Rollins on Macs, Michael Dell and more

You've dropped hints about AMD over the past few months -- can we expect to see a partnership with AMD this year?
I don't know. I'm the one who made many of the bold comments that we'd seen the technologies from AMD as pretty good. Their technology in many areas was leading. But those are transient. You have one quarter one company is ahead and the next quarter someone else is ahead so we just made a statement of what we saw at the time. Intel's still our main partner. We have not announced anything with AMD and don't have anything planned but we're constantly being aware to make sure our customers get the best technology; when the customers demand technology we move and adopt it. Right now since we're focused mostly on corporations they are not demanding it.

Are you Republican or Democrat?
I actually give to both sides but I am probably leaning more towards the Republican side. I believe that because predominantly I am an open market individual. I don't believe in closed markets and I was starting to fear that with the challenges President Bush has I was fearful his competitors would close the US market down and was going to be protectionist and was not going to foster growth and open trade the way we need to do in this country.

Dell was one of largest corporate donors in the tsunami relief effort. What role do corporations have to play in these types of situations?
We're just very proud that we could even help. We think we have a responsibility. And I think it's important for all of those of us in the Western world to realise that we've all been blessed a lot and if you go to these parts they don't have a lot, even before the tsunami. I think we all personally need to do that and if companies can they should help too.

How does that sit with the shareholder ethic?
We used some amount of shareholder money but we've asked our employees to give too... so it's a joint effort. Our shareholders look on that and they say that's fair, we'll give in some. I think they are proud of what we have done and I know our board of directors is.