Dell shuffles executive ranks amid forgetful year

But then again, Dell has tried to position itself outside the PC biz by trying to get into many consumer electronics areas, such as flat-screen televisions and MP3 players. The results have been middling at best, and Dell's MP3 players are no longer in existence, I think. With U.S. corporations slowing the cycle time between upgrading fleets of PCs, Dell has suffered greatly since its main cash cow is that market (not the consumer market). Additionally, Dell's exposure to non-U.S. sales hasn't been as great as the company would have hoped, which pins its future to the U.S. market in a large way (not a good thing).

Have customers become fed up with Dell's perceived customer support issues recently, along with a boring and staid product lineup? Sure, Dell's XPS systems have very good design flair, and the company bought specialty computer maker Alienware to have some custom options for a niche market, but it still makes its notebook computers "to order" instead of carrying inventory like most others -- and that's been a problem. Why? Because retail sales have surged back with a vengeance and Dell is not in that vein. So, it seems that consumer customers are more interested in browsing retail shelves for new laptop systems (on-hand variety) rather that custom building a system and waiting for it to arrive -- for about the same price.

Dell is also down 37% from its 2005 share price high.