BeerFiles is a sometimes irreverent blog concerning all things to do with IT, technology, people and the media from the point of view of a hard boiled technology journalist and commentator. Stan has been in the IT game for about a quarter of a century. He has seen and written about the rise and fall of more than a few IT players and made many friends, some of whom he has even crossed swords with on occasions. Everything in this blog is purely Stan’s opinion so if you agree, wish to expand upon, correct a post or tell Stan he’s a clueless know nothing, please feel free.

Apple and Microsoft: a tale of two piracy fighters

by Stan Beer

Monday, 16 October 2006

Page 2 of 3 However, Apple has not done any of these things because the reality is that doing any one of them would put a damper on iPod sales and reduce its market share. For many years, the situation has been somewhat similar with Microsoft and its Windows operating system. There are some differences however. One key difference is that Microsoft has more than a dominant marketshare - it's a virtual monopoly. Thus, Microsoft charges what many believe is too much for their product, knowing that most users have no real choice but to pay or to illegally pirate the software. Unlike the case with Apple, the majority of Microsoft software sitting on users' machines is legitimate. There is, however, a significant minority of pirated Windows copies - particularly in economically challenged regions of the world. Until recently, Microsoft has turned a blind eye to this piracy, knowing like Apple that sooner or later many pirate users will convert to legitimate users - like for instance the first time they buy a brand name computer. In fact there is a strong argument to say that turning a blind eye to piracy has helped the proliferation of Windows. We have now reached a point where the strategy of Microsoft is about to deviate from the path that has served it so well. With the release of Vista, Microsoft is about to do two things that could be deemed to be risky plays. First, Microsoft is going to raise prices to a level that many would consider unacceptable. Second, using its Software Protection Program (SPP), Microsoft is going to scrutinize every single user as if they were a potential pirate and, if it deems that they are, it will disable their machines unless they pay up. << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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