STEAMROLLERED BY THE DELL MACHINE

Microsoft's leaders love to talk up innovation in the PC industry. Yet they profess to be unconcerned with Dell's march to dominance. When I brought up the subject to CEO Steve Ballmer, he noted that with all Dell's triumphs, it has only a third of the U.S. market and a smaller share globally. Of course, if others drop out those numbers will rise, but "it's not something we can control," he says. Meanwhile, Bill Gates thinks that Dell's ascent is just wonderful. "Those guys are smart, smart capitalists," he says.

That's a claim that no one would dispute. But as far as consumers are concerned, broad competition--and groundbreaking products that make our hearts go aflutter--is much better than ho-hum boxes churned out by a dominant industry giant and a bunch of overseas no-names. The Wintel world would benefit from a Steve Jobs-level product-and-marketing genius who would test the canard that PCs are doomed to be commodities. Come to think of it, has HP's board thought of paying a visit to the man in Cupertino?

© 2005