Effective today the company will stop selling its two white-box Pentium/Celeron-based desktop systems, the 510D and the 610D, a Dell spokesperson said.

The decision to do away with the white-box program was made earlier this year in response to feedback from solution providers, the spokesperson said, adding that the company has been informing Dell white-box solution providers on a case by case basis.

Dell insisted that the decision to eliminate the white-box offering does not represent a pullback in its efforts to partner with solution providers, but rather a shift to emphasize Dell-branded systems in the channel. Dell will maintain its Solutionproviderdirect.com Web site with branded systems, the spokesperson said. In addition, Dell will continue to supply white-box solution providers with parts.

Frank Muehleman, the vice president and general manager of Dell's SMB division who launched the white-box channel program nearly three years ago, was unavailable for comment.

"This doesn't signal any diminishment of the (SolutionProvider Direct) program," the Dell spokesperson said. "This was based on fact that solution providers prefer Dell-branded product. Nothing else is changing. We are focusing on the products they are most interested in, which is Dell branded and third-party products."

Shawn Harty, president of NTSI, a Lowell, Mass.-based solution provider who had purchased white boxes from Dell, said he was disappointed by the decision to end the program.

"I thought it was a pretty good program," said Harty, who bought a Dell white box a few weeks ago. "Dell probably wanted to get white-box solution providers on board and then just end the program. That wasn't very nice. You just can't trust Dell." In any case, Harty said he is not making much money on hardware, but rather is focused on services.

Tyler Dikman, president and CEO of CoolTronics, a Tampa, Fla.-based solution provider who sells Dell-branded systems, said the white-box program was a "joke" because the systems were priced more than the same Dell-branded product sold through the Dell Web site.

"Killing the white-box systems is fine," Dikman said. "No one was buying those systems. Those boxes were more expensive than an entry-level Dell Dimension or Optiplex. You'd have to be crazy to buy those things. There was no way to make a profit."

Dikman said he has managed to partner with Dell successfully, but he said that's only because he has "done everything in my power to make it work." Dikman said one way he has thrived is by taking advantage of Dell monthly promotions and stocking up on those products whether they be printers, projectors or systems with rebates.

Avi Fleischer, president of Technical Difficulties, a Brooklyn, New York solution provider who had been courted by Dell, said he was insulted by the Dell white-box program because the program provided no margin for resellers.

"They were selling the white-box branded systems to solution providers for more money than they would sell a Dell-branded machine to an end user," he said. "It was an insult for them to even ask us to purchase the Dell white box. It was like they were stepping on my foot and then trying to sell me shoes. I would never sell a Dell system."

Technical Difficulties sells its own white box, the Custom Solution PC, Fleischer said. He said his customers like being able to purchase a complete solution from the company, including a Custom Solution PC white box.

"People comes to us for an end-to-end solution," Fleischer said. "They like buying everything from us, including the white box, because they know we will be there to support it and they know they can speak to someone locally if they have a problem."