Microsoft Lawsuit

Dear Friends,

In terms of our usual updates, this one will strike you as odd.  Today, we’re not advocating for an issue.  Instead, we’re helping you, Joe and Jane Average Citizen, participate in a class-action lawsuit that will land you $100 - $200 and help keep Corporate America more honest in the future.

Perhaps you’ve not heard about the Microsoft class-action lawsuit?  There certainly hasn’t been a lot of news about it.  One of our supporters is familiar with the case in detail, so we’ve been privy to the inside skinny.  In a lawsuit that Roxanne Conlin shepherded through the legal system, it was determined that Microsoft engaged in anti-competitive practices, preventing improved consumer products from reaching our desktops.  Basically, it was attempt by Microsoft to lock down and control the market.

If you are a resident of Iowa and believe, to the best of your recollection, that you purchased a Microsoft product between 1994 and 2006, you are eligible to file a claim.  It's understood in the lawsuit that few people will have records of computer-related purchases stretching back over thirteen years.  Since Microsoft products were pre-installed on almost all PCs during those years, if you purchased a computer you likely bought Windows and Microsoft Word or Microsoft Office.  Your best estimates on what you purchased and when will suffice.

To file a claim go to www.iowamicrosoftcase.com.  All you need to do is indicate to the best of your recollection the year, product(s), and, generally speaking, where they were purchased, e.g., Dell online, Comp USA, Best Buy, etc.  The claim was set up to be bare bones because there just is not much more information people will be able to recall.

So, with that in mind, each and every one of you who bought a computer during that thirteen-year period should consider it your civic responsibility to file this claim.  You have until December 15 to do it.  If Iowans don’t claim the money approved in the settlement, it merely reverts to Microsoft, so please feel free to forward this information to others to encourage the broadest possible participation.

You’ll help send a message that Iowans believe in holding big companies accountable . . . and you’ll get reimbursed for your efforts!

Thank you,

Ed Fallon

P.S. On an unrelated matter . . . the Iowa Bicycle Coalition is working to pre-sell 500 “Share The Road” license plates.  The plates are a rolling billboard to encourage more bicycling and reinforce the message to motorists that safety is a life-and-death matter.  The basic plates are $35.  Personalized plates are $60.  Funding goes to bicyclist safety education and motorist awareness.  The coalition hopes to reach their goal by December 1.  Application and instructions are at www.iowabicyclecoalition.org/strplate.htm.