"There is a new game changer in the works: the Windows 7 release," says Toby Smith, who believes we could be in the early stages of a tech recovery.

In his industry-leading ChangeWave Investing, he adds, "Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Windows 7 upgrade cycle."

"In a recent speech, Dell CEO Michael Dell joined the chorus of top tech leaders when he said, 'I think there is a very powerful refresh cycle that is coming.'

"Well, you don't have to believe the CEO of Dell. The ChangeWave Alliance (and its 25,000 members on industry's front line) has been telling us that the tech recovery is building momentum -- and it looks like we could just be in the early stages of a big blast. 

The Alliance's latest consumer PC survey showed planned computer buying had jumped to its highest level in nearly two years -- with more than a 15% increase in projected demand just in the past month, alone. 

"All told, 9% of respondents plan to buy a laptop in the next 90 days and 6% a desktop -- with each percentage up a full point since September. It appears the late October release of Windows 7 is driving much of this momentum. 

"In fact, when we asked planned PC purchasers which operating system they wanted installed on the computer they were buying, 63% chose Windows 7 -- a full 14 points higher than in the September survey. 

"Dell will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Windows 7 upgrade cycle, but any boost from consumers will follow the initial surge from corporate customers. One thing is clear. Many consumers were waiting for the Windows 7 release before finalizing their buying decisions.

"On the corporate front (which makes up 80% of Dell's PC business) DELL has shown strength for two consecutive IT spending surveys -- a highly encouraging sign. 

"A lot of Wall Street remains unconvinced that the technology sectors are experiencing the beginnings of a full-scale recovery. There are still widespread doubts about the sustainability of any rebound. 

"But, if this recovery is the real deal, then investors sitting on the sidelines and waiting for confirmation from sheepish media outlets will pay a huge premium when they overcome their angst and finally climb onboard.

"Folks, the probabilities for a full-tilt recovery in technology are increasing each month. Make sure you're positioned in the tech stocks in our portfolio such as Dell."

Dell added 10-Gigabit Ethernet to its EqualLogic storage line and introduced infrastructure management software in a set of product announcements Thursday to round out its datacenter offerings.

Wondering why thin and light laptops with monster battery life haven't been a smashing success? Acer chairman J.T. Wang says Dell and HP are to blame.

According to DigiTimes, Wang says HP and Dell aren't pushing the ultra-thin category hard enough, particularly in the United States. Instead, they're slashing prices on mainstream notebooks, selling them for as little as $400.

Dell reported third-quarter profits on Thursday that were down 54 percent from this time last year, though the company said it was encouraged by a slight uptick in sales from the prior quarter.

Dell's net income for the three months to Oct. 30 was $337 million, or $0.17 per share, down from $727 million, or $0.37 a share, in the same quarter last year, the company said. Revenue declined 15 percent to $12.9 billion.

Dell and Juniper Networks this week reached an OEM agreement that will let Dell offer Juniper products to datacenter customers under its PowerConnect brand.