The nine US states holding out for further antitrust action against Microsoft dropped a bombshell in court yesterday when it was claimed Dell came under pressure to drop its Linux plans because it was a "premium partner" for Windows 2000.
The damaging allegation was revealed by a lawyer for the nine states, who said that a memo sent to CEO Steve Ballmer suggested he "remind" Dell that promoting other operating systems wasn't appropriate for such a close partner of Microsoft.
And Microsoft also moaned at Intel in August 2000 when it said it would invest $100 million and more to help promote the Linux operating system.
Dell subsequently abandoned its attempts to offer the Linux OS in June last year, without giving any reasons for its withdrawal from that market.
In a very telling passage, Joachim Kempin, a senior Microsoft suit, penned in a note to Bill Gates that Intel was destroying the basis for the "marriage" it had with the chip giant.
The lawyers for the states also said that Windows XP was specifically designed to mess with the RealPlayer media player.
The states want judge Collen Kollar-Kotelly to bring more swingeing "remedies" against Microsoft than those proposed by the Department of Justice.
News source: The Inquirer
View: The article
The damaging allegation was revealed by a lawyer for the nine states, who said that a memo sent to CEO Steve Ballmer suggested he "remind" Dell that promoting other operating systems wasn't appropriate for such a close partner of Microsoft.
And Microsoft also moaned at Intel in August 2000 when it said it would invest $100 million and more to help promote the Linux operating system.
Dell subsequently abandoned its attempts to offer the Linux OS in June last year, without giving any reasons for its withdrawal from that market.
In a very telling passage, Joachim Kempin, a senior Microsoft suit, penned in a note to Bill Gates that Intel was destroying the basis for the "marriage" it had with the chip giant.
The lawyers for the states also said that Windows XP was specifically designed to mess with the RealPlayer media player.
The states want judge Collen Kollar-Kotelly to bring more swingeing "remedies" against Microsoft than those proposed by the Department of Justice.
News source: The Inquirer View: The article
The Mobility Group has been unable to make significant headway against major rivals Palm, in the handheld market, and Nokia, in the cell phone market, according to analysts. Microsoft remains behind both companies in market share and is making targeted efforts to supplant them.
Analysts had been predicting that Microsoft would be able to make major gains in market share against both companies but that has failed to happen at this point. Sales of Pocket PC devices, which come from Compaq Computer and Hewlett-Packard, among others, have actually grown faster than sales of Palm devices, in terms of percentage, but Palm-based products still account for the lion's share of the market.
Personal leave, like the one Waldman is taking, can last up to a year. He is expected to return to Microsoft. A Microsoft representative said that this differs from a sabbatical, which usually lasts a few months, but generally executives who leave on sabbatical don't return to Microsoft.
Shields will report to Pieter Knook, who is vice president of mobile devices and network service providers at Microsoft. Vice President of Marketing Juha Christensen, who came to Microsoft from Symbian, remains with the Mobility Group and continues to report directly to Ballmer.
Former Mobility Director Phil Holden is now a director with the MSN group, and former Mobility General Manager Rogers Weed is now a vice president in the PC Experience group.
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