A class-action lawsuit alleging that
Microsoft deceived consumers has been
given the green light by a federal court.
The suit, fi led in Seattle, WA, alleges
that Microsoft’s “Vista Capable” logo
program—used on machines prior to
the release of the OS—was intentionallymisleading. Many of
the PCs that sported
the badge used Intel’s
anemic 915 integrated
graphics chipset,
which was incapable
of running Vista’s
3D Aero interface.
Federal judge Marsha
Pechman allowed the
case to proceed based on a “price infl a-
tion” theory that consumers were tricked
into paying more for machines with the
“Vista Capable” badge.
How bad were the Vista Capable
machines? One email from a Microsoft
employee said “even a piece of junk will
qualify.”MS Sued over
Vista Capable
Logo
Consumers were misled into thinking
integrated chipsets supported
Windows VistaD
ell is abandoning its much-criticized practice of using proprietary
parts in its PCs. The company’s next update to its XPS gaming PCs
will use standard ATX parts through and through; according to Dell, the
XPS lineup will do away with the proprietary motherboards, power sup-
plies, and power cables that had previously been used.
The company had long argued that its proprietary parts were bet-
ter engineered than parts that followed the ATX standard. For example,
the company had used
power supplies that
looked like ATX parts but
were wired differently
because, the company
stated, its engineers
believed the standard
spec was fl awed. When
users tried to replace
one of these PSUs with
a standard ATX model,
they were often greeted
with smoke. That’s all
water under the bridge
now, says Dell. The com-
pany’s mission with its
new gaming machines is
to follow industry specs
wherever possible.Dell Ejects
Proprietary Parts
Standardized PSU and motherboards will now be, um, standard
quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
12 MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC | MAYMAYMAY 08 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
GOOGLE HELPS HOMELESS
Google is partnering with the city of San
Francisco to give
every homeless per-
son in that city a life-
long phone number
and free voicemail.
The project is meant to help homeless people
pursue employment opportunities and health
services by giving them a reliable contact
number. If the program is successful in San
Francisco, it could be rolled out in other cities.STARBUCKS SERVES AT&T WI-FI
Beginning this spring, more than 7,
Starbucks across the U.S.
will offer AT&T Wi-Fi ser-
vice. For existing AT&T
broadband and U-verse
customers, this means
free Wi-Fi when visiting a
Starbucks store. Starbucks
cardholders will be eligible for
two hours of free Wi-Fi per day at participat-
ing stores, and all other Starbucks customers
will be able to purchase two-hour install-
ments of Wi-Fi time for $3.99 or monthly
access for $19.99.CABLE CONUNDRUM
More than a month after as many as five
undersea cables providing Internet service in
and out of the Middle East were discovered
damaged, the cause of the incidents is still
shrouded in mystery. While reports have
surfaced that the fifth cable was indeed the
result of an accident, the crews on vessels
sent to repair and investigate the other four
cables were unable to determine how the
damage occurred. Sami al-Murshed of the
International Telecom Union has stated, “...we
do not rule out a deliberate act of sabotage.”NATIONWIDE
WIMAX BACK ON?
Clearwire and Sprint
have apparently recon-
sidered their decision to
abandon a joint WiMax
venture. Last fall the two
companies ceased work
on a network build-out
that would have brought
wireless connectivity to
even remote parts of the country. Now, with
a recent infusion of cash (reported at $2 bil-
lion) from Intel—a major WiMax supporter—
the partnership between the two service
providers is back on.FUNSIZENEWS
Dell’s new XPS series machines represent a
new direction that should appeal to upgraders.