Hi Dig,
Certainly could use some clarification.
Dell's website has wrought some mischief on previous occasions.
But realignment would not be altogether surprising from here.
$1 (or so) per unit sold to, say, 5m Dell purchasers per quarter - who nevertheless rarely switch ETS on - is not especially appealing next to the possibility of a number 1/10th that much sold for more than $10/unit to purchasers of PCs from any OEM in the reseller or aftermarket. Let's say they throw in the BiOS software as well, so let's put the price up to $15-20 per unit!
That would be a sign of the emergence of demand-pull in the marketplace, of course. It also makes sense as the market is broadening and the reseller channel becomes the more obvious location for ETS selection by enterprise customers. And enterprises may want their PCs from folks other than Dell.
That's an optimistic scenario, I admit. But it's also important not to assume a pessimistic one. All we see are potential signs of evolution taking place. The market seems to be expanding beyond Dell. What the change on Dell.com portends requires a mind open to possibilities.
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