Windows 10 will be free for software pirates

[evilsatan]

Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users this summer, but Microsoft is also extending its offer to software pirates. "We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10," says Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s Windows chief, in an interview with Reuters. The move means that thousands, perhaps millions, of machines will get a free copy of Windows 10 even if a license has not been properly acquired. "Anyone with a qualified device can upgrade to Windows 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows," says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement toThe Verge. "We believe customers over time will realize the value of properly licensing Windows and we will make it easy for them to move to legitimate copies."
SOFTWARE PIRATES HAVE ALWAYS DEFEATED WINDOWS ACTIVATION
Microsoft has a long history of attempts to thwart software piracy. Windows XP was the company's first operating system to introduce software activation to verify license keys, but it was quickly defeated using a corporate license key that many pirates shared on the internet back in 2001. Software activation has evolved throughout various versions of Windows, but pirates have largely managed to bypass it each time. While Microsoft's plan might seem like letting software pirates go free, studies have found that in a lot of cases pirated Windows licenses are installed on new machines without customers even knowing they have an illegal copy. Microsoft has tried various methods to encourage those customers to return their machines or seek out a legal copy, but it’s headache and a bad experience of Windows itself if that’s the first thing you have to deal with in certain regions.
Windows software piracy is no small feat, so Microsoft’s move is surprising and meaningful. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer revealed in 2011 that only one customer in every 10 is actually paying for Microsoft software in China, and he joined President Obama and other business leaders to highlight the issues. Microsoft has also continually highlighted the financial impact of software piracy, but it continues to be a problem in Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
Update March 18th, 10:19AM: Article updated with comment from Microsoft confirming its plans.

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[rudey]

sounds good ;/

[dpSparhawk]

Seems that this is only for China.... unless I've missed something.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0ME06A20150318

[Mickey]

Hands up all them that actually bought windows 7

[Geko]

So... I've never actually purchased a genuine copy. But I've always had genuine copies.

[Zoots]

Hands up all them that actually bought windows 7

*puts hand up*

IIRC there were some decent deals about and I needed something legit at the time.

[Teajunkie]

What's this word "genuine" I don't understand?

I'm still on xp

dual booting 7 too as win 8.1 is a pain in the arse.
really can't wait for 10 especially for the pi2.

[evilsatan]

I've always had legit licences but that's because before windows 7 I bought pre-builts, upon win 7 release they were selling it for £50 and win 8 upgrades were £20. Wouldn't pay full price though...

[DejaVu]

Never have. Never will.
Clients machines are different, but mine has probably something like £5k worth of 'genuine' software installed.

[WRATH OF BOD]

Hands up all them that actually bought windows 7

Me...but now on hucky 8.1 lol

[katana]

I bought win7 but my friend worked at microsoft so was cheap....

Wonder if linux has made a dent in the market share. Remember when microsoft went for corporate pirated operating system users but not individuals.

[EvilBoB]

Home OS should always be free IMO. Business is where they make their money and that's the way it should be. If people have the latest OS for free at home it will make it easier for business to upgrade to the latest version and reduce training costs. I still know people on XP!!!

[inspectercoley]

I have a windows 8 that came with my laptop.

Feels weird that they are offering it free to pirates rather than just free for a short time.

Why should someone that pirated it get rewarded more than someone that used linux,etc instead?

If the price was more like £30-40 then i suspect they would get less pirates.

Only a matter of time before android pcs become more mainstream really.

[Teajunkie]

I bought windows xp home when I bought a motherboard bundle, xp cost me about £160 at the time iir and now they dont offer updates for a quick little os.

Now why should I have to pay another £160 or whatever it is now to buy windows 8.1 an inferior product, which I'm sure will be discontinued in the very near future.

if you buy a pc it comes pre installed so why not free for home users anyway?

[koola2]

More reason for a Pi2 and free Windows 10

[Mystical_2K]

all my machines are 100% legit, thanks to my nice boss buying me an MSDN subscription

i am also the only person i know that actually likes Windows 8/Windows 8.1 and am genuinely looking forward to 10 after playing the RC for a bit

[blacksheep]

I'm guessing this is following apple offering Yosemite free

[Undertaker]

windows 10 looks good, got it up and running in a Virtual box

liking it

[BigBrand]

I'm a fan of 8.1. I had 7 Enterprise or years, but love 8.1. Lappy boots up and logs in , in around 30 seconds. Can't fault that.