Vista Capable suit given class action status

Written by Tim Smalley

February 25, 2008 | 14:44

Tags: #action #capable #class #lawsuit #plaintiffs #status #vista #windows

Companies: #microsoft

The federal judge at the centre of the "Windows Vista Capable" case has said that consumers may go ahead with a class action suit against the software giant.

However, District Judge Marsha Pechman whittled down the scope of the suit to focus on whether or not Microsoft's Vista Capable logos created artificial demand for PCs in the run up to Christmas 2006 and inflated prices of the machines that couldn't run the full-featured versions of Windows Vista.

Interestingly, according to an Associated Press report, neither of the two plaintiffs that filed the original lawsuit purchased a machine adorning the Vista Capable logo, but argued that people who bought PCs with the logo were harmed because they could only upgrade to the entry-level version of the OS.

Judge Pechman said that if the prosecutors named someone who did participate in Microsoft's "Express Upgrade" programme, they could also pursue that claim as well.

What would be ironic is if the plaintiffs asked Mike Nash, a vice president in the Windows Product Management group, to join the case, as an email he wrote outlined that he had been burnt by the programme. "I PERSONALLY got burnt, read the email, "Are we seeing this from a lot of customers? ... I now have a $2,100 e-mail machine."

He wasn't the only Microsoft employee to express concerns about the programme too, as Jim Allchin, then co-president of Microsoft's Platforms and Services Division, said, "We really botched this... You guys have to do a better job with our customers."

Microsoft is reportedly reviewing the ruling.

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