It is rare that the general public is privy to the private interchanges between corporate giants. However, because of an ongoing lawsuit, some confidential email exchanges between Microsoft and HP are now a matter of public record:

“…”I can’t be more clear than to say you not only let us down by reneging on your commitment to stand behind the [device driver model] requirement, you have demonstrated a complete lack of commitment to HP as a strategic partner and cost us a lot of money in the process,” said one e-mail from Richard Walker, the senior vice president of HP’s consumer business unit, to Jim Allchin and Kevin Johnson. At the time, the two were co-presidents of Microsoft’s platforms and services unit, which oversaw Vista.”

link: HP to Microsoft: Thanks for Nothing

These court documents reveal who knew what and when concerns were raised. It provides a timeline for the sake of accountability. In following the developments of this case and the readiness of Vista, one is left with a basic query: “where is the concern for the customer using this product?“. That question used to be fundamental.

Catherine Forsythe