MS E-mail Fears over Dell

Microsoft has been actively worried about Dell's choice to ship some of its systems with Linux instead of Windows, leaked e-mail messages revealed (PDF). Stemming from 2002, the e-mail indicates that Microsoft singled out Dell as a potential threat to Windows' command of the business computer world and vowed to threaten Dell's cash flow, worrying that the lower cost of Linux would give the computer maker either larger profits or an edge in price.

"We will continue to invest big, big [money] in Dell," wrote corporate VP Bill Veghte. "I do not want to invest [money] to fund their Red Hat [Linux] efforts."

Senior server VP Paul Flessner was even more blunt, suggesting that Microsoft "whack" Dell and make it see the Redmond firm's point of view. The often heated discussion between the executive suggests a greater fear of Dell's influence than had been previously expected and offers insights into the Texas-based system designer's reluctance to offer non-Windows systems. Dell just recently began selling Windows-free desktops to average users, substituting FreeDOS in place of Windows XP. [via LXer]

By Electronista Staff