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Malaysian Police Not Roping Longhorn Rustlers

Posted by simoniker on from the mechanical-bull dept.

Artifex writes "CNN/Reuters reports that an early release of Microsoft's next operating system, 'Longhorn,' is already being sold openly in markets in Malaysia, with local police doing little to stop it. Microsoft's response, of course, is that consumers should steer clear. I'm sure this chaps their hides, as crashing copies of this as-yet-unreleased product are sure to cause dilution of branding."

5 of 365 comments (clear)

  1. Wishful thinking by pvt_medic · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe this will cause the price of microsoft products to drop, just like we saw with Playstation in China.

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    30% Troll, 50% Underrated, 10% Interesting
    Score:5, Troll
  2. Re:What use could it possibly be? by nat5an · · Score: 4, Interesting

    More than likely, it's simply a case of pirating whatever comes their way. So far as I can tell, the basic process for pirating stuff in SE Asia consists of making a good cover for the product with as many possible logos (DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, VCD, Windows, Microsoft, Logitech, Abercrombie, etc.), some misspelled/grammatically incorrect English, and then burning as many copies as the market will sustain. In my experience in the middle east, the copies were actually burnt on demand for customers. I don't think extensive market research and a serious analysis of product utility has much of a place in the business plans of pirates. Or of Microsoft for that matter.

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    Head down, go to sleep to the rhythm of the war drums...
  3. Can of worms by OMG · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well, what will happen if some folks already use Longhorn and a new worm attacks Windows and Longhorn as well. Of course Microsoft is NOT going to provide a patch until Longhorn is officially released. I guess this will become a serious problem any time soon.

  4. Rumour? by t_allardyce · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I heard that the reason longhorn won't come out til 2006 is because there was a judgement in 2000 that Microsoft had to share certain source code with certain companies for 5 years (ie until 2005) and that they dont want to write the bulk of the DRM in until after that? Can anyone confirm or is that total crap?

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  5. Re:It has to be said by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The secret to Windows 98 stability is to install it and not install a bunch of crappy drivers. My Windows 98SE never crashes. It always shuts down and I've never had to reinstall. I use it for MM Fireworks/Photoshop/Mozilla/Flash Development. All that in 96MB on a 200 MHz P1. A bit slow, but it works. Connects to my Samaba box with no problems.