“Michael Dell, who conceived a new way to sell a then-hot product, is returning to Dell,” Marek Fuchs reports for TheStreet.com.
Fuchs reports, “The one misleadingly positive mistake made by much of the business media on Dell’s return was, by way of historical context, to segue right into mentions of Steve Jobs’ historic return to Apple. From the wire services on, this was done in automatic-pilot mode.”
Fuchs writes, “For example, said the Associated Press: ‘In 1997, co-founder Steve Jobs came back as CEO to the then-struggling maker of Macintosh computers and quickly transformed it into a leading consumer electronics maker with the iMac computers and the iPod music players.’ It is not an apt comparison.”
“Jobs is one of the only chief executives who probably hits the triple crown of genius: entrepreneurial, managerial and self-promotional. He came back and innovated, promoted and (to a lesser extent) managed Apple’s way back to prominence. Moreover, he was one of the few entrepreneurial geniuses who proved that genius could strike more than once,” Fuchs writes.
Fuchs writes, “Dell realized that direct sales were the way to go with computers. However, that was really the only evidence of the sort of entrepreneurial genius that his company needs from here. At this point, with computers such a commodity, his great entrepreneurial call from long ago won’t be enough to save the day. His managerial brilliance will work to shore up the company’s faded service reputation a bit, but it’s too little too late.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hey, it’s not too late to for Michael Dell to – all together now – shut down the company and give the money back to the shareholders!
Related articles:
BusinessWeek: Welcome back, Michael Dell – don’t get too comfortable – February 01, 2007
Rollins out as beleaguered Dell’s CEO, replaced by Michael Dell immediately – January 31, 2007
Fortune: Michael Dell reiterates he’d love to sell Apple’s Mac OS X if only Jobs would license – January 22, 2007
Total eclipse of Michael Dell goes off as predicted – January 10, 2007
SEC starts formal probe of beleaguered Dell – November 16, 2006
Apple does it again: New Macbook Pros much cheaper than Dell – October 25, 2006
Dell feels the heat from Apple – October 04, 2006
The Motley Fool: ‘Intel to Dell: you guys stink’ – September 28, 2006
Beleaguered Dell’s OS-limited PC sales ‘declining rapidly below expectations’ – analyst – September 21, 2006
Fortune compares Mac vs. Dell: ‘you’ll get more for your money with Apple’ – September 11, 2006
PC box assemblers like Dell and others wish Apple would license Mac OS X – August 31, 2006
AP: Time to think different, Apple Mac beats Dell on price, software compatibility, and more – August 23, 2006
Dell profit falls almost in half; announces informal SEC probe – August 18, 2006
Dell cannot compete with Apple’s new Mac Pro price or feature set – August 15, 2006
Bear Stearns: Apple’s new Mac Pro, Xserve pricing well below comparable Dell systems – August 09, 2006
Dell warns of earnings miss; shares plunge 15% – July 21, 2006
Survey shows big jump in consumer interest in buying Apple Mac; Dell takes steep slide – July 06, 2006
Dell warns 1Q earnings will miss mark; shares tumble – May 08, 2006
Apple passes Dell in market value – May 02, 2006
InformationWeek: Apple Mac run Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux; Dell and HP should be concerned – May 01, 2006
Dude, you got a Dell? What are you, stupid? Only Apple Macs run both Mac OS X and Windows! – April 05, 2006
Apple Mac is #1 in European education market, pushes Dell down into second place – February 03, 2006
Comparing Michael’s return to another computer CEO’s: this might be a better analogy.
Dell computers are the biggest pieces of s…. I’ve ever had to endure. One word sums it up. CHEAPO!!!!
Back in November, I blogged about “Why Dell doesn’t matter”
http://www.switchedtomac.com/?p=82
Everyone I talked to said that I was dead wrong, but the article above is saying pretty much the same thing. PC clones are commodities and there is no real value in a company who just sells what everyone else does. Dell will be a distant memory by the end of the decade.
Dell is nothing more than one of the last survivors of the PC mail-order wars.
He’s no Jack Kennedy either. I know.
Even Michael Dell can’t out cheap the Chinese. Sorry Dell, but your time has come and gone. It’s Lenovo’s time to dominate the low end market now.
Was in big Dallas shopping mall at noon today. Of all things, I saw a waiting line around the Dell kiosk there. Went closer and found Dell sales staff with clip boards taking orders. Listened in and heard, of all things, giddy enthusiasm about Vista, of all things, and common Americans ordering new Dell boxes to run it on.
Been reading posts on this site this week and was convinced that Vista meant the death of PC, especially Dell. Would someone please explain what in the world is going on – people buying new PCs to run Vista. Dell PCs.
Of all things.
I can explain it. It all comes down to the fact that most people on this earth are overwhelmingly stupid.
Of All Things,
Look up the word “shill” in your dictionary and you’ll understand what was happening.
@Of All Things
If you had looked a little closerm, maybe you would have noticed that that group of people all arrived on the ‘special’ bus….
Ahh…. MDN, that never gets old….
They better hurry too, before the shares are completely worthless….
And how did Mr. Dell say he was going to save the company? “Innovate” supply chain and assembly processes…… Isn’t that one trick pony dead?
Like RC said, can’t out cheap China. Dell will be gone by 2010
Anybody have Michael Dells email address? I’d like to send him some unsolicited advice.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> I think he’d appreciate the wisdom of the words.
Another reason that the comparison doesn’t fly is that Michael Dell didn’t actually ever leave the company! He just hasn’t been the CEO. Hardly the same thing. SJ had no part of anything that happened at Apple between 1986 and 1996. Michael Dell has been there the whole time, and while Kevin Rollins was the CEO running the day to day, he was still a part of the decision making. He is absolutely not a Steve Jobs, but the circumstances are nothing alike either.
How many of you would take a bullet for His Steveness? Just curious. Just wanted to see how much of an ape you people on this board are.
“Like RC said, can’t out cheap China. Dell will be gone by 2010”
Where do you think Dells are made? Just wondering how stupid you are…
“can’t out cheap China. “
Actually, where do you think your Mac is made?
Dell is the McDonalds of the computer industry. Everybody knows the quality is s__t but for some reason, they keep going back for more.
Dell = McDonalds
Dell crap computer = McDonalds crap hamburger
Windows crap software on Dell crap computer = crap ingredients on McDonalds crap hamburgher
Now I am getting hungry!
Paid PC Trolls,
Look, you may like PC’s. You may even like Windows OS software.
But there is no way you can honestly say that you like the low end Dell crap.
You should also know that the high end Dells are more expensive than equivalent Macs, HP’s and Lenovo’s.
Anyone who buys Dell really is an idiot.
“Where do you think Dells are made? Just wondering how stupid you are…”
My dad works for Brandt and Hill, a company that designs and builds Dell’s assembly plants. Im not sure where all of dells machines are made but I know some of them are made IN TEXAS. Ive seen it with my own eyes…more than once.
Just in case your wondering, I dont get along with my dad too well.
@Wow…
Dells are from Texas… ah HAH… that explains it. LOTS of SHIT comes from Texas. Just check the White House…oh, wait that “Texan” is really a boarding school raised, Ivy league edjumacated, draft dodging Connecticut Yankee MASQUERADING as a Texan.
It’s hard to keep all those turds straight…
MDN Magic Word: quite
is built in Cork, Ireland.
But sure, there are Macs coming from plants in China. But it is not the only place. Although it might be the place where some Mac lemon comes from.
Mikey Dull is a mail order businessman, he couldn’t care less about technology. He can’t andway because he is a saleman, not and engineer.
Steve Jobs is no Michael Dell.
Enough people will fall for M$’s hype about Vista, despite the media hitting on it a bit, that Dell’s sales will surge more or less. Then Mikey will take credit for it. That’s the only thing going on here.
Nothing to see here. Move along.