Windows Vista could cost more money than Microsoft made from the program
A Microsoft marketing scheme persuading consumers to buy PCs “capable” of running Windows Vista could cost more money than Microsoft made from the program.
An expert witness giving evidence in the class-action suit against Microsoft’s Windows Vista Capable program has estimated the cost of upgrading so-called “capable” PCs to machines able to run premium editions at between $3.08bn and $8.52bn.
Microsoft, by contrast, is calculated to have earned just $1.505bn in Windows licensing from the program, which ran between August 2006 and July 2007.
The calculations, based on data from Microsoft and analyst Current Analysis, are important because they could be used by U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman to calculate damages in the case, should she find that Microsoft mislead US consumers through the program. These numbers would not include fees Microsoft pays its legal team or other case fees, so the final cost of the program to Microsoft could go even higher.
University of Washington associate economics processor Keith Leffler arrived at the numbers after he was asked by plaintiffs in the case to calculate the impact of the program on the demand and prices of PCs and judge whether there’d been an adverse impact on consumers.
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