Don't Overlook Dell's Desperation in Retail Move

The Business Press Maven just got finished Friday telling investors how the business media needs to compare numbers more often -- in this case the number of shares purported to be involved in a share buyback to the shares outstanding -- when I decided to slip back into my normal routine.

I am Henry Higgins to the business media's Eliza Doolittle, and Eliza -- words, words, words.

Specifically, you must compare current actions to the most-appropriate words of the past. It is the only way for investors to get a handle on what is going to happen in the future -- and why.

Look at this week's announcement by Dell(DELL Quote) that it would break with tradition and sell through Wal-Mart(WMT Quote). There are many ways to look at this turn of events, but there's only one right way. That's mine.

And The Wall Street Journal's -- or at least one of their ways. You -- we -- need to set this week's action against certain past words of Michael Dell, asking the appropriate questions about the apparent inconsistency.