[kieran]

Seven years ago, Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Computer, said he'd shut down Apple and give the money to the shareholders if he were running Apple.

Now, thanks to Steve Jobs, Apple has a higher market value than Dell Computer.

Maybe Michael Dell should take his own advice and give the money back to shareholders before Dell is run out of business by Apple.

Dude, You're Getting Your Money Back!!

[Ichiban_jay]

wow... good job Apple! Now to rub this into my coworkers face on Tuesday.

[Wrao]

That's pretty neat.

[MCQ]

That's kind of scary actually... considering Apple earns about 1/4 the revs of Dell, and 40% the net income.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=AAPL

Dell's low-cost strategy is hurting them long-term though.

[atomicbartbeans]

So then what makes Apple worth more, if they're not making as much money?

[julesstoop]

Steve, of course.

[ghoti]

From what I understand, this is just some theoretical banter, that has no practical consequences. Just look at Netscape. Supposedly, Netscape was such a strong brand, everybody knew it. But ask the kids today, and you will get blank stares. And whoever bought the name Netscape and made it into an ISP is probably now kicking him/herself for all the money he/she burned.

A brand by itself is worth nothing. Another example is Coca Cola, which is supposedly the most valuable brand in the world. Yet they don't seem to be very successful in translating that supposed value into anything other than soft drinks, like their music store. And even the dozens of Coca Cola products only tell you about their relationship in the fine print.

[PKIDelirium]

AOL owns Netscape.

[SKMDC]

Originally Posted by kieran23kk Seven years ago, Michael Dell, chairman of Dell Computer, said he'd shut down Apple and give the money to the shareholders if he were running Apple. Now, thanks to Steve Jobs, Apple has a higher market value than Dell Computer. Maybe Michael Dell should take his own advice and give the money back to shareholders before Dell is run out of business by Apple. Dude, You're Getting Your Money Back!!

Nice math skills, it was nearly 10 years ago, and for the record he was probably right at the time.
Jobs return kept it from happening. With Gil Amelio as CEO they lost over a billion dollars in 97.

[Banana]

which is kind of funny- if you have the latest version of AIM, they install "AOL Explorer" and as far as I can see, there's virtually no mention of Netscape on AOL's end. It's almost if they bought it so they could put it in a closet.

[kieran]

Originally Posted by SKMDC Nice math skills, it was nearly 10 years ago, and for the record he was probably right at the time. Jobs return kept it from happening. With Gil Amelio as CEO they lost over a billion dollars in 97.

Haha, Yeah, I didnt even notice that. It was late last night.

[Moogs]

Nice catch Keiran...

And for the record, up yours Dell. You commodity box peddling pud-wacker. You are the Buick Skylark of personal computing.

Congratulations, asshole.

[PKIDelirium]

Nice post.

[Moogs]

Perhaps you think I am mistaken, and Dell is the Buick LeSabre of Personal Computing?

[atomicbartbeans]

Dell is the GM of personal computing. Uninspired, inefficient, crap for the masses.

*runs away from Quagmire*

[kieran]

Bump.

Apple has passed Dell once again. Hopefully this will be for the last time.

Apple Passes Dell....Again

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Banana which is kind of funny- if you have the latest version of AIM, they install "AOL Explorer" and as far as I can see, there's virtually no mention of Netscape on AOL's end. It's almost if they bought it so they could put it in a closet.

AOL bought it to strong arm MS. It worked and last year AOL extracted $750M from MS' coffers.

[Banana]

Originally Posted by bassplayinMacFiend AOL bought it to strong arm MS. It worked and last year AOL extracted $750M from MS' coffers.

I don't doubt it. I was more curious as to why AOL didn't bother to use Netscape's brand, particularly considering the fact that at that time, Netscape was most popular browser, correct?

oh, and more power to Apple!

[Ryan]

Wow, I haven't been following Apple's finances for a while, but this is a nice surprise!

(On a side note, I just saw the new Google Finance. Much better than forwarding me on to Yahoo when I google a ticker)

[Eugene]

Market cap really shouldn't be compared across firms because it's only the total value of all the company's traded stock. In essence it's not how much a company is worth in terms of assets (what dell probably really meant,) but how much a company is worth to investors.

[Mac Donald]

Originally Posted by Banana I don't doubt it. I was more curious as to why AOL didn't bother to use Netscape's brand, particularly considering the fact that at that time, Netscape was most popular browser, correct? oh, and more power to Apple!

AOL was under contract to use IE at the time they bought Netscape.

[kieran]

How bout a big old bump for this thread?

As of Friday, Apple's market value was more than 2 times that of Dell's.

$127.81 Billion vs. $64.65 Billion

I always like seeing these kinds of articles. Makes me happy to be an Apple shareholder.

[Banana]

But you're not seeing Michael Dell's face, are you? I think that's worth more than any articles.

I bet he feel like he's been hit in his nuts with sledgehammer.

[kieran]

I wish some reporter would ask him this question again with the new information. I think his response would be pretty interesting.

[BuonRotto]

The general attitude people have of Dells, even gearheads, has changed dramatically. The contractor who set up my gf's internet connection last weekend was talking trash about her Dell the whole time. (He did however point to my PowerBook and asked why I didn't have her one, to which she joined in and blamed me for her poor choice in computing.)

[Banana]

In seriousness, I do find it a bit odd that people are willing to smear on Dell, even though I'm given to understand that their customer service, no-nonsense warranty, and no-questions-asked returns/exchange are among Dell's strongest selling points.

Is that worth little now?

[Engine Joe]

Originally Posted by Banana In seriousness, I do find it a bit odd that people are willing to smear on Dell, even though I'm given to understand that their customer service, no-nonsense warranty, and no-questions-asked returns/exchange are among Dell's strongest selling points. Is that worth little now?

I've found that Dell's customer service has taken a real slide in the last 5 years. At one time, it was (in my mind) THE reason to get a Dell. It was outstanding. But they've taken a lot of cost-saving measures which have cut that advantage right down.

[Banana]

Oh, didn't realize that then. Last time I ordered a dell printer for the office, it was pretty dandy; they were very friendly so I assumed it was same old.

[BuonRotto]

Originally Posted by Engine Joe I've found that Dell's customer service has taken a real slide in the last 5 years. At one time, it was (in my mind) THE reason to get a Dell. It was outstanding. But they've taken a lot of cost-saving measures which have cut that advantage right down.

That's true of their service and parts. They captured the market by using good quality components and underselling, but then they had to show growth from something other than capturing marketshare, which translated into poorer service and parts. Dell: good model for capturing the market, bad model for maintaining that market.

[turtle]

Originally Posted by Engine Joe I've found that Dell's customer service has taken a real slide in the last 5 years. At one time, it was (in my mind) THE reason to get a Dell. It was outstanding. But they've taken a lot of cost-saving measures which have cut that advantage right down.

It's not in your mind. I have seen the same thing myself. I used to recommend them to my non-techie friends that needed support with their computers and I didn't want to be it all the time. Now, I recommend a Mac with Parallels.