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MS turns up heat on warezed WinXP copies | |
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| Time: 03:09 EST/08:09 GMT | News Source: The Register | Posted By: Alex Harris | ||
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The beta of Service Pack 1 for Windows XP has now shipped to testers and, as previously advertised, it declines to install if you're using a leaked WinXP licence key. But - again as previously advertised - it doesn't deactivate your installation, just stops you applying the service pack. But a sharp-eyed reader of Neowin.net has spotted what appears to be an escalation of the role of product activation. The privacy statement now says "To provide you with the appropriate list of updates, Windows Update must collect a certain amount of configuration information from your computer. This information includes: Operating-system version number and Product Identification number... The Product Identification number is collected to confirm that you are running a validly licensed copy of Windows. A validly licensed copy of Windows ensures that you will receive on-going updates from Windows Update." | ||
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| #1 By 20 (24.243.51.87) at 6/8/2002 11:51:47 AM |
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Tactics like this will help dramatically reduce the number of warezed copies around, thus increasing sales significantly.
MS has always complained that piracy keeps their prices high. I fully expect a huge drop in prices of MS software as a result of the eradication of most piracy. As a previous poster stated, $200 for each copy is simply too expensive. They should reward those people who have purchased the software by a.) dropping the price and b.) shipping discounted "Family" packs or "Home Network" packs. If they fail to do this, they only hurt themselves. People will either just NOT buy MS software and go back to a warezed copy of Win2K, or they will switch to other OSes. If Linux companies see a surge in downloads and purchases, they will invest more money and Linux will become better and better as the money flows in more, thus perhaps, making it a viable competitor. This is certainly not good for MS. If people go back to Win2K, then MS will have essentially re-created the Win9x nightmare over again: People running antiquated software which prevents MS from moving forward on other innovations. Either way, if MS keeps prices high and cracks down on piracy, they only hurt themselves This post was edited by daz on Saturday, June 08, 2002 at 11:53. |
| #2 By 2062 (68.129.23.184) at 6/8/2002 12:06:13 PM |
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#1 - Major oem's like dell, compaq, use something called SLP. These copies of xp are activated in the factory by using the bios. As long as the hardware and bios dont change, there will never be activation. If SLP fails the oem pc will be prompted to activate, you can activate using the key on the pc (you'll need to change it). Search google on "windows xp" and slp and you'll see what i mean. Small oem's use activation just like retail copies.
#7 - you can buy the 2nd license at shop.microsoft.com but you only save $10. however you are only buying the serial, you wont get a package of xp. So it's not really worth the $10 savings. I think the ironic thing here though is that people got into this windows update mess by there own fear of microsoft. Activation doesnt send any personal info to microsoft, and its really not that bad despitre the hype by the media. BUt i think a good number of people used the pirated key simply to avoid activation, even on legal copies. Now these people are faced with no windows update because of there own paranoia. I say screw them, microsoft has a right to protect there product. I personally have a retail copy of xp, and i dont want people getting xp for free, after all why should i have to pay money for xp but people get it for nothing? That's not fair. -gosh |
| #3 By 135 (208.50.201.48) at 6/8/2002 1:15:57 PM |
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I don't know. I'm not a big fan of WPA, primarily from the standpoint that if Microsoft is going to save a lot of money in preventing piracy then one would think they could lower the cost of the software.
Sell XP Home for $50, Pro for $100. No upgrades... just full version price. I hate having upgrades where I have to pull out old versions of things to reinstall. Bleah Everyone in America would upgrade, and you'd have little reason for pirated copies. This post was edited by sodablue on Saturday, June 08, 2002 at 13:16. |
| #4 By 2332 (165.247.5.19) at 6/8/2002 2:23:10 PM |
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So far, I've bought three copies of Windows XP Pro Full for 50 bucks a piece. I even got a lava lamp with one of them.
I haven't even installed one of them yet. If you want to get a deal on software, you don't have to pirate. :-) |
| #5 By 2332 (165.247.5.19) at 6/8/2002 3:32:35 PM |
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#23 - "Microsoft DOES NOT need to charge as much as they do for thier products."
Then don't pay it. People who warez don't warez because the products cost too much, they warez because the products aren't free. You can't compete with a price of zero. Microsoft could drop their price to 25 bucks, and there would still be tons of warezing, and Microsoft would go out of business at the same time. "i can gaurantee you even if MS stopped warezing the prices would still be too high, you seem to forget how greedy man is." You seem to forget that stupid people shouldn't post on message boards, it's anoying. |
| #6 By 135 (208.50.201.48) at 6/8/2002 6:52:14 PM |
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RMD - I don't know where you are getting XP for $50. The cheapest I have seen is OEM copies for around $130 or so. Regardless, I shouldn't have to go looking for such deals, that should be the standard price.
Anyway... |
| #7 By 665 (64.126.91.172) at 6/8/2002 8:06:10 PM |
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#33, that's really lame. So if you don't have the money lying around it is ok just to steal it? 99% of warezers would never steal a $300 MP3 player, or TV, or whatever, from a store but feel free to steal over the web. They are mostly little wussies that sit in their little, dark basements downloading all these programs because they can anonymously. They think they can do it and no one will find out (except those they tell to seem like bad asses).
I think HDTVs are overpriced. Does that mean I have the right to steal one? No way. |
| #8 By 665 (64.126.91.172) at 6/8/2002 9:03:48 PM |
| #39, that may be true, but I still think it was a weak argument:). |
| #9 By 135 (208.50.201.48) at 6/8/2002 11:40:21 PM |
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#42 - It's possible...
Or perhaps on the other hand I believe in the old saying "It's better to have a lot of nickels than no dimes." |
| #10 By 1845 (12.254.231.45) at 6/9/2002 2:07:50 AM |
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#41 There is more than one way to license software from Microsoft. Going to the store and buying a shrink wrapped box is just one way. It certainly is possible that RMD could purchase XP (as I have done with NT 4 and 2k) for far less than retail price legally and often times direct from Microsoft. There are MSDN subscriptions, HOT kits, sales kits, loose NFR versions that limit the usage of the product, but are nonetheless full versions. If these options were available to everyone for all usages of the products, then that certainly would affect Microsoft's bottom line drastically.
As far as Microsoft charging too much for their software. This seems to me to be a rather interesting argument. If I remember correctly, for the past 7 years or so, the consumer version of Windows cost about $100 to upgrade and the corporate version cost about $200. It seems that Microsoft hasn't changed their prices all that much at least since 32-bit versions of their operating systems have been available. I also find it rather interesting that so many people here claim to know so much better than the analysts at Micrsoft what would benefit the company best. I imagine Microsoft, as most companies do, conducts detailed market research how to determine how to maximize revenue on a product. I would assume that if Microsoft thought it could make more money on Windows by lowering its price, thereby enabling more customers to buy it, the company would certainly do so. Finally a note on product activation and Microsoft's anti-piracy measures in Windows XP in general. Microsoft has stated many times that its goal was not to eliminate all piracy, but rather to decrease casual piracy. Most people who know where to download illegal copies of software, aren't casual pirates. |
| #11 By 2332 (165.247.7.30) at 6/9/2002 2:43:59 AM |
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#41 - I am an MS partner, thank you very much. I have a web development company, and I signed up to be a Microsoft partner LONG before the WinXP offer came around.
At any rate, I saw a deal with Office Max that when combined with a 50 dollar rebate (for going to an XP launch party) got you WinXP and a bunch of other stuff for less than 50 bucks. #27 - "Obviously you don't warez buddy- so don't tell us why we do and why we don't. If Windows was 25 bucks, Microsoft would have it right now and I'd have myself a valid OS. But it's not 25, it 175 more than that. THat's what keeps me from buying it." Actually, a long time ago, when I was an ignorant little criminal, I did warez. I used to warez pretty much everything. Then I started to realize that I was being both hypocritical and stupid, so I stopped. What I do know is that if you could easily grab XP for free, versus buying it for 25 bucks, you, and everybody else, would grab XP for free. What benefit do you get from buying it legally? Support, I suppose... So what's the price you would be willing to pay just for support? 50 bucks? 100 bucks? I can guarantee that you wouldn't be willing to pay the amount of money Microsoft needs to charge in order to keep its business growing, much less satisfy Wall Street’s insane expectations of the company. Anyway, why do you all complain about paying 100 or 200 dollars for something as complex as an operation system? Are you willing to pay 50 bucks for Quake (I was)? Quake is certainly not nearly 25% as complex as Windows XP... not even close. If we're talking proportional prices, you should complain about Photoshop and Quake LONG before you complain about Windows. The fact is it doesn't really matter how much it costs. That's just an excuse people use to try and justify their stealing. Look at shareware. WinZip is about 20 bucks, yet it has to be one of the most warez pieces of software on the planet. The same goes for countless other cheap utils you can download off the net. |
| #12 By 3 (62.253.128.4) at 6/9/2002 1:25:35 PM |
| #49 - it would all depend if the corp version you had was the well known warez version that had been floating around, so if it was then of course it wouldn't work after SP1 was installed etc...but if as I expect, it isn't that one then it will work fine. |
| #13 By 135 (208.50.201.48) at 6/9/2002 7:39:38 PM |
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Since we bring up Linux... I will admit that the price of Linux at retail stores has now gone up 300%, whereas the price of Windows has remained pretty much the same.
Still I think Microsoft could easily charge less, which would make it a great incentive to upgrade. When I mentioned this last year to a Microsoft rep, he said they do charge less if you buy it bundled with a new computer... Hinting that this is purposeful to help encourage the sale of new machines. |
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