Microsoft schools compensation could buy Macs
Microsoft could find itself in the embarrassing position of funding Macs for schools. It’s paying around $80 million in compensation to schools in Wisconsin which can be spent on technology – and not just Microsoft products.
The payment is the result of a 2006 lawsuit in the state which was granted class action status. The case, which involved Windows, Office and even MS-DOS, specifically claims that Microsoft had acted in an anti-competitive manner between 1993 and 2003.
As part of the settlement, Microsoft agreed to pay up to $223 million in compensation. Anyone from Wisconsin who’d bought the relevant products could claim between $10 and $23 depending on the product concerned. The terms of the settlement meant that half of any money unclaimed by a June 2007 deadline would go to local schools.
That sum, estimated at between $75 and $80 million, will now go to more than 850 schools in the state. It’s classed as a “cy pres” award, meaning that it’s designed to achieve the principle of the settlement (that Microsoft repay money it unfairly made) now that the original method (refunding every individual customer) is no longer possible.
The payments are open to any school where more than a third of the students meet low-income guidelines.
The payment, which will be worth the best part of $100,000 per school, will be made in the form of vouchers which can be spent on hardware, software or IT support. There is a specific list of eligible products (which is not publicly available), but the news release for the scheme uses the phrase “platform neutral.” That strongly suggests Macs and Apple software will be among the products which schools can spend the money on.
Full details of the scheme are available at https://secureweb.rustconsulting.com/mswicy/faq.aspx
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