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To: stockman_scott who wrote (723)	3/3/1999 5:24:00 PM
From: Katherine Derbyshire	Respond to of 10934

>>*OT** DownSouth: Some thoughts on DELL and boxmakers: IMHO, you should not give up on boxmakers, but be VERY selective about investing in them. CPQ is the wrong kind of company to own. Recently they have stuffed the channels to hit short term analyst targets. Now we see them warning. This company has management, marketing, and distribution problems. With DELL you are getting a firm that is outstanding at direct sales, marketing, manufacturing, and logistics. They also have THE BEST management in the industry.<< My view is much simpler. I own and have looked inside both DELL and CPQ systems. CPQ systems are a pain in the neck to work on. They use funny non-standard hardware and put wires and screws in knuckle-busting places. DELL systems are a joy to work on, with everything fitting together very easily and intuitively. I suspect that DELL systems are also much easier (and cheaper!) to assemble than CPQ systems. I'll buy CPQ systems on price. I wouldn't touch their stock with a ten foot pole. Katherine

To: stockman_scott who wrote (723)	3/4/1999 12:30:00 PM
From: BI*RI	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 10934

Stockman, As a recent investor in DELL, I appreciate the insight that you have in the company, and would be interested in what you think of today's deal with IBM. More on topic to this thread however; this is my first visit here as I am looking at NTAP due to it's growth in the storage sector. As I already have some EMC, I am interested in NTAP due to it's products in the small to mid size storage market. In following EMC, I keep seeing NTAP receiving frequent attention, favorably so in this sector. Obviously, one of the positives for NTAP is its OEM agreement with DELL. Today's IBM/DELL announcement of $1.6 million in equipment purchases from IBM by DELL specifically mentions storage as one of the areas the agreement covers. I wonder how this might effect NTAP long term.