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Microsoft downgraded Vista Capable specs to help Intel
NUMEROUS EMAILS exchanged by Microsoft and Intel executives have revealed that the Vole knowingly cut its 'Vista Capable' PC specifications to help Intel flog rafts of cheap kit.
The email evidence surfaced in a plaintiffs' court filing (PDF) that was unsealed Thursday in the continuing 'Vista Capable' consumer class action lawsuit.
Computers built using Intel's 915 series chipsets didn't qualify for the 'Vista Capable' label under the Vole's initial set of PC specifications for the promotional programme set forth in December 2005, because the 915 chipsets couldn't handle Vista's coolest graphics interface.
After Microsoft pushed up its projected kickoff date for the 'Vista Capable' programme by three months, Intel's executives objected because Chipzilla couldn't ramp up production of its newer, high-end graphics chipsets fast enough to meet anticipated demand.
Intel executive Renee James wrote, "While I do not want to discuss volume and $$ on email, it is material to our business, and we do not understand Microsoft's motivation to change the previously agreed upon date."
Microsoft soon realised that its principal partner in the Wintel hegemony had a problem.
Bob Aoki emailed to a coworker, "Intel told me this afternoon the revenue impact is #X billions and has already been raised to Paul O who is awaiting our response."
Rajesh Srinivasan calculated how much Intel might lose by not having its 915 chipsets in PCs that were labeled 'Vista Capable', writing that "potential costs could get into billions."
To underscore Intel's high level of concern, Intel's James wrote in a later email that Intel CEO Paul Otellini "doesn't understand why the date changed and we don't accept it is just 'labels on boxes'."
Another court filing (PDF) reveals that Otellini even called Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to complain.
Microsoft executives evidently heard Intel's severe objections and took action accordingly, relaxing the 'Vista Capable' PC specifications to include PCs built with Intel's 915 chipsets.
Intel executives were evidently thrilled to learn that Microsoft made that little adjustment. Otellini penned a note to Ballmer "thanking him for listening and making these changes."
Not all Microsoft executives agreed with such a cooperative accommodation of the Vole's major PC hardware partner, however.
Jim Allchin, Microsoft's co-president of platform products and services at the time, wrote, "I believe we are going to be misleading customers with the Capable program. OEMs will say a machine is Capable and customers will believe that it will run all the core Vista features." He concluded, "We must avoid confusion. It is wrong for customers."
Allchin was right, of course, which is why Microsoft is being sued. The lawsuit continues. µ
See Also
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one monopolist helping another monopolist. Just about right.
Why is it a big deal that they changed the specs? It's not like there are international standards on how a "capable" system is supposed to provide a user experience. Apple's OSX ran like a dog on its crappier-but-still-"capable" hardware when it came out. Not the ideal user experience, and sure the animations were super slow, but hey, it ran.
I'll just have to take a trip to Best Buy every week to peel off the Vista stickers from these retarded chipsets.

I wonder how many CEO's read this story and made the call to switch to AMD integrated graphics on the low end
Ubuntu Linux with Compiz fusion, looks much better, has far far far better interface eye candy than Vista and it runs really well on much lesser hardware.

Its faster, its more stable, and it looks nicer. It has open office 3, it can play DVDs, edit videos, burn CDs and comes with a wealth of other free apps.

And of course its free. You really do need your head examining if you want to use and pay for Vista and all of its "features".

Its the latest duffer from Micro$oft. It really is a unstable steaming pile of expensive poo.

If you want to see what a GUI should look like go here:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=j3KKip_h51o&fmt=18

"Intel's executives objected because Chipzilla couldn't ramp up production of its newer, high-end graphics chipsets fast enough to meet anticipated demand"


Since when does Intel make a high-end graphics chip?
When Vista was realeased (late), were there new systems with 915 chipsets? Get real! Anyway Vista is piece of crap, nimble and sensitive to hardware and software used.. showing that its a shoddy and rushed job.Incompatiblities, BSODs and driver issues are the results. That's why lots of people downgraded back to Windows XP after all those headaches. Vista is a failure. Heck I can even run Windows XP on my ancient Pentium II machine.
The most ironic thing about all that is that Intel has been making its best to step away from Microsoft as shown by their indirect support to Linux(between other things with the netbook initiative), their close work with Apple(even though Apple partially stabbed them in the back with the new Mac Books by replacing Intel chipset by nvidia ones) , and their alliance with Asus on the WePC.
I hope that Microsoft will learn one day (i doubt but who know perhaps that one day people as honorable as Allchin will rule M.S), that it is much more important to satisfy customers than partners.
Pleased customers leading to success would soon or late push partners to come to eat in your hand.
Pleased partners can stab you in the back as soon as you are let down by customers and success.
Btw,do you know that Allchin prevented Microsoft to have a much more disastrous Vista launch by forcing Microsoft to push back Vista release in order to attempt to release a significantly more stable and finished product ?
Do you also know that Allchin was one of the few which battled to force M.S managers to release XP SP2 for free ?
This man is very honorable and certainly deserved much more than Ballmer to be the manager of M.S.
Unfortuntately what matter the most for shareholders is who make them earn the most money.
And at this game, i fear that Ballmer is much more stronger than Allchin.
I'm surprised that no one has the balz to say that the real devil is INTEL! hehehe, it's funny how microsoft is being portrayed as evil while nobody bothers to say anything about Intel. This is just ridiculous!!!
This is not so much old news but expected news. Why would anyone offer another a favour other than for an expectation? We can’t help others until we’ve helped ourselves first and even then, unless and until we’ve realised why we exist, it is still “me” first. 

Contemporary software is not so much about utility and productivity [20 % at the most?] but about locked-in revenues, the wet-dream of “the chosen few”, perpetual income, which is now a reality with the promotion and mesmeric acceptance of the “digital rights” nonsense. Not only are governments printing/counterfeiting money, but software and other “digital” publishers too.

The like of MS Vista is the harbinger of the extreme forms of control being unleashed onto the undecided but abandoned blankness who are being groomed to be empty critics of nothingness. Unless people finally realised that true intelligence is beyond thoughts, there is little that they can do to change the course of theirs and others’ true evolution. Convolution, of course, but witness that we cannot think about what we are actually doing other than a moment before or after the act. Like seeing, breathing or chopping firewood. 

The 5 senses of The Causals, the physical universe, is about conditionings-cum-intellect, which cannot reach the higher senses which confers Joy through realising Reality. A dog’s keen sense of smell cannot offer it the higher awareness or consciousness of beauty or filth. Similarly, a bat’s higher range of hearing is merely limited to the physical realm and cannot confer it the beauty of music, say. 

Those who questioned why they exist cannot derive meaning from, say, the cruelty/subtlely or the greed/fear that they can see in others other than becoming those aspects should they tangled with these causals. Identify your true nature first and should sincerity be offered a hearing, you will make “contact”. 

This is what the modern age of Reality [which is not about aliens, technology, religion, saviours, the deprived, masculinity, femininity, and many more dichotomies] is offering, a condition that did not exists some 40 years back. To counter this digital madness, more and more of what was deliberately hidden, are being revealed – through the Intenet, for example, one nemesis of the “conterfeiters” [of all sorts], which has made possible, the changes witnessed during the recent USA elections as well as the “credit/insurance” nonsense of the counterfeiters. Still hazy? Witness that the solutions [offered by mental patients] will merely repeat the cycle of pros and cons. Why so? Because people cannot see beyond their thoughts/greatness-conditionings. 

True Intelligence is beyond thoughts/saviours-worshippers. Reality is about Evolution, the [return] journey towards higher consciousness which cannot be relayed, described and more simply because those aspects are of thoughts. It has to be experienced and such experiences can only be realised through the gateway of the brain, managed by the heart, which denies entry to those bearing thoughts. If this seemingly mumbo-jumbo is true, this is why humans cannot perceive the 6th and higher senses which animals and Nature can. Why is this so constructed/mandated? Because those without thoughts have no means of destroying Nature, an impossibility, of course, but should it be attempted, like in a nuclear exchange, Nature will destroy all before the Armageddonites even began their [mental] “prayers”.
Gee.. This is news?
Everyone on the planet with an IQ over 30 done figured this one out two days after Vista was released.
Not withstanding \/ista. I will never forgive Intel or the 925 BT in the Gateway with Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003, I spent me hard earned money on. Promises. Promises. Oi! AMD is looking better, everyday... Oh_ The money's gone...
The words monopoly and cartel spring to mind.....
it should not be a surprise for us, MS and Intel working against the costumers... I can see the next motto... "[deep announcer's voice] ...the core i7, optimized speciffically for iwindows 7"...
This was discussed months ago. Why is this news now? Slow day guys?
Just looked at 790/750 Desktop mains & Scores ethier wher typo or its' just plain stuck in March'7 world. Good Once, yet only <1/2 of Intel, 1/3 nahalem!?.Some amd Scores ARE More.

AMD Poked its Head Up with Barton & ran w/Ball. Now Seem UnIntrested in Score Improvement. Remember, Dammit barely speaks DDR2.

Huge items like USB3, Missing. AMD Should Apply for WebTv License.
Drashek
http://media.techflash.com/documents/intelvictory.pdf
My favorite part: "Also, once we have final messaging and clarity, we will prepare a field briefing for Anand to blast out".
I like to keep track of who are those within Microsoft who "care". Jim Allchin again proved that he is on that list. Two thumbs up. Too bad he retired. They probably need more people like him right now.
Hmm.. And where would a good chunk of this "potentially billions of dollars" have gone? What platform was really Vista Capable - AMD/ATI.. just more fuel for the fire (AMD vs Intel Lawsuit)
Right after 'fire harnessed to cook' and 'wheel invented'.