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MORE EMAILS tipped up Friday in the ongoing 'Vista Capable' class action lawsuit against Microsoft, revealing the anger of HP executives who felt that Microsoft had betrayed them by relaxing its minimum PC chipset specifications for the 'Vista Capable' label to help Intel.Disgruntled punters who bought low-end PCs preloaded with Vista Home Basic and sporting 'Vista Capable' stickers are suing the Vole because those systems can't handle the eye-candy Aero graphical interface that's featured in the Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate and Enterprise editions.Unsealed by the US District Court in Seattle, Washington on Friday, this latest court filing (PDF) contains several emails sent by Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft executives regarding the Vole's late stage decision to downgrade its 'Vista Capable' programme requirements to include Intel's obsolescent 910 and 915 graphics chipsets, as requested by Intel executives.HP had made significant investments to upgrade to newer PC graphics technology, based upon Microsoft's initially more demanding PC specifications for OEM participation in its "Windows Vista Capable" marketing initiative. In late 2005 or early 2006, Richard Walker, senior vice president of HP's consumer PC business unit, emailed Jim Allchin of Microsoft seeking assurance about the stability of the 'Vista Capable' PC specifications, writing:"I wanted to check in with you based on a rumor I heard today that Microsoft is about to relax the WDDM requirement for Vista Capable PC's [sic]. We are hoping this is indeed just a rumor but would like your confirmation."As you may recall from the August 2005 meeting in San Diego, when this topic was discussed John Romano asked Microsoft for a commitment to ensure that you would not bow to pressure to relax the the requirement since it would require HP to make a major commitment to support it."I am told you did in fact make that commitment and as a result we embarked on a plan to rapidly obsolete the Intel 910 and 915 based platforms, bringing up and qualifying 2 new motherboards in support of being Vista Capable."As you can imagine this was no small feat and our team has worked hard to support your plans so we're hoping the rumor we're hearing is just that, but I'd be grateful if you would confirm where things stand."After having spent a lot of engineering effort and money to develop new PC technology, HP was stunned to learn that Microsoft had loosened it's 'Vista Capable' logo programme requirements to accomodate Intel. It was precisely what HP had feared, and Walker was furious. On February 1, 2006, he emailed Allchin again to express his extreme displeasure:"I see from the announcement on the OEM website that the rumor I referred to in my earlier message is indeed true. You should understand that for a partner who has made a significant investment in meeting the Vista Capable requirement we find it both disappointing and troubling that you would make such a decision without first consulting HP, your biggest global partner."The decision you have made and communicated has taken away an investment we made consciously for competitive advantage knowing that some players would choose not to make the same level of investment as we did in supporting our program requirements."Now we have a situation where PC manufacturers (and processor/chipset suppliers) can claim Vista Capable in a 'good' mode just because it will run. What kind of consumer assurance is that? Hardly one that puts any credence behind your desire to create the 'best possible customer experience for the Windows Vista Upgrade'."I can't be more clear than to say you not only let us down by reneging on your commitment to stand behind the WDDM requirement, you have demonstrated a complete lack of commitment to HP as a strategic partner and cost us a lot of money in the process. Your credibility is severely damaged in my organization...."Walker didn't have to be clairvoyant to understand what had driven Microsoft's decision to stab its largest PC OEM partner in the back. He continued:"If I were to be completely cynical about the course of events leading up to this, I'd suggest that my friends in Santa Clara (Intel's hometown) slept well last night knowing that they don't have to worry that part of their line up, non compliant as it would have been based on WDDM requirement for 1/4, will be exposed to public scrutiny."In Microsoft's executive lair, about 900 miles up the US west coast from the Silicon Valley headquarters of HP and Intel, Jim Allchin, Microsoft's co-president of platform products and services, immediately emailed soft-spoken Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer:"I am beyond being upset here."This was totally mismanaged by Intel and Microsoft."What a mess."Now we have an upset partner, Microsoft destroyed credibility, as well as my own credibility shot."I was away and I get back to see this mess."I was told all this started with a call between you and Paul [Otellini, Intel CEO]. I will have to get to the bottom of this and understand how we could be so insensitive in handing the situation."But Ballmer disclaimed all responsibility, emailing back to Allchin:"I had nothing to do with this. Will [another Microsoft executive] handled everything. I received a message that [P]aul was going to call. Will said he would handle it. Paul called. I had not even had a chance to report his issues when Will told me he had solved them. (It did not sound like he had) I am not even in the detail of the issues"You better get [W]ill under control thanks."Microsoft had no thought of reversing its decision, apparently. Due to Microsoft's betrayal of its earlier pledge to maintain high standards for PC specifications eligible for inclusion in its Vista marketing programme, HP faced losing market share to other PC OEMs that could flog cheaper machines labeled 'Vista Capable'.That might have something to do with HP's later decision to continue selling Windows XP as a low-cost downgrade to Vista. Well, perhaps that along with the fact that Vista sucks.Popcorn close at hand, we'll be on the lookout for more damning revelations as this 'Vista Capable' class action lawsuit proceeds. µ
The language in that story makes it very clear that the reporting is not impartial. I should go find other sources, but I just don't care enough about it.
E-mails: Vista specs changed to help IntelUpdated with my article in tomorrow's paperMicrosoft Corp. and Intel Corp. executives had extensive exchanges -- some reaching the CEOs of both companies -- before Microsoft loosened the requirements needed for a PC to be designated as "Vista Capable," a decision that eventually helped Intel.PictureThe revelations were included in a filing (read it here, PDF) unsealed Thursday in an ongoing class-action lawsuit to support the plaintiffs' claim that the "Vista Capable" program was unfair or deceptive.As the Vista Capable program was initially drafted in December 2005, computers with Intel's 915 chipset would not qualify as Vista Capable because the chipset did not work with Vista's most advanced graphics.When Microsoft announced it would start the Vista Capable program three months earlier than anticipated, Intel executives, including CEO Paul Otellini, complained to Microsoft because they did not have enough high-end chipsets."While I do not want to discuss volume and $$ on email, it is material to our business, and we do not understand Microsoft's motivation to change the previously agreed upon date," Intel executive Renee James wrote in an e-mail.James wrote in another e-mail that Otellini "doesn't understand why the date changed and we don't accept it is just 'labels on boxes.'"Another filing in the case (read it here) shows that Otellini even called Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to relay his concerns.At Microsoft, executives took into consideration Intel's predicament.Microsoft's Bob Aoki wrote to a colleague, that "Intel told me this afternoon the revenue impact is #X billions and has already been raised to Paul O who is awaiting our response."And Microsoft's Rajesh Srinivasan calculated how much money Intel was set to lose, noting that "potential costs could get into billions."Eventually, Microsoft dropped the requirements.The filing unsealed Thursday shows that Intel executives were ecstatic when Microsoft made the change, with Otellini sending a note to Ballmer "thanking him for listening and making these changes." Microsoft said in a filing, however, that Ballmer did not report Otellini's concerns before the decision was made.Previous e-mails in the case have shown that some Microsoft executives balked at loosening the requirements.And, indeed, the new filings show that Jim Allchin, then Microsoft's co-president of platform products and services, was highly critical."I believe we are going to be misleading customers with the Capable program. OEMs (Original equipment manufacturers) will say a machine is Capable and customers will believe that it will run all the core Vista features," he wrote. "We must avoid confusion. It is wrong for customers."It's unclear if the revelations will advance the plaintiffs' central claim in the class-action lawsuit -- that Microsoft artificially increased demand by allowing PCs that could run only the most basic versions of the Windows Vista operating system to be called Vista Capable.Thursday's filing seeks partial summary judgment that Microsoft's loosening of the requirements was an "unfair or deceptive act." Microsoft responded in a filing that the motion had no merit and was "untimely and generally irrelevant to the claims."In a statement Thursday, Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster said, "The e-mails ... reflect the normal back-and-forth discussion about an internal decision Microsoft made in January 2006, long before it began communicating about the Windows Vista Capable program to consumers.""Ultimately, we provided choices to consumers, giving different options for Windows Vista Capable PCs at various price-points to meet their needs. We conducted a comprehensive education campaign through retailers, PC manufacturers, the press, and our own Web site that gave consumers the information they needed to choose an affordable computer that would run the edition of Windows Vista that best fit their needs or lifestyle."
