Leftfield

HP-EDS: A Deal that Has Paid Off... So Far

Dell is not known for service, so getting into it with the Perot acquisition seems possibly clueless to me. Or it's desperation.
Elsewhere on SA I've read that corporate IT departments are slashing and this may not be a propitious time for this type of services.
Dell is even more "me, too" than Microsoft. They may be a contrary indicator for the business, but, as you say, execution is critical.

Cramer's Stop Trading! They're Going to Make an Example of Ken Lewis (5/7/09)

Lewis is clearly not on the inside of the insiders. GS shamelessly slammed the taxpayers when they took over Bear Stearns and comes out smelling like, whatever makes them successful in DC. Look who Lewis, by doing a far less one-sided deal for Merrill, was helping? He apparently saved the government money and looked weak. Neither is valued by that claque. He was supposed to be representing the interests of BAC first, and he appears to be in no man's land now.