[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Woman Sues Microsoft Over XP Downgrade Charge here

[hawhite]

I am sorry but no one made her buy a computer with Vista on it. She made that choice and she should have to live with it. If you were to follow her logic to its end, Microsoft would be forced to continue to sell copies of software no matter how old it is.

I guess I should sue because I can't downgrade vista to MSDOS 4.

[Sidg]

My Dell computers came with Vista home. An upgrade to Vista Business was $99, or for the same $99 I could get XP Pro. What I have always wondered is why Dell and other manufacturers put any 'Home' operating system on computers purchased from their small business section.

[techie4fun]

All the power to the women.

[number6]

Nobody made her buy. If she didn't like it, why did she buy it?
Microsoft's market share can't force anyone to do anything unless the government is involved.

[ivorycruncher]

I know it seems odd, but it's understandable. Sometimes small businesses are very small, maybe even just one PC. PCs like that often have no need for the advanced networking features in the Pro (Business) editions of Windows, because they just exist in a small workgroup with no Active Directory domain in sight, so why pay the extra money for it? Unless I'm missing something, it comes down to a matter of do you or do you not want to pay another $100 for Remote Desktop capability? Besides, there are other free methods of accessing your system remotely, not to mention services like GoToMyPC that offer a lot more versatility without having to program your own firewall settings and whatnot. Actually, what I wish Microsoft would do is just put remote desktop capability in the home editions of Windows too, because there are certainly lots of home users out there who would like that functionality, but don't want to pay the huge upgrade tax to get it.

[Davinho]

I don't get how she has a case. She bought a computer with an operating system. She didn't want it so she bought XP another operating system. Ho can she sue.

[TechieXP]

Why couldnt the stupid broad just buy a computer with Xp in the first damn place? This is just stupid. First off MSFt isn't charging to dwongrade teh OEM's are. If they deigned a system for Vista and you want to downgrade then should have to pay for them to take teh extar steps invilve in the process. And she is bitchen over $60...you are a stupid a$$ person. Het PCWorld why even post shit like this?

[TechieXP]

ivory arent u in the wrong thread commenting?

[RNR19952]

This is odd, Lenovo offers exact hardware with Vista and XP pre installed at the same price?

Agreed no one forced her to buy Vista, this case has no merit.
The charge was probably in the fine print somewhere anyway

[ivorycruncher]

To TechieXP:


No, I'm not. I was replying to comment #2, by Sidg. I wish this thing could quote previous message text in the replies.

[number6]

You can. It's the quotation marks icon in Plain Text View and the bubble icon in Rich Text.
Here's a better explanation: How to Quote a Post in Discussions

[rkinne01]

God, is this what our country has become? Sad. If this nitwit didn't want Vista then why buy it on a PC?

[oldschoolh4ck3r]

I think the issue here is the $59 charge to downgrade, after she already paid the initial charge for Vista. I agree though, if she wanted XP, she should've looked elsewhere. It would be nice to see more retailers selling computers with the option to have NO operating system, at a discounted price.

[JimH443]

Here's a radical idea: A PC with NO operating system on it! What you get at the store is a bare computer, and a coupon. That coupon entitles the bearer to one operating system of the buyer's choice. The benefit of this is that the buyer will then HAVE to receive installation disks!



Or, better yet: A computer that's $100 cheaper, has no operating system and comes with no coupon. All it comes with is a disk that contains the hardware drivers for XP, Vista and the various flavors of Linux.

[Tech4me]

And How old is she again....?


I like to see her wins though .....I'll laugh my butt off.

[rixware]

Some commenters here don't seem to realize that the only way to get XP these days is to buy a copy of Vista first. That's really where Microsoft is flexing their gigantic market share with their OEMs, which really ought to be illegal (if it isn't already).
The time has come to ask your OEM to sell you a PC with no operating system installed.
You see, I have a perfectly legal copy of XP Pro on the system I'm using now. When I buy a new system, I'll retire this worthless old computer and install the same copy of XP on the new system. This is perfectly legal as long as I do, indeed, retire the old one.
Now, I may certainly have trouble activating my old copy because MS may have discontinued this service. In that case, it would seem that another class action lawsuit would also be appropriate, since I paid for this software fair and square, and have the right to continue using it until I decide not to.
As you can see, Microsoft is actually on rather thin ice here, though I suspect they will bully the market into getting what they want.
Let's hope they are not successful in bullying the courts.

[Tech4me]

Hey Rix. Most of us here do know very well how it works....Just chose NOT to go back to the OLD ....one...and pay more for it.

If you want to express your opinion towards the article........Go ahead ....But......DO NOT insult Us.....

[coastie65]

Hey rixware, After reading all the way through this mostly junk, it was refreshing to read your post. You were dead on. These people who say, "If she didn't want Vista, why did she buy a computer with Vista installed?". Because Uncle Bill & Company say you have to have Vista in a Windows machine. Yeah, You can pay Dell $150 to downgrade to XP AFTER you have purchased a machine with Vista. So, Uncle Bill & Company have made money on both Vista AND XP on a single machine. Sounds a bit like extortion to me. Hopefully she'll win her suit, unfortunately, trying to find a court with the backbone to clamp a lid on Microsoft, is like looking for hen's teeth. This is unfortunate for the consumers out there. I don't know if HP/ Compaq are still offering downgrades. The bottomline is, As consumers, we should have a choice. Before the Linux and Mac fan boys & girls get started, Windows has the overiding market share, and Windows is what a majority of the developers write to. Using Windows is a no brainer for the large amount of software available. Micro$oft, in my opinion, exploits this to the point it just about amounts to extortion, in their practices. coastie65

[rgreen4]

This thing has fishy written all over it. A California resident files a lawsuit in U. S. District Court in Seattle, Washington based upon a violation of Washington STATE LAW????? Sorry, the U.S. District Court is not an arbiter of first choice of any states laws. Then of course, if she bought the computer in California, California law controls the transaction.