Iowa Court May Order Microsoft Refunds

dowobeha writes: "The Des Moines Register is reporting that thousands of Windows 98 users in Iowa could get $40 refunds from Microsoft. The Iowa Supreme Court has found the big boys from Redmond guilty of price fixing in violation of a 1976 Iowa law. According to the report, this is the first antitrust ruling in any state that favors 'indirect purchasers' (regular consumers who got Windows preinstalled on their newly purchased computer) rather than "direct purchasers" (manufacturers who license Windows to distribute on new machines)."

Comments

Consumers, not states, brought the case

[baronben]

Its interesting that in this case, it was consumners, the artical mentiones a vending company and various other consumers that sued microsoft for price fixing, and not the states suing microsoft for anti-trust violations. This might be an interesting route to go if the State's case somehow gets dismissed or otherwised redered void.

It would be interesting to see how this would work in other states, but it would be difficult seeing as the case was based on state, not federal, law.

Re:Consumers, not states, brought the case

[Clay Mitchell]

Hey, this is good! Instead of the the big corporations petitioning the government to screw Joe Citizen, Joe Citizen petitions the government to hose the corporation! I like this!

But there's a good lesson here, don't sit back and take it - it's easy to sit around and think academically "oh my, they certainly can't take away this! It's guaranteed in the bill of rights!" but who actually gets out there and tries to stop it?

Wow....

[NanoGator]

... Just wait until Windows 2000 is released over there.

here we go with the Iowa jokes...

[Anonymous Coward]

Before we start on the "I didn't know there were any computers in Iowa..." jokes- let's remember- the digital computer was INVENTED in Iowa- at Iowa State University!

Iowa and Political Power

[namespan]

Iowa is an interesting state. It's got a relatively small population, which at one point was even the fastest shrinking population of any state in the US -- this in a time of urban sprawl and growth mentality. This could have made it politically marginal, but by cleverly arranging early caucuses there, they're suddenly important.

One wonders if this isn't another realization of the power of precedent setting, and perhaps a manifestation of that rumored Midwestern common sense. :)

Re:Iowa and Political Power

[BigZaphod]

Oh crap, our secret is out. Expect a visit from the black-tractors....

Re:Of course...

[rlthomps-1]

yeah, I resent the fact that you pick on Iowa just like that. It just so happens that we have one of the best public education systems in the nation which means a lot of computers!

We're not technologically backward like the sterotype says... now if you'll excuse me I have to milk bessy and bail some hay...

Well *I* think it's a good idea...

[Ungrounded Lightning]

I don't think this is a good idea. The point should be to change certain behavior in the future, and perhaps to punish them for what they did in the past. It is not to give out mass refunds to computer users, who really did have a choice in the end.

Well *I* think mass refunds ARE a good idea. A slap on the wrist that causes no pain is not very effective at changing future behavior. "First you get his attention."

As for "really did have a choice in the end", what choice? I've bought at least three computers with included Windows that I've never used, because there was no way to get a computer of similar characteristics WITHOUT bundled Windows due to Microsoft's anticompetitive practices. The ELUA that appeared on the screen when I booted 'em always said if you don't like it, don't use it and you get a refund. I've spent hours per machine trying to get that money refunded and have yet to see a cent.

I've always thought that one of the sanctions against Microsoft from the antitrust trial should be requiring them to set up a refund center for people who didn't use the bundled Windows and hadn't been given a refund, requiring them to return the entire added cost (including the computer company's and retailer's markup, and a bit extra for the user's time and trouble applying for the refund).

THAT would be the appropriate sanction for forcing the manufacturers to chose between charging for Windows on all their machines or having it on none.

The check is not in the mail.

[n0ano]

Assuming that MicroSoft actually winds up owing every one is the class $40, a big if, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a check. What do you want to bet that the payout will be in the form of a $40 rebate on your next MS purchase?

I love the US class action legal system. The lawyers get paid big bucks and the consumers wind up funding a new marketing program that locks them in even tighter to the guilty party!

Yes, But That In No Way Supercedes State Law

[FreeUser]

Aren't sales from MS to Iowa residents interstate commerce and thus a matter for Federal antitrust law?

Yes, they are. They are also subject to state law where they sell their products. Being an interstate transaction adds federal jurisdiction to an already existing state jurisdiction, it does not in any way negate the state's jurisdiction.

In other words, it adds regulations Microsoft must follow, it doesn't supercede any. Just as California emissions standards apply to automobiles built in Detroit (but sold in California), so to Iowa's antitrust regulations apply to Microsoft's sales in Iowa, regardless of where Micrsoft is headquartered, or the floppies and CDs their shabby OS is distributed on happen to have been printed.

Good luck!

[polymath69]

Don't count on a check. The article says "refunds or credits". What company ever writes a check when it can simply print the money in the form of a coupon?

That way, they get you coming and going. You paid for the OS you didn't want or need, and you don't intend to buy anything from them in the future anyway, so the coupon will remain unused... Microsoft smiles. The lawyers smile, too, since they got paid. Consumers? Hey, you won, right? Be happy about it.

Prick

[acoustix]

3 computers? Whatever. It's comments like this that make people in Iowa better than people like you.

Iowa has ALWAYS been in the top 3 for education.
Iowa had the FIRST state-wide fiber optic network.
Iowa had the FIRST digital computer in the world.

So go ahead and make fun of us. We know how good we are.

It wasn't a decision to force a refund

[jmcnamera]

Read the article again, this is the Iowa State Supreme court telling the local court to hear the case.

It wasn't decided if it was anti-trust or that a refund was due. Only that it should be heard.

How I avoided the Micro$oft Tax

[bnavarro]

I just purchased a Pentium 4 screamer for myself. Since I was converting my old Pentium II compuuter to a Lunx box, I wanted to use the copy of Windows 2000 that I had running on it on my new computer -- I refuse to "upgrade" to XP. I was mindful of getting slapped with the OS tax if I refused a copy of XP. My solution?

I built the damn thing myself.

I bought the motherboard, video card, and case from CompUSA. I bought the memory, hard drive, DVD drive, skipped the floppy drive, Ethernet card, and sound card from a mom and pop computer store.

If you have avoided rolling your own computer, I must report that it was extremely intuitive and easy. If you can build Lego models, you can build your own PC.

Just say no to the MS tax. Build your own computer!

You're all wrong

[gidds]

As has been said, the first digital computer was Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, though his design was never fully built (partly because the mechanical engineering of the day wasn't up to the job, and partly because the government stopped funding him).

As for the first electronic digital computer, that wasn't ENIAC, either. I know you USAns like to think that you invented everything, but Colossus here in the UK beat you by a few years.

The first binary electronic digital computer was German: Konrad Zuse's Z1.

And ENIAC wasn't even the first stored-program electronic computer: while ENIAC had to be programmed by plugboard, the Manchester Mark 1, aka `Baby', was storing programs in memory along with data, just as all current machines do.

Credit where it's due, please :)