Judge Declines to Dismiss Vista Lawsuit

A federal judge has denied Microsoft's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging its "Vista Capable" campaign misled consumers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Although PCs bearing "Vista Capable" stickers run the new OS, many can handle only the bare-bones Vista Home Basic system, which lacks highly touted features included in premium versions.

A federal district judge in Seattle issued the ruling after hearing oral arguments today. The suit centers on the 2006 pre-holiday push to move PCs even though Vista wasn't released until January. "It runs Vista," a Microsoft lawyer says, but "doesn't run the version of Vista that they wish it did." (More Microsoft stories.)