You did the right thing.. well done..
Exactly what you expect children known as MVPs to blubber. They so
love to be net cops. That is what gives them the will to get up in the
morning. You expecting Bill Gates to visit and pat your on the top of
your pointy head? Actually Billy it tickled pink that Windows gets
pirated by the millions of copies in China. Yep, you read that right.
Microsoft not only likes and wants the Chinese to pirate Windows, they
encourage it with their policies. That's right from the horse's mouth.
Billy G himself. Time to educate the dummy crowd.
This will make the fanboys choke seeing how Microsoft plays both sides
of the fence at the same time. Actively demanding some principle in
Russia get throw in jail while at the same time encouraging the
Chinese to steal Windows and other Microsoft software like crazy.
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/02/bill-gates-master-of-public-relations.html
Educating the fanboys, damn, they're such idiots!
Bill Gates on Piracy: "They'll get addicted, and then we'll collect."
as told to a Times Staff writer on 4/9/06. Some noteable quotes from
"the man" in that article follows, sure to piss off people that cough
up $200 or more to buy Vista. You should read how Billy G REALLY feels
about piracy. Of course he has different views about software piracy
in Russia and China and elsewhere. All depends on what's best for
Microsfot. Keep reading.
Bill Gates isn't dismayed by software thieves. They seed the world
market and make Microsoft a standard. Of course, Microsoft executives
prefer that people buy, but theft can build market share more quickly,
as company co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates acknowledged in an
unguarded moment in 1998.
"Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China,
people don't pay for the software. Someday they will, though," Gates
told an audience at the University of Washington. "And as long as
they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get
sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect
sometime in the next decade." Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.
Understand fanboys?
Gates don't give a shit that millions of copies of Windows are being
stolen in China right now, because he has YOU paying through the nose
to offset that "loss" of revenue. In effect you support the country
with the greatest growth rate that takes the United States to the
cleaners to the tune of hundreds of billions in trade deficits year
after year.
What does Billy G, Mr. Capitalist and the world's richest man have to
say? Go for it to the pirates, he don't care if the average Chinese
user steals Windows, he gots millions of rubes in the United States
and elsewhere in the world that DO pay for it, so Gates laughs all the
way to the bank because he's trying to build market share in hot new
markets like China and if steal it, Gates WANTS THEM TO STEAL Windows.
If you missed his quote, scroll back up and read it again.
That of course conflicts with Microsoft's public posture on piracy
which of course is one of zero tolerance but that's a big fat lie as
you just learned. He want us "rich" Americas and others in Europe to
pay for Windows. Developing countires, like China, hey, go ahead and
steal it. Wink, wink.
"We're all working five days a week and getting paid for three," said
Cori Hartje, the company's director of license compliance. "We do
everything we can to stop piracy."
The company sues online auctioneers and computer makers that supply
pirated products, including Windows, the operating system for more
than 90% of the world's personal computers. It cooperates with law
enforcement agencies to seize pirated discs and warns users around the
globe that counterfeit programs may destabilize their systems.
But NOT in China, the world fastest growing economy where the upper
middle class, those most likey to have a computer and getting rich
quick. Microsoft says, hey, no problem, you go right ahead and steal
Windows, we'll look the other way because if you don't oh heck, you
may dump Windows in favor of some open source alternative. Damn, the
truth sure does hurt sometimes right Billy?
The effort even prompted Islamic clerics in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to
declare fatwas, or religious edicts, against software piracy.
Microsoft, like most other software companies, has experimented with
technical tricks to prevent copying, such as discs that could be used
only once and hardware "dongles" that had to be connected to the PC
before a software program could run.
Legitimate users complained bitterly. Such methods caused software
bugs and prevented customers from reinstalling programs when their
computers malfunctioned, yet hackers quickly subverted each new
attempt.
"Copy protection is a balancing act because it always reduces the
value of your product," said Bruce Schneier, chief technical officer
of Counterpane Internet Security Inc. "State-of-the-art copy
protection makes your customers hate you."
Piracy also prevents free, open-source alternatives such as Linux from
chipping away at Microsoft's monopolies, especially in developing
nations.
China, for instance, promotes Red Flag Linux — a local, open-source
competitor to Windows. As Gates concluded in 1998, piracy may be the
only way Microsoft can stay in that market, embracing the opportunity
to gradually convert pirates to payers. If Microsoft launched a
draconian crackdown, UC Berkeley's Varian said, it would provoke the
obvious reaction: "People would just switch to open source."
In China, pirated versions of Windows are easy to find on the street
for 5 yuan, or about 62 cents. Why doesn't Microsoft put the thieves
out of business by giving away or deeply discounting local-language
versions of its products? The strategy would offer network benefits
while providing better data on users.
Consistent global pricing reduces confusion for multinational buyers,
Hartje said.
Experts believe high prices encourage piracy but offer the company
offsetting advantages. If Microsoft sold Windows for, say, $10, it
would lose money on every copy because of manufacturing, distribution
and support costs. At zero cost to Microsoft, piracy enhances network
effects by getting Windows out to users who can't or won't pay,
without undercutting normal prices.
"Microsoft benefits from piracy, then says, 'If you think prices are
high, blame the Chinese, because they are the thieves,' " said Ariel
Katz, a law professor at the University of Toronto and an expert on
the economics of piracy.
"They like us to feel guilty — to think that piracy is wrong and
immoral. Economically, it's not necessarily true, but it resonates
with the public."
Need more truth about Microsoft kiddies? Just ask some adult. Let me
know what you fanboys are ready to join the real world.
)