The class-action lawsuit filed against Microsoft for allegedly lowering the requirements for a "Vista Capable" sticker to appease Intel (henceforth referred to as Stickergate) has begun to turn up some dirt. Apparently HP wasn't exactly thrilled to find out about the artificially lowered standards after they spent $7m to bring their products up to speed, expressing their discontent in an email with lots of weird figurative talk about their collective mouth:
I hope this incident isn't a foretaste... it's left a very bad taste with me and my team"
The message, sent by Richard Walker, senior vice president at HP's consumer PC unit, was sent in 2006. It's clear that Microsoft knew it was at fault long ago, and interesting to note just how long this whole thing took to surface. Even more interesting is the possibility that the plan to consolidate stickers for Windows 7 — originally seen as a perceptive response to public scrutiny — may have been a direct answer to deeper, more literal troubles. [ComputerWorld via BBG]