Microsoft CEO Says He Had Little to Do with Making Vista Capable

While the class action lawsuit over the Windows Vista Capable program continues, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer has managed to take himself out of the equation. According to a deposition filed on behalf of the CEO, Ballmer indicated that he had little involvement in the Windows Vista Capable program. In this manner, Ballmer revealed that he had played only a superficial role in putting together the program designed to sell Vista capable computers before the operating system was generally available.

"I was not involved in any of the operational decisions about the Windows Vista Capable Program. I was not involved in establishing the requirements computers must satisfy to qualify for the Windows Vista Capable program. I was not involved in formulating any marketing strategy or any public messaging surrounding the Windows Vista Capable program,” Ballmer stated according to the declaration offered by SeattlePI.

Ballmer summed it up by denying having had any sort of unique knowledge or involvement in the program. Vista Capable ended up in a lawsuit granted with class action status alleging that Microsoft had mislead customers into buying machines that were limited to running just the Home Basic edition of the operating system, which lacked all the Vista features present in the Home Premium, Business and Ultimate SKUs. Ballmer revealed that responsible for the Windows Vista Capable program are exclusively Jim Allchin, (Former) Co-President, Platforms & Services Division and Will Poole, (former) Co-President, Windows Client Business, now Corporate Vice President, Unlimited Potential Group.

“On a few occasions in 2006, I had brief discussions about technical requirements and timing for the Windows Vista Capable program with executives from Microsoft's business partners, including Intel Corporation. However, those discussions took place at a very general level. Moreover, I simply relayed the concerns of Microsoft's business partners to members of Microsoft's management responsible for making the decisions regarding those technical requirements and timing, like Mr. Allchin and Mr. Poole,” Ballmer added.