Hewlett-Packard Corporation (NYSE: HPQ) may be playing with fire when it comes to one of its biggest partners. Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Vista operating system that ships on virtually every HP consumer and business PC system is so sandbagged and hard to use that HP may be installing its own software to allow consumers to easily do things like view movies, digital pictures, and other seemingly simple tasks that many consumers find cumbersome and precarious even with Microsoft's vaunted "easy to use" Vista operating system.

It's a pretty big statement that the largest PC maker in the world wants to bypass the operating system software from the world's largest software company to make sure consumers can do things without any muss or fuss. HP's customer experience group, headed by Susie Wee, stated rather pointedly that it wants to make using a computer extremely simple. As Phil McKinney with HP's Personal Storage Group (PSG) division puts it, "Our customers are looking for insanely simple technology where they don't have to fight with the technology to get the task done ... for us, it's about innovating on top of Vista."

Yikes -- innovating on top of Vista? That's a rather large slap in the face of a company with enormous market clout in the software field, and a rather sound beating for what is billed as Microsoft's easiest to use operating system ever. HP wants to be less dependent on the release schedule of Microsoft's future versions of Windows, including the current Vista release. It's all about giving the consumer choice, right?

Right now, the uninformed consumer has little choice but to buy a new PC with a copy of Windows Vista already installed. But Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), who markets its MacOS operating system as extremely simple to use and live with, is making inroads into the PC market more than ever, and larger Windows distributors like HP need an alternative to ensure it doesn't lose customers to the resurgent Apple. Giving consumers an alternative to Windows Vista may just be the right recipe at the right time, yes?

A recent study by Evans Data Corporation shows that developers don't like Vista any more than the rest of us. Six times as many are clinging to XP than switching to Vista. Only 8% of developers are working on programs to run on Vista, compared with 50% who are writing for Windows XP. That's not good news for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), who hopes that its customers will grudgingly tolerate the withdrawal of XP on June 30.

Many are begging Microsoft to relent, especially InfoWorld. The developers do plan on doing more work for the troubled operating system next year, but still not as many as are hanging onto XP. Next year, 24% of developers expect to target Vista while 29% will still work with XP.

Evans data doesn't say how much the Vista disaster has helped Linux and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), but it's clear Vista has sent many fleeing. eWeek reported last week that Apple now has a 14% market share -- nearly four times what it had in 2005. Using data from NPD Group, eWeek points out that Apple sells two out of three computers in the $1,000 and above category. That's largely because Macs are still way, way more expensive than PCs. If Apple ever got around to offering a computer at a price the masses were willing to pay, Microsoft might be in trouble. Microsoft may not hear the complaints about its operating system, but it understands that people want to pay less for computers.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) made a splash last October when it began selling a $199 personal computer on its shelves. Not only was the price the lowest in the land, but it was Wal-Mart's way of providing a PC to its "Always Low Prices" core customer group that just needed a PC for web browsing, email and light work like word processing.

This group of people didn't need the "upgrade" of Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows operating system, which significantly adds to the price of any PC it comes pre-installed on. No, Wal-Mart's "gPC" came with the Linux operating system, which is completely free, looks very much like Microsoft's Windows and performs many of the same tasks. The only problem with that is customers just didn't buy the $199 box in very good volumes -- even at a $199 price point.

So, Wal-Mart has yanked the product from its national shelves, although the $199 gPC will still be sold at www.walmart.com. Now, the PC did reportedly sell out in its stores (600 stores to be exact), but Wal-Mart indicated that "This really wasn't what our customers were looking for." Although the retailer sold out of the $199 PC and decided not to restock it, the decision says that 1) customers need or want Microsoft Windows after all to keep compatibility with programs they would like to install (like Microsoft Office), or 2) there was pressure from Microsoft in some form to not confuse customers with all of the PCs also available at Wal-Mart from vendors like Taiwan's Acer and Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). But, only 600 stores sold the $199 PCs -- so in all reality, this was just a test for Wal-Mart, plain and simple. Ultimately, though, it failed.

Some people will go out of their way to avoid using Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows operating system. If you look around carefully enough, you can escape the "Microsoft tax" and get a PC for a lower price. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) already sells PCs that don't use Windows, and it's about to add a laptop PC to the mix.

The world's largest retailer will begin selling an ultra-light, two-pound laptop PC in a few weeks. Made by Everex, it comes with gobs of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) applications and links to online services pre-installed. These services include Google Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google News, Google Maps and YouTube. There are so many links to Google's online content that the laptop is already being referred to as containing the "Google operating system."

CNN had a story yesterday showing gains in Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) market share in operating systems. The recent gains in market share must be hard for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to ignore. It also has to make life harder for Linux and other O/S makers.

The data released yesterday, showed that the MacIntel systems had a 4.01% share in December and the Mac OS share was 3.28%, making it a combined 7.3% share in December. While the data shows that Microsoft still dominates with a 91.8% market share, it also shows that it has lost ground for seven of the last eleven months. What is interesting is that out of this 91.8% market share for various Windows O/S sales is that 76.97% is still windows XP and only 10.43% is for Windows Vista.

CNN's story covers a survey from Net Applications that uses a sample of visitors to some 40,000 websites operated by its clients rather than a total number of computer systems sold. So there is still some room for interpretation here.

Linux was shown as having a 0.63% market share. While that is up 10.5% from the previous 0.57% readings, it shows that Mac truly is the envy of Linux creators. It is also interesting that, at least according to this survey, much of the Windows sales might still be going into Windows XP rather than Windows Vista.

For more than a week, Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) has delayed its earnings. But, we got the results yesterday -- and they were fairly ho-hum. Fiscal Q4 revenues increased 5% to $244.9 million but there was a net loss of $17.9 million or $0.05 per share. Keep in mind that there were one-time expenses for the sale of a consulting division.

Novell got a big boost from its Linux platform, which saw a 69% increase in revenues and 4,700 new customers, such as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Credit Suisse Group (ADR) (NYSE: CS) and Wachovia Corporation (NYSE: WB). There were also some key enterprise deals with Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL) and Lenovo.

No doubt, Novell is still in the restructuring mode. Some of the initiatives include: outsourcing technical talent to low-wage countries; stronger partner relationships; and shared services with its back office.

However, with $1.3 billion in the bank -- which represents more than half of Novell's market cap -- there will likely be pressure from investors, such as for buybacks.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Imagine a product that many people do not think works well but sells millions of copies. Well, that's Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s operating system, Windows Vista.

According to the FT, both business and personal computer users have tried to stick with older versions of the Microsoft OS, Windows XP, but adoption is still good enough to drive outstanding earnings for the world's largest software company. As the newspaper says: "None of this, however, has had any discernible impact on Microsoft's financial fortunes. Many companies buy their software from Microsoft under an arrangement called Software Assurance, which lets them upgrade to new software whenever they like in return for a fixed annual payment."

Perhaps that is what having a monopoly is all about. Even if products are not perfect, they are adopted. Even if companies normally would not make an investment, they are on an "automatic upgrade" program.

It might be nice to think that Linux or Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) new OS, Leopard, would get wider adoption, but based on most figures, the Mac has no more than 5% of the global PC market and no open-source desktop program has significant market penetration.

It's good to be king.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Although it hasn't gained much attention in the media, a revolutionary computer is now on sale at your local Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). For just $199, you can buy the Everex gPC TC2502, a powerful PC with a hook: it is designed to run without using any Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) products whatsoever. Instead of Windows and Word, you get Linux, OpenOffice and lots of Google Apps.

The computer itself is pretty impressive. Here's what you get for your $199: a 1.5GHz VIA C7 CPU, 512MB of memory, an 80GB disk, an Ethernet port, stereo speakers, and a DVD-ROM CD-RW drive. You also get an operating system called gOS and a full suite of software from OpenOffice.org. The operating system is specially designed to work with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) applications like Gmail and Google Maps, and all software updates are free. The one thing you don't get is a monitor, but judging from the sidewalks of my neighborhood in Brooklyn, where working monitors routinely show up decorated with signs saying 'works perfectly!, please take,' that shouldn't be hard to remedy.

Historically, North Carolina was well-known for tobacco, furniture production, and textiles. Though the Tar Heel state is still a leading textiles employer, both textiles and furniture production have been diminished by offshoring; North Carolina is one of the states most affected by job loss to other parts of the world. The state also remains a leader in tobacco production, but concerns about the loss of government subsidies have prompted many farmers to switch to other crops or to quit farming altogether.

Today, Charlotte, North Carolina, is known as the second largest financial center in the U.S., and the Raleigh-Durham area is a tech and research district. Carlisle Cos. (NYSE: CSL), Commscope Inc. (NYSE: CTV), and Red Hat Inc. (NYSE: RHT) can be found in the state.

The Forbes 2007 list of the 100 best mid cap stocks included two from North Carolina. One of those is Charlotte-based Carlisle, a manufacturer of such diverse products as brakes for heavy-duty trucks, roofing materials, food service equipment, and aerospace cabling assemblies. Carlisle appointed a new CEO in June, and in August it marked its 31st consecutive year of dividend increases. Carlisle's five-year EPS growth rate of 19.4% is better than its industry average, but less than the S&P 500. Earnings missed Wall Street estimates in the first three quarters of 2007, the company reporting 84 cents per share in the recent third quarter report, missing expectations by three cents, but 14 cents more than in the same period last year. The share price began to slide even before Carlisle trimmed its full-year guidance again in October, to open at $39.43 on Friday, down from the 52-week high of $51.57 in August.

In a move I thought I'd never see, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) looks to be reversing course a little and trying to get a version of its Windows Vista computer operating system as an option on the $100 "One Laptop Per Child" project spearheaded by MIT to place computers into the hands of as many kids in distressed and poor nations as possible.

The project itself is highly admirable, as its goal is to connect kids to a world that expands their horizons and hopefully leads some countries from destitute status to growing, civil communities that are empowered by the knowledge that lives on the internet every day, as well as connecting citizens to one another and students with much-needed tools.

In the past, Microsoft has shunned the project, probably since it was slated to use a generic Linux operating system that provides no revenue to anyone -- not exactly a business Microsoft wants to be in. However, it also takes future customers away from Microsoft's revenue prospects in developing countries where PCs may pave the way for computer industry growth in the future. Talk about a dilemma.

The Justice Department came to an agreement with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) in 2002 to regulate what the government saw as non-competitive actions by the big software company. According to Reuters: "Microsoft was found to have unlawfully used its monopoly in personal computer operating systems to discourage computer manufacturers from loading non-Microsoft software on their machines."

Now, the feds are saying Microsoft is doing just fine playing with others and the issue of competition has receded. Not so, say several state attorneys general. They don't believe that Gates & Co. have done much to mend their evil ways.

It is hard to say how the states measure this. Does Linux have a better footprint in the server market? Yes. Is the PC market more open to operating systems outside Windows? No. But until Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) makes its OS broadly available there are not any other alternatives.

Microsoft is certainly using the OS to help it in other areas, like keeping its browser in first place. But areas like web video are now dominated by Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE)'s Flash platform. That was not true five years ago. PC software security is dominated by Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC).

If there hadn't been a federal case against Microsoft, the landscape might remain the same as it was throughout the 1990s. But, with competition from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and other large software companies, it is hard to say that conditions have not changed.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Main market news: Before the bell: Watching the Fed, investors prop up Goldman Sachs fund

Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) -- The retailer lowered its second quarter earnings forecast and said same stores sales declined. It also announced a new share buyback.

Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) -- A federal judge ruled Friday that Novell, not SCO Group Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOX) was the rightful owner of the UNIX operating system. SCO, which has also sued International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), had claimed it owned Unix and was entitled to royalties from the popular free Linux operating system.

Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) -- The head of a Chinese toymaker at the center of huge recall involving Mattel's Fisher-Price unit committed suicide, according to state-run media.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) -- Citigroup lost $700 million in credit business in recent weeks, according to the Financial Times.

Here's a scenario which is quite unneeded by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). In the battle to create profit within the world of personal computers, it must be scary for "number one" when numbers two and three join forces. According to a report from Red Herring, that is exactly what is happening, sort of. I haven't heard yet if Microsoft is scared.

It would seem that Dell and Lenovo are each gearing up behind the Linux operating system and are preparing to take a flying leap right against Windows. Judging by the considerable negative banter I have encountered regarding a less than stellar Windows Vista inaugural performance, I would say Dell and Lenovo's move comes at a most opportune time.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) has fully embraced Linux, which has had fairly good response from domestic open source enthusiasts. Dell, for its part, is taking the operating system on a worldwide road show. Dell will be hard selling PCs loaded with the Linux operating system in several countries across the pond.

For number three PC maker Lenovo (OTC: LNGVY)'s part, it plans to introduce a broad range of Linux-outfitted laptops, a particularly strong endorsement of the operating system. To me this signals a recognition by manufacturers in the field that Windows Vista is shoddy, expensive and perhaps a bit arrogant, if I can use that word in this context.

To be honest I must admit that Dell has lost me as a customer. That is mainly due to Dell's decision to succumb to the wiles of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). I thank Dell however for giving the nod to Linux, as that may very well be my chosen operating system for the computer I am soon to build. My computer building project shall be introduced on Friday and shall be fully chronicled on our sister site, DIYLife. I'm hoping that our BloggingStocks friends will come share their opinions as I build a computer from scratch. I will be soliciting reader input to help complete that project successfully.

With the one possible exception of the move into Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT), I'm getting very strong messages of positive change from Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). What I'm seeing is a company that is pushing hard in multiple directions to find the strategies that will return it to good standing. If Dell can untangle some sluggish bookkeeping and get its corporate interior straightened out, it can then forge straight ahead, unrestrained by its attempts to heal its marketing weaknesses. There's a lot of upheaval going on at Dell right now, but it's certainly not all bad.

Dell's move into Wal-Mart has met with mixed response. At first I myself didn't like the move but that's probably mostly because I wanted Dell to align with Radio Shack Corp. (NYSE: RSH). Given the fact that computer prices have reached the level where a discount retail chain can sell them for profit, I guess there's no reason why Wal-Mart shouldn't be the one to do it. As long as Dell keeps its consumer direct options open so that folks like me can "custom" build one, I'll concede that the Dell/Wal-Mart alliance may become a good one.

A definite positive move that Dell has recently undertaken is its decision to preinstall the Ubuntu Linux operating system. Linux seems to be a preferred operating system in circles of web "professionals." I have the distinct pleasure to rub elbows with some of the internet's best writers, and the more I do that, the more I find that the busiest ones seem to prefer Linux. The Linux change and other customer focused moves seem to be driven by input that Dell receives via its own community forums. "We are responding directly to feedback from customers," Dell spokesperson Anne Camden said.

Latest in a series of moves by Dell to become more deeply consumer responsive is their decision to allow consumers to "opt out" of preinstalled programming, sort of like an operating system line-item veto. Based on the success of a "no software preinstalled" option that Dell promoted with its XPS systems a year ago, Dell has determined to take the favorable response to that scenario a step further and will extend it to Dell Inspiron and Dimension lines. Analysts are speculating that there's a remote possibility that this change will mean a revenue drop for Dell, but there's little credence to that assertion. Besides, the focus here is a realignment of Dell with the consumer, and if done successfully, that's where all the gold is hidden.

A certain number of large cap stock disappoint every quarter. Usually their stocks get punished in the days and weeks after. Solid quarterly numbers with weak guidance can be just as bad. But, there are some companies that give off signal or compete in industries where the competitive trends are working against them.

A few red flag companies:

Ford (NYSE: F): Some members of the Ford family want to retain bankers to see if they can cash out their shares. Sales of the important F-series pick-ups and Explorer lines are falling faster than forecast. Even with labor negotiations coming up, costs may not fall.