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California Consumers Settle MS Antitrust Suit

Posted by timothy on from the but-the-customers-shrug-and-move-on dept.

lseltzer writes "According to AP, $1.1B in Microsoft products will go to California consumers to settle antitrust claims against the company. I bet the lawyers don't get paid in software." Actually, the article says that those who apply for some of the settlement will receive "vouchers redeemable for any manufacturer's computer-related products and software."

4 of 274 comments (clear)

  1. actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    "proceeds of the settlement will be distributed to members of the class in the form of vouchers redeemable for ANY manufacturer's computer-related products and software."

    notice the word 'any'

  2. Re:Software cost by Spy+Hunter · · Score: 5, Informative
    You have to look for a report on this by a California newspaper. It will have much more detail about the exact terms, since CA residents are the ones who are getting the vouchers. From the San Jose Mercury News:

    Under the terms announced today, Microsoft will issue vouchers, ranging in value from $5 to $29 per licensed product, to consumers and businesses. The vouchers can be used to buy computers and software from any maker, including Microsoft rivals.

    For claims totaling $100 or less, no documentation of purchases is needed, they said.

    Plaintiffs' lawyers estimate consumers will recoup about one-third of what they spent for Microsoft products, including the Windows operating systems and popular Office and Word programs, between Feb. 18, 1995, and Dec. 15, 2001.

    For example, consumers will receive a voucher for $29 for each copy of Microsoft Office purchased, $26 for each copy of Excel, $16 for each copy of the Windows operating system and $5 for each copy of the word-processing program Word, according to plaintiffs' lawyers.

    --
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  3. Replying to myself... by Spy+Hunter · · Score: 5, Informative
    Oops, almost forgot:
    Two-thirds of any unclaimed settlements, up to $1.1 billion, will be given to California's neediest public schools to be used for computer equipment and related services in a program to be administered by the state's Department of Education. Microsoft would keep the final one-third of the unclaimed portion.

    And a link to the article

    --
    main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
  4. peanuts -- evil peanuts by g4dget · · Score: 4, Informative
    I recommend reading the news.com article. Major points:

    • It's for Windows 95 and Windows 98.
    • It seems to be focused on business licensees.
    • It's unclear whether the vouchers are really unrestricted; the formulation "Microsoft or other products" sounds like marketing speak for "selected products by Microsoft and a few other companies".
    • It appears that for anything that isn't redeemed, Microsoft gets to keep 1/3, give 1/3 in cash, and give 1/3 in Microsoft software to schools.

    The kicker is, however, $1bn is about as much as Toshiba had to pay for shipping supposedly defective floppy disk drives on their laptops.

    I think this is absolutely evil. Even if Microsoft had to pay everything in cash, it would be peanuts. Instead, they'll be able to further contaminate schools with their proprietary software, something they have already volunteered to do as a "donation"--a tax sheltered marketing ploy.