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Woman Sues Microsoft Over XP Downgrade Charge

pcworld.com — A woman has filed suit against Microsoft over a $59.25 charge for downgrading her Windows Vista PC to XP.

Who dugg this? Made popular Feb 16, 2009

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  • crownedgriffin, on 02/16/2009, -32/+462If I'm not mistaken, wasn't it the PC manufacturers who were charging the fee? ...and it wasn't a penalty fee to try to force you to stay with Vista. It was them charging you for the service of having different software installed than what the computer had off the production line.

    Also, I got over the whole "Vista sucks even though I've never used it" ***** months ago. I upgraded, and can find no reason to go back. My slightly oudated PC has plenty of power to run it, I turned off UAC, and I have no driver issues. Is it perfect? No, but the few small complaints I do have seem to have been addressed in 7.
  • budboomer, on 02/16/2009, -21/+273All the high school kids on Digg just think it's cool to hate Windows even though they all use it.
  • Warom, on 02/16/2009, -35/+267When you buy Vista you are only buying Vista not every operating system created by microsoft. So no, it is not ridiculous. If it was the same product and another version - like Vista and Vista SP1 then, yes, this would be unfair to charge for, but as it is, they are seperate products.
  • HookmasterCH47, on 02/16/2009, -17/+184I still don't get the gripes about Office 2007. It's actually fairly nice. The ribbon interface makes a lot more sense than 2003 and earlier. You'll never please everyone I guess.
  • luckyme77, on 02/16/2009, -93/+259Pay to downgrade? That seems a bit ridiculous, even for Microsoft.
  • Eezyville, on 02/16/2009, -7/+140So they should have refunded Vista and charged her for XP correct?
  • nrvous250gt, on 02/16/2009, -15/+142As much as it surprises me to say so, I've had absolutely no problems with Vista.
  • brettg102, on 02/16/2009, -16/+123You guys are all idiots. You bought a license for Windows Vista, not Windows XP. They are different products. The price of Windows Vista was built into your computer price from the OEM. The product line by default gives you Vista, and you requested a different service, a service you will pay for. This case will be dismissed, and is just another example of a lawyer trying to get some name recognition.
  • bakedwaffle, on 02/16/2009, -79/+169Making people pay is like Microsoft admitting that Vista sucks.
  • AlienMushroom, on 02/16/2009, -9/+86Eventually the case will be dismissed.
  • warcin, on 02/16/2009, -6/+83If you are going to sue someone at least pick the right person. That charge most likely came from the PC manufacturer and not Microsoft. Otherwise you just wasted a lot of money atnd look like an idiot to the world
  • twiztidsinz, on 02/16/2009, -2/+74http://pix.motivatedphotos.com/2008/6/16/633492342 ...
  • sirjimithy, on 02/16/2009, -4/+75Hey now, hating Windows is a time-honored tradition. I've been on the Hating Windows bandwagon since 1995, man!
  • tanmaker, on 02/16/2009, -10/+70Try asking to get an 8-track player installed for no charge in a new Mercedes. Then we'll see what's ridiculous.
  • sexybobo, on 02/16/2009, -19/+76You are paying for windows XP not to downgrade.
  • Jektal, on 02/16/2009, -22/+74They should NOT have to refund Vista.

    She bought a PC with Vista. Just because she isn't going to use it doesn't mean it's defective and should be refunded. That's like buying a car with a luggage rack on the roof, and then demanding that the dealership buy the luggage rack back after you've paid for the car.

    I loathe Vista, but the facts here are simple: She bought a PC that came with Vista. She wants XP instead of Vista. She now has to buy XP.

    If her PC came with an nVidia card and she wanted to use an ATI card, should she get her money back for the nVidia card? Or a free ATI card? No. She bought something she didn't really want, and now it's her problem.
  • sexybobo, on 02/16/2009, -8/+58No one that actually uses it for more then a month does. It is all people who heard vista sucks that don't like it or people that use it for a day realize it is different from XP so it must suck.
  • TMTurtle, on 02/16/2009, -3/+50It's nice, but it's weird to get used to the new interface. You have to understand that XP has been the standard Windows Operating System for the past 7 years and people have developed a familiarity with it that won't quickly be forgotten.

    When you consider that a lot of the people that are complaining on the internet about Vista are 15 year olds it starts making a lot more sense. XP is all they've ever known.
  • beesaretasty, on 02/16/2009, -7/+52Not when you think of it as pay for a completely different operating system rather than pay for downgrading. Buying Halo 3 doesn't give you a license for Halo and Halo 2.
  • jeffmon, on 02/16/2009, -13/+58Not really, if Microsoft gave the downgrade for free, THEN they'd be admitting Vista sucks.
  • feelmypimphand, on 02/16/2009, -14/+58If she had the option to purchase the new PC with XP, she wouldn't have had to 'downgrade' in the first place. Vista is being FORCED on consumers.
  • borschwanger, on 02/16/2009, -2/+45hell when i was in high school i was finally glad to get some pcs with windows because we were always force fed macs starting in kindergarten
  • macfan93, on 02/16/2009, -1/+41http://digg.com/tech_news/Woman_Sues_Microsoft_Ove ...

    all i had to do was take out the "_2" from the url. If you are going to steal, at least change the title.
  • belebih, on 02/16/2009, -3/+41She's gonna lose a lot more than $59.25 in legal fees by the time she loses, or more likely, when the case gets dismissed.
  • inactive, on 02/16/2009, -6/+43People fear change.

    Office 2007 is far and away the best suite out there.
  • digitalpencil, on 02/16/2009, -6/+42shouldn't they just have refunded Vista and charged for XP? I mean ***** it, if XP costs less then I guess they don't have to give her the difference but they sure as ***** shouldn't be allowed to charge for a ***** downgrade. that *****'s just ridiculous.
  • AtomicTheory, on 02/16/2009, -4/+36Thank you, irrelevant-information-guy...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl5AVkelNV8&fea ...
  • uptown, on 02/16/2009, -9/+41I missed the part where Microsoft forced her to buy the new PC.....
  • djholybolt, on 02/16/2009, -9/+40Oh my god you guys are a bunch of *****. When you buy the machine you are accepting everything that comes on it at the time of purchase, including the OS. Vista is the standard operating system, if you buy a computer and then want to purchase something ELSE to put on it then it will cost you extra. Not only that but if she bought this from hp, gateway, dell and most other pre-built PC manufacturers it will put her computer out of warranty. So why even bother with the whole thing? just go to a computer shop and have someone build you a machine, or better yet, you can go buy a business-line PC because most of those still come with XP.

    People do not understand how ***** works.
  • nonymous666, on 02/16/2009, -4/+35I *love* Office 2007. I'm a software developer but also have to spend a huge amount of time writing functional specifications and other documents. Tasks that I abhor and want to get over and done with asap. The documents I deal with have lots of embedded images, outlining, indexes, headings and subheadings, yada yada causing me to have to interact Word's UI quite a bit (i.e., not just straight typing). I've noticed that I'm able to get the documentation over and done with *much* faster than I was able to using 2003. Once I got used to the ribbon, it's so much easier to adjust/alter formatting, etc.
  • LavaWarrior, on 02/16/2009, -2/+30Dugg for Koala balls
  • miralize, on 02/16/2009, -8/+35I have had no problems with Vista. There I said it.
  • bluehouse, on 02/16/2009, -5/+32this is about as stupid as the old dude who keeps suing apple. There will always be stupid people suing for stupid reasons. Who needs the lottery when you can sue?
  • jakem1, on 02/16/2009, -1/+26@Spyder228: When Microsoft follow the "slow and steady" strategy they get criticised for not being revolutionary enough. When they make a sudden leap like Office 2007 they get criticised for not being evolutionary enough.

    Unfortunately it's not possible to satisfy everyone but with a little training most people will pick up Office 2007 pretty quickly.
  • Thulium, on 02/16/2009, -2/+26Vista was the most stable OS release I've seen. There are 3 reasons there is a stigma on the product

    1) Issues with the beta release that had people going nuts (typical for a beta) These issues were cleaned up quickly for RC1 and release.

    2) Viral propoganda marketing by Apple.

    3) Legacy hardware manufacturers not updating their drivers. Emphasis on legacy. I didn't have a single driver issue when I upgraded to Vista RC1 (release candidate)
  • hankidic, on 02/16/2009, -6/+24It's a basically customization fee charged by the PC manufacturer, not Microsoft. This is just another case of a foolish consumer trying to make a quick buck off of a large corporation. Hope this gets dismissed.
  • Qumahlin, on 02/16/2009, -0/+18UAC does not open your PC up to potential problems. People clicking "yes" on ***** when they have no idea what is going on is how 99% of PC's get infected with malware. Everynow and then you get a fe worms likie conficker that are self propogating, but the rest of the time most virus infections are due to the user not knowing what they are doing.

    UAC does nothing to prevent self propogating viruses, UAC also does nothing to prevent an uneducated user from just continually clicking "yes" to get the dialog boxes to go away.

    UAC is absolutely unnecessary if you have a modicum of computer knowledge.
  • arbulus, on 02/16/2009, -2/+20@feelmypimphand
    "If she had the option to purchase the new PC with XP, she wouldn't have had to 'downgrade' in the first place. Vista is being FORCED on consumers."

    No, XP is an 8 year old operating system and it's successor is replacing it. No one has a right to XP. Microsoft is not required to continue selling XP, and at some point they WILL stop and XP will no longer be available at all. Is everyone in the world going to sue MS then?

    The real issue here is that people are pathetically clinging to an old OS and refuse to move forward with technology. The tech market isn't something you can fight, you go with it or you don't go at all. And at some point, sad, pathetic people who still cling to 8 year old operating systems are going to have to wake up and realize that they may have to move on and learn something new. That's just how it is and there's no legal avenue to assure their complacency.
  • sexybobo, on 02/16/2009, -3/+21@digitalpencil
    So when you bought your NES that came with Super mario 3 you should have gotten the original free because you don't want super mario3?
  • sexybobo, on 02/16/2009, -2/+18Because you do not own XP. The down grade charge is you buying XP.
  • Thulium, on 02/16/2009, -4/+20Or like being a business
  • woody168, on 02/17/2009, -1/+17don't bet on it.
  • KMartSheriff, on 02/16/2009, -9/+25Why are people getting dugg down for this?

    WHEN SHE PURCHASED THE COMPUTER, IT INCLUDED VISTA.

    She is then had to purchase XP. How the ***** is this so hard to grasp for you ***** rockets?
  • MahirH, on 02/16/2009, -1/+16Yes, yes you would. If the computer comes with the OS, then you pay for it. Most manufacturers bundle the OS with the computer, they don't ask you if you want it. Your options? Build the computer yourself, or buy from a different vendor.
  • jazino, on 02/16/2009, -6/+20Actually Microsoft giving away downgrades for free would be them admitting Vista sucks. Charging for a "downgrade" is just an attempt at appeasing customers while still making them purchase the operating system they want (XP).

    If they charge for it they must still feel it is a worthy and valuable commodity.

  • mclewell, on 02/16/2009, -0/+14isn't that the purpose of nearly every company?

    Hint: the answer is yes.
  • smotpoker, on 02/16/2009, -18/+32Why should she have to pay for both Vista and XP if she is only going to use XP? The cost of Vista should be deducted if she is paying for XP.
  • Jektal, on 02/16/2009, -0/+13Once the himem.sys is broken, it's broken forever...
  • vheissu, on 02/16/2009, -4/+17I'm willing to bet this user has no idea why they don't want Vista, they just don't. If it's installed on a new machine that was built for it, you'll be fine, quit being dramatic.

    It's also funny how everyone turns a blind eye to XP's spotty past. I seem to remember IE6+ActiveX wreaking all kinds of havoc. Machines that took 30+ minutes to load because they were so inundated with malware. And my personal favorite, the "Blaster" worm. A worm that trickled in to any machine that was directly connected to the internet, killing RPC and displaying "This system is shutting down. Please save all work in progress and log off. Any unsaved changes will be lost".
  • catxors, on 02/16/2009, -4/+17That statement is mind-boggling. People can argue about Vista vs. XP but there is no question that UAC is ***** and MS itself is overhauling it big time.
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