Microsoft gets serious about Windows piracy

I read this http://neowin.net/news/main/08/11/06/microsoft-gets-serious-about-windows-piracy and thought that it is about time. I think they could be a little tougher but I think they have been pretty generous so far.

So what are your thoughts???

 

I my opinion, they are still not being aggressive enough with this. They need to simply disable (suspected) illegitimate copies of Windows.

 

I think they can't do anything about it.

copies are already out there on CDs and what not, so even if MS gets somebodys computer to shut off, the next more will be reinstallation of the illegal copy and no updates ..

 

LOL!

they mean, microsoft is doing something?

 

Isn't this old news? I thought they've implemented this a while ago.

 

I had something similar to this a while ago on my desktop, i'd reinstalled windows on it and forgot to activate it through the telephone service. After 30 days my desktop went black, but kept changing colours when I shutdown and logged on again. I was baffled as to why this happened, thought I had a virus or something, took me a while to figure out what happened. When I activated windows, it sorted it out. I never got the thing saying it wasn't a legitimate copy.

I do think it's a good thing, as stated in the article, it is theft.

 

*Checks computer next to me* Nope, still working fine

This doesn't say for what which Windows (XP, Vista, ancient *** relic)? Wonder is this is going to effect the fact the Chinese are pissed at MS right now?

 

China gets pissed at everyone. MS should pull out of China. Give China to Apple then when China comes begging for MS to come back, make their emperor or slave master or what ever it is they got kiss Ballmers butt and make it apart of the next MS I am a PC add.

 

I thought so too... like last year...

 

Yeah - had a good laugh at the Chinese complaining that Microsoft wants them to pay for their products. They've got Red Flag Linux already if the proles want a free OS - if you want one from a capitalist country, you're going to have to face the facts of a capitalist country.

The other thing that surprised me about so many people making a fuss out of it was that it was delivered through a Windows update - so why not just uninstall the update if you're so insistant on running a pirated system with a non-black background? Unless Microsoft got clever with that, in which case good for them.

I'm no fan of DRM, but overall Microsoft has been pretty fair with Windows and Office activation thus far. If people really want to complain about DRM and activation, EA is a much more worthy target than Microsoft.

 

Hmm... What microsoft SHOULD do from the windows 7 onwards is to disable patching and updating of pirated copies of Windows. Then, whenever microsoft finds a security hole release the information about the hole. Eventually, the pirated copies will become so insecure they'll have to stop using it.

 

Oh, man, that Red Flag Linux just looks like a exact copy of XP. Seriously, if you're going to do Linux, do it different. It's so capable of diversity. don't just copy XP..


As for the priacy thing, stopping it updates won't work if the user just stays offline. It's not really of what method you can use to workaround it, it's all a matter of morals. And I'm ashamed to admit that the moral standards for China as a whole is just awful..

 

aGReed. cOnsidering ONCE the OS (vista) is activated by any means, people could get the updates no sweat.

 

This is not what they "should" be doing, or what they've so far been lax about.
This is a strategy.

Autodesk did it, and is now hugely profiting from it.
People all around the world used pirated copies of AutoCad, learned how to use it, got used to it, and now with copyright laws tighter, and enforced in some countries, began to buy legitimate copies. Not of other CAD software, but of the ones they've been using.

MS was clever in doing this, since it clearly has worked.

 

china wants everything for free... well, I agree with above post. let apple have china. after that they'll be willing to pay for windows.

 

Hmm... would it be too much to ask for for Microsoft to release a patch that'll completely wreck the systems of those Chinese? Data corruption would be a good start along with a possible huge overclock of the hardware that burns out the hardware (i'm sure must be possible somehow. Just mimic SetFSB and rivatuner)

On a more serious note, as the above poster has said, perhaps its not so bad for Microsoft in the loooooonnng run but i wouldn't bet a penny on the Chinese willingly paying for the software for the next decade at least. Chinese laws and enforcement in this area is a JOKE.

 

+1 Rep for hitting the nail on the head. MS has deliberately been lax about enforcing piracy controls on emerging markets and has looked the other way because then those nations will grow up using Windows XP and not the free alternatives.

Another company that followed this paradigm was Adobe, with the Photoshop line. Millions, or at least thousands grew up using Photoshop to manipulate images and now when they can afford it, they are buying copies.

The price of software doesn't make sense to people in developing nations - it is insane in comparison to income and other expenditures there, so free software is always going to win out. It would hurt MS a lot more if that free software was Linux, thus they look the other way when there is piracy in developing countries but come after pirates aggressively in richer countries.

 

how I long for the day...

In fact, I would have already, had it not been for the battery life

 

If they become very aggressive and stop all piracy, I'm sure their market share will go down very quickly; right now retail price of Windows is too much for the average user especially outside U.S. Once people start switching to Linux, there is no going back. That could very well be the end of Windows as we know it .

I'm using Vista because it came with my computer, I would have never paid $200 for it. And I will never pay anything over $100 for Windows 7 either, If I cant get it through some sort of a student discount program then I'll stay with Vista or completely switch to Linux.

 

Hackers/Crackers will still find a way around it. They always do...

 

its funny tho autodesk figured out that a lot of kids were hacking it and now they offer it for free to students on their web site i got it from them since im in college....

about the windows thing yes hackers will all ways find away around it... have you ever been on a torrent web site their are a lot of people hacking windows and you are able to update the product with a slip stream hack... iv seen people do it and its so easy but the consequences for it are to insane like going to jail or paying massive fines....

 

What's all this free for student BS I'm hearing about? How do I get a free copy of Vista lol

 

o no i was talking about autocad being free

 

Contact your CS department about MSDNAA or another software program.

 

So, how did this guy get win7? And how did he get it "activated" hmm

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=319121