Microsoft Celebrating Antipiracy Day
from the not-as-much-fun dept
It’s been just over a month since the International Talk Like A Pirate Day, and yet, that’s all I can think about when I hear Microsoft announce that today it’s celebrating “antipiracy day”, during which it will try to highlight everything the company is doing to combat unauthorized file sharing. Odd, then, that this would be the same company that in the past has admitted that it greatly benefits from piracy of its own products, in establishing worldwide standards and in competing against open source alternatives. The company, apparently, is a bit conflicted. In the meantime, anyone have tips on “talking like an antipirate?” I’m guessing it will include such strawman phrases as “it’s just like stealing a physical product!,” “all content creation would stop,” and “content creators deserve to make money!”
Filed Under: antipiracy, piracy
Companies: microsoft
Comments on “Microsoft Celebrating Antipiracy Day”
Ha
Every user using a pirated copy of your software is one less person using your competition’s software.
Seems like an overall gain, even if not monetarily.
“AArrgh ya gunna pay for that mp3 or m’ i gunna hav ta make ya walk da plank?”
anyone have tips on “talking like an antipirate?”
“Only 2% of our customers care about the effects of DRM.”
Re: Re:
“Less than 0.4% of our users ever install the game more than twice.”
Meh.
ThePirateBay is having a bit of fun with this, which I’m sure MS appreciates.
I’d just encourage people to delete any copy of Windows/Office/etc. But then, I do that anyways.
Re: Meh.
OpenOffice ftw! =D
Pirates vs Ninjas
On anti-pirate day, one should talk like the pirates only known enemy, the ninja.
However, anyone who has ever had the opportunity to hear a ninja died a quick and painless death before they were able to tell anyone what the ninja sounded like.
so… hrmm.
Re: Pirates vs Ninjas
Unless one is a ninja….
Re: Pirates vs Ninjas
Ninjas don’t speak. Duh.
“Microsoft Celebrating Antipiracy Day”
…while everyone else “pirates” their products.
Seriously, do Microsoft try reducing the ridiculous prices of their products that lock out many people in the developing world who want to use them (foolish by my reckoning, but still)? Do they allow people to continue to buy the products they want (XP, Office 2k3) instead of forcing an “upgrade”? Do they offer some kind of real incentive for people to use the legitimate copy instead of the pirated version, or even make the legit version as valuable (e.g. allowing Vista users to change the interface language on Home editions)?
No, they run with a cheap marketing gimmick pointing out things people already know. This is the most telling remark from the article:
“”We continue to see much more counterfeit Windows XP,” said Finn, who actually says the company is predicting a rise in XP pirating as the last legitimate copies of the OS wind their way off retail shelves.”
Then why the f**k are you discontinuing it? If people want XP and you know they’ll not buy Vista instead, then why stop selling it? Why not accept that Vista has been a horrible failure and continue to offer XP until Windows 7 is available, and continue to collect the money that people *want to continue to pay you*?
*sigh*
M$'s Sucidial Campaign
When M$ get people to conduct raid on pirates, it is a boon for the rest of software world. That mean people have less incentive to use M$ product over their competitors.
So let encourage M$ to encourage government to enforce draconian measures against pirates. This will surely lead to M$’s demise!
Ineffective
Yet many people have already played and beaten the campaigns of Microsoft’s big time hard hitting games for this holiday season such as GOW2 and Fable II.
“…greatly benefits from piracy…”
Maybe I am looking in the wrong places, but I have yet to find any MS official stating that pirating “greatly” benefits the company.
Yes, I believe MS applications are in large measure overpriced (except for those qualifying for academic discounts). However, apparently I fall into a small group that shops around for more reasonably priced alternatives in lieu of frequenting places like TPB.
Re: MS benefitting from piracy
Try looking in the right places.
Re: Re: MS benefitting from piracy
Still can’t find “greatly”…
celebrate
Piracy of Vista alone probably counters every pc sold with GNU/Linux installed so I’m sure Steve Ballmer celebrated the day by sodomizing three penguins.
Oh really?
I have yet to hear a single person mention this around the office here (Redmond campus) today. In fact, I haven’t even seen a break room flier about this.
Activation and DRM continue to boost Apple Sales...
For awhile I thought Steve Jobs was a marketing genius, what I realize now is that he is good, but without Microsoft buying into the DRM mindset Apple wouldn’t have near the recent success especially with young people.
There are two things I remember from being young. 1. Having no money, so copying things for free was fairly big with me. 2. Being stuck on status symbols and willing to pay up for Nike shoes, or the latest HOT/in fashion item.
Assuming my youth is like the current generation, Microsoft literally set the stage for Apple to win. Pirating Microsoft products NOW is a major pain for the average user (where is used to be extremely easy) and Apple obviously has the latest HOT product that they just must have. Without the kids being able to get free copies of Windows Vista, they choose to buy the hot the product over the old boring “your parent’s OS” product.
If Microsoft was serious about winning back those under 30, they’d should seriously consider dropping DRM.
Freedom
Re: Activation and DRM continue to boost Apple Sales...
o It may be that people over 30 are using Mac’s as well, as an Apple Insider article notes that Apple believes many of their MacBook Air’s are going to corporate customers. Though “corporate customers” certainly may be under 30, I wonder how many are over 30.
o I think it is interesting that Apple’s number of patents at 2456 compares to Microsoft’s 9806 patents as Apple’s dollar market share in the U.S. in February of 2008 compares to the PC market, at 25%.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/17/apple_snags_14_percent_of_us_based_pc_retail_sales_in_february.html
Vista DRM is working
It’s interesting to note that M$ claims the DRM in Vista is working because less piracy of Vista is occuring … but they fail to note the fact that no one wants Vista, even if it is free.