Software giant Microsoft has been targeted by a lawsuit accusing the company of letting PC makers label computers as "Vista capable" when they’re only able to run the most basic version of the operating system.
The suit, brought by Dianne Kelley through the Seattle law firm Gordon Murray Tilden, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, alleges a Microsoft engaged in "bait and switch" marking with a marketing campaign launched before the release of Windows Vista. The campaign was intended to encourage sales of new PCs while the industry was largely sitting on its hands waiting for the (much-delayed) Windows Vista to ship: PC makers could use a sticker to identify new machines as "Vista capable" so consumers would know their new machine would be able to take advantage of new Vista technologies once the operating system shipped.
However, according to the suit, a "large number" of those PCs were not designed to run anything but Vista Home Basic, the most stripped-down version of Windows Vista. However, Microsoft’s campaign advertised enhanced features and interface capabilities (such as the Aero interface) as part of Vista—but those features do not operate on these "Vista capable" machines. The suit is seeking class action status, and estimated more than 10,000 people have been defrauded with damages totaling more than $5 million.
To carry a "Vista Capable" sticker, PCs had to offer at least 512 MB of RAM and DirectX 9 graphics support; these systems cannot run features in Windows Vista Home Premium, or run them poorly.
Microsoft later introduced a "Premium Ready" designation for new PCS capable of running Vista’s advanced features.
In 1950, Alan Turing asked whether machines can think. Rather than argue over definitions, he turned the question into a party game, where an interrogator trades typed messages with hidden players and tries to work out who is who. Since then, chatbots have gotten so good that they have already fooled humans in modern versions of the test.
So, four researchers from Paris Cité University asked the obvious follow-up question in a new study published in Computers in Human Behavior Reports: can AI at least catch its own kind?
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.