Digital Meld

Poor Microsoft just can’t catch a break these days. Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado has filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In the suit Alvarado is requesting she is refunded $59.25 that she was “forced” to pay to downgrade a new Lenovo laptop she purchased from Windows Vista to Windows XP.

Seeing as she’s filed the lawsuit as a class-action, she is also encouraging others who have been “forced” to pay the fees to join in on the suit as well by offering a convenient PDF.

Many customers who purchased PCs with Vista installed opted to downgrade to XP because they weren’t happy with Vista’s “numerous problems,” according to Alvarado’s suit.

“As a result, many consumers would prefer to purchase a new computer preinstalled with the Windows XP operating system or at least not preinstalled with the Vista operating system,” according to the filing.

The suit goes on to accuse Microsoft of using its “market power to take advantage of consumer demand for the Windows XP operating system” by requiring people to buy Vista PCs and then charging them to downgrade to the OS they really want.

This action violates Washington state’s Unfair Business Practices Act and the Consumer Protection Act, according to the suit.

So let me get this straight, Microsoft forced Ms. Alvarado to purchase a laptop with Windows Vista installed? Does she not know about a company named Apple? What about Linux? Also, isn’t it the computer manufacturer’s responsibility for which operating system that they choose to have installed on their new devices? Why is it Microsoft’s problem that she bought a PC running an operating system she didn’t want?

I know a lot of people have a bad taste in their mouth regarding Windows Vista (even though most is unwarranted), but it is Microsoft’s prerogative to decide when they stop supporting one of their products. Conversely it is the consumer’s prerogative to either agree with that decision or not by exercising their decision on paying for the newer product or going with a competitor’s alternative.

This class action lawsuit is the American legal system at it’s finest (please note the sarcasm). Sadly I feel Microsoft will probably end up settling on this issue out of court and paying off the people that would rather sue then use their heads to figure out an alternative before buying. If you don’t like the product in the package, don’t buy it… simple as that.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m totally going to go sue Nabisco for forcing me to buy Oreos without the Trans Fat.

From PC World.