS. Thin is good, but an ethernet port is required so thinner than that isn't worth it. I think we generally agree here.
  4:3 screens (or, at least, 5:4)
  I'm fine with 16:10 is that what your 5:4 is supposed to be? I don't really want 4:3.The key is vertical resolution not aspect ration... classic 4:3 is 1024x768. So 1366x768 is an improvement but 1200x720 is NOT an upgrade. I'd like 1080p resolution or better.
6. Re:A chance to start over by FuzzNugget · 2013-10-29 14:42 · Score: 1
  
  In what universe? Go right ahead and look at Lenovo's website. Point me to any laptop without some chiclet shit keyboard.
7. Re:A chance to start over by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 15:11 · Score: 0
  
  Wait I thought apple was all 'overpriced crap' dur hur dur hur - Apple's just marketing .... how's this - fuck you. Enjoy your 'non overpriced' pieces of shit forever - neck beard faggot.
8. Re:A chance to start over by FuzzNugget · 2013-10-29 15:12 · Score: 1
  
  My desktop keyboard has 6 rows... including the function keys... what on earth are you putting on the 7th?
  Count it, honkey! (consider the ESC and other keys aligned with it to be a "row") The important part here is the 3x2 text nav cluster in the top right and the F key grouping.
  
  If its going to have a number pad and text nav area then yes, they need to be correct. But I don't necessarily want them, they force the keyboard part to the left, and make working on it less comfortable. I want the f to the left of the center of the screen, and the j to the right.
  Whatever was wrong with the ultrabay keypad? Who ever uses optical drives anymore anyway?
  
  And one thing you didn't mention... I want, nay, DEMAND, that the slash/pipe be above a wider enter key, rather than besdie a double-high-narrow enter key. I will not buy a laptop with the latter arrangement. I just end up typing / evertime i want an enter.
  Forgot this one. Yes, this is absolutely critical. Those bullshit multilingual keyboards drive me to the point of homicidal fury.
  
  Though I have to say, the worst keyboard I've ever had the displeasure of using (I work on a lot of customer machines) was an HP that put an extra column of keys along the left side as some hot keys (that no one will ever use), causing the rest of the keyboard to shifted over to the right. HP deserves an award for the most user-hostile, maldesigned piece of technology ever devised.
  
  - Stick mouse (clit mouse, whatever you want to call it) with actual buttons, not these bullshit buttons built into a trackpad Hell no on both. I want the multitouch apple trackpad thanks. No buttons at all, no sticks, just a BIG FLAT trackpad space flush with the case. Build a logitech touchpad into the laptop... that's what I want.
  You like vague hardware interfaces that force you to constantly take your eyes off the screen?
  
  I'm fine with 16:10 is that what your 5:4 is supposed to be? I don't really want 4:3.The key is vertical resolution not aspect ration... classic 4:3 is 1024x768. So 1366x768 is an improvement but 1200x720 is NOT an upgrade. I'd like 1080p resolution or better.
  4:3 gets us awesome resolutions like 1400x1050 or 1600x1200.
Your tax dollars at work by Animats · 2013-10-29 06:39 · Score: 4, Interesting

Going "private", right. The money supposedly comes from Silver Lake Venture Partners. But they don't have $24 billion. Most of it is borrowed. From banks. Which borrow it from the Fed at very low rates. Which creates Government debt to pay for it.
"Private equity" today is really equity to debt conversion. With interest rates so low, that's very attractive to management.
This is "quantitative easing" at work.
1. Re:Your tax dollars at work by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 08:11 · Score: 0
  
  Great. Can we do this to some other companies too?
  If you haven't been paying attention, the financial industry has been destroying our companies and our jobs. Their mechanism for doing that has been the stock market. When they can't force mass layoffs and other nonsense for a short term stock price bump perhaps we'll see Dell doing something useful instead of engaging in a race to the bottom shitfest to appease crooked analysts and greedy hedge funds.
  Bring on the QE. Mild inflation only affects the rich (Or rather, encourages them to invest instead of hoard) and inflation is at a historic low anyway. And no, nothing is going to spiral. That's another conservative fantasy that's far removed from reality.
2. Re:Your tax dollars at work by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 10:21 · Score: 1
  
  I'll agree that the Fed is subsidizing the financial sector with QEternity. Creating government "debt," however is exactly what happens at the Fed when it creates new dollars. For each new dollar, it creates a dollar of "debt." The situation with the banks is a little different. They create IOUs and keep Fed borrowing as their reserves. So they could lend $100 million with only $10 million in Fed borrowing. The rest they just make up, out of thin air (and rely on institutions like the Fed and FDIC to bail them out).
  The fact is, as Hyman Minsky said: "Everyone can make money. The problem is getting it accepted." If a mutual friend gives me an IOU and you accept it in payment, that IOU is a "money thing." Banks make what are, in effect, private bank notes by making loans (creating a checking account for the borrower -- asset to borrower, liability to bank) while they take IOUs (liability to borrower, asset to bank). By law they must have a certain amount of reserves, but not right away. The current average lag time between them creating money with their IOUs and the arrival of reserves: 30 days.
  The Fed can *never* turn down an authorized bank's request for reserves, either. They can change the interest rate, but that's another thing.
  It's a great racket, and the financialization of the (previously productive) economy has been the result. So General Motors was a mortgage company (GMAC) that made cars on the side. Ford excused not fixing the Pinto gas tank because...well, the bean counters said it wouldn't be profitable.
  See the Modern Monetary Theorists for more of this.
3. Re:Your tax dollars at work by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 15:53 · Score: 0
  
  I'm old enough to remember 5% interest rates in savings accounts. I doubt we'll ever see those days again.
Re:Sweet! So when is the IPO? by X0563511 · 2013-10-29 06:43 · Score: 1

Just what do you call an IPO that isn't actually the initial public offering? SPO?

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For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
There's one thing that has to be said... by Megane · 2013-10-29 06:54 · Score: 5, Funny

DUDE! You bought Dell!

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Re:Sweet! So when is the IPO? by ISoldat53 · 2013-10-29 07:22 · Score: 1

You beat me to it. As soon as they can get their lies together "Wall Street. Here we come." There's always money to be made on an IPO. At least for the insiders.
Private Equity by ALeader71 · 2013-10-29 13:05 · Score: 1

This is a good move for Dell, provided they can adopt to this new market. Dell should focus on the back end of the cloud. They make good servers. They just need to cut off the consumer arm and let it drift into the ether. They lost the consumer market a long time ago and like IBM need to focus on what they (still) do well.

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Only the dead have seen the end of War. - Plato
Sloppy, incompetent by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-29 13:13 · Score: 0

Just today I had two Dell salesmen at my office. They were sloppy and stupid. They were to do a POC of some monitoring solution (Microsoft SCOM, or some such) and wanted to install an agent on one of our Linux systems. I asked simple questions, and each time they had to search their documentation to answer them. Now I don't care if they look as miserable as I do, but they are the sales folks and the technical sales support people and it just makes Dell look ridiculous to have them in the office.
Tech support by mprindle · 2013-10-29 13:46 · Score: 1

Man I hope there tech support improves. It's next to impossible to get anyone on the phone and I even have their Tech certification. Our company just switched to HP due to the cost and there horrible support.
4:3 FTW by pne · 2013-10-29 21:03 · Score: 1

4:3 gets us awesome resolutions like 1400x1050 or 1600x1200.
Word.
I don't spend most of my computer time watching videos (wide-screen or no). I spend much of my time reading web pages or writing code, both of which profit from vertical resolution.
What good is 1920x1080 if I can have 1600x1200? Those extra 120px vertical are of more use to me than the 320px horizontal.

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well by MickyTheIdiot · 2013-10-30 01:08 · Score: 1

I *still* can't easily buy a box with Ubuntu on it as a consumer.
So screw them.
Mike Dell was trolling, plain and simple. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-30 03:34 · Score: 0

As much as it's fun to make fun of him now, there are 2 things to remember: 1) Apple was in pretty bad shape in 1997 -- a year before the iMac, 4 years before the iPod. 2) He's the CEO of the competition -- what would you expect him to say? "They're in trouble, but Steve is a great guy, he's done some creative things in the past, they should stay the course, work hard on making great products, and maybe someday they'll wipe up the floor with us!"
It's not like he's the only CEO to ever do this.
[...]
So I just mark that down to "standard CEO bluster." Or maybe he really was that stupid.
No, that wasn't standard CEO bluster.
It's one thing to say, "Oh, I think $_COMPETITOR's products are not competitive, their leadership is confused, and their strategic direction is wrong." That's what your examples are saying, in a few different ways. Every company does this, Apple especially. On the Internet, we call this "a harsh opinion."
It's another to say, "$_COMPETITOR has no chance, they might as well commit corporate suicide." On the Internet, we call this "trolling."
Dell by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-30 04:57 · Score: 0

I would have preferred they spent the money on SAN's that actually work, laptops that last more than a month, and raid controllers that do not lose data.
I have a closet full of dead Dell's quoth the Raven "Nevermore"
The captcha that comes up for this is 'fleeces' which is exactly what Michael Dell does to both customers and shareholders.
Where's the skin? by John+Bokma · 2013-10-30 04:59 · Score: 1

If you're correct, why has nobody bothered to reproduce that skin (since you make it sound like a piece of cake) and offer it as a download.

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Perl Programmer for hire
1. Re:Where's the skin? by icebike · 2013-10-30 05:11 · Score: 1
  
  Because its not opensource. (And its not worth the effort, its not all that great).
  
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2. Re:Where's the skin? by John+Bokma · 2013-10-30 05:29 · Score: 1
  
  Hence the *reproduce*. As for not that great, I would have no problem paying for such a desktop since to me all OS desktops look way worse out-of-the-box. But maybe that's my lack of taste?
  
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  Perl Programmer for hire