Re: thought police


"kurttrail" <dontemailme@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OsaJEejUFHA.612@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Kerry Brown wrote:
>> "Al Smith" <invalid@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:QwCee.8694$Ph4.250477@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>> MS has yet to change the bogus PA message about XP being installed
>>>> too many times, because they use it to sucker people into buying
>>>> software they really don't need. 2 Service Packs, nearly a hundred
>>>> patches, and almost 4 years since XP been out and MS has yet to
>>>> change it! PA is a way to FUD people into buying software they
>>>> really don't need, and so is WGA.
>>>
>>> I agree with you. Product activation is really intended to
>>> intimidate the average ill-informed single computer user. It has
>>> nothing to do with piracy, since it does nothing to reduce piracy.
>>> It has two really unfortunate consequences, in my view.
>>>
>>> One is to inhibit people from upgrading their computers. Who knows
>>> how many users have decided that they don't want to make an upgrade,
>>> if it means they have to go through Product Activation, and maybe be
>>> denied permission to reactivate? This hits the sales of hardware,
>>> but it also boosts the sales of new machines, since people buy
>>> another box rather than trying to upgrade.
>>>
>>> The other terrible consequence is to make people frightened to
>>> reinstall Windows. Every time they reinstall, they face the dreaded
>>> inquisition. Eventually, they figure, the verdict will turn against
>>> them, and they'll be forced to buy a new computer, or at least a new
>>> retail copy of Windows, because they'll have used up all the
>>> "reinstall" numbers. How many people really understand PA completely?
>>> I'm guessing not
>>> one in a hundred. We see how obscure the subject is every day on
>>> this group. There are always questions about PA. Users don't know
>>> what they can do and what they can't do, and Microsoft likes it that
>>> way. The confusion increases sales. That's why they keep the bizarre
>>> OEM/Retail thing going. It generates uncertainty.
>>
>> Activation has slowed down casual piracy. I am a small OEM. Before
>> activation it was somewhat common (maybe 10%) of the pc's I sold were
>> without an OS. I almost never sold a copy of office. Now it is very
>> rare to sell a pc without an OS and at least 50% have office
>> installed. At the time activations started I was selling about 150
>> pc's a year. Multiply that by several hundred thousand. How much
>> money has activations made Microsoft? That's why they continue with
>> activations. It will never stop the big counterfeiters. It does put a
>> big bite into casual copying. The most common comment I used to get
>> from customers was "I don't need office (or windows). I'm getting it
>> from a friend." I never hear that now. Yes it also causes some
>> confusion and hinders some people from doing things like upgrades
>> without making a phone call to explain to Microsoft what they have
>> done, but with that kind of money on the line I don't think
>> activations is going away. I am not arguing licensing or ethics. I am
>> just offering some anecdotal evidence that activations has made a
>> significant difference with piracy.
>
> Very anecdotal. According to the BSA, the piracy rate has reamained
> pretty much static in the West since MS introduced copy-protection into
> mainstream computing. Before that the piracy rate had been steadily
> dropping.
>

The BSA study does not say this. In fact it says that they used a different
methodology in this year's study so the results shouldn't be compared to
previous years.

Quote "Because this year?s study covered more categories of software and
used a different methodology to compute piracy rates and losses, the results
from last year and this year are not comparable."

> And while I assume the casual copying has slowed, it probably has turned
> many to more serious piracy. Probably part of the reason that people are
> only buying new computers when they are totally trashed, even though they
> can afford the cheap computers of today that will leave their present
> computers in the dust.
>

I agree with you on this. I am seeing far more computers brought to me for
repair that have counterfeit copies of Windows and/or Office. I also know
that at least in Canada Microsoft is actively pursuing this as well. Every
few months they send out a email to OEMs listing dealers they have taken to
court for selling "loaded" systems. They have a program where they make
"random" purchases and then test/check all the software that came on the
computer. I'm hoping they target me. It's like a free sale if you are a
legitimate reseller. No support calls :-)

> And the paying customer is still covering the cost of piracy in the price
> of software, plus pays for piracy again with all the hassles & errors that
> copy-protection brings! Yeah MS is making more money, both money that
> they deserve, and money they don't, and the only real loser is the paying
> customer, not pirates.
>
> --

And we also pay for all the shoplifters at Walmart. That's the way our
retail system is set up. I don't like MS's pricing structure but I respect
their right to sell their product for whatever the market will bare. If and
when there is a viable alternative we will see MS drop their prices. It is
starting to happen with Office. They have extended the rebate program for
OEM copies of 2003. An MS rep told me unofficially it was because they are
competing with themselves with Costco and other large elctronics chains
selling the academic SKUs. This tells me that the market wants a lower
priced Office and they are looking for ways to do it. They are also starting
to push the Works Suite package (which includes Word) to OEMs as a
"consumer" Office. I was in retail a long time. When things like this start
to happen it means a market change is coming, don't carry a lot of
inventory.

Kerry

> Peace!
> Kurt
> Self-anointed Moderator
> microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
> http://microscum.com/mscommunity
> "Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
> "Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"
>


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: thought police
    ... >> nothing to do with piracy, since it does nothing to reduce piracy. ... >> One is to inhibit people from upgrading their computers. ... At the time activations started I was selling about 150 ... but with that kind of money on the line I don't think ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: thought police
    ... I am a small OEM. ... At the time activations started I was selling about 150 ... >>> activations has made a significant difference with piracy. ... The Global piracy rate was much worse when computers weren't an every ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: thought police
    ... >> way to FUD people into buying software they really don't need, ... > piracy, since it does nothing to reduce piracy. ... > many users have decided that they don't want to make an upgrade, ... How much money has activations made Microsoft? ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: thought police
    ... > accurately compare last year?s piracy rates to this year?s rates. ... > The Global piracy rate was much worse when computers weren't an every day ... > The market is only naked since MS has a monopolistic stranglehold on it. ... > those using Office in their homes is to say they have the newest version. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: ok, lets clear this up MS - is Product Activation really restricted?
    ... > on one, but> three different computers I own, 3 different vendors, ... > with 3 different copies of Windows XP. ... > It seems to me, that the 'toomany activations' message pops up, ... Tim T. - No limit in number of times you can reactivate. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
Loading