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Oi! How big did you say this hard disk is?

PC users sue vendors over size claims

US PC users have banded together to protest against "deceptive advertising" of hard drive capacity by filling a lawsuit against the world's biggest computer manufacturers.

Apple Computer, Dell, Gateway Inc, HP, IBM, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba Corp are named in the lawsuit, which seeks to attain class-action status.

Los Angeles residents Lanchau Dan, Adam Selkowitz, Tim Swan and John Zahabian have initiated the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Reuters reports.

The lawsuit objects to the notation used in describing the capacity of hard disk drives in manufacturers' promotional material. For example, a "20 GB" hard drive would only have 18.6 GB usable capacity, the complaint maintains.

This practice is deceptive, according to the complainants, who are asking the courts to grant an injunction to force vendors to curtail the practice. The lawsuit also seeks damages to be levied against the defendants. ®

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