Microsoft made $1.5 billion from Vista incapable PCs
SALES OF low-end PCs that were labeled as 'Vista Capable' but couldn't run the premium editions of Vista earned Microsoft more than $1.5 billion, according to a plaintiffs' witness estimate in the 'Vista Capable' consumer class action lawsuit.
Consumers are suing the Vole because they claim it misled them into buying PCs that were capable of running only the Home Basic version of Windows Vista rather than the more full featured editions that included the eye-candy Aero grapical user interface.
The plaintiffs argue that Microsoft "unjustly enriched" itself by deceptively inflating demand for less powerful PCs, increasing their price. This court filing claims to put a price tag on that.
Expert witness Keith Leffler stated, "I have been asked by Plaintiffs' counsel to estimate the amount of revenue earned by Microsoft from the licensing of Windows XP on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs sold to Plaintiffs."
After reviewing the Vole's [redacted] sales figures on Windows XP licences for PCs labeled as 'Vista Capable' during the period from April 2006 through January 2007, when Windows Vista became generally available, Leffler concluded: "From these figures, I have reached the opinion that Microsoft revenue from the Windows XP licensing on Vista Capable but not Vista Premium Ready PCs sold to Plaintiffs was $1.505 billion."
So that is the base amount at stake in this lawsuit, $1.5 billion. Should the trial jury be persuaded that Microsoft harmed the plaintiffs by its action, it might decide to assess actual damages commensurate to this amount.
Further, if it's convinced that aggravating factors apply, the jury might also impose punitive damages of up to three times the amount of actual damages assessed. Subject to the judge's discretion and appeals, of course. The case continues and will make entertaining watching. µ
L'Inq
Seattle PI
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I bought a cheap (relative to the rest of the range) Dell laptop to replace a dead just-out-of-warranty Apple laptop and had no choice but to accept Vista Home Edition: XP was not an option at the time. This version of Windows has been the most counter-productive I've encountered and coupled with hardware that spends most of its time rummaging around the 1Gb swap file for resources makes the whole Windows experience not one I'd care to recommend to anyone else. The Dell's Vista "capability score" is a pathetic 3.1 and oddly enough my girlfriend's Dell is the same: odd because she ordered allegedly better spec hardware.
Will I buy Windows 7 to improve the matter? Will I f*ck!! I'll wait until the Dell dies and then invest in a Linux netbook to complement the FreeBSD server I'm already running.
One has to wonder in hindsight over all the Vista FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt)if MS would have been better off to have a 32 bit Vista Basic only and went 64 bit only for the premium versions with aero? I'm not a total Vista fan but it is ok you just have to have the hardware to run it. I mean folks, Vista idles on 700 megs of ram and so plenty of ram and processor muscle is a must. There are many good things about Vista despite all the FUD. From my experience some of that goodness is definitely evident with quad core computing. Vista seems to handle multi thread apps much better than with previous OS's.
Most assuredly MS should have been more upfront about proper hardware requirements.
Someone help, I can't right click my mouse and choose personalize to disable Aero!! What a bunch of whiners. As far as I'm concerned, if you can't build one then you shouldn't own one.
...or at the least you should be bright enough to do the research before you foot out good money on OEM machine.
People who buy OEM PCs are not generally PC savvy enough to realise they're being ripped. For them, if it says so on the box, then it is so. In that respect, it is cheating, since it says on the box that vista would work, but it doesn't. Wouldn't you be annoyed if you bought a graphic card with 1.5GB VRAM (stated on the box), but actually had only 1GB on it?
Ok, first off, Vista Capable means that it is "capable" of running Vista, which the machines were. There was no swindle, no hoodwink, just standard marketing. Ever tried running a PC game using the Minimum Specifications instead of the Recommended? Doesn't work too well, but TECHNICALLY that game can be run on that system. These machines are capable of running Vista, just Vista Basic. And as anyone involved with this program knows, the fine print did specify Vista Basic, so if customers do not do their legwork, too bad for them.
@Peterg22 - Learn to use your system before complaining. The Windows score is based on your LOWEST score, not an average. Your RAM, CPU, HDD etc. could be 5.9, but if you don't have a discrete GPU (which I guarantee you don't) your score will suffer, and it should. Your girlfriend likely doesn't have a discrete GPU either, hence the similar base score. Next time try clicking the link that gives you more details.
I agree with DarkElfa. If you can't pull your head out of your ass enough to understand what you are buying, you don't deserve to get something good. If you buy the cheapest box on the shelf and think it is going to be stellar machine deserves crap. Every town has a reputable store like mine that sells good quality gear and delivers no BS. People have to learn that you get what you pay for, and if a price seems too low, there is probably a reason.
SO when someone sues and has undeniable reason don't get mad and don't try to be a shill for a big corp. LOL how hilarious that 2 people on here are trying to defend M$ lol.
They need your help not. If your smart enough to figure you have been ripped off then I say that's smart enough.
I agree with reality check, there was no real deception, it says it runs vista and it does. vista ready machines were capable of every version. There was a distinction made between which were capable of vista basic and which were ready for vista premium. There also were several fliers on the shelves at that time that explained these differences. dont sue microsoft just because you dont know how to read. No matter how much you advertise the facts there will always be the ones that complain they didnt know. Imagine how many idiots will say I did not know on Feb 18 when their tvs go fuzzy. The facts were there, they just didnt read. Im not a ms lover just dont see how its their fault considering all the fliers they printed pointing out the difference.
fact 1: new software always run badly on existing mainstream hardware when first released. it doesnt just apply to OS, but also games and work software. when Doom3 first came out in 2004, only machine could play it properly without tweaking was top end nv6800/ ati x800, any mainstream hardware - 9600/x700/6600/5700 had nightmares. now thing crysis and who much PC were able to play it the way it was meant to be played in 2006. you get the picture.
fact 2, all software has minimum requirement, yes it is a marketing ploy because they will run very badly but software developer want to make money from every possible customer so they list the minimum spec to the lowest possible.
so should Microsoft be any different?
The vole is having the employees run interference for them; they are everywhere and easy to spot!!