Vista enforcement could result in piracy boom - Continuing demand for XP good news for software pirates

By Jayant Mishra @ Wednesday, May 14, 2008 6:10 AM

Section - PCs/Software

Microsoft’s plan to withdraw Windows XP from the market may be good news for the software piracy industry.

Windows Vista will come pre-installed with all new branded PCs from June 30th, but the Indian market's aversion for the new operating system is bound to result in increased piracy of XP to satisfy the demands of the Indian market.

A typical Windows XP user was asked whether he would consider buying pirated copies of XP, if it was not available through normal channels. He replied: “I don’t mind, as long as it functions properly. The decision has to be left to the user to decide if he wants to use different software”

It will be interesting to see the strategy Microsoft has in mind to fight such a situation, as the company claims it already loses more than 10% of its revenues due to piracy. X