Microsoft: OEMS are our delivery people

Date: May 1998

Snippet
From: Brad Chase Sent: Friday, May 15, 1998 3:57 PM To Walt Massberg (E-mail); Bill Gates Cc: Brad Chase Subject: Windows 98

.. if oems can boot up into an alternative shell then what is Windows? we market and invest significant R&O into Windows and if anyone can change its initial UI then that impacts peoples understanding of windows. in addition it sets up a situation where our competitors can try to replace Windows with their own UI and aps. again an oem could ship these UIs and APIs today but it is a lot to ask us to have the users first boot and experience with Windows be, not Windows but a competitive shell or OS.

take the wsj for example. you ship via delivery people, they are your oems. you have dominant share of the daily news market. what if the delivery people could substitute someone's else's front page for your own and further more what if it was not even clear that it wasn't the wsj?

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http://boycottnovell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/plex0_2905.pdf

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