DELL IS TOPS IN BUSINESS WEEK'S TECH INDEX.

Dell Computer Corp is the world's best-performing information technology company, according to a new index published in Business Week. Dell topped the list of 100 companies that represent the best of the hard-chargers in technology, edging out British cellular operator Vodafone Group Plc, German software house SAP AG, Finnish telecom giant Nokia Oy and US-based computer distributor Ingram Micro Inc. Rounding out the top ten were, America Online Inc, Compuware Corp, Microsoft Corp, EMC Corp and Lexmark International Group Inc. The companies were ranked on several criteria: revenues, revenue growth, return on equity, total shareholder return and profits. Among other notables, Cisco Systems Inc ranked 11, IBM Corp ranked 22, Oracle Corp ranked 34, and Sun Microsystems ranked 40, while Hewlett- Packard Co was 63 and Compaq Computer Corp languished in the 96 spot, largely due to its acquisition of Digital Equipment Corp. IBM, HP and Lucent Technologies Inc are the top in overall size, based on revenue. As far as revenue growth goes, @Home Networks Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Verio Inc held the top three spots. Mindspring Enterprises Inc, Yahoo! Inc and Earthlink Network Inc led in shareholder return, and Vanguard Cellular Systems Inc, Vodafone and Dell showed the best return on equity.