It's not all about Windows – Linux interoperability deals and intellectual property assurance agreements between Microsoft and the open source community. While Microsoft together with Novell, Xandros and Linspire spread the Windows – Linux love around, the fact of the matter is that that there are Linux distributors that pride themselves for not jumping on the Microsoft backwagon designed to bridge the two operating systems and catalyze some extra revenue via subtle patent infringement threats.

Case in point: Mandriva. A company that most probably Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer has never heard of, according to François Bancilhon, Mandriva's CEO. However, this anodyne detail has not stopped the Redmond company from jumping at Mandriva's jugular. Bancilhon published an open letter addressed to Ballmer in which he accuses Microsoft of actively intervening in a deal between Mandriva and Nigerian Government.

According to Bancilhon, the Nigerian Government agreed to acquire a batch of 17,000 machines preloaded with the Mandriva distribution of Linux. The computers were set up as a low cost, affordable hardware+software solution for implementation in schools across the African country. The Nigerian Government negotiated for Classmate PCs from Intel plus Mandriva Linux. Then Microsoft moved in.

"Your people get in the game and the deal got more competitive", Bancilhon accused Ballmer. "I would not say it got dirty, but someone could have said that. Your team fought and fought again the deal, but still the customer was happy with the CMPC and Mandriva. We actually closed the deal, we took the order, we qualified the software, we got the machine shipped. To conclude, we did our job. And, the machine are being delivered right now."

Following Microsoft's intervention, the Nigerian Government announced Mandriva that they would get paid for the distribution of Linux per their agreement but that the open source operating system would be replaced with Windows. "Wow! I’m impressed, Steve! What have you done to these guys to make them change their mind like this? It’s quite clear to me, and it will be to everyone. How do you call what you just did Steve? There is various names for it, I’m sure you know them", Bancilhon lashed out at Ballmer.