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Technology Stocks : Dell Technologies Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Peterson CPA who wrote (130047)	5/31/1999 8:37:00 PM
From: OLDTRADER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 176387

RE:Mark-What I liked about your very interesting post was the reaffirmation of the degree of difficulty in making a culture change it's never received the proper appreciation ---i.e IBM and HWP --now going to "sell-direct"-a lot more to doing it than saying it.wbm

To: Mark Peterson CPA who wrote (130047)	5/31/1999 10:27:00 PM
From: Meathead	Respond to of 176387

Re: But its this very culture of "you go first when it comes to taking investment risk" that IMO would work against Dell in building a CMGI comparable. I agree 100%. Dell could build from within but they won't and they won't pay the acquisition premium for a business that currently generates a small amount of revenue. If CMGI ultimately becomes the business you and many others believe it can, DELL and everyone else will take notice... but then it becomes a missed opportunity as the lead becomes unsurmountable in terms of organic replication. To be honest, I see Dell continuing to grow their business in a very profitable but boring fashion through partnering, virtual integration and launching new businesses from within. Maybe a few small and strategic acquisitions but Dell is facing enough difficulties with the challenge of keeping up with the demand of their current business... building factories, finding talent, streamlining processes, launching new initiatives etc. The cultural and technical challenges inherent in assimilation of any sizeable acquisition could wreak havoc on Dell's business model if their focus becomes diffused. The sometimes unfortunate aspect of doing the right and most profitable things for your business is that it may not excite the street causing valuations to languish behind others taking the speculative risks. The street today seems to love risk takers as it is the embodiment of the street itself. It's beginning to look like the street has devalued earnings predictability. Another sign of a market top maybe? MEATHEAD