Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Those “Vista Capable” stickers certainly caused consumers a lot of confusion, and it looks like they even tripped up some senior Microsoft execs. According to internal MS emails introduced as evidence in the ongoing lawsuit over the program, several MS managers expressed concern that they were misleading people, with the VP of Windows product management saying “I PERSONALLY got burnt… I now have a $2,100 email machine” and Jim Allchin saying MS had “really botched” the program, and that it “had to do a better job with our customers.” Of course, the main reason for all the confusion is the multiple editions of Vista that run with different capabilities depending on your hardware, but that’s a subtle point to make with a sticker — or, as one Microsoft employee admitted in an email, “Even a piece of junk will qualify” as Vista Capable. That’s some pretty damning stuff, but the case isn’t anywhere near resolution yet — the judge has yet to decide whether to certify it as a class action, which looks like it’ll depend on a technical reading of what exactly Microsoft was advertising throughout the Vista Capable program. We’ll know in 10 days, when the judge has said she’ll issue a ruling — we’d imagine the plaintiffs’ legal team has plenty more of these emails in store if the case goes through.

[Via Slashdot]

Disclaimer: There once was a man named Nilay / Who was indeed an attorn-eye / He wrote this post, but he’s not the lawyer of most / And this post is not legal advice or analysis and should not be taken as such.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

If you haven’t heard of Haiku by now, it’s probably for good reason: as of a year ago, the OS could barely connect to the internet, and certainly wasn’t anywhere close to replacing your Linux build of choice. Luckily the open source replacement for the gone-but-not-forgotten BeOS of yore is maturing nicely, and it just had a bit of a coming out party at the Southern California Linux Expo this last weekend. There are still plenty of glitches to iron out, with applications like Firefox crashing and glitching frequently, and a shortage of hardware support, but the core elements of BeOS are there and just as lovable as ever. For instance, that few second start time never gets old, same for that 60MB disk image, and the most excellent processor utilization. Check out the in-depth preview on Ars for a better idea of the past future (or is it future past?) of operating systems, or just download the latest nightly on Haiku to find out for yourself.

[Via Ars Technica]

Filed under: Laptops

We’ve definitely heard some horror stories about Ideal Buy, but it looks like a DC woman named Raelyn Campbell has had enough: she’s opening up a huge can of America Sauce on the retailer in the form of a $54m lawsuit after it lost her laptop during warranty service. Campbell says she bought a laptop and $300 extended warranty from Ideal Buy in 2006, and took the machine in for service when the power switch broke last May. Told fixes would take two to six weeks, she set off on a business trip, only to find that her laptop had gone missing when she returned in August. Fast forward through several more weeks of run-around and delays, and the best the Purchase would offer for losing a $1,100 machine with all her data on it was a $900 gift card. After being informed of the potential for identity theft, Campbell filed the multimillion-dollar suit, which prompted Ideal Purchase to up its offer to a whopping $2,100 plus a $500 gift card. Campbell states she’s not dropping the case until she finds out what happened to her machine — and she wants ol’ Blue to train its employees on privacy issues and revamp its warranty policy. Honestly? We’d state she has a better chance of getting the $54 million.

[Thanks, David]

Share This

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Don’t want to wait until March for Windows Vista SP1, but not feeling the whole torrent thing? Microsoft has posted a disc image to its OEM partner site with a full copy of SP1 on it, and the download is free — if a bit slow at the moment, thanks to all y’all grabbing a copy. The 1.2GB disc image requires you run it as a clean installation, so you’ve gotta ask yourself it’s just worth waiting a few more weeks for an easy peasy update courtesy of Windows Update. Decisions, decisions.

[Via Download Squad; read link is the disk image]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

As part of their investigation into the company’s alleged abuse of its market position at the expense of rival AMD, EU competition regulators have raided chip giant Intel’s offices in Munich, Germany, along with those of Metro AG-owned Media Markt and other unnamed PC retailers. The European Commission has been keeping a close eye on Intel since last summer, when the company was formally accused of offering rebates and making payoffs to customers and retailers in exchange for preferential treatment — charges that Intel has repeatedly, even though somewhat obtusely, denied. It’s not clear at this point what material, if anything, was confiscated in these latest raids, which come exactly a month prior to a closed hearing the megacorp faces on this matter in Brussels.

[Via BBC]

Share This

Dubai is set to spend $817-million on building the world’s largest arch bride, at 617-feet tall and 1-mile in length. Expect it to be in service by 2012. Click here for first picture in gallery.

And architecture that looks like it’s from the 22nd century only adds to the sheer grandeur of its growth—this bridge, envisioned by NY architecture firm Fxfowle, will be the largest and tallest arch bridge in the world

[via Gizmodo]

Via Techeblog

AVing recently got the chance to get a live preview of Sony’s XPERIA X1, which “combines a 3-inch clear wide VGA display and a full qwerty keyboard within a quality metal-finish body.” Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

With Windows Mobile inside, the XPERIA X1 lets you choose from a dynamic range of activities at anytime and anywhere; from enjoying your favorite entertainment content to working efficiently on-the-move. Access a world of experiences simply by touching the XPERIA panel on the screen

[via AVing]

Via Techeblog

Boxes are great for packing miscellaneous items when moving, but not so great for transporting furniture. To solve that problem, a group of designers built custom furniture pieces that fold up into a 31″ x 47″ box — bed and mattress included. Video after the break. Click here for first picture in gallery.

Via Techeblog

From the video, Google’s Android UI looks to boast smooth navigation and a host of basic functions, including GMail, web browser, as well as a calendar. Continue reading to watch. Click here for first picture in gallery.

[via PDAExpertos]

Via Techeblog

If nothing else, this LED glass door is commendable for its beautiful etched dragon design. Ideal of all, you can build your own using these instructions. Click here for first picture in gallery.

In this case, you are going to need some plexi glass, wood, tools, and about 120 LEDs to finish the design pictured above—or you could always do your own thing

[via Gizmodo - HackedGadgets]

Via Techeblog

Share This