Dell mulls going retail

THE HOT RUMOURS are flying about Dell right now, ahead of the firm's earnings announcement tomorrow (or the day after, or...). The first one can be seen in the haziest of crystal balls, that the last quarter was pretty awful for the direct seller. No shock there.

The other one is a little more interesting. And that suggest that the firm is going to unveil a major partnership with a large retailer, and basically get Dell boxes into stores. The outfit has dabbled with this before, and it has always played second fiddle to its direct business for obvious reasons.

One has to wonder how seriously Mikey's boys are pondering this. And, more importantly, with whom. Anyone got the answer on either front? µ