     Timeline: Dell's Ups and Downs  From Public to Private ...
and Back?   Founder Michael Dell said he is ready to engage in a
proxy fight if his buyout proposal is defeated. Reuters  Ahead
of last week's postponed vote, the buyout group held a slim
majority of the shares that voted, people familiar with the
matter said.  Now Mr. Dell is taking up the mantle personally in
a last gasp effort to save the deal. Last week, he pitched
shareholders in a personal letter. This weekend he answered, in
an email, questions from The Wall Street Journal.  Here are
excerpts from that email interview.  WSJ: Is this buyout proving
more or less difficult than you originally anticipated?  Mr.
Dell: I knew it would be a journey and I was ready for it
because think it is the right thing to do for the company. The
biggest issue has been the developments since we signed and the
way these have impacted the vote requirement. In particular, the
emergence of a large shareholder who bought stock only after we
announced the deal and t