p2pnet news | Products:- Microsoft cut back requirements for PCs to be labelled “capable” of running Windows Vista, “to help Intel make their quarterly earnings” by propping up sales of microchips that met the lower standards, says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Emails from a Microsoft general manager, John Kalkman, suggest the company, “set priorities on Intel’s profits despite the desire of Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Mart and some Microsoft executives to maintain a higher bar,” says the story.

Intel, “declined to say if Microsoft made its decision on that basis, citing a policy against commenting on litigation in which it’s not involved”.

“We don’t know who John Kalkman is,” the story has Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy saying. “We do know he’s not qualified to know anything about internal Intel financials or forecasts related to chip sets, motherboards or any other products.”

Kalkman would have had “no visibility into our financial needs in any given quarter,” Mulloy added, says the story.

“Did Bill and the Boyz knowingly scam people by letting PC makers stick ‘Windows Vista Capable’ on PCs when they knew perfectly well the computers could run only the most bare-bones version?” - asked p2pnet.

“That’s the subject of a current class action and in the meanwhile, the company now tacitly admits it overcharged people by saying it plans to massively slash the price of versions which go directly to consumers by 20% to 48%.”

The emails came to light as part of in the class-action lawsuit and the decision to lower requirements, “was made over the objection of some Microsoft officials, who expressed concern that Intel’s 915 chipset wasn’t capable of properly displaying Vista’s graphics features, according to e-mails released Feb. 27 that were introduced as evidence in a federal case in Seattle,” says Bloomberg News.

“We lowered the requirements to help Intel make their quarterly earnings, so they could continue to sell motherboards with 915 graphics embedded,” it quotes Kalkman who, “handles relations with personal-computer makers,” as saying in one message.

The story continues:

In another e-mail used as evidence, Microsoft’s Mike Ybarra complained to Windows division co-President Jim Allchin that Microsoft was “caving to Intel” and “allowing Intel to drive our consumer experience.”

Microsoft made the decision after Intel complained that it was losing orders, Microsoft Senior Vice President Will Poole said in a separate e-mail.

Microsoft said yesterday in a statement it, “included the 915 chipset as part of the Windows Vista Capable program based on successful testing of beta versions of Windows Vista on the chipset and the broad availability of the chipset in the market,” says Bloomberg, adding:

“A message left at Kalkman’s office wasn’t returned, and Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster declined to make him or any other executives tied to the e-mails available.”

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Also See:
Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Microsoft e-mails suggest priority was ‘to help Intel’, February 28, 2008
p2pnet - Angry Vista user: ‘Thanks, Microcrap!’, February 29, 2008
Bloomberg News - Microsoft Changed Vista Rules for Intel, E-Mail Says, February 29, 2008

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This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 11:16 am and is filed under Product News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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