This article discusses the corporation Dell, Inc. For other Dells, see Dell (disambiguation)

Dell Inc. ( ), an American computer hardware company based in Round Rock, Texas, develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, personal digital assistants (PDAs), software, computer peripherals, and more. As of 2006 it employs more than 63,700 people worldwide and manufactures more computers than any other organization in the world. According to the Forbes 500 2005 list, Dell ranks as the 28th-largest company in the United States by revenue. In 2005, Fortune magazine ranked Dell as No. 1 on its annual list of the most-admired companies in the United States.

History

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Michael Dell, while still a student at the University of Texas at Austin, founded the company as PC's Limited with just $1000, in his room at Dobie, an off campus dorm, in 1984 to sell IBM-compatible computers built from stock components. He founded the company on the principle that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, PC's Limited could best understand their needs and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs.

In 1985, the company produced the first computer of its own design (the "Turbo PC"), which contained an Intel 8088-compatible processor running at a speed of 8 MHz. It advertised the systems in national computer magazines for sale directly to consumers, and custom-assembled each ordered unit according to a selection of options. This offered buyers prices lower than those of retail brands, but with greater convenience than assembling the components themselves. Although not the first company to use this model, PC's Limited became one of the first to succeed with it. Michael Dell dropped out of school to run the business full-time. The company grossed more than $6 million in its first year.

More on [ Dell ]

Hardware News items, Blog posts | ZDNet

Good news on the Dell netbook front
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:47:52 -0700
Just a quick update now that I have a minute to sit down tonight. I heard from my Dell rep this afternoon that, although it's not available on the Dell K-12 education pages, the Inspiron Mini 9 is available to all education customers in quantity. Here's...
The Linux laptop goes to school
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:45:28 -0700
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Yes, we know it's a problem. No, we have no budget.
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:13:44 -0700
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Possible AMD Q4/08 desktop processor roadmap surfaces
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:46:19 -0700
CHW.net has published what seems to be on the face of it a convincing looking AMD Q4 08 processor roadmap that gives us a glimpse into what AMD has in-store for us over the coming months. by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Red Hat buys Qumranet, adds gasoline to the spreading VDI bonfire
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:56:36 -0700
VDI, somewhat ironically, may also work well for market mover Microsoft as it seeks to slow the momentum to outright web-based and OSS/LAMP-supported applications and services for large businesses. Microsoft must realize that enterprises have had it with the high cost of maintaining and managing the traditional Windows OS in...
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Microsoft security strategist Steve Riley has answered claims that the company's hypervisor software could be maliciously replaced on PCs without administrators knowing. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA--Senior Microsoft security strategist Steve Riley has used the vendor's TechEd conference in Sydney to rebut claims by a Polish researcher that Microsoft's hypervisor software could...

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