Windows 7 Leaked To Pirates By Microsoft?

nandemoari writes "The beta version of Windows 7 has been widely distributed through torrents and other file sharing systems. But now some commentators claim Microsoft deliberately allowed the package to get into the hands of pirates. 'I'm not being critical here, as some Microsoft Watch commenters will surely claim. It's rather smart marketing. Microsoft fills a big news void with something bloggers and journalists will write about. The suspense of stealth downloads from torrents and races to post the best screenshots first make the Windows 7 leak buzz all the more exciting. For other people, there is delight in seeing Microsoft squirm because Seven leaked early. Not that I see much squirming going on.'"

Comments

Not now, not later, hopefully not ever.

[ExtremePhobia]

Windows 7 = Vista? haha now that piece of crap makes a little more sense! I always thought it seemed a little... unfinished.

That aside, people always bust window's for issues and I can't imagine that a pre-pre-release of their operating system can be in too good of shape. Really a good idea to put it out there?

They've got previous.

[Bertie]

Yeah, they do this. They don't really mind the rampant piracy in developing countries because people couldn't afford the genuine article anyway, and they're playing the long game, hoping to get you hooked on their stuff, so they can make money out of you later. Even if you didn't pay for their stuff, if you're using it you're not using the other guy's.

So in this case, people downloading 7 is fine by them because hell, at least it's not Linux, and they've probably already bought a copy of Vista or XP anyway.

See also Adobe not really minding broke students pirating their Creative Suite software because they know that when they graduate they'll expect their workplace to cough up a pretty penny for it.