[...]

Technically, no.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci825099,00.html

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-5078961.html

Suit: Hard drive size does matter

Reuters
Published on ZDNet News: September 18, 2003, 3:05 PM PT

A group of computer owners has filed a lawsuit against some of the
world's biggest makers of personal computers, claiming that their
advertising deceptively overstates the true capacity of their hard drives.

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, was filed earlier this
week in Los Angeles Superior Court against Apple Computer, Dell,
Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba.

The lawsuit brought by Los Angeles residents Lanchau Dan, Adam
Selkowitz, Tim Swan and John Zahabian centers on the way that computer
hard drives are described by manufacturers.

Representatives of the eight defendants were not immediately available
to comment.

According to the lawsuit, computer hard drive capacities are described
in promotional material in decimal notation, but the computer reads and
writes data to the drives in a binary system. The result is that a hard
drive described as being 20 gigabytes would actually have only 18.6
gigabytes of readable capacity, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiffs said this difference in convention is deceptive and
leaves buyers with less storage than they thought they were getting when
they purchased their computers.

For example, when a consumer buys what he thinks is a 150 GB hard drive,
the plaintiffs said, he actually gets only 140 GB of storage space. That
missing 10 GB, they claim, could store an extra 2,000 digitized songs or
20,000 pictures.

The lawsuit asks for an injunction against the purportedly unfair
marketing practices and an order requiring the defendants to disclose
their practices to the public, restitution, disgorgement of ill-gotten
profits and attorneys' fees.

Story Copyright  © 2003 Reuters Limited.  All rights reserved.

And here is at least one settlement, from Western Digital:

http://www.wdc.com/settlement/docs/longform.htm

The bottom line:  *you* can get some free backup software from Western
Digital.

The attorneys who filed this get $500,000.  A half a million dollars.
Cash.  In their pockets.

Attorneys who did not make any components, take any real risks, do any
engineering, manufacturing, customer service....$500K.

And that is just Western Digital.

Note:  in a lawsuit like this, it is cheaper for WD to pay a bribe like
this and write it off than fight it.

If you are familiar with the HardOCP.Com web site, you may know the
story of how "Infinity Labs" sued HardOCP for writing a story about
their phantom "Phantom" game--HardOCP's story was 100% accurate, but
Infinity Labs sued anyway....Infinity Labs got pummelled in court, but
only because HardOCP refused to settle, and went to court.  It cost
HardOCP about $250,000 in legal fees to go to court with them and "win".
 (Infinity Labs had to pay their legal fees.)

Anyway, attorneys Gutride and Safier split $500K for writing some
complaints and then mailing out some documents.  They also did the same
1000/1024 math problems that were done here.

The Wall Street Journal did a story in the last week or two that "tort"
costs like this add up to about 3% of the economy, if not more.  That's
a 3% tax you pay on everything, such as cars, real estate, computers,
medical care--and that 3% goes to attorneys, essentially.  Doesn't seem
like much, but lots of state and local governments run on sales taxes
with similar rates.

Japan educates lots of engineers, and few attorneys.  We have tens of
thousands of law students, and a declining number of engineering students.

Well, I am off to take a Prozac, a Xanax, and do something stupid, like
fall asleep while driving, then sue the compnay that made the car.  Last
guy who did that got $65,000,000.00

Arrrrg!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1523582/posts

Jury orders Ford to pay $61 million to teen's family in SUV crash
AP/mlive ^ | 11/16/2005, 10:09 p.m. ET | JENNIFER KAY

Posted on 11/16/2005 7:56:18 PM PST by quantim

MIAMI (AP) — A jury has ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay more than $61
million to the family of a 17-year-old boy killed in a roll-over
accident when his friend fell asleep while driving an Explorer.

Ford was liable in the accident because it sold a vehicle with poor
handling and stability, the jury said Tuesday.

Western Digital:

NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT (“NOTICE”)

TO:      All persons and entities who purchased in the United States an
Aftermarket Western Digital Corporation hard disk drive from March 22,
2001 to FEBRUARY 15, 2006.

THIS NOTICE MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS.  PLEASE READ THE COMPLETE NOTICE
CAREFULLY.

I.          Purpose of this Notice.

There is now pending in the District Court for the Northern District of
California a class action lawsuit entitled Orin Safier v. Western
Digital Corporation, Case No. 05-03353 BZ (the “Litigation”).  This
Notice explains the nature of the Litigation and the general terms of a
proposed settlement, and informs you of your legal rights and
obligations.  Unless otherwise set forth, this Notice incorporates by
reference the definitions set forth in the Class Action Settlement
Agreement.

Safier (“Plaintiff”) filed a class action lawsuit against Western
Digital Corporation (“Defendant” or “WDC”) on behalf of the Class
described above.  Plaintiff alleges that in the sale and marketing of
its hard disk drives, Defendant overstates the useable storage capacity
by approximately 7%.  According to Plaintiff, when attached to most
personal computers, a hard disk drive advertised by Defendant as having
“80GB” will only show an available capacity of “74.4GB.”  Plaintiff
alleges that one reason for this disparity is the use of two different
measurements of a “GB.”  Plaintiff alleges that computer operating
systems compute 1 GB as 1,073,741,824 bytes (the “Binary Definition”),
but Defendant and other hard disk drive manufacturers compute 1 GB as
1,000,000,000 bytes (the “Decimal Definition”).  Plaintiff alleges that
Defendant’s conduct constituted false advertising, unfair business
practices, breach of contract, fraud, and violations of the California
Consumers Legal Remedies Act.  In the Litigation, Plaintiff would seek
to recover on behalf of the Class one or more of the following remedies:
 (a) the right to return their hard disk drives for a full refund; (b)
the right to keep their hard disk drives and receive a partial refund of
the amount they paid proportional to the amount of capacity that was not
provided; (c) statutory damages for each act of false advertising
knowingly directed at a senior citizen; and (d) punitive damages.  Class
Counsel also seek an injunction requiring Defendant to more accurately
disclose the storage capacity of its hard disk drives in advertising,
marketing materials, and packaging.

            Class Counsel and the Class Representative have concluded,
after due investigation and after carefully considering the relevant
circumstances and the applicable law, that it would be in the best
interests of the Class to enter into this Settlement Agreement in order
to avoid the uncertainties of litigation and to assure that the benefits
reflected herein are obtained for the Class.  Class Counsel believe that
the most likely recovery for the class, if any, would be a refund of a
portion of the purchase price paid for the hard disk drive, although the
percentage refunded could be lower than the percentage of storage
capacity that was not provided.  Class Counsel are informed that more
than five million of Defendant’s hard disk drives were sold in the
aftermarket during the period covered by this settlement.  Class Counsel
estimate that the average purchase price of Defendant’s hard disk drives
during the period at issue in this Litigation was $150.  If the Court
required Defendant to refund 5% of the purchase price of each hard disk
drive purchased, Class Counsel believe that the average refund would be
$7.50.  Class Counsel and the Class Representative understand, however,
that there are numerous risks in continuing with this litigation,
including the possibility of being unable to achieve the following:  (1)
certify a class of purchasers, (2) demonstrate that Defendant’s
undisclosed use of the Decimal Definition was misleading to reasonable
consumers or otherwise constituted an unfair trade practice, (3) prove
damages on behalf of the Class and each Class Member, (4) demonstrate
knowing false advertising directed at a senior citizens, and (5) show
that injunctive relief should be awarded.  After due investigation and
evaluation, Class Counsel and the Class Representative consider the
settlement set forth herein to be fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the
best interests of the Class.

Because it is not technologically possible, the proposed Settlement does
not call for capacity to be added to Class Member’s hard disk drives.
But the proposed settlement will provide each Class Member with free
backup and recovery software that can be used in conjunction with
his/her hard disk drive.  Based on Class Counsel’s investigation of the
retail market for backup and recovery software, Class Counsel believes
that this software is comparable to products that retail for $30 or
more, and that in light of the risks of litigation, providing this
software adequately compensates class members for the loss that  Class
Counsel believe they suffered in allegedly not getting the capacity
promised in Defendant’s advertisements.

Defendant denies Plaintiff’s allegations, any wrongdoing, and any
liability whatsoever and believes it has many legal defenses to all of
the claims asserted by Plaintiff.  Defendant believes that its marketing
and advertising complied and continues to comply in all respects with
the law and that no Class Member, including the Plaintiff, has sustained
any damages or injuries related to its actions or omissions.
Nonetheless, Defendant has concluded that further conduct of the
Litigation would be protracted and expensive, and that it is desirable
that the Litigation be fully and finally settled in the manner and upon
the terms and conditions of the proposed settlement.

            Judge Bernard Zimmerman of the District Court for the
Northern District of California (also referred to as the “Court”) has
preliminarily determined that this Litigation should proceed as a class
action, for purposes of settlement only, with Safier (“Plaintiff”) as
the representative of the Class, and has granted preliminary approval of
the proposed settlement.

II.        Class Members.

The Court has conditionally ruled that the Litigation may be maintained
on behalf of the following:

All persons and entities who purchased in the United States an
Aftermarket Western Digital Corporation hard disk drive from March 22,
2001 to FEBRUARY 15, 2006.

Excluded from being Class Members are Western Digital Corporation, its
directors, officers, and employees; Judge Zimmerman and the members of
his immediate family; and all persons who timely and validly request
exclusion from the Class.

“Aftermarket” means that the disk drive was not purchased as part of a
computer assembled by an OEM but rather was purchased separately.
Non-excluded persons and entities that fall within the above definition
are referred to as “Class Members.”

III.       Settlement Benefit For Class Members.

A.        If the settlement is finally approved by the Court, WDC will
include language substantially similar to the following on its website
and, as soon as its current packaging supply is depleted, but no later
than six (6) months following the Effective Date, on its product packaging:

“1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes.  Total accessible capacity varies
depending on operating environment.”

B.         If the proposed settlement is finally approved by the Court,
WDC will provide to Class Members the following “Class Benefit:”

For ninety (90) days following the Effective Date, all Class Members who
successfully complete a Claim Form prior to the expiration of the Claim
Period shall be entitled to download, from the Website, software with
substantially all of the following capabilities and features: data back
up; data recovery; a user interface to guide users through each step of
the backup and recovery process; ability to execute operations in the
background and create full backups without impacting users,
applications, or the network; capability to schedule backup scripts and
jobs as needed; built-in file filters that allow users to choose which
files they want to include or exclude in the back-up; copy files in
native file format; restore files/folders from a backup; ability to
backup entire system into a backup set, which can be appended at a later
date; capability of creating a single or multiple file backup set which
the user can compress or encrypt for added security; progressive backup
method which only copies new or modified files and allows user to
restore their machine to any point in time with a single pass; choice of
full, incremental, and mirror backups; ability to duplicate data,
including all necessary system files to a secondary hard disk drive’s
root level to make a bootable disk; fully scriptable on Windows and
Macintosh so that a user can create scripts that force certain
applications to close when the backup runs and re-open when completed;
if unable to backup an individual file, intelligence to retry that file
on the next operation until properly backed up; built-in schedulers that
allow users to create automated back-up, duplicate, and restore scripts
to meet their needs; detailed log reporting; option of backing up to a
disk; protection to ensure that backups do not exceed disk capacity;
notification to users regarding successful backups, failed backups, and
other relevant information; built-in software compression; encryption
algorithm; password protection; data grooming options for disk backup
sets; restore option to replace existing files on hard drives only if
the backed up files are newer; restore option to restore only files
which exist in the backup but have been deleted from the hard drives;
duplicate option to replace existing files on hard drives only if the
copy on the source disk is newer; selectors for Documents and Settings,
Office Documents, Music, Movies, Pictures, Operating System, and
Applications; DVD+R DL (double layer) drives and media support; taskbar
Icon and hot key backup; catalog files automatically repaired when they
become out of sync; supports the following Windows operation systems:
Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP Pro and Home, NT 4, and Win XP 64-bit OS;
supports the following Macintosh operation systems:  Mac OS 10.1.5 and
later; localized in the following languages:  English, French, German,
and Japanese; supports local, external, removable, and network hard disk
regardless of interface; capable of being saved and re-used by Class
Members.

IV.       Claims Process and Deadline.

A.        Claims Process.  Only one Class Benefit is available for each
Class Member.   In order to receive the Class Benefit, Class Members
must complete the Claim Form available at http://www.wdc.com/settlement 
by (1) providing their name and postal or e-mail address; (2) providing
the estimated date of purchase of a WDC hard disk drive; (3) providing
the serial number for the WDC hard disk drive they purchased or a copy
of their receipt or other proof of purchase; and (4) attesting, under
penalty of perjury, that their WDC hard disk drive was not purchased
from an OEM, that they have registered for only one Class Benefit, and
that the information provided is correct.  Such information is to be
used only for purposes of administering this Settlement.  Excluded Class
Members are not eligible to receive the Class Benefit.  Class Members
may submit the Claim Form electronically on the Settlement Website or
print the Claim Form and submit it by U.S. mail to WDC Settlement Claim
Form; 5654 Geary Blvd., #210511; San Francisco, CA 94121, according to
the instructions on the Claim Form.

            B.         Claims Deadline.  Class Members must complete
the Claim Form no later than thirty (30) days after Final Approval of
the Settlement.  Class Members who do not complete the Claim Form by
that date will not be eligible to receive the Class Benefit.

V.         Dismissal of Litigation, Entry of Judgment and Release of Claims.

            If the Court approves the proposed settlement, it will
enter a judgment that will dismiss the Litigation on the merits and with
prejudice as to all Class Members.  All Class Members who do not validly
and timely request to be excluded from the proposed settlement shall be
forever barred from prosecuting their own lawsuits against Defendant for
claims that were made or that were required to be made in this
Litigation.  In particular, all Class Members who do not opt-out of the
Litigation shall be deemed to have released Defendant and each of its
past or present officers, directors, agents, designees, servants,
sureties, attorneys, employees, parents, associates, controlling or
principal shareholders, general or limited partners or partnerships,
subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, insurers, heirs, and all successors
or predecessors in interest, assigns, or legal representatives from any
and all liabilities, claims, cross-claims, causes of action, rights,
actions, suits, debts, liens, contracts, agreements, damages,
restitution, disgorgement, costs, attorneys’ fees, losses, expenses,
obligations, or demands, of any kind whatsoever, whether in arbitration,
administrative, or judicial proceedings, whether as individual claims or
as claims asserted on a class basis or on behalf of the general public,
whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, threatened,
asserted, or unasserted, actual or contingent, liquidated or
unliquidated, whether under federal statutory law, federal common law,
federal regulation, or the statutory or common laws or regulations of
any and all states or subdivisions, to which res judicata would apply if
the Litigation had been litigated to a complete and full judgment.
Class Members who wish to exclude themselves from the Settlement
(opt-out) must follow the procedures set forth in Section VII(B) of this
Notice.

VI.       Attorneys’ Fees and Costs.

            From the inception of this Litigation, Plaintiff’s Counsel
have not received payment for their services, nor have they been
reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.  Class Counsel believes that
at least one million persons and entities are eligible to obtain the
class benefit set forth herein, and estimate that the class benefit has
a value of at least $30.00.  If the Court approves the proposed
settlement, Plaintiff’s Counsel will ask the Court to award, and
Defendant has agreed to pay, and will not contest the reasonableness of,
an award of attorneys’ fees of up to $485,000 and expenses up to
$15,000.  At Plaintiff’s request, Defendant will also submit a statement
to the Court in which this matter is pending stating that it does not
oppose a request for fees and expenses of up to the agreed amounts.
Additionally, Plaintiff’s Counsel will ask the Court to award, and
Defendant has agreed to pay, and will not contest the reasonableness of,
a $1,000.00 incentive award to the Class Representative for his time and
effort related to the Litigation and risks undertaken in prosecuting it.
 Finally, WDC has agreed to administer the settlement including the
class notice, claim form, and provision of the Class Benefit, and has
agreed to bear its own costs associated therewith, except that Class
Counsel has agreed to collect any opt-out requests and any Claim Forms
submitted by mail, and shall bear their own costs associated therewith.

            Any award of attorneys’ fees and costs and any payment to
the Plaintiff will be paid separately from, and will not reduce, the
Class Benefit provided under the settlement.  Class Members will not be
personally liable for any of Defendant’s or Class Counsel’s attorneys’
fees, expenses, or payment except in connection with any objection to
the settlement pursuant to section VIII(B) of this Agreement.

VII.      Rights and Options of Class Members.

            A.        Remain a Class Member.

                        1.  If you do not request exclusion from the
Class, you will remain a Class Member.  Your interests in connection
with the proposed settlement will be represented by Plaintiff and
Plaintiff’s Counsel.  You, however, will not be charged for the services
or expenses of Plaintiff’s Counsel.

Plaintiff’s Counsel in the Litigation is:

GUTRIDE SAFIER LLP

Adam Gutride

Seth A. Safier

835 Douglass Street

San Francisco, California 94114

www.gutridesafier.com

WDC is represented in the Litigation by:

IRELL & MANELLA LLP

Scott D. Baskin, P.C.

Lisa M. Sharrock
840 Newport Center Drive, Suite 400

Newport Beach, CA 92660-6324

   

                        2.         If the proposed settlement is
approved by the Court and the judgment becomes final, you will be
entitled to the Class Benefit described in Section III, above, if you
submit the Claim Form no later than thirty (30) days after Final
Approval.  If the proposed settlement is not granted final approval or
the judgment does not become final, the certification of the Class will
be vacated and the Litigation will continue as if no proposed settlement
had been reached.

                        3.         As a Class Member, you will be bound
by any judgment or other disposition of the Litigation, even if you do
not submit a claim or take advantage of the Class Benefit.  Furthermore,
you and your heirs, executors, administrators, representatives, agents,
partners, successors, and assigns will be deemed to have agreed to the
terms of the Settlement and the release set forth in Section V, above.

B.        Opt-Out of the Settlement.  You have the right to opt-out of
the Settlement.  If you opt-out of the Settlement, you will not be bound
by or subject to any judgment or Settlement of the Litigation.  If you
opt-out, however, you will also not be entitled to receive the Class
Benefit.  If you wish to opt-out, you must submit a written, signed
request to opt-out, by postage-paid, first class mail, stating (1) your
name, address, and telephone number, (2) a reference to this Litigation
(i.e., Safier v. Western Digital Corporation, Case No. BZ 05-03353), (3)
the serial number of the WDC hard disk drive you purchased, (4) the
approximate date when you purchased a WDC hard disk drive, and (5) your
desire to opt-out of the Class.  Requests to opt-out must be sent to WDC
Opt-Out, 5654 Geary Blvd., #210511, San Francisco, CA 94121 and
post-marked no later than May 19, 2006.  If you do not submit a timely
opt-out request that complies with these requirements, your opt-out
request will be deemed invalid and you will not be excluded from the Class.

C.        Intervene In The Litigation And/Or Object to the Settlement.
You have the right to intervene in the Litigation and object to, or
comment on, the proposed settlement, award of attorneys’ fees and
expenses, or payment to the Plaintiff as set forth in Section VIII, below.

VIII.    Final Settlement Hearing and Settlement Objections.

A.        On June 14, 2006 at 3:00 pm, a public hearing will be held
before Judge Bernard Zimmerman of the District Court for the Northern
District of California, located at 450 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco,
CA.  The hearing will determine:  (1) whether the proposed settlement of
the Litigation as set forth in the Class Action Settlement Agreement is
just, fair, reasonable, and adequate for the Class and should be granted
final approval; (2) whether certification of the Class should be made
final; (3) whether the Court should enter the proposed judgment
dismissing the Litigation with prejudice; (4) whether the Court should
award Plaintiff’s Counsel attorneys’ fees and expenses in the amount set
forth in the Class Action Settlement Agreement; and (5) whether the
Court should award Plaintiff $1,000 for his time and effort in the
Litigation.  You are not required to attend the Settlement Hearing.

B.         Procedure for Objection, Intervention, and Appearance at
Final Approval Hearing and Deadlines.

            1.         If you are a Class Member, you have the right to
object to the settlement.  To do so, you must submit a written statement
setting forth:  (1) your name, address, and telephone number, (2) the
name of this Litigation (i.e., Safier v. Western Digital Corporation,
Case No. 05-03353 BZ), (3) the approximate date when you purchased a WDC
hard disk drive, (4) the serial number for the WDC hard disk drive you
purchased, and (5) your objection and supporting arguments to
Plaintiff’s Counsel and WDC’s Counsel at the addresses set forth in
Section VII(A)(1) above.  Your written objection must be personally
delivered by May 24, 2006 (or sent via U.S. first-class mail, postage
prepaid, on or before May 19, 2006). You cannot object if you have opted
out of the Class.  Only those that remain in the Class may object to the
Settlement.

            2.         Any motion for intervention in the litigation
must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local
Rules of the Northern District of California and be filed with the Clerk
of the Court, District Court for the Northern District of California,
450 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102, no later than May 24,
2006.  No one who has opted-out of the Class may move to intervene.  A
motion for intervention must include a certification that you have
personally delivered identical copies to Plaintiff’s Counsel and WDC’s
Counsel on or before May 24, 2006 (or that you sent those copies to
Plaintiff’s Counsel and WDC’s Counsel by U.S. first class mail, postage
prepaid, on or before May 19, 2006).

            3.         You may also attend the Final Settlement Hearing
either in person or through an attorney retained by you at your own
expense.  You may ask to be heard by Judge Zimmerman at the Final
Settlement Hearing.  In order to be heard, however, you must have
submitted a written objection or request to intervene in compliance with
Section (VIII)(B)(1), above and include in your comments a statement
that you intend to appear and wish to be heard at the Final Settlement
Hearing.

IX.       Additional Information and Important Dates.

A.  Additional Information.  The description of the Litigation set forth
in this Notice is general and does not cover all of the issues and
proceedings thus far.  If you have additional questions you can contact
Plaintiff’s Counsel (in writing) or see the complete file including the
individual terms of the Settlement in the Litigation by visiting the
Clerk of the Court, District Court for the Northern District of
California, 450 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, California. The Clerk
will make the file relating to this Litigation available to you for
inspection and copying at your own expense.  You also can review the
court file electronically at
https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/index.html.  In order to do so, you
must log in using a password (which can be obtained at
http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov) and pay a usage fee.  In addition, the
Settlement Agreement, Claim Form, Class Action Complaint, Plaintiff’s
motion for preliminary approval, and Defendant’s brief in support of
preliminary approval may be obtained on the Settlement Website, located
at http://www.wdc.com/settlement.

B.  Deadlines and Dates to Remember.

·         May 19, 2006 is the deadline to Opt-Out of the settlement.

·         May 24, 2006 is the deadline to Intervene/Object.

·         June 14, 2006 is the Final Hearing Date.

·         Thirty Days after Final Approval is the deadline to complete
the Claim Form to receive the Class Benefit.

Dated: _____________, 2006                               Honorable Judge
Bernard Zimmerman