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Options for 'Fixing' A Pirated Copy of Windows

Posted by ryuzaki0 on

PunkOfLinux writes "My parents are running a pirated copy of windows that my mom received from a teacher at school. My parents want to go legit, and buy a copy of Windows, but they are afraid of deleting everything and having to reinstall all their programs. Seeing as I know you guys will have an answer, I'm going to ask you: What would you do in this situation?"

2 of 601 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why bother? by Bogtha · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I see, so as microsoft have made a lot of money, that means its ok to pirate their software?

    Actually, yes, that's a perfectly valid distinction to make. Copyright exists to promote the creation of new works, by subsidising creators. Over the years, it's become cheaper and easier to create, but copyright holders have been getting more and more protection. The result is that a lot of copyright holders are earning far more than is necessary for them to create new works.

    In these cases, copyright has lost its purpose for existing, and therefore it's reasonable to hold the position that infringing on copyrights where the copyright holder has already earned lots of money is acceptable, while still respecting the copyrights of those that do not make lots of money. Think of it as compensating for the way copyright has been twisted out of all proportion.

    --
    Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
  2. Re:Why bother? by geminidomino · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    By that logic, the USA PATRIOT act actually has something to do with patriotism instead of terrorists.

    Moron.