[ Thanks to relic for this link.
]
“It is easy to forget that Microsoft works mainly through its
OEM partners, which include Dell, HP, and many others. If Microsoft
announces a date by which some future product is going to be
available, they can only do so with the agreement of the OEMs. I
know we hear (and I write) a lot about Microsoft beating up its
partners, but Bill Gates can’t put new software on a Dell computer
without Michael Dell’s permission…”