[Am-info] An excerpt from an email sent by Dell to all of its customers:

[Fred A. Miller]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

- From an elist.

Fred
________________________

An excerpt from an email sent  by Dell to all of its customers:

"UPDATES

1. Effective 8/26 - New Microsoft contract rules stipulate that we can no=
=20
longer offer the "NO OS" option to our customers beyond September 1st. As=
=20
such all customers currently purchasing a "NO OS" option on either OptiPl=
ex,=20
Precison or Latitude for the express purpose of loading a non-MS OS will =
have=20
the following options:

1. Purchase a Microsoft OS with each OptiPlex, Precision or Latitude syst=
em.

2. For OptiPlex and Precision - purchase one of the new "nSeries" product=
s=20
(offered for GX260, WS340 & WS530 - details in the attached FAQ) that are=
=20
being created to address a different OS support requirement other than a=20
current standard Microsoft OS.

We must have all "No OS" orders shipped out of the factory by September 1=
st.=20
The "No OS" legend code and SKUs will be I-coded on 8/19 and D-coded on=20
August 26th to ensure shipment of orders prior to September 1st. FYI - th=
is=20
effects all of our competitors as well."

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=3D02/08/10/1420208&mode=3Dflat&tid=3D1=
09

So, the last 6 years of litigation, the trial, the conviction, the convic=
tion=20
upheld in appelate court, all the letters by citizens to the DOJ, the=20
'punishment' negotiations...  ALL OF IT.....  JUST A WASTE OF TIME.

Last August, when Microsoft stopped being so polite and started dictating=
 what=20
icons could go on the desktops of PCs that Dell and others were selling I=
=20
knew then that they had inside information about how the 'punishment phas=
e'=20
was panning out at the DOJ.   You know the rest of the story.   Now we ha=
ve=20
come full circle and it is Microsoft back to Monopoly business as usual.

It is boni-fida proof that the DOJ is a lacky for Microsoft that even bef=
ore=20
the 'punishment' negotiations are completed this monkey business occurs.

There is a new twist, however, the number of MS drones astroturfing Linux=
=20
watering holes like LinuxToday and Slashdot have skyrocketed.

- --=20
If you listen on a quiet nite you, can hear
the sound of a Windows 2000 Server reboot.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org

iEYEARECAAYFAj1V17MACgkQeNJ3p8sZ/uvBbgCggLhpjOxvVeCvbOW727xGooDa
tTwAnRFDkOJyF5kCOXtYv0tRDNjVXqe2
=3DtlwA
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----