Martin Taylor          Stuart Cohen

It’s been widely reported this week that Microsoft’s Martin Taylor contacted OSDL CEO Stuart Cohen to discuss Microsoft’s idea to co-sponsor some research about the relative benefits of Windows and Linux.

The two did in fact meet at LinuxWorld Expo to discuss the matter. But Cohen says he rejected the notion on the theory that some research house would run up a 100-page report in which Linux positively glowed and Microsoft would put a $100 million ad campaign into propagandizing the one-sentence shortcoming  found – and get to say that OSDL had subsidized the study.

Before they parted, Cohen says Taylor told him that he has a lot of "backchannel" conversations with OSDL members and board members – whose companies are of course also Microsoft customers – and asked Cohen whether he too was open to candid confidential discussions.

• Microsoft Continues to Stalk Linux