Does Compaq / Linux seem strange to anyone else? (Score 2)

Do I remember reading in the FoF that Compaq was singled out on more than one occasion for being highly "compliant" with M$'s desires? For some reason this partnership with Linux seems suspect considering that Microsoft is competing against Linux with NT4 and that win2K is supposed to be an industrial strength OS for both servers and clients.

What will Compaq do when 2K comes out? Ship PCs with 2K and servers with both? Or ship both Linux and 2K with both servers and clients? Either way, you get a quite pissed off M$ and a Compaq that suddenly finds royalties rising. If Compaq figures that any added expense in the form of royalties can be more than offset by the rise in sales of servers by offering both 2K and Linux, this can suggest three things:

1. Compaq figures that M$ will get their butt kicked by the DOJ and be forced to make public what they charge each computer maker for their product, therefore effectively insulating Compaq against possible royality increaces...

2. Compaq has very high hopes for Linux, high enough to begin to break a close relationship with M$... or

3. Compaq knows something about win2K that we do not know for certain (a verdtiable bugfest, swiss-cheese security, etc.)

Either one of these three is quite interesting to contemplate. The Logic Police have spoken.

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