“Compaq has reiterated its support for Linux, saying it won’t
abandon the free operating system simply because of pressure from
Microsoft. The comments came on Friday from Jon “Mad Dog” Hall,
senior leader of Compaq’s Unix software group. Hall said senior
people at Compaq had “had a word or two” with Microsoft about the
company’s work with Linux, but that Compaq could not ignore
customer demand. “If we didn’t sell Linux then somebody else would,
and Microsoft just has to understand that,” Hall commented.”