AllThingsD » Vista Capable

Microsoft Loses Another Windows Veteran

John Paczkowski — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:49:42 +0000

High-level Microsoft departures are becoming a regular event. Last month, Windows senior VP Bill Veghte said he is leaving the company after 20 years. This month, it’s Mike Nash, corporate VP for Windows Platform Strategy, who has tendered his resignation.

Nash spent 19 years at Microsoft (MSFT), where he led development of Windows NT, Windows 2000 and, more infamously, helped manage fallout from the “Vista Capable” fiasco. He was among the more prominent public faces of Windows over the years, so it’s odd to see him stepping down so suddenly.

“We can confirm that Mike Nash is leaving Microsoft in a couple weeks,” Microsoft said in a statement. “In his 19 years, Mike made an impact in number of key roles at the company. We appreciate his service and wish him well.”

It’s not yet clear why Nash is leaving or where he’s headed, though Mary Jo Foley says he may soon surface on the Kindle team at Amazon (AMZN).

Vista Capable Plaintiffs Seek Express Class-Action Upgrade

John Paczkowski — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 20:37:30 +0000

If you thought the Vista Capable lawsuit was all but over with its recent decertification as a class action, think again. The plaintiffs in the suit against Microsoft have narrowed its scope a bit and are asking a federal judge to reinstate its class-action status. The suit originally applied to all buyers of so-called “Windows Vista Capable” machines. Now, it applies only to those who purchased Windows Vista Capable PCs in Microsoft’s Express Upgrade Guarantee program. “Plaintiffs believe that the analysis as to these narrowed classes, and specifically to the proposed proof of proximate cause, is materially different from the analysis that pertained to the larger class and is consistent with the court’s prior rulings on class-certification issues,” the plaintiffs wrote in a motion requesting certification of a smaller class.

With potentially millions of dollars in compensatory damages at stake here, there’s no way Microsoft (MSFT) will allow the motion to go unchallenged.

The trial is currently set to begin April 13, unless the plaintiffs succeed in having it postponed.

Vista Capable Suit Downgraded to "Home Basic" from "Class Action Ultimate"

John Paczkowski — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:30:58 +0000

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.’”

– Excerpt from the Vista Capable lawsuit

Looks like the three-hour deposition Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave in the so-called “Vista Capable” class action suit was for naught. A judge Wednesday ruled that the lawsuit, which has troubled Microsoft for nearly two years now, cannot go forward as a class action. Instead, plaintiffs who claim Microsoft labeled PCs “Windows Vista Capable” even though the computers were capable of running only the stripped down “Home Basic” version of the OS, must pursue their cases individually. Seems the plaintiffs were unable to convincingly demonstrate that the “Windows Vista Capable” marketing program resulted in increased sales for Microsoft, an argument essential to supporting their class action claim.

A lucky turn of events for Microsoft (MSFT) and one that could potentially save the company millions of dollars in compensatory damages and, by some accounts, up to $8.52 billion-worth of memory and graphics cards if it should lose the case–assuming any of the plaintiffs have the courage to go up against Microsoft on their own.