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Technology Stocks : DELL: Facts, Stats, News and Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mick Mørmøny who wrote (19)	7/30/1998 1:08:00 PM
From: Dave Taylor	Respond to of 335

Thursday July 30, 11:46 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Rapid Growth Continues as Dell Home Systems Widens Appeal Consumer Business Unit Targets Back-to-School ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 1998--To mark the first anniversary of its consumer business, Dell Computer Corporation (NASDAQ:DELL - news) is launching a marketing blitz aimed at students of all ages. Dell consumer sales have grown rapidly in the past year and now the company is stepping up its efforts to reach the growing parent and student market. Running in newspapers and magazines during August, Dell's back-to-school advertisements promote the award-winning Dimension(R) desktop and Inspiron(tm) notebook PCs. The ads are part of a comprehensive marketing program to help Dell harvest a growing share of sales to families who are equipping their school-aged children with computers. This summer, Dell is offering Intel(R) Pentium(R) II processor-based notebook PCs for under $2,000. Dell also is: Mailing school-themed product and accessory catalogs to a broad number of home customers nationwide. Hosting an essay game of skill, looking for students who creatively use their notebook PCs as part of their college experience. Offering a student lease option that enables students to upgrade to a new computer with zero upfront cash outlay. Selling Dell notebook backpacks bearing the logo of any of more than 50 leading universities. ''Our first year in the home PC market reinforced that consumers value the benefits of buying directly from Dell to get great prices, leading-edge technology, award-winning products and top flight technical support and customer service. As a result, Dell is extending its marketing effort to a broader group of consumers,'' said David Hood, vice president and general manager of Dell Home Systems. Hood, formerly General Manager of AT&T's WorldNet Service, joined Dell last summer to lead the new Dell Home Systems unit. Dell's consumer business is not the only part of the company that is growing rapidly: Separate from Dell Home Systems, Dell's Education segment achieved year-on-year growth of 80 percent during the 1997-98 school year. The Education segment works directly with higher education institutions and school districts to tailor computer solutions, financing options and service and support offerings to meet student, faculty and institutional needs. More universities are requiring students to have computers, which represents a significant sales and relationship-building opportunity for computer makers. Dell's Education segment also markets Dell's Latitude(R) notebooks, OptiPlex(R) desktop PCs, Precision(tm) WorkStations and PowerEdge(R) servers. Dell's online business has also taken off dramatically. A year ago, the corporation was selling $2 million daily over the Internet. Today, the company's Internet sales have grown to approximately $6 million a day, with sales to consumers contributing a great deal to that success. Ranked No. 125 in the Fortune 500(R) companies, Dell Computer Corporation is the world's leading direct computer systems company, based on revenues of $13.6 billion for the past four quarters. Dell designs and customizes products and services to end-user requirements, and offers an extensive selection of peripherals and software through the DellWare program. Information on Dell and its products can be obtained through its toll-free number 800/388-8542 or by accessing the Dell World Wide Web server at www.dell.com. Dell, Dimension, Latitude, OptiPlex and PowerEdge are registered trademarks. Inspiron and Precision are trademarks and DellWare is a registered service mark of Dell Computer Corporation. Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Fortune 500 is a registered trademark of Time Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

To: Mick Mørmøny who wrote (19)	8/7/1998 12:48:00 AM
From: Mick Mørmøny	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 335

Dispatches from the Front: How a Bottom Gets Formed -Wrong! Aug 06, 1998 By James J. Cramer At 3:31 p.m. you could have heard a pin drop. Everything was quiet at Cramer Berkowitz. The plummeting market at last looked headed for oblivion. Three huge sellers had been trying to get out of America Online (NYSE:AOL - news) , as if what they had heard the night before on the conference call was bad, not good. Dell (Nasdaq:DELL - news) had just dropped five points, in what looked to be crossed markets -- sellers wanted to sell below where buyers were willing to pay. The Dow kept its steady, no-parachute dive, through every level imaginable. My wife, Karen, sitting next to me, watching the action, breaks the silence. "Well, you better buy something, because this is as bad as it gets." Buy what? I said. "And be down two points by the time I get the report? You know what these sell programs are like." "Then go buy some America Online. Weren't you the guy telling me they could have explosive earnings next year? Didn't you just say that five hours ago?" Yeah, I said it, but that was a lifetime ago. "I'll buy it if you don't," she said. So we bought some Online. We nibbled at a little Dell. Chummed for some Compaq (NYSE:CPQ - news) and Intel (Nasdaq:INTC - news) . Not much. And then the program hit. We will never know who had the program. It was triggered, apparently, by the 10% decline, or the retest of the S&P low, or just plain old manipulation -- someone was covering a short and then went long in a way that had to move the market rapidly in the direction that was wanted. (Yes, programs and futures can be that powerful, as we know from the years when they moved the markets higher.) It was frenzied, like when you hit a school of blues. If your hook was in the water, they hit you. But if you tried to chase, forget about it. As was the case most of the day, your screens were running late. I tried to buy some Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM - news) at 58.5 but didn't land it until 59. I sought 5,000 IBM (NYSE:IBM - news) like a madman up a dollar to no avail. (If you don't use limit orders in this market, you are a dead man, at the mercy of the market makers.) The stuff we bought at my wife's suggestion? We were up six points on almost all of it within 10 minutes. The program moved the market up to the higher collar, the plus 50, and then anyone who bought had moved too late. You had to have bought at the worst moment possible. You could feel the whipsaw of the neck of the guy who was trying to sell something at 3:29, in the midst of the program. I had been down to sell 10,000 Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT - news) at 58 at 3:29. By the time I got my report the stock was at 61. It was confusing, unnerving and thoroughly predictable. Everyone had finally given up, at least at that moment, at that snapshot of the market. There were NO bulls and no believers. Forget the bull-bear ratio. Forget Abby Joseph Cohen. At that moment in time you had to be a hero or a nut to go long. Guess that's how bottoms are formed. James J. Cramer is manager of a hedge fund and co-chairman of TheStreet.com. At the time of publication his fund was long America Online, Compaq, Dell, Fannie Mae, IBM and Intel, though positions can change at any time. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Cramer's writings provide insights into the dynamics of money management and are not a solicitation for transactions. While he cannot provide investment advice or recommendations, he invites you to comment on his column by sending a letter to TheStreet.com at letters@thestreet.com. c 1998 TheStreet.com, All Rights Reserved