Even in 1997, Microsoft had the home desktop market sewn up.
I'd disagree there..
Not that history doesn't show that they DID have the desktop "sewn up," but that MS felt that way...
MS is always afraid of the competition, even when it's not really there... That's one of the reasons they've been so successful...
I do think it's unlikely the MS directly said anything about Amiga (but it's possible) at the time. But I think it's plausible that MS reminded Gateway (and other vendors) from time to time about other platforms in general.
It wouldn't take much after a meeting with MS for Gateway to say, "You know, we don't want any ripples in the water.. That other project; we don't really want to mess with it right now.."
desiv