"Many computer makers are so fearful of possible retaliation
from Microsoft Corp. that they have refused to even discuss
configuring machines with a competing operating system known as
Linux, according to testimony of an executive of Red Hat Inc., a
Linux provider.
"In written testimony as part of ongoing federal court hearings
into how Microsoft should be sanctioned for breaking antitrust
laws, Red Hat's chief technology officer said 'it was as if a skunk
had come into the room' when he would approach computer
manufacturers such as Compaq Computer Corp., International Business
Machines Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. about carrying Linux on
personal computers..."
