Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), which could be looking at any area to try and stoke sales, will be making available a digital forensics service that aims to cut down on the time it takes to inspect and audit digital evidence. In other words, it's becoming a computer hard drive examination and recovery service. Don't we already have those?

Yes, digital evidence proliferates in the digital age, and Dell's stated goal is to help close the delay gap between recovery of digital evidence and presentation of that evidence to help in criminal cases. Dell's service is different, though -- it will enable customers to manage their own forensics efforts with miniature data centers Dell will advise on and help build.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is developing a pocket-sized electronic device to be used for connecting to the internet. The "gadget" would use Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android software. Reportedly, the device will be slightly larger than Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod touch, and Dell may start selling the device later this year. That said, the story's source noted that the plan could be delayed or scrapped entirely.

The importance of this potential device should not be lost, as it is one of the first experiments by a major PC maker in the world of mobile internet devices (MID). These devices are seen as bridges over the gap between smartphones and laptops.

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) reported first-quarter numbers earlier in the week. It wasn't an awesome report by any stretch of the imagination. On a reported basis, every important metric was down. Revenues down 23%. Earnings per share down 61%. On an adjusted basis, Dell did beat expectations by a penny, coming in at $0.24 per share.

Now, what should we make of this? Indeed, I'm in something of a tough position over Dell. I was pretty bearish on the stock back in November. I still feel bearish, to be honest. Who wouldn't? A one-penny beat in this case just doesn't encourage me. PC sales have been challenged, and as my colleague Jamie Dlugosch pointed out, Dell just can't be considered a best-of-breed company. When you think best-of-breed computer stocks these days, you probably will think of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) first.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, lifting shares.
• AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) posted a better-than-expected Q3 profit said it will continue to buy back shares.
• Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) reported lower Q2 earnings and also announced 1,100 layoffs.
• Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) higher Q1 earnings topped estimates even though same-store sales fell.
• BioMed Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: BMR) earnings prospects after the recent capital raise led to a downgrade.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is scheduled to discuss its fiscal first-quarter 2010 results today in a conference call featuring CEO Michael S. Dell and CFO Brian T. Gladden at 5:00 PM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

For the quarter in which the leading supplier of PCs and related hardware saw a change to its board of directors and new distributor relationships, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the Round Rock, Tex.-based company to report earnings of $0.23 per share, down 39.5% from the same period of the previous year. Revenue for the quarter is expected to have fallen 21.1% to $12.7 billion. Dell's earnings have beat estimates in three of the past four quarters.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) started making an impact on eco-sustainability over a year ago by announcing how green the PC retailer would become. Low and behold, it recently showed up in first place at the first ranking of the Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) Benchmark Report. Dell was rated along with a slew of other companies from the computer hardware, software, professional services, and network and telecommunications sectors. In other words, a pretty large field.

Although Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) has lost the top spot for global PC sales to its rival Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) for a few years now, the company has kept the top spot in the U.S. That is, until now.

Hewlett-Packard outpaced Dell in the first quarter of the year based on increased consumer spending in the PC segment in the U.S. This was due to hotter-than-hot price competition as well as the red-hot segment of PC sales from the netbook category. Even in a recession, PC price drops and an unexpected new category are causing sales to increase.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was up yesterday, but so was almost everything else. The company is getting special attention from investors because Credit Suisse upgraded its view of the firm's prospects for the second quarter.

Apparently, demand for iPhones and Macs is better than expected.

According to the Associated Press, "In a client note, Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope increased his target price to $133 from $120." What is not clear is whether the potential improvement in Apple's business is due to an overall upturn in PC and smartphone purchases or if the better results are restricted to Apple.

Most investors consider Dell Computer (NASDAQ: DELL) a dog of a company. Since the firm's founder, Michael Dell, took over as CEO, his only real skill seems to be cutting costs. The firm has lost market share in the PC category and is behind companies like Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) in the server business.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) has walked out on its deal to buy Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) -- or could just be using hardball negotiations to have its way on the price it is willing to pay. Word is that Sun's board is divided over the value of IBM's offer.

In either case, the value of Sun's stock is likely to go back to where it traded before the IBM buy-out rumor hit the street. That would be under $5. The stock closed at $8.49 on Friday.

According to Reuters, "The collapse of the talks, if final, would come as a surprise to Wall Street, which had seen the deal as a means for Sun's survival, as well as a way for IBM to compete more effectively against rivals like Hewlett-Packard." It would also leave Sun, one of the worst-managed tech companies in America, to fend for itself in a recession that has cut sharply into IT spending.

Sun has survived the last three years through cost cutting. In a good quarter over that period it has lost a modest amount of money. Since there are several larger companies competing with it for market share in the global server business, Sun's losses could grow considerably if another suitor does not come along. That is not likely. The only other company which could use Sun as a way to buy market share is Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), and it has not had any appetite for large acquisitions.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

Private microblogging service Twitter Inc. continues to make headline after headline. Like MySpace did in 2005 and Facebook has in recent years, the service is attracting scores of consumers, marketers, and now corporate clients wishing to catch the fad and sell more stuff. How can anything be sold when "tweets" of 140 characters are being bandied about by the millions?