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One In Five Windows Installs Is Non-Genuine
snib writes "Microsoft disclosed Monday that, according to reports collected by the notorious Windows Genuine Advantage tool on millions of users' PCs, 22% of all Windows installs do not pass its validation tests and have therefore been deemed non-genuine. Quoting: 'Since WGA launched in July 2005, over 512 million users have attempted to validate their copy of Windows, Microsoft said. Of those, the non-genuine rate was 22.3 percent... [T]he Business Software Alliance... reports that 35 percent of the world's software is pirated (22 percent in North America)...'"
Who in their right mind would waste the time and energy (and sanity) to crack Windows... ew... Linux for life!
So tell me what an OS is worth with very good OSs going for:
1. Linux = $0.00 per copy
2. MacOSX = $190 per family pack for 5 computers
3. Windows VISTA = $400 or so for 1-2 computers
When something is virtually a pure commodity, and not where you do your work (the application is what is important), how much is it really worth?
In the stock market or the pharmacy or hardware store, you pick your screwdriver and you pay the price or you bid on it on eBay. When are Windows VISTA copies going to just be sold by Microsoft on eBay to the highest bidder, maybe 10 at a time?
Why does VISTA have any value? What great and wonderful end-user benefits accrue to acquiring such a behemoth?
What happens if VISTA is launched into Retail, and 85% of the users wants SP Pro instead. If 2 years out VISTA hasn't even reached 50% of the PC market, will VISTA be called the most expensive software blunder in history?
22% got what they paid for.
$2B OR NOT $2B = $FF