“The tech business has a lot of trash talkers, but Dell CEO Kevin Rollins isn’t one of them. Reserved and circumspect, he chooses his words carefully. So it was quite a surprise to hear him launch a verbal attack against rival Apple Computer in a recent interview. Rollins dismissed Apple’s mega-selling iPod as a ‘fad,’ calling it a ‘one-product wonder,’ and he pooh-poohed the eye-catching Mac mini as inconsequential,” Nicholas G. Carr writes for BusinessWeek.
“Rollins’ comments are more than uncharacteristic. They’re troubling — and not just for their snippiness,” Carr writes. “They raise real questions about how well Dell understands the home market… If Dell wants to continue to rule in the home as well as the workplace, it may need to class up its act. Rather than dismissing fads, Rollins should try starting a few.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Dismissive Dell CEO not impressed with Apple Mac mini, calls iPod a ‘one-product wonder’ and a ‘fad’ – January 17, 2005
People like Dull CEO Kevin Rollins just don’t get it. His words of hate are born out of the green eyes of envy.
When was the last time Dell had the media/PR coverage when they released a new computer?
Kevin Rollins looks like he is one of them now doesn’t he. Kevin is over confident and that is going to get him and Dell in trouble. Microsoft is feeling that pain right now. Steve Jobs and Apple are not sitting still for anyone and there proving that with there products.
Kevin is in for a rude awakening from Apple. The iPod is not a fad and the market is proving that. The Mac Mini has turned a lot of heads in the industry so Kevin obviously has seen the reviews so he is now in denial.
Spank!
Just a little fact for those at Dell
Since the release of the Mac Mini
2 friends (both dell owners) have bought the Mac Mini
they still have their dells but they are having to much fun on their Minis’ to even turn on the Dells.
I can add 2 converts to my list of those that have seen the light.
Does Dull even launch “new” computers? Their machines are nothing but packaging existing components. Bargain basement buyers aren’t concerned with whether it is a new model or not. The only thing new about any Dull is if they have started using any newer generation chip in it.
When has Dell been the innovator of anything? The only thing they do is make cheap PCs… period. It really is a shame that no one wants one to buy one of his crappy music players… and it really is a shame that Dell doesn’t have the most popular music download site.
I know of two people who have bought new Dells and had to threaten Dell Support that they were going to box them up and send them back before they could get Dell to move on fixing their problems. My gut says Dell has gotten too big for their britches.
OH BOY,
Let me tell you about Dell the copy maker company. First Dell is not a real computer company. They just copy everybody. You see they take other company products and break it down and try to make it better. Take a look at some of their stuff. Look like other company products but with their name on it. It real funny to see kevin (aka karen) rollins talk about the ipod is just a fad, when dell theirself is still having floppy disc on their computers, talk about a fad. HA HA HA .The dell people are watching everything that goes on in the PC world and soon sometime new comes out they snatch it and in a few days or weeks they call it theirs. Like they make it theirself. They don’t know how to make or invent their own products. The only reason that dell is number one pc company is cause the make cheap ass computer and there are lots of people out there who don’t know how to buy a computer. And when they see a $400.00 computer they think they got a good deal, until they see what they need and what they got and after that they are piss and their dell computer turn in to a big old paper weight on the desk but dell got their money so why do they care? Now dell is after big company too for the same reason. The companys think they need a PC cause they think that all that out there and to have dell come in a cut other pc or Apple thoats at a low cost. SO low that somebody down the line is getting the old rod up the butt on cost, like shipping or parts. SO I need to stop I can go on on about dell stuff cause I know dell like the back of hand so karen I see you later.
Ehy guys, GOOD NEWS!!!!!!
If Dell’s big boy is screaming and using “unusual words and launching a verbal attack to Apple…” is GOOD NEWS!!
Of course when you feel envy, when you feel in danger, or fear, what you usually do?… react in that way, especially when you’re not enough sure of yourself. You attack to not be attacked!
So guys, celebrate, the more PCs big boys are hungy the more we smile!!!
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And as somebody was saying about Mac Mini and Win user, let’s start again as in the 80’s Mac Evangelist!!! (nothing to do with Bush friends…of course!)
Well, since our company standardized on Dell notebooks a few years back, I’d had a total of six failures/repairs made to my “Latitude”; from fan bearings, to HD failures, to vertical lines suddenly appearing in the screen. I don’t think there’s many original parts left in mine, other than the case.
Dell=Gateway=Packard Bell= Junk
George Bush is awesome! He kicks terrorist ass and saves Iraq!
And I likes watching his speeches from the 13″ black and white teler-vision in the back of my trailer. Gall-dangit, Mabel, git them thar dogs off’n the porch!
I have a Dell desktop that’s lasted longer than any Mac I’ve ever owned and I expect it to last for years.
You see, it works great.
EVERY FREAKIN’ PART HAS BEEN REPLACED THREE TIMES!!!
Fortunately, Dell keeps extending the warranty because there’s been so much trouble. Hard drives, mother boards, monitors, even keyboard has been replaced.
Yep, my Dell will last for years to come.
BTW — I do my work on a Mac.
Marty
Dell is just a junky PC mail order operation …
They are not anywhere in the same league as Apple …
Soon Dells will be so cheap they’ll pay you to buy one … then the PC’ers will be happy .. since that’s all they care about .. cheapness
My friend just bought an HP and it has all the sturdiness of an easy bake oven … but he loves it .. cause it was the cheapest he could get .. of course he can’t get the printer to work but so what … It was cheap .. isn’t that all that matters?
Just walk into any PC store and listen to the conversation … it’s all about how cheap they can get any part and slap together their cardboard computers …
Great article. Someone has finally summed up what is happening nicely. I hope Dell doesn’t read it though. The longer they sit on their butts doing the usual low cost junk thing, the better.
Now, if we really want to make the industry interesting again, Dell could take some of that huge cash pile they’ve got, and develop their own OS, their own software, their own hardware, and etc…
Destroying the dominance of MS, and openning up the industry to innovation again would be wonderful! Let’s see: Fred with his Mac, Mike with his MS, Jane with her Amiga, Jolene with her Linux, Harry with his…, well, you get the idea! It would create a bit of a pain for generic software developers, but sure would make the world interesting again.
Of course, Dell could just keep travelling the same slippery path. Frankly, though, replacing one monopoly with another, MS for Apple, wouldn’t be a great idea either. Mac users want more marketshare for better software solutions, but I doubt that the Old Guard Apple Faithful would feel really satisfied with a situation where their favourite box became the new Chevy. “Think Different” sums up the sense that we want something that is special, not ordinary.
So come on Dell, do something different. Blow off Microsoft and bring back the Amiga or whatever. Start it out as a specialty line until you really have something good. Look at Apple, it didn’t take long to make OSX a winner.
I’d kick Michael Dell in teh nutz if I could, just for making my company use his crappy products…
Dell class up its act? I doan theenk so. And while we’re on about class, the screenshots of Longhorn are so uncompelling that I wouldn’t be surprised if it hasn’t had three complete makeovers by now. And it still sux. [Magic word “six.”]
And what does anyones political views have to do with Mac websites?
“And what does anyones political views have to do with Mac websites?“
Us back-woods redneck right-wingers have to push our propagander ever-where we can. It’s like my Gramma Millie said, ‘Ya gotta throw a whole lotta shit on the wall to get some to stick.’
Dell is an example of the worst of America- a bottom feeding company without a soul, mission or vision. They would bid for the low price to sell to OBL if he let a contract for Al-Queda. Yea, I said it.
Chrisnorth – “So come on Dell, do something different. Blow off Microsoft and bring back the Amiga or whatever. Start it out as a specialty line until you really have something good. Look at Apple, it didn’t take long to make OSX a winner.”
Now THAT would be kinda cool. Bring back the Amiga… They would have a guaranteed niche market that unfortunately would mostly be from Amiga turned Mac users. But I don’t think it will every happen unless Apple starts to seriously damage them. And I don’t think that will happen either. I DO think Apple will seriously increase their market share and become much more relevant but probably will be topping out at somewhere around 10% market share; 10-20 percent market share would be fantastic!!
As long as there are enough Users to make sure we get Mac versions ported for every really good piece of software or game I will be happy. Also it would be cool if companies were more accepting of Macs as alternatives in the work place.
Kevin Rollins doesn’t deserve to comment on anything Apple does. The only innovative thing Dell has ever done was figuring out how to convince people to buy the pile of garbage they call a computer.
It’s like asking Thomas Kincade what he thinks about DaVinci. Who cares what he thinks? In the big picture, he is completely irrelevant.
When Dell creates it’s own operating system that is superior to all of it’s competition, has a 20+ year history of innovating products that people take for granted everyday, or does ANYTHING to lead
the industry in anything other than sales, maybe then I’ll give a shit what he thinks.
I have been reading postings for quite some time now, the one thing I know is that you/we WANT those guys (MS, DELL, etc.) overconfident and dismissive, if not, if they actually made good/innovative products, it makes it a lot harder for Apple to wow people and stand out as the best.
Think about it…
Instead of showing those guys the way, showing individual people how much better computing can be, and let them understand all the great things you can do out of the box without spending additional money on software, without being burdened with “driver compatability issues” etc.
“Jerry”:
We’re here to enjoy Macs. Nobody cares about your stupid political sarcasm–get lost.
Jaxson.. just like.. oh yeah.. Apple.. back when they thought they had legal protection..
so much for that..