The Wicked Wop Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031201/tc_nm/tech_microsoft_piracy_dc_1 Asian Pirates Sell Microsoft's Next Windows System Mon Dec 1, 7:49 AM ET Add Technology - Reuters to My Yahoo! JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia's brazen software pirates are hawking the next version of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system years before it is supposed to be on sale. Underscoring the scale of U.S. companies' copyright problems in Asia, CDs containing software Microsoft has code named "Longhorn" are on sale for six ringgit ($1.58) in southern Malaysia. Microsoft's current version of Windows, XP, sells for upwards of $100 in the United States. The software is an early version of Longhorn demonstrated and distributed at a conference for Microsoft programmers in Los Angeles in October, Microsoft Corporate Attorney Jonathan Selvasegaram told Reuters. "It's not a ready product," he said from Malaysia. "Even if it works for a while, I think it's very risky," to install on a home computer, he said. Chairman Bill Gates (news - web sites) has said Longhorn, which is not expected to be released before 2005, would rank as Microsoft's largest software launch this decade. The software is on sale in the largest shopping complex in Johor Bahru, the Malaysian city bordering Singapore, alongside thousands of pirated programs, music CDs and DVDs. Discs in plastic covers hang from racks in more than a dozen specialized stores in the Holiday Plaza center, even though it has its own police station. Such piracy is rampant in Asia, although the United States praised Malaysia for seizing thousands of illegal discs since May. U.S. trade losses due to piracy in Malaysia fell to $242 million last year from $316 million in 2001. Selvasegaram said pirates would shut their shops whenever Malaysian authorities launched a clampdown, only to reopen within days or even hours. He said software companies were working with the authorities on the problem, but the police were more concerned about controlling pornography. Longhorn promises new methods of storing files, tighter links to the Internet, greater security and fewer annoying reboots, Microsoft has said. (US$1=3.8 ringgit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 Asian Pirates, that's an interesting image. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 Can I get one of those? Maybe the "features" haven't been installed, yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wicked Wop Posted December 1, 2003 Author Share Posted December 1, 2003 I think a patch is out for it already and a critical update download Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 Originally posted by The Wicked Wop I think a patch is out for it already and a critical update download Is it an Asian Pirate eye patch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 1, 2003 Share Posted December 1, 2003 Tune in tommorrow for another exciting episode of "Vince Wong: Asian Pirate Eye". (Sorry. I had to.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 BTW, isn't one of the new "features" of this new OS the inclusion of MS's Digital Rights Management, which will keeps track of the owner of every piece of information, and allows the owner to prohibit copying, to limit where the information can reside, and even to "revoke" the software, ordering every copy of the information to be deleted? (And also, BTW, means every computer has to install a MS-DRM-compliant OS, in order to access any information that's been generated by a DRM-compliant system.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen-like Todd Posted December 2, 2003 Share Posted December 2, 2003 Originally posted by codeorama Is it an Asian Pirate eye patch? Heh, you beat me to it. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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