Rumors surrounding Apple’s foray into smartwatches have intensified in recent days (let’s call it an iWatch for now). The device is said to sport a 1.5 inch display, made of Corning’s curved, Willow glass. Numerous analysts have already claimed that this is Apple’s next big disruption. Let’s take a look at the product choices Apple faces and the disruptive potential of those choices.

Let me start out by stating that Apple is not the first to enter this space. There have been numerous products that have attempted to integrate with iOS and Android (Pebble, Sony’s SmartWatch, etc.). These products weren’t really disruptive innovations because they extended the functionality of smartphones, i.e. they were accessories. It’s impossible for a product complementary and disruptive to a product category at the same time.

But wouldn’t smartwatches have been disruptive to the wristwatch industry...

The long-rumored leveraged buyout (LBO) of Dell is finally a reality. Dell announced that it will go private in a $24.4 billion deal led by CEO Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners. Microsoft is chipping in with $2 billion in subordinated debt as well. Let’s take a look at what this means for Dell.

On the face of it, this deal makes perfect sense. The PC industry is under seige because of the mobile revolution and going private would theoretically allow Dell to make the tough decisions to transition to an enterprise services company (much like IBM). Public companies need to meet Wall Street’s short-term growth expectations just to keep the company’s stock price flat - a factor that private companies don’t need to deal with. Part of Michael Dell’s long-stated strategy has been to “prune” the PC business and use operating cash flows to acquire companies in “computer...