Talk about role reversal. On Aug. 16, Hewlett-Packard - the tech giant known in recent years for its boardroom dramas and execution mishaps - delivered a rock-solid third quarter, sprinkled with several upside surprises.
And all this coming just days after Dell, the computer maker that's been knocking HP around for the past decade, spooked investors by issuing a rare mea culpa to explain why revenue growth might disappoint in the quarter ahead.
