Many readers already know that my case against Toshiba American Information Systems (TAIS) was dismissed (without prejudice) in June, 2003. Since that time, I have been working on the next phase of this campaign and have some important updates to share with our community. For starters, I have obtained the transcripts of the court hearing and have posted them on WindowsRefund.net for review. If you are interested in learning how Microsoft's EULA was kept out of evidence or simply want a good laugh when you hear Terry Thompson of TAIS claim that he has no knowledge of such an agreement, you'll enjoy the read.

July certainly was a productive month, when I consider Steve Oualline's favorable California ruling. Although this event certainly is a step in the right direction, it may be worth noting that the defendant did not show up in court. My guess is the defendent didn't know Steve would follow through by writing about his experiences in an effort to inspire and motivate others. Steve's victory is an important one, but we're still a long way from where we need to be. We need to get to the point where computer manufacturers implement internal policies to empower refund seekers and shudder at the thought of spending their dollars on legal defenses.

Getting back to my case against Toshiba, I remain fully committed to establishing a legal precedent that empowers future refund seekers to collect on the promise of the EULA. In order to prepare for the next phase of this ordeal, I have retained legal councel and am exploring options that can be used to obtain the desired outcome.

At this time, I am interested in communicating with people who, like me, have been denied refunds they were offered (in the EULA, for example) or who would have sought refunds if they believed they would be given. In order to help track this information, I have enhanced the user profiles on WindowsRefund.net to store the relevant details that typically apply in these cases. This information will be used only for the purpose of locating appropriate persons, and they will be protected against misuse.

Now is the time for us to show our strength in numbers.