something something investors...

I can't tell you how satisfied I am at this news. Dell will eventually make some sort of recovery but I really think Mike has lost the golden touch. Apple is now worth over six times what Dell is and has proven unequivocally that people will pay more for value. Dell has catered to the bottom end and now it's biting them in the a$$.

Shut down Dell and return the money to the shareholders.

it's the only honest thing left to do.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA SUCK IT MICHAEL DELL

Netbooks are killing PC maker margins. Watch for similar news from HP and Acer.

Apple is now worth over six times what Dell is and has proven unequivocally that people will pay more for value.

Let's see. They're still raking in twice as much money as Apple per quarter.

And they're selling at least twice as many computers per quarter than Apple. I guess Apple has proven there are people who will 'pay more for value' (whatever the h*** that's supposed to mean), but that market is less than the market who's buying based on cost.

Dell has catered to the bottom end and now it's biting them in the a$$.

This is a plainly stupid argument. If Dell just built 'expensive' PCs, like Apple, they'd have even less market share. They might be able to sucker enough PC owners to allow them higher gross margins, but it is doubtful.

The problem Dell has is competition. They actually have to compete against other computer makers in order to sell. You can't compare what Dell has to face with Apple. The last time Apple faced competition (i.e. clones), it almost killed them.

But I'm sure if Apple allowed OS X to run on other machines, everyone would still buy Macs, because Mac users will pay for style, right? I mean, a lot of Mac users wouldn't just go and buy Dells running OS X because they're cheaper? That would never happen now, would it?

Of course it's hillarious, but no one seems to remember what it was like when he said this.

At that time, Apple's market cap was LESS than their actual balance sheet value. Market cap, like $3 billion. Asset value: $5 billion.

You might not like to think about it, but Apple was near death, bleeding money every quarter.

Right now, Dell is still worth more in stock than asset, and they're still making money.

Quality products last a lot longer, are used a lot longer, have a higher resale value and are replaced far less often. (Perhaps whatever the h*** 'value' means has something to do with those.)

So Dell's selling to the bottom end/uber cost-conscious market hit them for a 54% decrease, eh? Well, despite Menudo's point that they're still raking in over twice what Apple does, given the choice between betting on someone who turns $100 million into $200 million and someone who turned $1 billion into $460 million, I'd go with the former.

"I mean, a lot of Mac users wouldn't just go and buy Dells running OS X because they're cheaper? That would never happen now, would it?"

- Correct. A lot of Mac users would NOT go and buy Dells running OS X because they're cheaper. Mac users already know that quality involves the total package. The people who would go and buy Dells running OS X because they're cheaper are all the PC bargain hunters/cost-conscious/bottom enders who would still figure that cutting major corners on the cost of the hardware would still yield an overall equivalent product in terms of quality.

Not really smart to run a business that is so heavily dependent on not just the availability, but the ample success of someone else's product - in this case Microsoft's operating system. And in Dell's case their only option has always been Microsoft - think about it - dumb.

- Correct. A lot of Mac users would NOT go and buy Dells running OS X because they're cheaper. Mac users already know that quality involves the total package. The people who would go and buy Dells running OS X because they're cheaper are all the PC bargain hunters/cost-conscious/bottom enders who would still figure that cutting major corners on the cost of the hardware would still yield an overall equivalent product in terms of quality.


That's a boat load of c***. The problem is that most long-time Mac users know the truth: The quality of the computer is the OS it runs. Some mac fanboys and elitists would certainly still buy Macs, but Apple lacks anything close to choice or options. If you want an all-in-one with a 24" screen, sure, you'd get an iMac. But if you want a tower computer to hold 4-6 hard drives, and your choice is between something with waaaaay too much power for your needs (the MacPro) or a mid-range Dell at half the price, you'd get the Dell.

And not every Mac owner is all about 'looks' first, and then worrying about minor details like capabilities, features, etc.

And, again, I'm sure Apple was thinking back in the 90s "Oh, we won't lose too many people to clones. "