ShadowRAM: February 12, 2007

Rollins Leaves Dell (Not)
So Kevin Rollins was ousted from his post as CEO at Dell (actually, he resigned under pressure, but you get the drift). And then, a few days later, the company slips in to an 8-K report a mention that Rollins is still employed by the company and is staying on as an "advisor" during a transition period.

Advisor? Michael Dell, who never really left the company and had been its chairman the entire time Rollins did his thing, took over Rollins' post as CEO. So what's left for Rollins to advise? The pass code to the CEO voice mail?

Actually, we're led to believe by those in the know that being employed as a temporary advisor is corporatespeak for, "We're still negotiating his golden parachute." What leverage does Rollins have, after spending the better part of two years taking the company from growing sales to declining sales? Well, Dell as a company is under investigation by the SEC and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. And Rollins does have a lot of institutional knowledge about Dell Inc.

Just sayin', is all.

Seen And Heard
• Larry Ellison, apparently laid low by the flu, nixed his RSA keyote. When folks saw a ringer on stage, the stampede to the exits began. The no-show prompted this headline: 'Unbreakable? Virus takes down Ellison.' The flu also purpotedly kept Ellison from an important Oracle gig in San Fran just about a year ago.

• They play rough in security. Kicking off a Q&A last week, Art Coviello, president of the EMC's RSA security division, urged those who wanted to ask a question to "stand and introduce yourself, and someone will bring you a knife." He meant "mike." "Now you can see how I really feel about the media," he quipped.

• In the midst of his contract kerfuffle, San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds had time to tout Bling Software at Demo. Baseball's commish nixed Bonds' $158M deal because of a personal appearance provision, and the team sent a revision to his agent. Under the rules, a player must "cooperate with the club in any and all reasonable promotional activities." Bonds' contract had other language that was rejected by the boss.

Super Bowl Bummer
Don't you hate it when business gets in the way of a good time? For just the second time in 15 years, Sam Ruggeri, president of Advanced Vision Technology Group, the Hauppauge, N.Y.-based VAR missed the Super Bowl.

"Hey, don't rub it in," Ruggeri said when asked about his plans for the big game. The reason for the no show? Business is booming for his company. "We changed our service delivery model, and a lot of 2007 budget dollars are opening up," he said. He does, however, expect to be in Phoenix next year for Super Bowl XLII.

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