Windows Vista
HP had spent considerable time and money setting up new systems that were WDDM compatible

HP furious over Vista Capable campaign

More red faces as Microsoft emails go public

Iain Thomson in San Francisco

Emails in the ongoing class-action lawsuit against Microsoft over its Vista Capable campaign have revealed the depth of animosity it caused with Microsoft partners.

A set of emails (PDF) from Richard Walker, senior vice president at HP's consumer PC unit, discuss the decision Microsoft made to downgrade the specification it classes as Vista Capable to include the Windows Device Driver Model (WDDM).

Advertisement

HP had spent considerable time and money setting up new systems that were WDDM compatible, and Walker's frustration was evident.

"I hope this incident isn't a foretaste of the relationship I will have with Microsoft going forward, but I can tell you that it's left a very bad taste with me and my team," he wrote in 2006.

"The decision you have made 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 your program requirements."

It appears that Jim Allchin, a key player in the campaign at Microsoft, was also seriously annoyed by the decision.

"I am beyond upset here. This was totally mismanaged by Intel and Microsoft, " he wrote. "What a mess. Now we have an upset partner, Microsoft destroyed credibility, as well as my own credibility shot."

Allchin then wrote that he understood that the decision came from Steve Ballmer, something Ballmer denied at the time, and continues to do so.

The case hinges on claims that Microsoft knew that so-called Vista Capable PCs would only be able to run the cut down version of Vista, without the Aero interface.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Do you agree?

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

iPhone

Video Review: iPhone 3GS

We put Apple's latest iPhone through its paces

Xperia X1

Video Review: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

First Looks Editor Ian Williams gets hands on with the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

IT white papers

Search white papers

Top categories

Poll

Poll: Summer smartphones

Poll: Summer smartphones

Which smartphone will you be taking to the beach this summer?

View poll results

Advertisement

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Spotlight

a padlock

Microsoft to plug security holes

Microsoft has given advance warning of a number of security...

Nokia handset

Top 10 articles, 10 July 09

No Nokia Android phone, ActiveX attacks and Google enters into...

Can Google beat Microsoft at its own game?

Google's announcement this week that it plans to step into...

iPhone

Video Review: iPhone 3GS

We put Apple's latest iPhone through its paces

Primary Navigation