Microsoft Sued for XP Downgrade Fees
Microsoft has faced several legal complaints regarding its Windows Vista operating system, and another one has been added to the mix.
Emma Alvarado of Los Angeles County filed in federal district court in Seattle a complaint against Microsoft because she was charged a fee to downgrade from Windows Vista to XP.
Alvarado claims that she bought a Lenovo PC that was preloaded with Windows Vista, but in order to have Windows XP on it, she had to pay $59.25 for the downgrade.
"Microsoft has used its market power to take advantage of consumer demand for the Windows XP operating system by requiring consumers to purchase computers preinstalled with the Vista operating system and to pay additional sums to 'downgrade' to the Windows XP operating system," the suit alleges, according to the InternetNews.
Microsoft had originally planned to discontinue distribution of Windows XP mid-2008, but due to consumer demand, the last-generation operating system is still available for OEMs who see fit to offer it. Alvarado alleges that Microsoft extended its XP cutoff date because of the “tremendous profits” the company is raking in from the downgrades.
The charge does seem to vary between different PC vendors, leading us to believe that any “tremendous profits” to be had from offering Windows XP upgrades don’t entirely go to Microsoft. Late last year, Dell tripled its Windows XP downgrade fee to $150.
It will be interesting to see where this goes. I personally think the only money Microsoft is seeing is the difference between the home basic and what it takes to get the higher level of vista that is qualified for the down grade
Of course... I'll be willing to bet that they aren't suing Microsoft for their $59.25 + legal fees. They're probably suing Microsoft (again, the WRONG party) for $20 million + whatever putative damages the attorneys want to put into their pockets. Gotta love the U.S. frivolous lawsuit bandwagon.
Now as for what companies charge to downgrade to Windows XP that is completely in their right. Companies spend lots of money to retrofit their assembly lines towards the next product. The same thing goes for any manufacturing company.
If you want an older model car fresh from the factory, it will need to be hand built, which means someone needs to be paid for that time. Someone at Dell, Lenovo, etc needs to pull that computer off the assembly line and format the hard disk drive, manually install Windows XP and install all of the latest drivers and patches. This takes time and money.
People need to just use what is installed on the off the shelf computer or seek out a custom PC shop local in the town to have one built for them. Then they won't be charged a downgrade fee.
Now as for what companies charge to downgrade to Windows XP that is completely in their right. Companies spend lots of money to retrofit their assembly lines towards the next product. The same thing goes for any manufacturing company.
If you want an older model car fresh from the factory, it will need to be hand built, which means someone needs to be paid for that time. Someone at Dell, Lenovo, etc needs to pull that computer off the assembly line and format the hard disk drive, manually install Windows XP and install all of the latest drivers and patches. This takes time and money.
People need to just use what is installed on the off the shelf computer or seek out a custom PC shop local in the town to have one built for them. Then they won't be charged a downgrade fee.
I know for a fact that Dell does not charge for a downgrade, but if the PC comes with Vista Home or Vista Home Premium and you "downgrade" to XP Professional, there is a cost involved. If the Lenovo PC came with Vista Business and she is downgrading to XP Professional, then there is an issue, but it isn't Microsoft's issue, it's Lenovo's.
Everyone is out to get some money from any way possible because of the current economy, however she has sued the wrong company and she needs to be forced with a Vista computer, and take the initiative to LEARN and be OPEN MINDED instead of COMPLAIN like many of us do. I agree with Andrew's post 100% the way. She deserved the charge and if shes gonna sue Microsoft for this; Microsoft should charge her with taking up usage of time.[/RANT]
I am sure it will get better once I see the claim numbers. $20 million for the $60 fee and another $50 million for emotional damages that will take years of therapy to overcome.
I would say that something is wrong with the courts that keep allowing these things but isn't their fault. It is the PEOPLE'S fault. Too many people think they are entitled to things they aren't. Same reason our economy is in a shithole. Every couple thinks they DESERVE a house despite not being able to afford one only to find out 7 years later that they couldn't actually afford it.
It takes quite a bit of time to downgrade systems, and I do charge a fee for our time in doing so. Most take 2-4 hours to downgrade. The really bad ones are when you have to run the Vista install FIRST, then downgrade to xp, you are doing twice the work in those cases.
wow, someones looking for a free ride!
I ordered chineese food last week, swapped chicken balls for shrimp… They charged me extra!!
I think I have a case here, anyone got Johny Cockran’s # ?
First off - THe XP downgrade rights are very misunderstood by the consumer.
In order to understand downgrade rights, you first have to understand what the COA (Certificate of Authenticity) on the bottom or back of the machine grants you. Any machine that runs windows, and purchased via a large manufacturer like Lenovo, Dell, HP, etc requires a COA. The COA is considered the base hardware license for windows that follows that machine till it is sent to the pc graveyard.
Under typical licensing in the corporate environment, a COA has to be present even if your company has a volume license holder/Enterprise Agreement/software assurance with Microsoft. The ability for a company, school, etc to install windows with their own native install from scratch is considered an "upgrade" by Microsoft. Now, point to make - the volume licensing is cheaper per seat than a retail copy of the same OS... That's why when you buy retail XP/Vista or if you buy one of the system builder or "OEM" copies off of new egg, it has a different cost structure.
So, along comes Vista, and under standard MS licensing terms, a Volume install of XP would typically not be legit even with the Vista COA. MS amended the rules for that and made an exception for downgrading to xp and still being compliant with MS licensing terms.
This downgrade offereing was primarily and still is targeted at businesses that still want to run XP. Unfortunately, the consume felt they also fell into the same boat.
The mistake made by consumers is in assuming the the downgrade rights grant them a free copy of the XP install for that PC. It does not. A consumer who has a full retail copy of XP or system builder copy doesn't even fall into the downgrade rights category anyway as those are considered fully licensed stand alone installs based on their price structure.
So, if a consumer wants XP instead of vista, they can call the vendor they bought the system from, and that vendor will charge them for the XP recovery media, and shipping.
MS and the vendors are doing absolutely nothing wrong here. The only thing wrong is how little people understand about that dang COA.
1) Open box.
2) Grab hard drive with XP downgrade.
3) Swap hard drives.
4) Close box.
5) Run hardware test, and ship.
Dell does not spend hours on an XP downgrade.