What's wrong with simply saying:
"I went to this company. I told them I wanted hardware that would be
guaranteed to work with Linux."
The next bit would then depend on whether that company first of all
had ever heard of Linux and secondly whether they were at all helpful.
If they weren't then it's a simple matter of saying this comapny is a
knowledgable Microsoft retailer... end of matter. No lies, no law
suits.
I've had experience in this area as you are no longer allowed to give
a bad reference to an employee (or an ex one at that). In the past
I've had to simply say 'no comment'. It's perfectly legal.
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Kevan Farmer
Linux user #373362
Staffordshire