Microsoft trades Windows discount for piracy info

Microsoft has extended its antipiracy olive branch to China, offering users of bootleg copies of Windows a 50 percent discount on a legitimate version if they come clean on how they got their pirated copy.

As part of a two-month promotion that started in February, the company is offering a Chinese version of Windows XP Home Edition and Professional Edition at 786 yuan ($95), and 1,270 yuan ($153), respectively. According to Microsoft's Web site, the two products normally retail for about $199 and $299.

To qualify for this offer, users with unlicensed copies of Windows installed on their machines need to complete an online form in which they disclose how they obtained the bogus software.

For example, they will have to specify whether their existing Windows packages were installed by an independent reseller, bundled with their PCs at the point of sale or purchased from street peddlers. A discount voucher will then be e-mailed to these users following their submissions.

The promotion mirrors a similar effort introduced in the United Kingdom last November in which Microsoft offered to swap fake copies with genuine versions of Windows XP for free. However, the piracy rate in China is much higher than it is in the United Kingdom, which could significantly raise costs for the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant if it were to go with a similar approach.

In a further attempt to stem piracy, Microsoft now requires businesses and consumers in China to verify that their copies of Windows are genuine before they're allowed to download security patches and other OS updates.

The mandatory validation measure, which was also implemented in Norway and the Czech Republic last month, will be expanded to all other countries by the middle of this year.

Winston Chai of CNETAsia reported from Singapore.

[Bill Dautrive]

Why?

Why would they want to so this? If they have a pirated version of a crappy OS, they certainly aren't going to want to get ripped off. Windows XP is worth $40 tops.

[Andrew J Glina]

Honesty

Many people prefer to be honest, providing it doesn't cost them too much. It is targeting those people. Other people would steal software no matter what it costs.

[aabcdefghij987654321]

Do you denigrate it to justify stealing it?

Did you pay for the copy you're using or did you steal it?

[amadensor]

What they need to do to reduce piracy

They need to remove ALL patches and fixes for people who do not have a genuine copy. The trouble is in validating that the software is not pirated. The challenge is to disable updates to a vast majority of the pirated copies without getting false positives and disabling the use of the software for those who legitimately paid for it. If this is done, though, it will be so unsafe to run a pirated version that people will pay. Once those who are going to use it pay, maybe the price will come down to where it is reasonable.

[Bill Dautrive]

Bad solution

The reason the internet is so unsecure is because of MS, with or without patches, but slightly better with patches.

Not even MS is stupid enough to deny security patches to anyone. To do so would to further make the internet more insecure.

Some people will use a pirated version no matter what.

So are using one and don't know it. There are a lot of sleazy computer shops out there. Of course they learned to be sleazy by the king of sleaze, Bill Gates. Punishing these people is unwarranted.

Some people use a pirated version because XP is so grossly overpriced. Offering them a copy at half price will do little, because even at half price it is still overpriced.

[Mister C]

The trouble is:

Microsoft needs to learn from the shareware folks. People do not mind paying for programs that work. What people resent is having to pay for software whose primary focus is to enhance profit at the expense of dependability and functionality. If any shareware was as bug ridden as the MS stuff they would be gone in a week. If you build it they will come.

[Scott W]

wouldn't work

i've not updated windows EVER. most pirated users probably don't anyway as 3rd party protection software is FAR superior to MS offerings. the only way this would work is if MS released a $h!t copy to begin with. oh wait... they do. oh well, it still runs okay without updating.

[Mister C]

Out to Lunch

Microsoft's approach to anti-piracy is just about as relevant and realistic as Bill Gates (the college dropout) views on education. They are both clueless.