It appears that if you buy a Media Center PC, this patent would allow MSFT to limit the applications to little more than recording TV, playing music and storing your DVD’s.
This ‘product class’ would be prohibited from non-Media Center functions, like running AutoCAD, Excel and others.
Now, if MSFT wants to market hamstrung OS’s, at reduced prices; that is their option. However, I fail to see the wisdom in this practice, as it opens the doors for class-action lawsuits.
How do you figure they're exposing themselves to liability if that's the express purpose of the reduced version -- less functionality at a lower price? The only thing I can think of that has kind of a similar feel to it was a case involving contact lenses. The maker sold one kind to be used for a long period for one price, and a different model that had to be replaced more often at a lower price. Thing is, they were actually the same lenses. So the people who paid the high price got what they paid for, and the people who paid the low price actually got MORE than they paid for, but weren't told. So IMHO, noone had a complaint, but someone was suing the company and the courts seemed to at least think it had sufficient merit to allow it to move forward.
That seems to me the motivated force for when they developed this...yr 2000....is mentioned .