MS Vista lawsuit seeks class-action status

Seattle -- Plaintiffs suing Microsoft Corp. for the way its U.S. Windows Vista operating system was depicted to consumers have requested class-action status for the case.

The plaintiffs told U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle Microsoft's "Windows Vista Capable" slogan was wrongly used to market machines unable to run the new operating system's most highly touted features.

Microsoft filed papers opposing class-action status and called its "Windows Vista Capable" marketing responsible and appropriate, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.

The slogan was used on PCs that could run only Windows Vista Home Basic, not more advanced versions of the operating system.

The lawsuit asserts Home Basic is not a "real" Windows Vista version because it lacked "signature" elements such as the "Aero Glass" on-screen appearance and remote-controlled Windows Media Center interface.

The suit alleged Windows Vista Home Basic was "a gimmick" Microsoft used last fall to promote soon-to-be-obsolete computers since it delayed Vista's release until Jan. 30, after originally saying it would have it available in time for Christmas.

But Microsoft said Vista Home Basic was not a gimmick.

"Plaintiffs spin the issues by calling the premium editions of Windows Vista the 'real version(s) of Vista,' as if they have the right to define Microsoft's products," the company said.

Pechman has not set a date for her ruling on the class-action request.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.