Class Action Status Sought for 'Vista Capable' Lawsuit

Published: February 20, 2008

by Alex Woodie

E-mails from current and former Microsoft executives were used against Microsoft in a hearing Friday to determine whether to give class action status to a lawsuit about the potentially misleading nature of Microsoft's "Windows Vista Capable" campaign.

According to this Seattle Post-Intelligencer story, e-mails written by Jim Allchin, the former co-president of Microsoft's Platforms and Services Division, and Mike Nash, who is currently a corporate vice president for Windows product management, support the plaintiff's claim that Microsoft deceived customers with its "Windows Vista Capable" logo.

In one e-mail presented to the U.S. District Court, Allchin apparently recognized that the logo was an ill-conceived idea. "We really botched this," he wrote, according to the P-I. "You guys have to do a better job with our customers."

Nash reportedly wrote: "I PERSONALLY got burnt. . . . Are we seeing this from a lot of customers? . . . I now have a $2,100 e-mail machine."

Microsoft used a two-tier system for the launch of Windows Vista. Computers that were technically capable of running Windows Vista Home Basic were given the "Windows Vista Capable" logo. These machines only needed 512 MB of memory--much less than is recommended for Vista Home Premium and other versions. They also don't need a video card, whereas a 128 MB video card is required to run Vista's "Aero" interface.

"Even a piece of junk will qualify," Jeffrey Tilden, the plaintiff's attorney, says another Microsoft e-mail read, according to the P-I report.

The lawyer representing Microsoft, Stephen Rummage, says the e-mails were "really just snippets of a broad and thorough review" of Windows Vista marketing before the product's launch. He argued that people had access to "a wealth of information" about the Vista Capable logo and the operating system.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman should return her decision on the class action status within a week.

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