08.14.08
“Please, Please Steal My Software, You Disgusting Thief!”
Bill Gates told an interviewer last year that: “It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not.”
In CNET, yesterday: Gates: Privacy a ‘challenge’ as software advances
Which way would it be, Microsoft? You need ‘piracy’, you encourage it, but then you whine about it, even imprison those who enable it (via the BSA and its ilk)? The hypocrisy is amazing.
Last year: Microsoft Exec Admits That Company Benefits From Piracy
Jeff Raikes, head of the company’s business group, said at a recent investor conference that while the company is against piracy, if you are going to pirate software, it hopes you pirate Microsoft software. He cited the above reasoning, noting that users of pirated Microsoft software are likely to purchase from the company later on.
Also related to this:
- Antitrust Concerns Over Microsoft's Dumping Techniques Against GNU/Linux
- Quick Mention: Explanation of How Microsoft Ended Up Approaching Debt
- Bill Gates is Still Fighting Against Free/Libre Software, Quietly
This was covered here many times before. Microsoft’s accusations are directed at the very same people that make their products widespread. █
Correction: I read the CNET article as “piracy”. not “privacy”. However, it remains amazing that Microsoft cracks down on ‘unlicensed'’ GNU/Linux while turning a blind eye to illegal copies of Windows.
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
p.cole said,
August 14, 2008 at 2:26 pm
While reading the later post threads on dell and its “blacktop”, there was a link to an article describing the efficiency of the TinyXP pirated copy of Windows and how “impressive” it was, including screenshots and detailed options; but mind you, the author of the article clearly describes its feature while saying it “does not condone the acquisition or use of pirated software.”
Is ‘apcmag.com’ a news site, a blog and if it is news, since when does pirated software get a positive review from the media?