Michael Dell – fresh from the podium at the World Congress on Information Technology – is joining us live from the WorldWatch booth for an online Q&A with you. The discussion is being moderated by Washington Post reporter Elizabeth Corcoran in California.

You may continue to submit questions for Dell until 2:00 p.m.

Betsy Corcoran: greetings to you all online. thanks for joining us today to chat with Michael Dell, founder and chairman of Dell Computers. There are lots of questions already submitted so let's get started!

Betsy Corcoran: greetings to you all online. thanks for joining us today to chat with Michael Dell, founder and chairman of Dell Computers. There are lots of questions already submitted so let's get started!

Washington, D.C.: Mr Dell,

Does the current AT&T-TCI deal (presuming it withstands regulatory scrutiny) foreshadow a need for Dell and other computer makers to begin building partnerships with phone/internet companies instead of operating system makers?

Michael Dell: Partnering with Cable and phone companies is not a new thing for Dell. We already have relationships with several of them . High speed internet access is a big issue for our industry and we are fully supportive of efforts to bring high speed access into the home.

Betsy Corcoran: greetings to you all online. thanks for joining us today to chat with Michael Dell, founder and chairman of Dell Computers. There are lots of questions already submitted so let's get started!

Hasbrouck Heights, NJ: Technology is moving at an incredible speed. The top-of-the-line PC I bought 3 years ago is a dinosaur and that is with modem and HD upgrades. What should a consumer look for in a PC today that would get them through the next 3 years without having to do major upgrades?

Michael Dell: The key to getting a PC that will last 3 years is to buy at the start of the product life cycle not and the end. In other words get on the train when it first leaves not when it is about to stop. Today this would mean a 400 Mhz Pentium II with 128 Megs of memory and a 10G or greater hard drive. The good news is that you can buy a really fully loaded PC for about $2000.

Betsy Corcoran: we received a number of questions about wearable computers. here's one.

Betsy Corcoran: hi michael! thanks for taking the time to participate. i've sent you a couple of questions to get things going. i'll open the session with a greeting to viewers and then we can dive straight into question. thanks again & hope this is fun! elizabeth

Michael Dell: Elizabeth, Thanks for including me in this. Any more questions? Michael

Boeblingen, Germany: I have recently seen a few articles in German newspapers, and also a tv-spot on German TV about a new technology, called body-worn computers, and I have got the impression that there shall be very soon products available (e.g. a product designed by Xybernaut and manufactured by Sony). Are there any plans or ideas at Dell to get into this new market segment and to either manufacturer such wearable computers itself or to resell such products on an OEM-basis??

Michael Dell: We don't have any plans for wearable computers at the moment but we will watch to see if there is great interest in this from customers. Thanks, Michael

New York, NY: Your company's advertising boasts of your business and government contracts in the Orient. How, then, has the recession in that part of the world and the resulting devaluation of the yen and other east-Asian currencies affected your operations?

Michael Dell: We sell about 6-7% of our revenues in Asia and Japan yet we purchase about 70% of the materials we buy in Asia. We have a great benefit from the reduction in materials costs compared to our US $ based parts getting more expensive. In fact our business in Asia and Japan grew 35% last quarter while the entire region was down 7%.

Atlanta, GA: What type of industry growth (units) are you looking for over the next 5-10 years and how much longer do you think Dell can grow at 3-4 times the industry growth rate.

Michael Dell: I continue to think the industry will grow about 15-20% in unit terms for the next several years. Europe has an economy that is the same size of the US with 1/2 the number of PC. The US market replaces 30% of the installed based every year. Education, small business and consumer are growing. I think we will see 1.4 Billion PCs installed 10 years from now. Our goal is to continue to grow faster than the industry and with our Direct business model we have every opportunity to do that. Thanks, Michael

Bethesda MD: On the Y2K question, Have you evaluated the problems of older computers not compliante and do you plan to provide a fix to your customers?

Michael Dell: We have set up a great place at www.dell.com for all our customers to see information about the machines we have sold. You will find that any machine 1996 and beyond is already ready for year 2000 and those from 1994-1996 can be easily upgraded. Please see www.dell.com for all the specifics. Thanks, Michael

Springfield, VA: Good morning Mr. Dell:
Having a second child headed for college and in need of another PC hopefully a Dell,
I would like to know if you have a low rate financing for students or any other program they can apply.
Thanks for your attention.

Michael Dell: We do have some financing programs in our education segment as well as a personal lease which is available. I would suggest going to www.dell.com to check it out. Thanks, Michael

Washington, DC: Some say OEM's like Dell pre-load only Windows on desktop PC's because of pressure from Microsoft. Others argue it's what the market wants and it would cost too much to support multiple OS's. Why does Dell effectively limit consumer PC's to Windows, and what would lead you to consider offering other platforms?

Michael Dell: We have offered many different operating systems in the last 14 years. I think about 7 or 8 of them. We sell what customers want to buy. We have tried to sell OS/2, our own version of UNIX back in the late 1980s, Novell, etc. I have not seen much demand for Linux or BeOS or others but we do stay close to this. We will sell what customers want to buy. Thanks, Michael

McLean, Virginia: What is the future of ecommerce, do you see it actually meeting the prediction of exceeding 200 Billion by the year 2000?

Michael Dell: I think we will see ecommerce transform first our industry and others like the financial sector. The $200B seems realistic to me especially when you consider business to business commerce.

Rosslyn, VA: Dell Computers rose to its current success, in part, due to a unique business model. As the threat of entry by new firms increases, how will Dell sustain its current market position? Also, is the Dell business model evolving from its current form?

Michael Dell: Our direct business model is always evolving. The internet provides a great way to improve the relationship with our customers and suppliers and lower the cost at the same time. Dell is also expanding in a big way into the server, storage and workstation market. Our competitors are trying to make their systems less inefficient but it's not clear how they catch up. Today we have about 10X less inventory than our indirect competitors. Thanks, Michael

Falls Church, VA: I am an aspiring entrprenuer that wants to achieve the type of success that you have. I am somewhat aware of your start (selling PC parts from your college dorm room) and I am currently moonlighting as a systems integrator. The problem is though, that I have no capital, bad credit, and a lot of bills. What advice can you offer me to possibly obtain start-up capital to at least start selling from my home?

Michael Dell: The worst thing you can do is overfund a new srartup. I would suggest looking for ways to start without much capital. It's easier than it was 15 years ago when I started. Go for it. Michael

McLean, VA: How will the PC industry help bring the high speed bandwidth thats needed for the Internet to really take off? Does Dell have any programs to help deliver this bandwidth?

Michael Dell: High bandwidth communications will come in many forms. DSL, Cable modems and other forms. We like them all and are forming partnerships with the leading telephone and cable companies to build PCs which are already configured to run on these new high speed networks. With speeds 150X faster than regular old modems, it will expand the home and small business market. Thanks, Michael

London, UK: Congratulations on growing such a successful company, but do you have any plans to grow the company further through any aquisitions?

Michael Dell: Out company has grown about 55% per year during the past 6 years without any acquisitions. We are investing in our own business and think we can keep generating strong internal growth. We do not need to acquire our partners to work with them. Thanks, Michael

vienna Virginia: I'm in the market for a new computer and I have one of your brochures and it looks good except for one thing - I'd really prefer netscape

any plans for this choice?

Michael Dell: You can buy Netscape from us when you buy a PC or you can get it for free online. Thanks, Michael

New York, NY: It seems that we have reached the point of diminishing return as far a perceived performance of software on new PCs. Lot's of people are saying, "what's the point of spending $3000 dollars plus for a high end machine, when you can have nearly the same performance for $1000." Given that perception held by some buyers, where do you plan to find a sizable market for even faster machines at the high price point/profit margin?

Michael Dell: We have not had a problem selling plenty of the latest technology machines. I think what we are seeing is that the high end buyer is no longer going to the stores and instead going to www.dell.com. Thanks, Michael

Coumbia, Maryland: What do you foresee for the future of wireless modems? Does your company plan to build an option for such wireless modems into the PCs you manufacture for the residential market over the Web?

Michael Dell: Wireless progress has been much greater in Europe with GSM technology. The problem is that the phone companies are still building out the voice and paging network and data keeps getting a lower priority. We would like to see it happen faster and of course would sell and support these products. Thanks, Michael

Betsy Corcoran: many thanks, michael, for taking time out to chat. we've had lots of great questions--clearly you and Dell are a subject that people who use WP.com find super interesting! last q: are you investing in any stocks *other* than Dell's these days?

Betsy Corcoran: many thanks, michael, for taking time out to chat. we've had lots of great questions--clearly you and Dell are a subject that people who use WP.com find super interesting! last q: are you investing in any stocks *other* than Dell's these days?

Betsy Corcoran: Betsy, Thanks for the opportunity. This was fun. I leave the stocks to the analysts! Take care, Michael

Betsy Corcoran: Betsy, Thanks for the opportunity. This was fun. I leave the stocks to the analysts! Take care, Michael

Betsy Corcoran: Betsy...Thanks for the opportunity. This was fun. I leave the stocks to the analysts. Take care, Michael.

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