Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 23rd Jan 2007 21:17 UTC
Microsoft disclosed Monday that over one in five Windows installations were deemed non-genuine through the company's Windows Genuine Advantage program, which requires users to validate their operating system before downloading updates from the company. Since WGA launched in July 2005, over 512 million users have attempted to validate their copy of Windows, Microsoft said. Of those, the non-genuine rate was 22.3 percent. 56000 reports have been made by customers of counterfeit software, which grants that user a free replacement copy of Windows.
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Member since:2006-06-23
Member since:2005-07-08
Member since:
2005-07-08
2%? I don't buy it. Well, sure. Maybe. But I don't buy it. But then here I'm a guy that would argue that I can't even prove you exist! So there you go. Or maybe I should make that clearer? I'd like to see a copy of the study that has those figures you came up with.
At any rate let me put it this way, and mind you this is going to be a very limited sample size I'm going on, but everyone, everyone I've ever known that has merely owned a computer, has pirated software. And certainly more than 2% of the people I've known have pirated Windows at some point in their lives. Probably more like 95% of the people I've known. Or at the very least, let's give them all the benefit of the doubt and say they've at least had a friend that installed a pirated copy of Windows for them.
Of course the point is, the sample size and various other factors regarding any statistics you throw at me are going to affect those statistics quite a bit (Sorry to everyone if this is review, but the fact we're even having this means it's at least review for gregf. Or did I just blow my humor roll? Some how I doubt it).
Or what is it that gregf is saying? At any given time 2% of the people on this planet pirate Windows? Perhaps. I'd still like to see the study. The article says 35%.
But then let's define pirating Windows. Maybe that's where the problem lies. Is it pirating Windows when you install the copy you've bought on two different computers you own, even though the license tells you you're not supposed to? Have you ever done that gregf? I'm curious. How about on a friend's computer? Or how about if I merely gave my friend a copy of a tape I own? Or better yet a mixture of my favorite songs, some off of television, some the radio, other on cds I own, others tapes, and still others the internet. Is that pirating? Perhaps. So where do we draw the line?
Edited 2007-01-24 03:33