NYT: Russia Uses Microsoft to Suppress Dissent
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 12th Sep 2010 21:16 UTC
Microsoft Piracy is a big problem for large software vendors licensors like Microsoft. As such, the Redmond giant is undertaking several anti-piracy efforts all over the world, and, of course, it attempts to make its software harder to crack through activation and validation. As The New York Times has discovered, however, the prevalence of pirated Microsoft software in Russia is giving the Russian authorities a pretence to raid the offices of outspoken advocacy groups or opposition media - supported by Microsoft lawyers. Update: Microsoft responds with a blog post that says all the right things, including "Microsoft will create a new unilateral software license for NGOs that will ensure they have free, legal copies of our products."
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RE[3]: Not gonna happen
by vodoomoth on Mon 13th Sep 2010 21:30 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Not gonna happen"
vodoomoth
Member since:
2010-03-30

OK. So there's got to be a moment when that mindshare is beneficial to Microsoft. Which is when? Microsoft is a company and their goal is to sell something now or somehow prepare the field for future sales.

In that environment (which I've grown in by the way), it would even be detrimental: pirated copies are so common that the law abiding guy appears as a renegade (it goes beyond software: people sound they horn to ask you why on earth you stopped your car at the red light and dared slow them down! True story, I've experienced that last April). And making fun of others is a true sport in west Africa, at least in my home country. People will even call you stupid for spending money for things (almost) no one pays for. They'll call Microsoft stupid and boast of "making rich Americans work for them, poor Africans". You want to be the "legal" guy in the crowd? Then say hello to loneliness.

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