Vista, Xbox & Microsoft's dirty laundry

Calling Microsoft a "software giant" is like saying Yao Ming is of above-average height. Microsoft itself claims a market share of over 93%, though some sources contest this figure. What isn't contested, however, is the company's overwhelming dominance in the industry. To put this in perspective, the second-largest market share goes to the Mac OS at 3%. (Does anyone have an idea what the remaining 4% use? I have no clue. Linux and other open-source OSs are free and don't count.)

While not as dominant in the gaming console industry, Microsoft is likewise a fierce competitor. It comes in fourth in unit sales, behind the Wii, the DS handheld, and the PS3. The company claims however, that consumer spending on Xbox and accessories equal total spending on the PS3 and the Wii combined in the period that these consoles have shared the market.

The behemoth, however, is under siege. A deceptive practices suit filed against Microsoft in 2007 was granted class-action status last year. The suit claims that Microsoft misled consumers by allowing PC vendors to label units as "Vista Capable" when, in fact, the vast majority of these machines could run only the low-end version of Vista, called Home Basic, and did not have the specs necessary to run the high-profile Aero interface. The court has already opened embarrassing internal communications to public scrutiny, including documented discussions on whether the Home Basic OS should have been labelled Vista at all.

The Xbox has also given rise to a multiplicity of class-action suits. Reports published last year claimed that Microsoft was aware of quality control issues in the manufacture of the Xbox 360, yet chose to release the console anyway. The absurdly high rate of console failures, damaged discs and consumer frustration that followed predictably led to litigation. Likewise, class-action suits have been filed over frequent Xbox Live server outages, and separate class actions over an Xbox software update that allegedly "bricked" consoles.

While I am a vocal critic of the litigation-happy culture that prevails in the US, I cannot help but feel a certain degree of satisfaction as Microsoft collectively squirms in their undoubtedly cushy seats. I have used their products since the days of MS-DOS, when hard drives had 600Mb of memory and processors had 16Mb of RAM. What Microsoft needs to realize is that their products and their services are such a ubiquitous part of daily life that irresponsible behavior on their part causes inconvenience and frustration for millions of people all over the world. If Microsoft learns a lesson about their responsibility to consumers, I'll be happy. Never mind if the fools get paid.