Claim: Microsoft earned $1.5B from "Vista Capable" PCs

An expert estimates Microsoft earned more than $1.5 billion through the sale of PCs labeled as "Vista Capable," according to a court document.

Microsoft allowed PC makers to label some XP-running PCs as "Vista Capable" prior to the release of the Vista operating system in early 2007.

The "Vista Capable" moniker has come under attack in a class action lawsuit because some PCs labeled as "Vista Capable" could only run the most basic version of the operating system. Plaintiffs argue that Microsoft "unjustly enriched" itself because the company artificially inflated demand for computers that could only run the most basic version of Vista.