Over two dozen companies subpoenaed in Vista Capable case

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

March 26, 2008, 2:07 PM

Several tech companies along with some analyst groups have been asked by the plaintiffs to testify as part of the class-action lawsuit against Microsoft over Vista.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Todd Bishop has dug up the list of 28 companies that have received subpoenas as part of the case. Former Windows chief Jim Allchin is the only individual listed in this list that has been asked to appear.

On the list are Acer, Dell, Hewlett Packard, and IBM -- whose executives appeared in an earlier-released filing of internal e-mails over the project. Retailers included are Best Buy, Amazon, and Wal-Mart, and analyst groups Gartner, NPD, and the Enderle Group.

Intel, whose 915 chipset was a large focus of the e-mails sent back and forth, will also testify. While those e-mails blew the doors wide open on what many see as malfeasance by Microsoft, the plaintiffs are seeking more internal documents to bolster their case.

What is being looked for in these newly requested documents is any discussion on whether Basic should be marketed as Vista, or information on how Vista Capable PCs should be priced.

It is not immediately clear if their efforts will be successful. Microsoft and the companies are fighting back: the Redmond company is disputing the case's class action status, while other companies have filed objections.

The plaintiff's central argument seems to revolve around Windows Vista Home Basic, which lacks much of the visual punch of the new OS. While Microsoft maintains it is an improvement over XP, others argue it shouldn't be considered a significant upgrade enough for computers capable of running it to display the "Vista Capable" logo.