Ballmer's bid to swerve 'Vista Capable' row comes unstuck
Judge orders Microsoft boss to testify
MS CEO Steve Ballmer has been ordered by a federal judge to testify in a class action lawsuit over the ongoing “Vista Capable” debacle.
In September Ballmer tried to distance himself from the row by claiming he had no direct involvement in Microsoft’s marketing campaign for the operating system.
But US District Judge Marsha Pechman has denied the “defendant’s motion for a protective order precluding the deposition of Steven A. Ballmer”.
Pechman gave consumers the go-ahead in February to file a class action lawsuit against Microsoft for providing misleading information about Windows XP computers being able to run Vista.
Plaintiffs in the case allege that Microsoft artificially inflated demand in the run-up to Christmas 2006, by falsely advertising that PCs would be capable of running the full version of the firm’s delayed Vista operating system.
Redmond’s “Windows Vista Capable” labels first appeared on computers in April 2006, even though the firm’s unloved OS didn’t get a general release until January last year.
Ballmer must give his deposition within 30 days of Pechman’s order, which was filed last Friday (21 November).
“The court appreciates that there are severe demands on Mr Ballmer’s time; however, a busy schedule cannot ‘shield’ an executive from discovery,” said the judge.
SeattlePI has a copy of the ruling here. ®
COMMENTS
Scary!
Ballmer looks almost human in that picture.
It must be the specs!
Right!
What is upsetting in the article is the revelation that my own people are unwilling to fall of the grenade for me! When every last MS employee ius supposed to say, "I know nothing, I see nothing", it turns out that we have whiners internally! Not just low level basement dwellers too, these rats are senior executives! These weaklings emails have been entered into evidence AGAINST MS!
HP Laserjet printers / @Gareth Jones
so, my laptop has a spec compliant with the Vista hardware list (all versions, before anyone asks) - but my printer - WTF - won't work with Vista because Vista can't speak Postscript properly. DOH.
To be a pedant (never .. )
"To say a machine can run Vista does not in any way suggest it can run every version of Vista, it only tells us that it can run A version of Vista. It doesn't even tell us that it will run that version quickly just that it can run it. You cannot infer what isn't said just because you choose to do so."
Actually, to say a machine can run Vista means it can run Vista - no qualification, no post-fixed version name, and therefore any such appended name is valid because no qualification is made. You are right to say it does not imply speed or efficiency, but I believe wrong in denying the qualification (although as I said, it could run like a dog and your position would be entirely correct!); on the other hand, this machine runs SO fast running it's Win2k VM (yeah, seriously) that Vista on the most modern hardware is somewhat embarrasing :-) Will try Win95 in a VM next time I get bored to see if it's faster - ran XP under VMware for a quick customer project last month, and it was faster than Vista running on bare metal on my g/f's -same spec - machine.
Aw Poor Steve
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy, well maybe Joseph Stalin.
PS If there is anybody there who actually bought Vista Ultimate, then I have a Nigerian friend in Lagos that has a once in a lifetime business opportunity for you.
How fun is it to watch the fanbuoys squirm?
Very, very fun!
Thanks Gareth J and James C and a few shameful ACs for the show!
As previously said by me and others, some of the machines labeled Vista Capable are not able to run even the Home edition with all the bloat removed. None of them is able to run the high-end Fistas, which is _also_ a problem, but a different one. Try installing Vista on a machine with a 1 Ghz processor, 512 Mo RAM and a 32 Mo graphics memory (which are the official system requirements). Good luck with that. Now remember that some of the "Vista Capable" boxes had not even that.
Methink most "Vista Capable" stickers actually referred to the chassis and the power supply. Your box is Vista Capable, yessir. You just have to upgrade the processor, the RAM and the graphic card. And possibly the mobo too. After all, the sticker is on the box, not on the innards. It's not misleading at all. The chassis is clearly Vista Capable.
(not that anyone should want to run^H crawl Vista in the first place, of course. But MS, and Ballmer first, lied repeatedly and should be spanked hard)
