Anti-Piracy: Microsoft Seeks Another Kind of Free Trade
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News Analysis. "Anti-Piracy Day" is coming to a close in many of the 49 countries where Microsoft is holding it. Microsoft is fighting for continued growth as PC sales growth shifts overseas. |
Microsoft is only going to get tougher on software piracy. In fact, the company celebrated Anti-Piracy Day by suing 21 VARs and channel resellers.
High piracy in PC growth markets and slow upgrades in mature markets mean the company must squeeze out more revenue somewhere. In mature markets, Microsoft squeezes more revenue through cross-feature dependencies and integration. Enterprises must buy several products, typically committing to two- or three-year annuity contracts, to get full, promised benefits.
But the PC remains the platform that delivers most of Microsoft's revenue, and it will do so for many years yet. There, piracy is an increasingly big problem, because:
- The U.S. economy is in recession or soon will be.
- OEMs, PC buyers and software pirates prefer Windows XP.
- Except for notebooks, the U.S. market is saturated with Windows PCs.
- International markets now account for the majority of Microsoft revenue.
- PC sales are strongest outside the United States, particularly in emerging markets.
- Piracy rates are highest outside North America, particularly in emerging markets such as China and Russia.
A Deeper View
I put up the bullet points for people who either scan the posts or just read the first few paragraphs. Here's the substance behind the bullet points:
The U.S. economy already is affecting PC sales. Last week, Gartner and IDC released preliminary, third-quarter PC shipment data. Both companies cited the slowing economy for lower-than-expected U.S. shipments. According to Gartner, U.S. PC shipments grew by 4.6 percent year over year; the overall market grew by 15 percent.
Windows XP, for which anti-piracy protections are weaker than Vista's, remains widely available. Microsoft may claim 180 million Windows Vista licenses shipped, but many OEMS offer XP as a downgrade option with newer PCs. Then there is the rapidly emerging netbook category, for which Microsoft licenses Windows XP Home.
Piracy isn't just about counterfeit discs, but software sold for one channel made available through another. Windows XP OEM discs, whether legitimate or counterfeit, greatly contribute to Microsoft's piracy problems.
Saturation is a big problem for Microsoft. If not for the mass move to mobile, the U.S. Windows PC market would be in a constant state of year-over-year shipment declines. Last month, IDC forecast that U.S. desktop and x86 server shipments would decline 4.2 percent year over year in 2008. The decline is much greater than IDC indicates, because x86 servers, which are steadily growing, offset the desktop figures. By comparison, IDC projects U.S. notebook shipments will grow 17.7 percent.
International sales drive Microsoft revenue. At the close of fiscal 2008, on June 30, nearly two-thirds of Microsoft revenue came from international markets. Just three years ago, about the same percentage of sales came from North America.
Overseas PC shipments are strong compared with those in the United States. IDC forecasts PC, portable and x86 server shipments will reach 311.4 million units this year—240.5 million in international markets. So about 77 percent of PC shipments go to markets outside the United States.
Portable shipments will reach 148.2 million units this year. Worldwide year-over-year growth rate is expected to be 37.2 percent and a staggering 44.7 percent outside the United States. During third quarter, both Gartner and IDC called out growing demand for netbooks, which typically ship with Linux or, more likely, Windows XP Home. Netbooks accounted for 5 percent of U.S. mobile shipments, adding as much as 2 percent year-over-year growth to the total.
Piracy rates are highest among emerging markets where PC growth is strongest. China is the best example, but merely one of many. Last month, in a speech to venture capitalists, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that "China will become the largest not manufacturing company but consumption market for PCs within the next two years. It's No. 2 today, about 45 to 50 million PCs a year. The U.S. is 65 million."
According to the Business Software Alliance, the piracy rate in China was 82 percent in 2007 compared with 20 percent in the United States.
What It All Means
Assuming my math is right, for second calendar quarter, approximately $10 billion of Microsoft's $15.84 billion in revenue came from sales outside the United States. I expect that number to increase as:
- The slowing U.S. economy saps sales.
- Product saturation slows software sales in mature markets.
- Emerging markets boost their software, hardware and other technology investments.
What Microsoft's revenue doesn't show is the extent of lost revenue to piracy. According to BSA, piracy rate in BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China—is 75 percent, compared with 35 percent for the European Union and 20 percent for the United States. I've heard Microsoft executives repeatedly say that about half the Office installations are pirated versions. In China, that conceptually means eight out 10 Office copies.
I know of no other software company with more anti-piracy programs than Microsoft, which makes sense since the company's products are used everywhere. But that also makes Microsoft the champion for all other software developers. Microsoft fights for the meat, but there is plenty of gravy for others, even competitors. While still high, piracy is declining in some geographies—and Microsoft's anti-piracy efforts likely are a major reason. Some examples:
- China: Piracy rate dropped 10 percent between 2003 and 2007.
- Russia: Piracy rate was 73 percent in 2007, compared with 80 percent in 2006.
- Vietnam: Piracy rate dropped to 85 percent last year, compared with 92 percent in 2003.
But for some other markets, as technology adoption increases, so do piracy rates. In Venezuela the rate was 87 percent last year, compared with 72 percent in 2003.
Microsoft's greatest challenge is yet met. The company has yet to establish a "Big Mac Index" for software sold in most geographies. The Big Mac Index is used several ways by economists. One is measuring the value of money by comparing the cost of a Big Mac in the United States to its cost in other currencies. But the value can be applied to pricing and how much a Big Mac should cost, adjusted to local economies' spending power. The best-known use is probably pharmaceuticals, where drugs cost more in the United States compared with many other countries, particularly emerging markets.
Perhaps declines in Chinese piracy result in part from Big Mac pricing. In August 2007, Microsoft cut the price of Windows Vista Home Basic in China from 1,521 yuan (U.S. $201) to 499 yuan (U.S. $66). The price of Windows Vista Home Premium dropped from 1,802 yuan (U.S. $238.50) to 899 yuan (U.S. $119).
According to World Bank, the average income in China was $2,025 in 2006, up from $293 in 1985. In a statement released earlier this year, China's National Bureau of Statistics put 2007 average income at 25,000 yuan (U.S. $3,561). From that perspective, 499 yuan doesn't seem so high for Vista Home Basic. My question: How much less is it than the cost of pirated Windows XP on the street?
Microsoft and BSA propagate this fiction that piracy is cultural—that certain places have no respect for intellectual property rights. I disagree. Piracy is more about economics than culture, and BSA's data shows this. Consistently, but not wholly, piracy rates are lowest among countries with the strongest economies/highest standards of living. From that perspective, declining piracy rates in China and Russia may be as much from increasing standards of living than Microsoft anti-piracy efforts.
The cultural argument is simple: People steal because they don't see anything wrong with it. But that's not true. In most markets with high piracy rates, software is sold by somebody. The person using the software isn't necessarily the pirate. The pirate often directly or indirectly sells the software, usually at a cost that local people can afford—and that means much less than what Microsoft sells the software for.
The point: Microsoft needs to think lots more about local software pricing as a piracy deterrent, while working with channel partners and local governments to get more tactical technology products to more small businesses. One mechanism gives people a legitimate source of software, the other can help raise standards of living.
[Please send your tips or rumors to watchtips at live.com.]
Comments (31)
Want to get software...operating systems, photo programs, office programs, games, and download thousands of free software programs and really "stick it to the man"? You can get it from Bit torrent or direct download.
Its called .... Linux
Posted by Ralph | October 21, 2008 2:52 PM
I would have thought MS would be pleased with piracy, with the reputation of MS products globally and the emergence of major competitors, Im amazed people even want MS stuff for free.
That comment of course is a little flippant, and I do not advocate piracy in any form, be it in business or to the user via a BT tracker, but it makes you wonder where MS's head is at presently. If there is a global credit crisis, and MS's image is poor, surely piracy enables more exposure of their products, and hopefully some form of "lock in" for all those that use them, and isnt a user of a pirated piece of MS software, less likely to want to buy a Mac (for example) which is already eating away at MS'S user base?
Just an idea.
You know what I say though. Go Open Source and have software freedom! Forget proprietary software!
To quote a great saying "Computers are like air-conditioning, open Windows and they dont work properly"
Posted by Goblin | October 21, 2008 3:59 PM
Most likely the reason that the Piracy rate dropped on MS Windows operating systems in countries like China, Russia, and Vietnam, is not so much as the standard of living increasing, in those countries, as Joe suggests, but the hatred of Microsoft there, and free alternatives such Linux, BSD, and open Solaris. The hatred of MS there, is more related to the hatred of American capitalistic corporations, than perhaps just the software problems of MSFT, and its Vista problems. After all, these are or were communist countries, where capitalism, is or was, a bad word.
Posted by The Hand | October 21, 2008 5:29 PM
> Piracy isn't just about counterfeit discs, but
> software sold for one channel made available
> through another.
I don't understand this. Surely a sale is a sale, and Microsoft gets the money regardless. To insist on control over where and how your product is sold just seems anti-competitive. It's probably illegal in some jurisdictions.
Posted by Lawrence D'Oliveiro | October 21, 2008 6:35 PM
Lawrence D'Oliveiro has a good point. The reason the piracy is dropping on some of these countries, is because Microsoft sells its software at reduced prices there. Vista for example sells in China for about 1/3 the cost here in the USA. XP starter edition (crippleware) sells for $3, over there doesn't it? That is the reason that Microsoft doesn't want software sold in one channel (china) to be made available in another (usa).
When Joe says; "OEMs, PC buyers and software pirates prefer Windows XP," that he should have followed up and that as to why it is. But I will of course. Vista is a bloated pig with lipstick that only runs fair on powerful newer high end machines. The kind that most people cannot afford in China or these other countries. What they can afford is a $1 copy of pirated XP. Most of the sales increases have most likely come from the price reduction on windows software, and from making deals with the governments of the countries themselves, to by the windows software, at reduced prices. The private sector in these countries, just cannot as a rule afford Microsoft software.
Posted by chips b malroy | October 21, 2008 8:04 PM
Microsoft sued for allegedly covering up Xbox 360 defects
http://venturebeat.com/2008/10/16/microsoft-sued-for-allegedly-covering-up-xbox-360-defects/
Quotes from the link: "that an excessive number of Xbox 360 consoles have failed and that Microsoft concealed the excessive failure rate of its Xbox 360 consoles so that it could get into the market ahead of Sony and Nintendo.
Aside from the VentureBeat article, the lawsuit cites a number of recent articles published in gaming trade sites. The class action lawsuit seeks an order that Microsoft disgorge all profits attributable to its sale of the Xbox 360 and that Microsoft start a refund program in California."
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also at:
blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/151826.asp
Quote; "According to some reports, the lawsuit alleges that the failure rate of the consoles was an astounding 50 percent or more. Past estimates have been more in the range of 30 percent."
Posted by chips b malroy | October 22, 2008 12:41 PM
Microsoft Stealthware Angers Chinese PC Users
Bloggers in the People's Republic say the software maker's antipiracy tool violates local privacy laws.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=211300487
Quote; "Chinese computer users are slamming Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) in blogs and Internet forums following the software maker's activation of anti-piracy program that darkens screens if it detects unlicensed copies of Windows.
One user, Beijing attorney Dong Zhengwei, in an online post called Microsoft "the biggest hacker in China," according to a report published Wednesday in the UK's Guardian newspaper. Zhengwei said the anti-piracy tool, part of Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage service, violates Chinese privacy laws, according to the report."
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WGA, the greatest tool ever conceived at Micro$oft. distrowatch.com it will set you free
Posted by chips b malroy | October 22, 2008 1:16 PM
Ralph? Ralph Nader is it?
Linux sucks :P
Posted by bob | October 22, 2008 2:38 PM
@bob,
bob? Bob Uppendown is it?
And Windows blows. And which you like better is purely a matter of personal preference. ;-)
Posted by Philosopher | October 22, 2008 2:59 PM
Very funny:
Microsoft's anti-piracy day
Pirates scoff at Microsoft's anti-piracy day
"Bill Gates made me do it"
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/10/21/pirates-scoff-microsoft-antipiracy-day
Quote:
THE SAME DAY that the Microsoft Vole launched its global " Anti Piracy Day" the crazy "pirates" from Sweden that run the Pirate Bay, self defined as the "World's largest BitTorrent tracker" decided to scoff at the software giant's initiative.
So far Microsoft has not responded to the Pirate Bay's mocking of its laudable and good-spirited efforts.
Posted by Marco | October 22, 2008 3:00 PM
Marco :wrote
"Microsoft's anti-piracy day
Pirates scoff at Microsoft's anti-piracy day
"Bill Gates made me do it"
----------------------------------------------------
I wonder when MSFT will throw in the towel and officially release Tiny XP ....lmao
Posted by Ralph | October 22, 2008 3:40 PM
When free (i.e. pirated) Microsoft products compete against free open source products Microsoft is a clear winner. Here we can stop any futher discussions about how great open source is.
Posted by Zukuzu | October 22, 2008 5:48 PM
Zukuzu said"When free (i.e. pirated) Microsoft products compete against free open source products Microsoft is a clear winner. Here we can stop any futher discussions about how great open source is."
Sweeping statement and not wanting to cast doubt on it, but how about some reasons?
Lets start with comparing MSoffice to Open Office or AbiWord.
Id be very interested to hear your thoughts. In order to make that statement you must have experience with both Open source and MS, so giving us examples should be easy.
Posted by Goblin | October 22, 2008 6:24 PM
In some ways Joe, piracy of Windows products are in the mainstream. Here, I give you a link where the pirated version is prehaps better than the real version.
http://apcmag.com/pirated_windows_more_impressive_than_the_real_thing.htm
titled: Pirated Windows more impressive than the real thing............
Now if this is true, and there are many reviews online, some from very respectable outfits, then what does that say for Microsoft, that some old hacker can put together and tweak their OS, better than they can?
Posted by sam | October 22, 2008 6:53 PM
"When free (i.e. pirated) Microsoft products compete against free open source products Microsoft is a clear winner. Here we can stop any futher discussions about how great open source is."
It should, without doubts
Let see the reality:
According to Microsoft, it has been a $20bn (£10bn) investment to develop Office 2007 and Vista, the latest incarnation of the Windows ...
Open Source with with minimal resources achieve overwhelming superior results (bang for buck)
The question: What could do open source with MS' resources and what could do MS WITHOUT of that resources? (and we could not forget, the dirty MS' machinery)
I mean; In your imaginary example of free MS products, simply MS will die (over more NOW it's suffering ) .
Then you could understand that your reasoning is extremely poor.
Posted by Marco | October 22, 2008 7:06 PM
Hi Marco, I get the feeling that Zukuzu doesnt have any experience of opensource and just wants to be part of the debate.
I do not agree with piracy, but whatever anyones take on the subject is, im sure Pro-MS supporters will agree its just as harmful to their profits as someone using another platform.
Its attitudes like Zukuzu that create DRM, as companies try to protect their investment. Ive always said the anti-drm debate is more of an anti-piracy one, if we didnt have piracy then there would be no need for it.
Zukuzu will never understand the value of shared ideas and open source as they are too busy clicking on their next download on whatever bittorrent tracker they currently are leeching off. They cant grasp that something that is free can possibly be better than something you pay for. Funny thing is though, chances are they are probably using an opensource bittorrent client.
People like Zukuzu are as ignorant of opensource as they are about the usefulness of PG2 (yes, PG2 is worthless), however, do we really want this type of user involved in the open source community?
Posted by Goblin | October 22, 2008 7:38 PM
Hi Goblin:
There is a add problem; the threshold "good enough"
The common people, they don't need the 'superior'(read complicate) software after the threshold "good enough" and the software ALWAYS will arrive there, Then more problems for MS
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"People like Zukuzu are as ignorant of opensource as they are about the usefulness of PG2 (yes, PG2 is worthless), however, do we really want this type of user involved in the open source community?"
Yes we should want, open source is integration of human beings (and business too)
Although sadly (to my experience) people like Zukuzu are not 'neutral'.
Posted by Marco | October 22, 2008 7:47 PM
Neutral, I mean, that they have not MS' association.
Posted by Marco | October 22, 2008 7:51 PM
In Mexico there is a lot of piracy :( . But there is a big difference between A) PC software piracy and B) Movies and Games for console piracy.
In the B case there are legitimate stores that exhibits and sells legitimate products. People buys and the store makes a revenue.
It the case A virtually you can't find where to buy software in an easy way. There isn't software stores, you can find old and not specialized software on Office Depot or you have to call to specialized distributors as if you were buying electronic parts or a PBX. Once the sell is done, you have to wait until the SW is imported. The easy way is the piracy in the streets, and I'm not talking about money.
So if you want to be legitimate, you are very limited to get what you need. This creates a pernicious culture for people who is approaching to computing world. They learn that the only way to get SW easily is through piracy.
Please,please M$, get strict and attack piracy. Improve your commercialization channels, make them useful. Show us the real cost of your products...
... So we can get ride of you when massively we learn to appreciate the benefits of Linux, open source, open standards and vendor lock-in avoiding. ;)
Posted by jge | October 22, 2008 10:06 PM
Not sure why people bother to pirate Microsoft really bad operating systems. Here is an example of why you do not want Vi$ta;
Hey, Dad…Can I have Linux back?
http://education.zdnet.com/?p=1913
Quotes from the link; "My oldest son, creator of flame wars, finally discovered that you can only surf to the nether regions of the Internet so many times before even Vista business succumbs to malware. His computer an unusable mass of pop-ups, spewing traffic over our network actually asked me tonight to reinstall Linux for him.
He still wants a Vista virtual machine since Spore is a pretty fine game and his Zune probably won’t play nice with Linux. However, for everyday use, he’s done with Vista. Not only does it lack the “amusing desktop effects” (which his mother hates, by the way, on her new Linux desktop), but even running Clamwin and Windows Defender, he still managed to infect it with a variety of junk, rendering it useless when he had a term paper to write."
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go to distrowatch.com and download a free iso of a find community Linux. Chips recommends Mepis, PCLinuxOS, Sidux, and LinuxMint
Posted by chips b malroy | October 22, 2008 11:57 PM
The China syndrome: Microsoft darkens screens of Windows pirates
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=the-china-syndrome-microsoft-darken-2008-10-22
"Microsoft has already been sued in China on the grounds that WGA notifications violate computer owners' privacy and exposes personal information (stored on their computers) to the company's prying eyes. U.S. computer users have sued Microsoft as well, accusing it of spreading so-called spyware (software surreptitiously installed on someone's computer that gathers information and sends it back to the person who installed it). Although WGA isn't restricted just to China, it caused a stir there because of the high rate of software piracy."........
I say that MSFT should just throw the switch and turn off all these bloody pirates Windows Operating Systems. That will teach them not to mess with big brother Microsoft! Trying to cheat poor ole Microsoft, and Billy Gates out of his hard earned money. You folks in China, just dig deeper, you could forgo a mean, to help out ole Bill, who has fallen on hard times and slipped back to the 2nd world's richest man. No respect these Chinese Pirates!
Posted by The Hand | October 23, 2008 1:00 AM
Reports: Microsoft preps Vista SP2 beta
Invites go out, say bloggers; beta to hit select testers within weeks
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9117518&intsrc=hm_ts_head
Posted by chips b malroy | October 23, 2008 2:13 AM
Windows 7 pirated edition, check bottom of link, and have fun:
Microsoft Announces 20 Editions of Windows 7
http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/microsoft-announces-20-editions-of-windows-7/
Posted by chips b malroy | October 23, 2008 2:21 AM
Going a little off topic, Ive a viewpoint on the whole piracy debate.
Pirates seem to believe that their actions do not hurt a company that makes millions, and whilst in individual cases that may be true the whole piracy argument falls flat on its face, ill explain why:
Pirates are probably close to the ethos of opensource as you can get, regardless of if the software they are spreading is proprietary, they believe in free software for everyone.
Pirates tend to think of themselves as cool and "against the system" although what a pirate doesnt mention is that they get their free software on the back of people paying for it. Afterall if MS had no purchasers of its software, it would not make the software in the first place.
A pirate is a little like the person who jumps on the train without buying a ticket. They rely on the fact that everyone else pays so that the train company keeps running.
Having said all that, piracy of MS products does help the cause of other platforms, and it is one less sale for a company that, contrary to what is said believes that Opensource is the most evil thing since the Spice Girls.
I suppose I should support the cause of the pirates. Indirectly they are good for Open source.
Posted by Goblin | October 23, 2008 4:36 AM
Gobling,
On the contrary. I think that piracy is bad for Opens Source too and it's spirit is completely different. Piracy goes against the interests and intentions of the software creators, open source movements defends author's will , that's why GPL exists. Open Source builds, piracy destroys. Opens source raises the bar for the commercial offerings and they have to invest in innovation. Piracy reduces profit for software creators and they have to invest on security instead of improving the product. Open source is a common base in order to not reinvent the wheel, so better products can be build faster and with a proven base, that's faster innovation. Piracy makes that people don't feel the need to create it's own better solutions.
Posted by jge | October 23, 2008 1:17 PM
Piracy started really becoming a problem in the 80's when hardware began to get (relatively speaking) cheaper and software used in businesses was still way too expensive for the employees to also use at home.
If Microsoft, Lotus, and the other major software vendors had made home versions that worked just like the office versions, but without "enterprise" update and management support for under $100 per unit instead of the $300-$500 for bundles that still is common, piracy might not have become so mainstream.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think piracy is "cool", or OK, or anything but stealing. I just think the high prices the software companies charged contributed to the growth of the piracy culture. (See how piracy went down when MS made Windows more affordable in China?)
Posted by WhenItStarted | October 23, 2008 1:52 PM
I tend to agree, my piracy statement regarding open source was a little flippant, however I think that what it does say about alot of software is that its only worth getting if you dont have to pay for it (from a pirates point of view)
Of course I would never promote piracy (and Ive never had a need to pirate software as open source has provided all the features I need), but since I dont use MS products my comment was made as a flippant disregard of any concern over MS loosing money.
Points taken Jpe! and I think you are right, I believe we certainly would not be hearing about the anti-drm argument if it were not for pirates (as per my previous posts) and also believe that the cost of proprietary goods would be alot cheaper if piracy was not an issue.
Regards
Goblin.
Posted by Goblin | October 23, 2008 4:25 PM
Sparks fly as computer screens go black
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-10/22/content_7126895.htm
Dong Zhengwei, 35, a Beijing lawyer, described Microsoft "as the biggest hacker in China with its intrusion into users' computer systems without their agreement or any judicial authority".
Dong, who filed a complaint with the Ministry of Public Security on Sunday, told China Daily Tuesday: "Microsoft's measure will cause serious functional damage to users' computers and, according to China's Criminal Law, the company can stand accused of breaching and hacking into computer systems of Chinese."
Fang Xingdong, an Internet analyst and president of Internet research company Chinalabs.com, believes that more Chinese customers will follow Dong in defending their rights.
"Microsoft is manipulating our computers through the WGA and it will affect our use of computers," Fang said.
"The company should stop the action immediately and do some constructive things, such as lowering the price of its software and changing its business models."
Posted by Marco | October 23, 2008 4:52 PM
Lawrence D'Oliveiro: "I don't understand this. Surely a sale is a sale, and Microsoft gets the money regardless. To insist on control over where and how your product is sold just seems anti-competitive. It's probably illegal in some jurisdictions."
True, to a point, but different channels have different licensing requirements.
For example, one way to pirate Microsoft software is to purchase a site license, then resell individual activations to individuals who are not at your site. Of course, stealing the activation code from an employer or valid site license holder is even cheaper.
OEMs pay next to nothing to license Windows on newly-built computers. However, the intent of those is to make Windows cheap enough that the resellers will include it. If a laptop that costs $600 today had to include an extra $150-200 just to get Windows Vista Basic, the reseller would probably sell it without an operating system, or offer it as a "barebones" machine for a lot less than the "Windows" version, and people would have to then CHOOSE an operating system.
And, let's face it, if you're up to the technical challenge of installing Windows, chances are you're up to the same challenge for any modern Linux distribution.
But Microsoft can't make a profit selling ALL of their copies of Windows for the pittance Dell sends them to license preinstalls.
Microsoft created the tiers (tears? - grin) to promote certain behaviors and/or adoption among their users. They consider a violation of the intent of those tiers to be "piracy" because, while a sale is a sale, some sales make more money than others.
Posted by Nate | October 27, 2008 12:53 PM
Lawrence D'Oliveiro: "I don't understand this. Surely a sale is a sale, and Microsoft gets the money regardless. To insist on control over where and how your product is sold just seems anti-competitive. It's probably illegal in some jurisdictions."
True, to a point, but different channels have different licensing requirements.
For example, one way to pirate Microsoft software is to purchase a site license, then resell individual activations to individuals who are not at your site. Of course, stealing the activation code from an employer or valid site license holder is even cheaper.
OEMs pay next to nothing to license Windows on newly-built computers. However, the intent of those is to make Windows cheap enough that the resellers will include it. If a laptop that costs $600 today had to include an extra $150-200 just to get Windows Vista Basic, the reseller would probably sell it without an operating system, or offer it as a "barebones" machine for a lot less than the "Windows" version, and people would have to then CHOOSE an operating system.
And, let's face it, if you're up to the technical challenge of installing Windows, chances are you're up to the same challenge for any modern Linux distribution.
But Microsoft can't make a profit selling ALL of their copies of Windows for the pittance Dell sends them to license preinstalls.
Microsoft created the tiers (tears? - grin) to promote certain behaviors and/or adoption among their users. They consider a violation of the intent of those tiers to be "piracy" because, while a sale is a sale, some sales make more money than others.
Posted by Nate | October 27, 2008 12:54 PM
Nie war es einfacher auf unseren Seiten, seine eigene Homepage zu bauen.
Posted by Internet Beratung | January 29, 2009 8:05 AM