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Microsoft Sued Over Vista Marketing

Posted by Zonk on from the my-toaster-is-vista-capable dept.

daviddennis writes "According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a lawsuit alleges that Microsoft engaged in deceptive practices by letting PC makers promote hardware as 'Windows Vista Capable' even though they knew it could not run most of Vista's widely-promoted features. Microsoft responds by saying that the differences have been promoted with one of the most extensive marketing pushes in company history. 'In sum, Microsoft engaged in bait and switch -- assuring consumers they were purchasing Vista Capable machines when, in fact, they could obtain only a stripped-down operating system lacking the functionality and features that Microsoft advertised as Vista ... As a result, the suit said, people were buying machines that couldn't run the real Vista.'"

8 of 556 comments (clear)

  1. 1 GB RAM is the minimum for windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1 GB ram is the minimum for a responsive experience with windows .. especially with the required anti-virus running.

    The should start off at 1GB. PC makers lose credibility selling systems with less than that because the experience is going to suck.

    1. Re:1 GB RAM is the minimum for windows by Weh · · Score: 5, Insightful

      look at modern cars; Are engines becoming more efficient? yes they are. Are the constructive aspects of the cars more efficient? yes they are. Are the materials being used becoming lighter? yes they are. But do cars today consume less fuel than 10 or 20 years ago? No they don't... Why? because the average car is much heavier and thus needs a larger engine; people want the car padded with airbags, power everything (including ashtray covers) steel beams for side impact protection, etc. etc. and they still want the car to accelerate like a sports car. Moral of the story, when technology advances it is used for more comfort, not for more efficiency.

  2. There you go, people ... by operagost · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Vista Home Basic includes the "core experience," which means Microsoft admits that the rest is useless window dressing.

    Hey... which version comes without the DRM feature?

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  3. Well, they needed something to market it on... by muntumbomoklik · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The fact is that the vast majority of users don't need a hog like Vista for anything they don't already use XP for, making an incentive to upgrade almost nonexistent aside from having the latest Shiny New Thing(tm). Making Vista seem more attractive would be the only way to get grandma to pay $500 just to be able to send the same emails at the same speed.

  4. Re:Looks like a worthless suite to me by RobertM1968 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unfortunately, you are correct. There was nothing in their promotions that indicated "Capable" at a certain productivity or usability level. If the machine says "Vista Capable" and it runs any version of Vista - then it's Vista Capable. MS is just taking advantage of consumers' inability to interpret what is stated... just like someone complaining about a store sale that says up to 50% off - "Why is this only 10% off?" - "Because it says UP TO 50%".

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  5. Re:So what? by PhxBlue · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...but the core of an OS is NOT the graphical fluff.

    To most of the people who use computers, there's no difference between the core of an OS and the user interface. It's the software that makes the computer work, and it's not the same software that they thought they'd be able to run when they saw "Vista capable" on the machines.

    That doesn't necessarily mean the suit itself has any merit, but I can definitely see where the customers are coming from.

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  6. Re:Looks like a worthless suite to me by Anivair · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Agreed. Aero is not vista, but MS never really mentioned that in their advertising, did they? As far as the public knew Aero did not exist. it was all just "vista". I actually concur with the article. I think this case has merit. Not just because I want to see MS go down, but also because I'm sick of bait and switch advertising in technology. I also want to see someone sue a video game company for advertising a game showing all cut scenes with no real gameplay. I hate that.

  7. Re:Looks like a worthless suite to me by Coryoth · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Me too - just because I am running Gnome on my Linux box doesn't mean that because I am lacking XGL and Beryl/Compiz functionality I'm not running Gnome on Linux. Aero != Vista I believe the difference here is that Gnome doesn't have all its advertising show off the cool 3D effects available from Beryl/Compiz. The issue is that Microsoft is playing both sides here: they advertise Vista based on its fancy new UI, and then advertise "Vista Capable machines" that offer none of the features for which they are advertising Vista with. If I advertise my hamburgers as having 1/2 a pound of beef, and also have advertisements saying that my salads come with a free hamburger (not mentioning that the free hamburger is a McDonalds hamburger) then the advertising is being deceptive. Sure, both ads are technically true, but in conjucction they are designed to mislead.

    It is true that the machines are technically Vista Capable in that they can run, and the features MS advertises for Vista are features that Vista has. However, the machines that are Vista Capable are not capable of running what MS is advertising Vista to be. Sure, both ads are technically true, but in conjunction they are designed to mislead.
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