Vista- Clear as mud -Dell

Graham · #1 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008

RE: class action against MS

Case 2:07 -cv-00475-MJP Document 131 Filed 02/27/2008 Page 57 of 158

EXHIBIT A

Redacted Pursuant to Microsoft's
Confidentiality Designations and the
Court's order granting in Part and
Denying in part Motion to Seal (Dkt.
No. 129), entered on February 26, 2008

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Quote:

Clear as mud _Dell

From: Chenault, Faith
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 9:17 AM
To: Dykstra, Will; Gittinger, Carol
Subject: Labels - XP vs Vista Capable

I dug through my archieves (sic) and found this from Stephanie Ybarra...

A follow - up question...if a customer purchases XP Home/Pro during the 12 months after Vista Launch - do we use the XP label or the Vista Capable label?

Depends. Windows Vista Capable PCs that do not meet the criteria for the Windows Vista logo program may continue to be distributed with the Windows Vista Capable logo through the end of life (obsolescence) of these systems. Windows Vista Capable PCs that do meet the Windows Vista logo requirements would need to ship with Windows XP stickers.

Clear as mud, right?

Thanks!
Faith
Software Product marketing
Dell | Product Group
(512) 728 - 3826

Dell [logo] WindowsVista {Canyou SEEIT?}

Can You See It?

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So far in these released court emails we've seen Microsoft conspire with Intel to claim obsolete chipsets can run Vista at its highest level. (obsolete in that they were not capable of running Vista Premium)

Plus, Microsoft Marketing confusing one (if not the) biggest manufacturer of PCs as to how to market their machines for customer satisfaction.

And, it all gets back to two things:

a) Too many versions of Vista

b) Confusion in labeling clearly what Vista Basic and Premium (Aero Glass) require in PC hardware.

One suspects too many cooks on the job at Redmond ...

(The Windows Vista upgrade tool was a good idea though, assuming it was correct!)

I personally have a 2 GB ReadyBoost USB stick in the back of my desktop PC that I am wondering now is it mainly for Laptops with limited Ram? I have 2 GB of Ram. It hasn't hurt anything though ... I don't think ;-)

I'm just wondering when the Read/Write will fail? It does a lot of flashing ...

Not before Windows 7, I hope ... :-)

Just call me the SUCKER that bought Windows Vista Home Premium Academic upgrade on the 1st day of release, 9:20 AM at Harvey Norman (Morley, Western Australia) for Aust$180, and Microsoft Marketing have just found out if you discount it, you sell heaps, and make more profit through volume. da. (I could have told them this in 1974! - not Windows - ANYTHING!!!)

(Plus an extra 1 GB Ram, 2 GB USB stick and an ATI 1650 256 MB graphics card ... that I installed)

Looking forward to:

Windows 7 Home
and
Windows 7 Business

IMPORTANT: Make the retail box upgrade a FULL INSTALL (option) if you don't want problems ...

PS. I still like Vista, you did a great job with Explorer and the easy navigation layout. It's just that I have a folder on my desktop with some large files. (image program stamps) that WILL NOT copy or move. (sigh)

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bios · #2 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008

I personally think this is a silly lawsuit. Just because the computer can not run transparency on the desktop does not mean it can not run Windows Vista. The Vista Home Basic product does not have the Aero theme because it is designed for low-end computers and people or businesses on a tight budget. How is this logo false advertising in any way?

Let's look at the facts. The same computers running Home Basic under the logo labeled Windows Vista capable could probably have Vista Ultimate installed on them. The OS would automatically disable transparency effects. This is the case with my laptop which gets a whopper 1.0 on the system rating in Control Panel because it has no Aero, but runs otherwise great.

Thoughts?

superbill · #3 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008

Hi

I'm with Bios on this.
If you are looking to buy a machine that is vista ready, it depends on the specification you choose wether it will run only Vista Basic at the low end of the market or Vista Ultimate at a higher specification.
There was plenty information about advising you what specs. were required for each Vista version. Just because a machine is advertised as Vista ready does not mean it is capable of running Ultimate without having to have an upgrade in specification. If it runs the installed version of Vista then it meets the description of Vista Ready. If people did the proper research first they would understand what they were getting.

kemical · #4 (**permalink**) 03-02-2008

Ditto...

The sticker saying it's 'vista capable' isn't actually lying.. Most machines are in fact vista capable but as bios pointed out, to what extent is up to the end user to find out. Its like If I bought a graphics card that said DX10 capable, now we all know that just because it says it's capable of running DX10 doesn't mean to say it's going to run it great.. (look at the Nvidia 8600GT for example). It always comes down to the same old maxim... Do your homework first!

Mike · #5 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008

I for one noticed most people who came here before Vista's release were confused about whether or not their computer would have enough juice to make the upgrade. This was not excusive to this forum... It seems there was a general lack of information, the hardware requirements generally being buried on the Windows Vista homepage somewhere.

I guess the question is if the confusion was intentional and if they tried to squeeze more sales out of people by selling PCs which couldn't run certain features like Aero and Movie Maker.

Graham · #6 (**permalink**) 03-03-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by bios

I personally think this is a silly lawsuit. Just because the computer can not run transparency on the desktop does not mean it can not run Windows Vista. The Vista Home Basic product does not have the Aero theme because it is designed for low-end computers and people or businesses on a tight budget. How is this logo false advertising in any way?

Let's look at the facts. The same computers running Home Basic under the logo labeled Windows Vista capable could probably have Vista Ultimate installed on them. The OS would automatically disable transparency effects. This is the case with my laptop which gets a whopper 1.0 on the system rating in Control Panel because it has no Aero, but runs otherwise great.

Thoughts?

Well, you may have forgot the built in "Update anytime" in Vista.

If you update a 'Intel 915' chipset PC from Basic to Premium all you will be doing is paying Microsoft more money - or - money under false pretenses, because you will still only be able to use Basic.

And, if you upgraded (in some way) from the installed XP to Premium, Vista would revert to Basic, which could have been purchased cheaper.

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But this original internal email at Dell is about their confusion about labeling PCs with XP logo, plus sticking - can be upgraded (or capable) of running Vista when it is available.

I'm sure their customers expected that Vista 'capable' or 'ready' or anything meant upgrade to the full Vista Aero (and Moviemaker) experience. (And Media Center.)

Otherwise the label should be - "Comes with Windows XP, but can be upgraded to Vista Basic with no 'Glass', Moviemaker and Media Center or snipping tool."

(May not sell many, but at least it's not deception!)

03hdfatboy · #7 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008

ignorance is no excuse...