Dell's recent management shakeup and the return of founder Michael Dell to the controls may already be paying dividends, in the form of the company's move to offer Windows XP on certain desktops - flying boldly in the face of Microsoft's Vista-and-nothing-but-Vista strategy.The decline of Dell in recent quarters has been something to behold, after the IT industry grew so accustomed to Dell setting standards for efficiency, supply chain management and responsiveness to customers (although critics have often faulted the quality of its service).

I can recall four years ago buying a Dell PC online and marveling at how easy and customer-focused the process was. More recently during a PC purchase, I tried to evaluate Dell but found their web site and their configuration process so cumbersome that I just gave up. It was indicative of the woes being experienced by the company.

For the Dell proponents of the world, the XP decision is one meaningful sign that the company may be getting its mojo back, taking customer-centric steps that put it ahead of the competition. That's been unfamiliar territory of late.

Would you purchase an XP-configured PC from Dell? Does this show the company is poised to return to some of its past glory?