Fwd: Re: Analogies (Was Re: Benchmarks and Notches)

[mj@creative.net]

  Meant this reply to go to list.  Most lists I'm on work that way.
  
  >Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 16:32:42 +0100
  >To: chipr@tomquartz.niestu.com
  >From: mj@creative.net
  >Subject: Re: Analogies (Was Re: Benchmarks and Notches)
  >Cc:
  >Bcc:
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  ><snip>
  >
  >>   3) the added investment of time and sometimes cost of locating the ever
  >>   elusive drivers for your chosen OS because the hardware vendors don't
  >>   want to even discuss a nonMS driver (and that is NOT simply because they
  >>   don't believe it would make money for them directly, but also because
  >>   they are certain it will lose money for them indirectly - MS "tax")
  >>
  >>This is a constant problem for myself and my fellow Linux users, though not
  >>as bad as it used to be.
  >
  >To your knowledge, has anyone in the Linux community investigated
  >emulating the Windows driver interface, so they could use the Windows
  >drivers?  It would be hard to get the performance as good, but all the
  >devices would automatically have support. I realize this is non-trivial
  >technically, but it would be a big help.
  >
  >>
  >>As far as vendors losing money, I had a vendor representative tell me
  >>point-blank one day that they weren't developing drivers for Linux because
  >>MS told them that if they did, they would stop receiving early betas of MS
  >>software, which were essential for them to remain on par with their
  >>competitors.
  >>
  >>At the company where I have my "day job", they are heavily committed to
  >>Windows NT.  The word has gone out to developers (unofficially, so that
  >>deniability remains intact) not to do anything to jeopardize the cozy
  >>relationship with Microsoft, since the loss of the early betas would be
  >>crippling.
  >>
  >>Another vendor told me once that they did something that was in their own
  >>best interest, but that upset MS.  The next time a beta of WinNT came out,
  >>they didn't get it.  No official word, no change in the agreement, nothing.
  >>When they called MS to ask about it, they were told it was a screwup in the
  >>shipping.  However, the beta still didn't come.  Eventually, they figured it
  >>out, stopped pissing MS off, and called and told them what they had done.
  >>The beta arrived two days later via overnight express.
  >>
  >
  >Perhaps we need to start gathering documentation on all of this, as it can
  >all support the DOJ suit (perhaps) or other anti-monopoly suits (surely).
  >
  ><snip>
  >
  >