February 12th, 2008
Microsoft employee caught out by Windows Vista Capable logo
Think that Microsoft’s “Windows Vista Capable” logo was too confusing? You’re not alone. It seems that the program also caught out at least one Microsoft employee.
Note: For background on the logo programs see this post. Far background to the case see this post. For thoughts I had at the time, see this post.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Joseph Tartakoff attended a hearing before U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman on Friday and reports on some of Microsoft’s internal e-mails quoted during the hearing. And it makes very interesting reading. In fact, the three excerpts quoted are priceless.
Another employee, Mike Nash, currently a corporate vice president for Windows product management, wrote in an e-mail, “I PERSONALLY got burnt. … Are we seeing this from a lot of customers? … I now have a $2,100 e-mail machine.”
That’s pretty bad - that’s also a lot of money to spend on a machine that was only “Vista Capable”. But there’s more:
Jim Allchin, then the co-president of Microsoft’s Platforms and Services Division, wrote in another e-mail, “We really botched this. … You guys have to do a better job with our customers.”
And this employee doesn’t have much faith in the “Windows Vista Capable” logo:
“Even a piece of junk will qualify” for the “Windows Vista Capable” designation, wrote one employee in an e-mail that Tilden read out loud.
I long held the belief that Vista Basic was Microsoft’s way to allow OEMs to continue to sell low-spec systems and still call them Vista machines, and that the “Windows Vista Capable” program would be used to push these machines onto unsuspecting customers. Seems I was right to be concerned.
I feel sorry for people who purchased these machines with visions of Vista (and Aero) in their heads. These people ended up with systems which could barely run Vista.
Thoughts?
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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