In February 2009, LA resident Emma Alvarado filed a lawsuit against Microsoft accusing the software giant of profiting from consumers downgrading from Windows Vista back to XP.
Alvarado’s complaint says Microsoft forced customers to first purchase the new operating system, before they could downgrade to the operating system they really wanted, XP.
The case was tossed out this week.
Writes U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman: “Nowhere does she allege that she paid to downgrade or that she did not receive a copy of Vista when she freely chose to purchase her new computer with that software. That she chose to downgrade to XP without extra cost does not demonstrate that Microsoft retained a benefit without giving value. Nor does the fact that she chooses to use only one version nullify the fact that Microsoft gave her value for the bargain.” If anything, “it appears that Plaintiff obtained two versions of Microsoft’s operating software for the price of one,” Pechman continued.
“We’re pleased the Court agreed that Plaintiff’s complaint failed to state a viable claim and dismissed it in its entirety,” Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz responded.
Alvarado claimed she had to pay a $59.25 fee to downgrade from Vista to XP, although Microsoft does not charge such fees. Those fees are imposed by computer makers, such as Lenovo, which charged Alvarado for the downgrade. Lenovo was not named in the suit.
Result for: microsoft
A look at the minimum system requirements for the upcoming blockbuster Just Cause 2 shows that the title won’t work on installations of Windows XP. This would represent one of the first high profile releases not to be supported by the still-popular Microsoft operating system. The requirements specifies that an operating system newer than XP is required, and provides a hint why.
The game requires at least DirectX 10. Windows XP can only officially go as far as DirectX 9, meaning that gamers would need to be using Windows Vista or Windows 7 to play the game. A recent hardware/software survey from Steam showed that 42.15 percent of its users were in fact still running the Windows XP operating system, although Windows 7 was becoming popular very fast.
Of course, there have been several methods used to install DirectX 10 on Windows XP since it was launched, none of which are supported by Microsoft and several of which have no support from their original authors either. So maybe it is “technically” possible to run it on Windows XP, but it is a shame that users should have to install a hacked DirectX 10 package and probably patch the game files themselves to play it on Windows XP.
Amazon.com incorrectly lists XP as supported in search results.
Minimum System Requirements
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7 (Windows XP is unsupported)
Processor: Dual-core CPU with SSE3 (Athlon 64 X2 4200 / Pentium D 3GHz)
Graphics Card: Nvidia Geforce 8800 Series / ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro with 256MB memory or equivalent DX10 card with 256MB memory
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Result for: microsoft
Last week Microsoft announced that it was shutting down the Xbox Live service for the original Xbox console starting in April, effectively killing all online play for the orphaned console, as well as for Xbox games that can be played on the Xbox 360.
Bungie, the developer behind the Halo series, says it is saddened that gamers will no longer be able to play Halo 2 online.
“We’re all saddened at the realisation that an era is coming to an end but looking back, we’re incredibly fortunate to have had such a great run and such strong support from our fans,” says Bungie. “Halo 2 has been at or near the top of the Xbox Live charts for original games since it launched over five years ago. We’re extremely thankful to everyone who has played, enjoyed and supported Halo 2 over Xbox Live. We’ve had some great fun together, including far too many humpday losses to even recount.”
With that being said, Bungie is inviting all current and former Halo 2 players to have one last battle on April 14th, the last day before the servers go down.
“Mark your calendars now - on April 14th let’s all rally to go online for one last hoorah. One final farewell and one final opportunity for all of you to kick our asses at Halo 2.”
