while hunting for something totally unrelated, i happened to come across this in an old issue of
BusinessWeek...
APRIL 16, 2001
NEWS: ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
Q&A: The Tech Slump Doesn't Scare Michael Dell
"What we see now is a more normal business environment"
On Apr. 3, as part of BusinessWeek's continuing "Captains of Industry" series with the 92nd Street Y in New York, Dell Computer Corp. (DELL) CEO Michael S. Dell sat down with Editor-in-Chief Stephen B. Shepard to talk about Dell and the changing PC business. Excerpts:
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Q: What is the future of Apple Computer?
A: Silicon Graphics.
Q: That bad?
A: Maybe it's a little bit different. But 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. Apple has a very little customer base. If you look at the economics, it has been extremely hard for Apple to get a return on its R&D with a shrinking volume base. It's not to say that Apple's products aren't innovative or cool, but the economic factors here are so overwhelming, it's very hard for them to swim against that tide.
Q: If you were running Apple, is there anything you could do to change that?
A: I would never take that job.
</snip>