More Disclosures in 'Vista Capable' Lawsuit - Page 2

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Intel declined to comment on the newly-unsealed documents, saying it does not comment on cases on which it is not a party. Intel has not been named in the lawsuit, only Microsoft.

Discontent at the mid-level

As the filings appear to demonstrate, however, at the next lower level of Microsoft management, tempers flared when the co-president of platform products and services, Jim Allchin (who reported directly to Ballmer and is now retired), who was in charge of Vista, learned of the relaxation of graphics chipset standards for Intel and PC makers.

"I'm sorry to say that I think this plan is terrible and it will have to be changed …. The fact that Aero [Vista's flashy user interface] won't be there EVER for many of these machines is misleading to customers …. I know we don't want to hurt the OEMs but end-customers must be the top priority," said one key Allchin e-mail released as part of Thursday's disclosures.

The plan, however, was not changed.

Plaintiffs' attorneys also asked Judge Pechman for a partial summary judgment in the case declaring that Microsoft's conduct was "unfair or deceptive." Microsoft, meanwhile, has asked the judge to block Ballmer from giving a deposition.

The suit, which was filed in March 2007, alleges that Microsoft advertised less-powerful PCs as being "Vista Capable," although the company knew many of those PCs would only run the most basic edition of Vista – one that does not include Vista's signature Aero Glass 3-D user interface.

Judge Pechman certified the case as a class action lawsuit in February 2008.

Microsoft took another hit in April when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to let the software behemoth appeal the ruling.

The case has had its share of embarrassments for Microsoft, including the unsealing of more than 100 pages of confidential internal e-mails in late April.

Those e-mails that seemed to indicate company executives knew the Vista Capable program's requirements had been deliberately relaxed in order to satisfy the software firm's hardware partners, particularly Intel.

The case is currently scheduled to go to trial on April 13, 2009, according to a Microsoft spokesperson. It had initially been tentatively scheduled for October 2008.