Microsoft sued over Vista-XP downgrade
section: windows, for your questions: KezNews forum, 14.2.2009
Tip: Click here to update all your PC's outdated driversMicrosoft is under legal siege again over Vista. This time, a consumer is suing the company for using its monopoly power to force her to pay to downgrade from Vista to XP on a new laptop.
The Seattle Times provides a synopsis of the suit:
“Emma Alvarado bought a laptop from Lenovo on June 20, 2008, with Windows Vista Business preinstalled. She paid Lenovo ‘an additional $59.25 in order to ‘downgrade’ her operating system to Windows XP Professional.’ Alvarado is seeking class-action status.”
I’m curious who set the price point for the downgrade. And if it was Lenovo, why isn’t Alvarado suing Lenovo instead of Microsoft? Here’s how the complaint lays out the reasoning:
“Consumers have encountered numerous problems using the Vista operating system, and these problems have been widely publicized in various media outlets. As a result, many consumers would prefer to purchase a new computer pre-installed with the Windows XP operating system or at least not pre-installed with the Vista operating system. However, Microsoft has used its market power to take advantage of consumer demand for the Windows XP operating system by requiring consumers to purchase computers pre-installed with the Vista operating system and to pay additional sums to ‘downgrade’ to the Windows XP operating system.”
The complaint says Microsoft initially made the “downgrade” option available to users for $104 for a limited period of time - until June 30, 2008 — but then extended the time period until January 31, 2009 and then July 31, 2009. Yes, Microsoft’s constantly shifting XP-downgrade cutoff dates have been a source of endless confusion and mixed messages about Vista’s readiness. But, again, was it Microsoft making the downgrade option available for $104 or Lenovo? (And if it was Lenovo passing on Microsoft’s charge to PC makers, that distinction is worth noting.)
Microsoft officials have said before that it is up to PC makers as to how and whether they offered XP downgrades to end users.
I’ve asked Microsoft if it has any additional points to make regarding its Vista-to-XP downgrade policies.
source:
blogs.zdnet.com
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Comments(22)
she should sue lenovo for making her pay for the downgrade. downgrading is free from
microsoft. she will loose and loose big time. hope she has lots' of money.
somebody ought to sue their shorts off. i bought a new gateway desktop with vista on it
and it will not downgrade to xp professional even if you buy xp professional. the bios
won't allow and kind of a downgrade. this is software piracy on the part of ms. forcing
the use of vista when it's not wanted in the first place.
to put it another way, i'm not used to a company blocking the installation of the os of
my choice on any computer that i may purchase. there is definately something rotten in
denmark.
dream on friend. two legally purchased copies of xp professional will not install on a
gateway gt5636e that came with vista pre-installed. no way, no how. the machine will
upgrade but it will not downgrade. it's a clear cut case of like it or lump it and
we're looking into legal remedies for the situation. there are ways to deal with this,
with the installation of a complete new (and pirated) bios but that's an unjust burden to
put on the end user of a new pc.
just buy an hp or compaq. they have drivers or support from users that let you load xp on
any new unit. you have to know what you are doing or get help from other users, but all of
them downgrade just great!
and yes, ms should be sued for all their rules and
laws that bushy passed for them. i hope obama will make it all right over the next 8
years!
i've been running a computer repair and upgrade center (n e c contact) since 1993. i'm
well aware when the bios in a gateway desktop is designed to block any type of downgrade.
this includes after the hdd has been reformatted. this includes booting from the
installation media. it will not downgrade. you should do a bit of research before making
broad statements. i am not going to invest the time to flash the bios in this gateway
joke. vista ultimate has been installed and patched to the point where it can be used in
spite of itself. two more hp's have been ordered with xp professional pre-installed and
without the upgrade/downgrade problem built into them.
no, better idea: bittorrent a genuine lenovo oem and then install it fresh.
save $$$, and get genuine stuff!
i'm listed as a vendor/computer builder and i have a shelf full of fresh, legally
purchased versions (eleven of them) of xp, home edition through professional and media
center. all oem versions. since arriving with vista home premium preinstalled this
machine has been reformatted, failed on a downgrade, been reformatted and had home premium
re-installed, been upgraded to vista ultimate, failed on a downgrade to xp professional,
been reformatted and has had vista ultimate re-installed. i would not contact any geek
squad to find out that i had to modify the bios to allow a downgrade (as i'm already
aware of that). the question here is whether or not gateway is party to this charade. i
intend to leave the bios as it is for right now and to leave vista ultimate 64 bit on the
machine right along with it until all inquiries into the situation are completed. in the
meantime i am no longer reccommending new machines with anything ms pre-installed. i have
access to machines with no os installed and that, currently, is the better way to go. i
have several machines with ubuntu and xandros (linux) installed on them and they are,
presently, the better deal.
if you knew that gateways have issues why get it, obviously they want that piece of crap
xp on their systems as its over 8 years old. hell...omg my computer won't let me install
windows 1 i'm suing microsoft. your stupid. vista sp1 of x86 or x64 is great. i'm so
sick and tired of 80yr old hom os bitc hing about not having their dinosaur os. let it
go...move on. otherwise shut up. the downgrades are charged by manufactures not microsoft
therefore this is a bs lawsuite. they charge your dumb as s because they have to go and
remove the latest os to put some old crap on.
after read all these shitting complain, now i am designed to go ahead load winodws vista
ultimate on my laptop... i just don't know how stupid people who pay for downgrade on
os...
going from vista to xp is an upgrade, not a downgrade.
to sjc001, xp is a facking downgrade u retard.
use xp or linux or mac
vista has been nothing but a pain. i wish vista would
turn into a big monster and bite off bill gates' head. then kill itself.
people, if you want to downgrade you need use an xp cd, format your drive, install xp and
then contact microsoft. microsoft will even perhapes give you a cd if you call them or you
can borrow on from a friend. as for bios issues or no driver support that is also not
microsoft's prolem. contact the company that built your p.o.c propriatary system. it's
is there respncabilty to support what they sell not microsoft's.
hi guys
please keep your homophobia to yourself.
by all means voice your
views but stop using this forum for spew your homophobia
well i hate to say i told you soo, but vista is another windows me. meaning, oops this
should have never made it out of beta. windows 7 is suppose to be the next big ticket,
it's even enginered to work on the newest badest machines to legacy which is hosting xp
like my own. i'm willing to give win7 a shot, once all testing is completed.. right now
xp with serivce pack 3 works beatifully.
omg what is wrong with people.
windows vista is not windowsme. maybe symbolically but that's it. i've been using
pc's for a long time and i've used windowsme. vista is on another level from windowsme.
not to say i like vista but i do have a vista machine at home and it is very stable. no
problems.
when vista first came out, it had problems with freeze-ups, especially on the 64 bit
flavor. however, i am ok with it now. it has been"fixxed" to where i can live with it.
give credit where credit due.
there is no way i would "downgrade" to xp now.
technology does not work that way. only "fool" would do that. oh yea, many of them on
this page.
i agree with packedfunk, many fools on this page.
first of all, let's get this out of the way - i hate homos. therefore, i hate myself,
because i am a gay f uckweed. but if i want some c ock up my ass, then that's my damn
business.
only a moron such as myself who claims to be a builder would go out
and buy something like a gateway in the first place, and then bitch like a whiney-ass fa
ggot that the thing won't accept xp.
i need to get a life bad.
whozzit has a point, laptop brands like gateway and compaq (hp) put a hash check in the
bios that has to match the hard drive. if it dosen't then it won't boot to it anymore,
it's possible to patch out, but a pain. but i mean c'mon, vista x64 sp1 seems just as
fast as my xp, just as stable, maybe even faster. even better, sp2 is in beta testing...
go ahead and ignore new tech. stop bitching and dual boot (xp - vista)
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Not going to happen
By RamRod on 15.02.2009 - 01:02