Microsoft Exec: If You're Going To Steal Software, Steal From Us Vista News Discuss Microsoft Exec: If You're Going To Steal Software, Steal From Us in the Windows Vista forums; Microsoft business group president Jeff Raikes estimates that between 20% and 25% of all software used in the United States is pirated, but said some pirates end up becoming paying ...

[Snuffy]

Microsoft business group president Jeff Raikes estimates that between 20% and 25% of all software used in the United States is pirated, but said some pirates end up becoming paying customers.

If you're going to be a software counterfeiter, then please copy and illegally use Microsoft products.

The above plea isn't from a posting on a hacker forum. Rather, it's how Microsoft business group president Jeff Raikes feels about software counterfeiters. "If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else," Raikes said.

So its ok to use Pirated Software as long as it belongs to Microsoft..??
http://www.informationweek.com/story...SSfeed_IWK_All

[Znod]

Well, the MS President says, in effect, no, it is not OK to pirate its software. But, on the other hand, I can't believe that his "if you're going to be a software counterfeiter, then please copy and illegally use Microsoft products" statement won't hurt prosecutors' abilities to prosecute successfully "those who illegally copy and use MS products."

[Snuffy]

I was more in-tune to his later comment, it actually helps with sales..

But Raikes, speaking last week at the Morgan Stanley Technology conference in San Francisco, said a certain amount of software piracy actually helps Microsoft because it can lead to purchases by individuals who otherwise might never have been exposed to the company's products.

[Znod]

And, agreed to you too. I also think the sales comment is interesting. I wonder if he thinks that profits are larger with or without piracy. I would guess without, but who knows?

[Snuffy]

Microsoft doesn't want you to pirate their software, but if you must choose between illegally installing Windows or a competitor's operating system, Microsoft would prefer that you choose them. While the company obviously won't endorse the illegal use of software, it does believe that piracy can result in profit.

At the Morgan Stanley Technology conference last week in San Francisco, Microsoft business group president Jeff Raikes commented on the benefits of software counterfeiting. "If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else," he said. "We understand that in the long run the fundamental asset is the installed base of people who are using our products. What you hope to do over time is convert them to licensing the software."

While Raikes' words do not appear to echo the sentiments of his company at first, what he said actually fits right into Microsoft's agenda. Over the last two years, the company has been heading a global effort to crack down on piracy, specifically the piracy of Microsoft products. In a memo on product activation, the company even states, "Software piracy is an enormous drain on the global economy, according to the 2000 BSA Software Piracy Report." Though many have argued that the BSA report was wildly inaccurate, Microsoft still uses whatever weapons it can find to convert pirates into customers. Just as the "Get the Facts" campaign is intended to sway users from Linux, Microsoft's antipiracy offensive aims to sway users away from Windows—counterfeit Windows that is.

Source: = http://arstechnica.com/journals/micr...oose-microsoft