First it was Wal-Mart, which led to Sam's. Now Dell has announced it will be selling desktops, laptops and printers through Staples starting November 11. Just in time for the holidays, of course.

Dell and the word "direct" have been joined at the hip for over 20 years. Dell was less about innovative PCs and more about the innovative way of buying them. Yes, Dell has always made good computers. But back in 1983, when Michael Dell started dinking with computer parts in his University of Texas dorm room (Dobie Towers. I was in the same freshman class and lived there, as well.), the big vision was a sales model. That model being selling direct: letting customers tailor their own specifications (how much RAM, how much memory, etc.) and order it straight from Dell. No middle man. No retailers.

When the Internet took off in the mid-nineties, so did Dell's business model. Selling direct online was a natural.

So what gives? HP has dethroned Dell in PC sales and Dell has blinked. Here's a sign of the times: check out www.delldirect.com.

No where on the page can you still find the word "direct".