Donnerstag, 21. März 2002 00:20 Thomas Templin wrote: Eine etwas brauchbarere Quelle zum gleichen Thema: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11835-2002Mar24.html ---8<--- Makers of PCs Fear Wrath Of Microsoft Competitors Decline Requests For Linux Configuration
By Jonathan Krim Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, March 25, 2002; Page A04
Many computer makers are so fearful of possible retaliation from Microsoft Corp. that they have refused to even discuss configuring machines with a competing operating system known as Linux, according to testimony of an executive of Red Hat Inc., a Linux provider.
In written testimony as part of ongoing federal court hearings into how Microsoft should be sanctioned for breaking antitrust laws, Red Hat's chief technology officer said "it was as if a skunk had come into the room" when he would approach computer manufacturers such as Compaq Computer Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. about carrying Linux on personal computers.
Linux is growing in popularity for networks of business computer systems, but is rarely found running personal computers, in part because it is cannot offer applications such as Microsoft's dominant Office suite of word-processing and spreadsheet programs.
But Michael Tiemann testified that Linux on personal computers also is "taboo" among manufacturers because of a fear that Microsoft would retaliate if machines were not shipped with the software giant's Windows operating system.
"As the representative of the only competitor in the domain in which Microsoft remains all powerful, I have often felt, more than the Maytag repairman, that I have the loneliest job in town," Tiemann testified.
At one point in 2000, Red Hat had a deal with Dell to put Linux in desktop and laptop personal computers, but it was later abandoned, Tiemann testified. He said Dell balked at helping Red Hat do the necessary technical work to make Linux function because he was told Dell feared it would jeopardize its relationship with Microsoft.
Federal District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has questioned whether a portion of Tiemann's testimony is hearsay, in which case she would ignore it. But some of it aligns with internal Microsoft documents, produced earlier by state prosecutors, showing a concerted effort by Microsoft executives to pressure computer makers not to use Linux.
North Carolina-based Red Hat would benefit if the judge accepts sanctions sought by state prosecutors, which go well beyond a proposed settlement of the case between the company and the Department of Justice.
Among other things, the states would require that Microsoft to auction off a license to Linux re-sellers to carry the Office package of programs, which would make Linux more attractive to computer makers and users. The states argue that this is an important provision to help ensure competition in the market for operating systems.
"Most of my current clients bemoan the fact that they are forced to keep Windows on their desktops just to run Office," Tiemann testified. "Cisco, a current Red Hat client, has asked me point-blank if I would go to Microsoft and request that they port Office to Linux. Red Hat contacted Microsoft about it, but Microsoft has not returned our calls."
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler said yesterday that "we see no great demand" for Office on Linux, and that engineering a version that would work would not provide sufficient return on the investment of resources.
Microsoft does license a version of Office that runs on the Apple Computer operating system.
"They [Red Hat] just want to take our years of research and development without paying a red cent," Desler said.
Microsoft also argues that Office was never a part of the antitrust case, and that a Linux licensing requirement is another example of the states pursuing sanctions designed purely to help its competitors rather than consumers.
Microsoft attorneys began cross-examining Tiemann late Thursday, and will resume today. ---8<--- Tschüss, Thomas