Commentators - Do a little research maybe?
I love it when people just spout off "Why doesn't company X just buy company Y?"
Duh, if those of you throwing out answers did any research at all, you'd know that NetApp's market cap is around $19B. Dell's is around $28B. Needless to say, that would be a HIGHLY leveraged deal, and take a lot of bonds, stock options, and private financing to pull off. Difficult in any time, much less now, and even harder if you're Dell, which is being hit hard by Wall street.
So, maybe take the time to at least do a Google / Yahoo quote before you throw out an answer???
Taking all the practicality of pulling a deal like that off out of the equation, well yes, Dell could use another solid storage asset in their portfolio.
Needless to say, few could afford NetApp, and even fewer could really use them. That leaves, oh about 2 companies, IBM and Cisco.