Microsoft and linux in China

[David Payne]

On Wed, Jul 11, 2007 at 04:24:20PM -0400, Paul King wrote:
> > http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2007/07/10/microsoft_china/index.html
> 
> I like the part where Gates is forced to say that "Piracy isn't so bad after 
> all". If this is an actual quote, this has got to make Gates the lowest life 
> form besides the amoeba. He stands for no higher principle than the Dollar 
> Almighty.
> 
> However, it can also mean that he is hinting that he could be going open source 
> at some point. That sounds impossible, but that above quote contradicts years 
> of Microsoft leading the charge against piracy, and the Genuine Advantage 
> program. But the quote also sounds utterly improbable. Would he keep market 
> share by going open source, or going the way of RedHat and others, with a 
> retail production version and a downloadable freebie for everyone else?
> 
> Or perhaps, being the richest man in the world, maybe he thinks he can have it 
> both ways (piracy OK in China; not OK elsewhere). That would not be a first for 
> powerful public figures.
> 
> Paul King
> 
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Hi,

I think Microsoft would rather people pirate their software 
than use Linux because in the long run it will help him 
maintain his market share.  If more people start getting 
experience with and start liking other operating systems it 
will seem like a more viable option for business to use.

I don't think Windows would ever be open source.

You have to remember, it's not that Microsoft supports 
piracy of there software.  They would much rather people pay 
for there licence.  But if they are not going to pay for a 
Microsoft licence they would much rather them pirate Windows 
than use Linux.

David Payne
--
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