It was 10 years ago today - October 6, 1997 - Michael Dell made his infamous comment in response to a reporter’s question as to what he would do if he were the head of Apple Computer. He said he would shut down the company and give the money back to shareholders.

Ten years later to the day, Apple’s market cap is more than twice that of Dell’s.

Comments on the 10th anniversary of a statement that galvanized the Mac community and ignited a bitter feud between the two firms and the avid users of each of the company’s products?

Edited 10/07/07 to change topic type from sticky to normal.

Re: The Infamous Michael Dell Comment - 10 Years Ago Today

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]It was 10 years ago today - October 6, 1997 - Michael Dell made his infamous comment in response to a reporter’s question as to what he would do if he were the head of Apple Computer. He said he would shut down the company and give the money back to shareholders.

Ten years later to the day, Apple’s market cap is more than twice that of Dell’s.

Comments on the 10th anniversary of a statement that galvanized the Mac community and ignited a bitter feud between the two firms and the avid users of each of the company’s products?

Amazing reversal of fortune. Payback is sweet. 

Feud? I remember back in ‘93 (using a Performa), a PC friend said, “Mac users love their Macs, PC users accept the PC.”

I believe Michael Dell came up with this on the spur of the moment, and probably regretted it almost immediately. So I feel a bit sorry for him over this one, even though his company was never much more than a mail order warehouse.

Not as bad as Gerald Ratner who nearly destroyed his jewellery retailing chain with a joke made to a private audience; a joke he had used successfully before, at the expense of his customers. But this time the press reported it.

[quote author=“sleepygeek”]I believe Michael Dell came up with this on the spur of the moment, and probably regretted it almost immediately. So I feel a bit sorry for him over this one, even though his company was never much more than a mail order warehouse.

Not as bad as Gerald Ratner who nearly destroyed his jewellery retailing chain with a joke made to a private audience; a joke he had used successfully before, at the expense of his customers. But this time the press reported it.

Don’t feel sorry for Michael Dell.  He’s filthy rich and even if Dell, Inc. goes out of business (it won’t) he’ll still have more money than the average man can imagine.  Dell, the company, may not be all that innovative, but it still has it’s place in the computer world.  There must be so many people who predicted the death of Apple, he’s probably at the bottom of the list.  I’ll bet he’d be grateful if Apple would license OSX to him to run on his Dell boxes.  That would be a fine apology to Apple for saying something stupid.

[quote author=“sleepygeek”]I believe Michael Dell came up with this on the spur of the moment, and probably regretted it almost immediately. So I feel a bit sorry for him over this one, even though his company was never much more than a mail order warehouse.

Not as bad as Gerald Ratner who nearly destroyed his jewellery retailing chain with a joke made to a private audience; a joke he had used successfully before, at the expense of his customers. But this time the press reported it.

I remember when he made the comment. IIRC correctly, he answered the question somewhat reluctantly. He may indeed have regretted the words soon after they were said considering the amount of press attention his remarks received.

Still, the comments did reveal the PC industry’s dislike of Apple and its misunderstanding of the company’s future prospects. It was not a remark to be made with Steve Jobs at the helm.

It may have been off the cuff, but considering it was made just as SJ was making his comeback it’s a textbook example (as they say in sport) of locker room material.
Or as the Japanese admiral says in Tora,Tora,Tora! “I’m afraid all we have done is awaken a giant sleeping bear”

[quote author=“jimlongo”]It may have been off the cuff, but considering it was made just as SJ was making his comeback it’s a textbook example (as they say in sport) of locker room material.
Or as the Japanese admiral says in Tora,Tora,Tora! “I’m afraid all we have done is awaken a giant sleeping bear”

Considering the remark was made after Apple had begun its comeback (two months after the famous/infamous Apple-Microsoft deal), Michael Dell should have known better. He didn’t and the remark hangs out there somewhat suspended in time.

At some point he should do a public mea culpa, acknowledge the remark and say he was wrong. Doing so IMHO would put the remark back in the appropriate page in time. Until then it hangs out there without closure to the incident.

When everyone works for the man (MS), the one who lives ignoring the man with dignity will be mocked, feared and reviled, and if possible stoned to death. That was the fate of Apple at that time. By denying the relevance of anything non-MS with his Apple quote, Michael Dell advertised the shallowness of his understanding of the business he claims to be in.

Michael Dell’s only real problem is the company carries his name. I still see it as a $17 stock. He’s forever linked to the company’s fate. Gateway II?

[quote author=“DawnTreader”]Michael Dell’s only real problem is the company carries his name. I still see it as a $17 stock. He’s forever linked to the company’s fate. Gateway II?

He should change his name to Michael Apple, both as an apology and mark of respect, and to make sure he continues to be associated with SUCCESS.

We’ll have an idea on the 22nd how much of the education market Apple took back from Dell. Dell aggressively pursued the K-12 market at a particularly low time in Apple’s history. Taking back that market from Dell would be a gratifying way of turning that 10 year-old comment again on its head.

Has Dell admitted publicly in any real way the mistakes that have cost them their market dominance? Or has it been nothing but vague comments about “execution” and other kinds of nonsense?

I was reading this story from the original date and it’s interesting to see a couple of the side comments.

Dell’s comments follow Steve Jobs’s keynote address at the Seybold trade show last week in San Francisco, where the Apple cofounder seemed to win over attendees with his explanation of why he had made certain key decisions, killing the clone market and aligning more closely with Microsoft. The Seybold crowd—as well as some Apple employees—also seemed to be buoyed by the increasing role Jobs has taken on at the company as board member and interim CEO.

But others, like Dell, appear to think that Jobs’s expanded role isn’t helping. There is some concern that Apple will have a hard time recruiting a top-notch CEO because of Jobs’s presence.

Others fear that Apple could end up completely in Microsoft’s camp by deciding to use the NT operating system on its servers. Apple is reportedly planning to come out with network computers that would require high-end servers to function.

I remember when Michael Dell made the comment. I’m sure he’s reminded at times that he made the comment. I wonder what he would say now if given the opportunity to speak about both Apple’s success and his own company’s struggles.

[quote author=“sleepygeek”]I believe Michael Dell came up with this on the spur of the moment, and probably regretted it almost immediately.

If he did, he soon forgot his regret: Just 4 years later, Dell said “if you look at proprietary computer companies, whether it’s Digital or Silicon Graphics (SGI ) or Apple (AAPL ), I think the fates are all relatively similar. We know how the movie ends. It’s just a question of what happens in the middle.”

  The Tech Slump Doesn’t Scare Michael Dell

What a self-important ass…

I think you’re making that comment out to be bigger than it ever was. I’ve been following Mac news for the past 10+ years, and it doesn’t really stick out to me. I wouldn’t even remember it at all if it hadn’t provided some excellent material for As the Apple Turns, the awesomest Mac news site ever.

The comment didn’t change anything. It was just another me-too jab from back when jabbing Apple was in fashion. Since it came from a competitor, it always held less weight than similar comments from neutral parties like the press. Everyone knew he was biased, while the journalists at least maintained the illusion of objectivity.

I think the comment showed how really annoyed he was that people were asking him about Apple instead of his own company. I would’ve been annoyed too! It was a mistake, though; the comment betrayed his fear. If he’d kept a cool head, he would’ve just said he’d follow strategies similar to what he was currently doing with Dell (in less blatant terms, of course).

[quote author=“Mikuro”]I think you’re making that comment out to be bigger than it ever was. I’ve been following Mac news for the past 10+ years, and it doesn’t really stick out to me. I wouldn’t even remember it at all if it hadn’t provided some excellent material for As the Apple Turns, the awesomest Mac news site ever.

You’re insane! ... that comment marked a watershed moment for Apple and Dell, and was a huge corporate PR blunder of historic proportions. It has driven Jobs ( who said “DELL, we have you in our sights) and haunted Dell ever since.

The comment was huge, end of story