A scheme being implemented by Office Depot – almost certainly at Microsoft"s behest – means that companies that fail to join a logo scheme will find their XP products won"t appear on store shelves unless they"ve been certified by Redmond.
Only products that conform to Microsoft"s Designed for Windows XP rules and carry its logo will be sold in Office Depot after May this year, the INQUIRER has discovered. (See memo at the foot of this article). These rules apply to both software and hardware products, and suppliers have been given a deadline to either include the Microsoft logo or see their products disappear off the shelves.
And if Office Depot is implementing this scheme in the USA, you can bet your bottom dollar the other retail outlets will also come under pressure to toe the Microsoft logo line.
The move will affect a spate of products that sell through retailers. Many have messages such as "works with Windows" and similar tags, but the new Microsoft scheme will narrow down the options for people making products and peripherals.