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To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (16953)	2/2/1998 3:19:00 PM
From: Daniel Schuh	Respond to of 24154

Who Is Microsoft's Secret Power Broker? zdnet.com ZDNN had a teaser up for this story all weekend. And who could it be but esteemed ilk sister Mary Jo Foley weighing in on an old favorite topic, how Microsoft strongarms OEMs. Or, if you like, why the OEMs have been freely professing their love of Microsoft of late. Turns out that Ballmer's considered a nice guy in those circles, the good cop the perp gets sympathy from after the bad cop puts the fear of God in him. It all happened within minutes. The U.S. Department of Justice stepped up its war on Microsoft Corp. and immediately two top Microsoft executives were on the phone to PC makers, leaning on them to dispute the government's argument. Their sole mission that wintry Dec. 17 afternoon in Redmond was to drum up support to wage war on the Justice Department. . . . On one Bat Phone was Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's executive vice president of sales and arketing. In typically animated Ballmer fashion, he was pounding on tables and conjuring up images of breaking chairs to convince hardware makers to back Microsoft on the record. Working the other phone wasn't Bill Gates. Nor was it senior vice president of law, Bill Neukom. It was Joachim Kempin, senior vice president of Microsoft's OEM, or original equipment manufacturer, division. . . . But while Kempin clearly is a force to reckon with at Microsoft, he also was an odd choice to corral OEM support. Those who know him through their negotiations have few good things to say about him. Kempin, who reports directly to Ballmer, didn't get to where he is by being Mr. Nice Guy. "Everything Kempin does pisses us off," said an official with one of Microsoft's largest OEMs, who requested anonymity. "He even parks his silver Porsche in the visitors' spot at [OEM] Building 18," the OEM official continued, resulting in visiting hardware execs being forced to spend precious minutes circling while seeking parking on the Microsoft campus. Added an official with another top Microsoft hardware vendor: "The only way we can deal with [Kempin] sometimes is to have him thrown out of the room and go straight to Ballmer. He drives his OEM team very hard. He beats the hell out of them. We've definitely had some not-so-pleasant conversations with the guy." In this story, not one hardware maker is on record. The word Sm@rt Reseller received was that no one crosses Kempin and keeps his job. Kempin also is not quoted. Microsoft insiders concede that Kempin (like another Microsoft executive, NT guru David Cutler) , is downright prickly when it comes dealing with the press and is best left unseen and unheard. But I'd bet he'd be a great source of quotes if he did talk to the press. Good read, this article. In case any of you where wondering why the OEMs have been so devoted to Bill of late. Methinks if DOJ wants to scrutinize something, this is where they ought to look early and often. Cheers, Dan.

To: Daniel Schuh who wrote (16953)	2/2/1998 3:42:00 PM
From: Daniel Schuh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24154

Netscape Decision Could Alter Software Industry nytimes.com A bit of commentary on the other hot news of late. This column's favorable, though plenty of people are scratching their heads. But, I think Andreeson has this one right: Thus it is understandable that many people in the software industry think that Netscape has lost its corporate mind for posting a crown jewel on the Internet for anyone to scrutinize, copy and modify. But Marc Andreessen, one of Netscape's founders and its executive vice president for products, said that given the company's death race with Microsoft, it had little choice. Anyway, it started out as free software, so it's a return to roots of sort. The proponents of free software say that freedom is about liberty, not price -- free speech, as they say, not free beer. I like that one. Maybe free cigarettes would be a better analogy though, given the Windows jones the world is developing. Many people, including Netscape's Andreessen, believe that the growing popularity of free software like Linux may signal a shift in how the software industry conducts business. "If I'm the chief information officer in my company, I don't want programmers mucking around in the source code," Brown said. "You never know what else breaks when they fix something." On the other hand, he said, the quality of Linux and its steady market growth is "fascinating." Given its success, added Brown, and the obvious interest in free software, it seems possible that "the next iteration of Internet standards will not be governed by people who want to make money." Well, we can hope. Cheers, Dan.