Could 'Vista capable' stickers cost MS $8.5bn?

Could 'Vista capable' stickers cost MS $8.5bn?

The ongoing case over whether Microsoft misled consumers with 'Vista capable' specifications could cost the company a staggering $8.5 billion (£5.9bn).

Figures released by US District Court Judge Marsha Pechman showed just how astronomic the claim is, with Microsoft claiming the figure is "absurd".

The case revolves around Microsoft's use of the 'Vista capable' sticker ahead of the launch of the successor to XP.

Aero - plain to see?

The company's argument is that computers labelled as 'Vista capable' were able to run Windows Vista Basic – but the claimants insist that Vista Basic should not be counted as a true version of Windows Vista, largely because it does not support aero graphics.

Microsoft insists that aero graphics are not an essential part of its OS, but it seems the Redmond-based monolith will have to prove that to the court.

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Could 'Vista capable' stickers cost MS $8.5bn?

Windows 7 still available, as deadline extended

Windows 7 still available, as deadline extended

If you've heard all about the free download of a beta version of Windows 7 but been unable to get your hands on a copy yet there's still time to do so, after Microsoft announced an extension to the public trial at the weekend.

The company said it was scrapping the 24 January deadline and keeping the Windows 7 download servers running until 10 February – more than two weeks longer than it originally planned.

Demand easing?

While the Redmond firm says the extension is due to unprecedented enthusiasm, some are wondering if it really means demand for the next version of Windows hasn't been as great as expected.

At the 10 January beta launch, Microsoft said it would offer 2.5 million copies to download; a target that, presumably, hasn't been hit yet.

Enthusiasm abounds

Nevertheless, a company spokesman put a positive spin on the new deadline, saying: "Because enthusiasm continues to be so high for the Windows 7 Beta and we don't want anyone to miss out, we will keep the beta downloads open."

Anyone starting a download by the 10 February cut-off will actually have until 12 February to finish it, while MSDN professionals and TechNet subscribers won't be affected at all.

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Windows 7 still available, as deadline extended

Get Vista free for 120 days

Get Vista free for 120 days

I knew about this little fix some time ago, but as is the case when writing for a fast-paced tech news site, I forgot to blog it. So here it is retrospectively.

And it's a clever workaround, because it means you don't need to activate Vista for 120 days. That's getting Vista for free for three months.

Usually Windows Vista can be installed without activation for 30 days, after which you need to enter a key and activate it or the operating system begins the long slide into Reduced Functionality Mode. In other words, it gets to be unusable. But this addendum - called 'rearming' - means you can reset the remaining time period to 30 days up to three times.

And, what's more, extending the grace period isn't actually a contravention of Vista's End User License Agreement (EULA). It will work with every version of Vista except Vista Enterprise edition which only gives you three days' grace. So off you go.

How to do it:
1. Click Start and type cmd in the search box.
2. Press Ctrl-Shift-Enter. This will open the Command Prompt as if you're an administrator. Click 'Continue' on the box that appears.
3. At the command prompt, type slmgr -rearm and hit the Enter key.
4. Repeat the process after 30 days.
5. Restart. It really is that simple.

the problem is it only works three times

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Get Vista free for 120 days