Vista Activation

Hello all, 3rd year student from UWE needing your views...

Not so much a question, more of a request for a few comments about a
particular area. I would like other Vista users to express their views on
the piracy of the new operating system. I am writing a dissertation on
Microsoft's efforts at reducing piracy. Cracks seem to already be appearing
all over the internet for Vista, some supposedly work. I'm a genuine vista
user myself, and think it's great.

Do you think vistas high prices force piracy? or maybe other reasons? Any
comments are much appreciated.

Thankyou for your time,
Ben Forrister

University of the West of England,
Bristol, UK

Hello Ben,

To keep things short, I am totally against piracy. $100 for the Home
Basic does not represent a burden to most people. Globally speaking, there
are families or persons that do everyting possible to get a computer, and do
not spend more than $300 for one. Such persons would be burdened by the price
of Windows Vista, and usually those persons will appeal to piracy.
Personally, I do not believe thare is anything Microsoft can do about that,
except perhaps not provide updates to pirated versions of Wndows.
Besides that, considering the tens of billions of dollars Microsoft
spent on Vista, the new operating system is well worth its money, and I was
impressed to find out that, after so much trouble, Microsoft will provide a
$100 version of it. I spent $200 on the Ultimate OEM version, mainly because
I could not afford anything more expensive, but, also, I did not want to make
any compromise.
Although it can be argued that the GUI copied Mac's Aqua interface,
Vista is so new and radical compared to the previous versions of Windows,
that it completeky changes your computing experience. I am impressed to see
that Vista is actually faster than XP -- at least the x64 version.
Considering the amount of work and money that went into this operating
system, and the willingness to improve, Vista is well worth its money, and
not worth pirating. Although some persons may not afford it, it is still well
worth the financial effort, and is definitely part of a new wave of computing.

Ben ... good questions. First, the math. I am deficient in math, but I will
give it a go here.

I bought Windows Vista OEM Home Premium Full Version for roughly $160.00.
Found out it didn't have some stuff I really, really wanted, so I upgraded
through Anytime Upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate Full Version, now with
Microsoft Support (thanks, MS), for roughly $180.00. Total outlay: $340.00.

I expect to get about 5 years out of Vista. That is, roughly, 364.25 x 5 =
1821.25 days. If I am doing this right, I should divide my $340.00 by
1821.25 days to get a cost per day: 18.668 pennies per day. With Microsoft
Support, the Knowledgebase, TechNet, Microsoft Discussion Newsgroups, ad
infinitum support all over the net, thrown in.

The problem is not that the price is too high ... it is that you have to
come up with all of it up front. 19 pennies a day is my projection. What a
fantastic bargain. IF I have done my calculations correctly.

Now, the first arguments that come to mind would be along the lines of all
the hardware upgrades, software upgrades, crash and problem aggravations,
patches, etc., and so forth. But I am having fun ... and all my toys cost me
money. All this goes with the territory ... if I could not work overtime, or
cut out trips to Logan's, Red Lobster, or cut back somewhere else ... then I
would just do without. I would LOVE to have PageMaker again ... had it on my
Macs back in the early 90's ... but I can't come up with $500 for _one_
program, so I make do with what I can get. Each economic level gets as much
as they can and then just makes a Wish List for the rest. C'est la vie.

Which brings up to the next point: piracy. This, in my humble little
opinion, is a function of culture and individual judgment and even the
individual judgment is based, in part, on culture, whether it be the roots
of upbringing or popular media or peer pressure. I am an old girl ... I
remember the 50's ... back in the culture of my day and the geographical
area where I grew up ... it was absolutely unthinkable to be a thief. My Dad
and my Mother would have disowned me. I have a strong cultural imperative
hardwired in me NOT to take so much as a dime off the top of a change
machine at the laundromat. The further step of individual judgment is that I
decided, for myself, after reaching majority, that this was the right way to
be foundationally. Caveat: if a natural disaster has occurred and I haven't
eaten in three days, am I going to snatch that loaf of bread? You betchee. I
will feel guilty and ask for forgiveness as I wolf it down.

Not so in many cultures, even in my geographical area. I know people who
think I am a stupid fool for not getting over when the opportunity arises. I
am not sophisticated. (I say, good; I looked up sophistry long ago.)

If a person believes that getting over is good judgment, they will steal.
They will justify their actions with all manner of rationalizations. My
favorite that used to make me muddleheaded was 'well, _everybody_ is doing
it.' It _must_ be OK, then, right? I decided to stick to my roots. No ... it
is NOT alright. This is a function of my culture and my individual judgment.
It has nothing to do with price.

Now, I will wait to get my head bitten off in thirty parts ... (g) ...
thanks for asking ... vanilla ...

----------------------------

Ben said:

Hello all, 3rd year student from UWE needing your views...

Not so much a question, more of a request for a few comments about a
particular area. I would like other Vista users to express their views on
the piracy of the new operating system. I am writing a dissertation on
Microsoft's efforts at reducing piracy. Cracks seem to already be appearing
all over the internet for Vista, some supposedly work. I'm a genuine vista
user myself, and think it's great.

Do you think vistas high prices force piracy? or maybe other reasons? Any
comments are much appreciated.

Thankyou for your time,
Ben Forrister

University of the West of England,
Bristol, UK

I agree that Vista is well worth the money, if it can be afforded.

From my personal level, prefer to me a legtimate customer. it saves the
shortcuts
and risks in trying to get around Microsofts barriers.

It appears there are very mixed views about Piracy, globablly. The rate of
Piracy
in China alone costs Microsoft Billions of dollars. Even though they are
aware of
these high rates, they over see it, as one day, when the IT Industry is
fully developed
over there, people will be turning to legal licences. That's when Microsoft
collect.

In an interview Bill Gates has said "If people are going to steal, then we'd
rather
they steal ours". Which is a valid point, and as long as they keep using
Microsoft
products, they will see it as a standard and will one day need a legtimate
copy.

I will forward an interesting article for you to read.


"Mr_Nuke" <MrNuke@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E5AA95DC-DC91-4CAE-90A9-73D51B514BCA@microsoft.com...
> Hello Ben,
>
> To keep things short, I am totally against piracy. $100 for the Home
> Basic does not represent a burden to most people. Globally speaking, there
> are families or persons that do everyting possible to get a computer, and
> do
> not spend more than $300 for one. Such persons would be burdened by the
> price
> of Windows Vista, and usually those persons will appeal to piracy.
> Personally, I do not believe thare is anything Microsoft can do about
> that,
> except perhaps not provide updates to pirated versions of Wndows.
> Besides that, considering the tens of billions of dollars Microsoft
> spent on Vista, the new operating system is well worth its money, and I
> was
> impressed to find out that, after so much trouble, Microsoft will provide
> a
> $100 version of it. I spent $200 on the Ultimate OEM version, mainly
> because
> I could not afford anything more expensive, but, also, I did not want to
> make
> any compromise.
> Although it can be argued that the GUI copied Mac's Aqua interface,
> Vista is so new and radical compared to the previous versions of Windows,
> that it completeky changes your computing experience. I am impressed to
> see
> that Vista is actually faster than XP -- at least the x64 version.
> Considering the amount of work and money that went into this operating
> system, and the willingness to improve, Vista is well worth its money, and
> not worth pirating. Although some persons may not afford it, it is still
> well
> worth the financial effort, and is definitely part of a new wave of
> computing.

Very well pointed out. At 19p per day, imagine the use we have each and
every day.
In the long run, well worth the money!

It's silly to try and get away with using illegal versions, Microsoft
benefit from Piracy.
It makes them money either way.

http://www.infopackets.com/channels/...e_billions.htm

I have posted an article about the piracy in Mexico City, quite
interesting...


Thankyou both for your interesting comments,
Please post any further views, if any.

Ben


"vanilla" <vanilla@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C26D35E0-68DD-4656-9517-733A410FF244@microsoft.com...
> Ben ... good questions. First, the math. I am deficient in math, but I
> will give it a go here.
>
> I bought Windows Vista OEM Home Premium Full Version for roughly $160.00.
> Found out it didn't have some stuff I really, really wanted, so I upgraded
> through Anytime Upgrade to Windows Vista Ultimate Full Version, now with
> Microsoft Support (thanks, MS), for roughly $180.00. Total outlay:
> $340.00.
>
> I expect to get about 5 years out of Vista. That is, roughly, 364.25 x 5 =
> 1821.25 days. If I am doing this right, I should divide my $340.00 by
> 1821.25 days to get a cost per day: 18.668 pennies per day. With Microsoft
> Support, the Knowledgebase, TechNet, Microsoft Discussion Newsgroups, ad
> infinitum support all over the net, thrown in.
>
> The problem is not that the price is too high ... it is that you have to
> come up with all of it up front. 19 pennies a day is my projection. What a
> fantastic bargain. IF I have done my calculations correctly.
>
> Now, the first arguments that come to mind would be along the lines of all
> the hardware upgrades, software upgrades, crash and problem aggravations,
> patches, etc., and so forth. But I am having fun ... and all my toys cost
> me money. All this goes with the territory ... if I could not work
> overtime, or cut out trips to Logan's, Red Lobster, or cut back somewhere
> else ... then I would just do without. I would LOVE to have PageMaker
> again ... had it on my Macs back in the early 90's ... but I can't come up
> with $500 for _one_ program, so I make do with what I can get. Each
> economic level gets as much as they can and then just makes a Wish List
> for the rest. C'est la vie.
>
> Which brings up to the next point: piracy. This, in my humble little
> opinion, is a function of culture and individual judgment and even the
> individual judgment is based, in part, on culture, whether it be the roots
> of upbringing or popular media or peer pressure. I am an old girl ... I
> remember the 50's ... back in the culture of my day and the geographical
> area where I grew up ... it was absolutely unthinkable to be a thief. My
> Dad and my Mother would have disowned me. I have a strong cultural
> imperative hardwired in me NOT to take so much as a dime off the top of a
> change machine at the laundromat. The further step of individual judgment
> is that I decided, for myself, after reaching majority, that this was the
> right way to be foundationally. Caveat: if a natural disaster has occurred
> and I haven't eaten in three days, am I going to snatch that loaf of
> bread? You betchee. I will feel guilty and ask for forgiveness as I wolf
> it down.
>
> Not so in many cultures, even in my geographical area. I know people who
> think I am a stupid fool for not getting over when the opportunity arises.
> I am not sophisticated. (I say, good; I looked up sophistry long ago.)
>
> If a person believes that getting over is good judgment, they will steal.
> They will justify their actions with all manner of rationalizations. My
> favorite that used to make me muddleheaded was 'well, _everybody_ is doing
> it.' It _must_ be OK, then, right? I decided to stick to my roots. No ...
> it is NOT alright. This is a function of my culture and my individual
> judgment. It has nothing to do with price.
>
> Now, I will wait to get my head bitten off in thirty parts ... (g) ...
> thanks for asking ... vanilla ...
>
> ----------------------------
>
> Ben said:
>
> Hello all, 3rd year student from UWE needing your views...
>
> Not so much a question, more of a request for a few comments about a
> particular area. I would like other Vista users to express their views on
> the piracy of the new operating system. I am writing a dissertation on
> Microsoft's efforts at reducing piracy. Cracks seem to already be
> appearing
> all over the internet for Vista, some supposedly work. I'm a genuine vista
> user myself, and think it's great.
>
> Do you think vistas high prices force piracy? or maybe other reasons? Any
> comments are much appreciated.
>
> Thankyou for your time,
> Ben Forrister
>
> University of the West of England,
> Bristol, UK
>

Days after Microsoft releases its software, counterfeit versions are sold in
Latin America.
From Reuters
February 7, 2007
MEXICO CITY - Days after a beaming Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates
unveiled his much-vaunted Windows Vista software at a retail price of $400
for the premium version, Latin American street vendors were hawking pirated
copies for less than $10.

At a sidewalk stall in Mexico City's grimy historic center, vendor Jose Luis
offloaded cut-price copies of the software that cost Microsoft $6 billion to
bring to market.

The world's biggest software maker rolled out Vista in 70 countries Jan. 30,
hailing it as a revolutionary digital media tool and its most important
software upgrade since the ubiquitous Windows 95.

"They always say it can't be copied, but there you go," said Luis, whose
stall is blocks away from where a publicity team for Windows last month
formed the Vista logo with their bodies in a publicity stunt.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, Latin America's other mega city, illegal sellers
crammed the sidewalk of the Rua Santa Efigenia, the one-stop shop for all
things computer, hawking Vista's Ultimate edition in Portuguese for just 15
reals ($7.20). The official version sells in Brazil for 989 reals.

A group of multinational companies last week put Brazil in fourth place
among the worst countries for business piracy - behind China, Russia and
India.

About 50% of all compact discs sold in Brazil are pirated, as are around 30%
of DVDs, fueling a counterfeit business worth around $30 billion a year,
according to the union that represents federal tax agents.

The Business Software Alliance, which includes companies such as Apple Inc.,
Adobe Systems Inc., Microsoft and Symantec Corp., estimates that about 65%
of software programs sold in Mexico are illegal copies.

The level of piracy in Mexico robs the industry of $525 million annually,
said Kiyoshi Tsuru, the alliance's Mexico director.

Although Latin American consumers appear to be getting a bargain by buying
illegal products, many features may not work, computer experts say.

"The other day, someone said to me: 'It's like leaving your son in the care
of a prostitute.' Likewise I couldn't entrust my machine . to a criminal,"
Tsuru said.

Police in many Latin American cities are struggling to fight violent crime
and mostly turn a blind eye to what they see as minor offenses such as
software pirating. Often poorly paid, police are susceptible to bribes.

The Mexican attorney general's office says it busted thousands of piracy
operations in 2006. But it is fighting a losing battle.

"We've seized hundreds of [CD and DVD] burners but the industry generates
enough cash to carry on," a spokesman said.

I knew I was going to mess this up ... Amended Math:

365.25 x 5 = 1826.25
340 % 1826.25 = .18617

duh ... vanilla ...

------------------------------

Vanilla said:

I expect to get about 5 years out of Vista. That is, roughly, 364.25 x 5 =
1821.25 days. If I am doing this right, I should divide my $340.00 by
1821.25 days to get a cost per day: 18.668 pennies per day.

Hi Ben,

I think MS will find that the biggest piracy will be in countries like
Thailand where copy write doesn't even mean anything. My father went to
Thailand and while he was there he bought a new Laptop from a large "Future
Shop" type store. It was an Asus laptop with what "appeared" to be XP Home
and an XP Home OEM code on it. However, he is computer illiterate so he
didn't know. I thought that because it was a brand name he was safe.
However, after he got home I tried to update it with MS Windows Updates and
it said the copy of XP was illegal. I was shocked that a large company like
Asus was selling illegal copies of Windows OEM. However, maybe the Thailand
company was buying them from ASUS without an OS. I didn't think that was
possible though. We contacted ASUS and they wouldn't reply or give us an
answer. Anyway we ended up buying a legal copy of XP and it cost him far
more than if he had just bought the laptop here.

Cheers,
Lara



"Ben" <forrister@forrister.plus.com> wrote in message
news:BF9A392D-1D94-4B0B-BBB2-4930AE58199D@microsoft.com...
> Hello all, 3rd year student from UWE needing your views...
>
> Not so much a question, more of a request for a few comments about a
> particular area. I would like other Vista users to express their views on
> the piracy of the new operating system. I am writing a dissertation on
> Microsoft's efforts at reducing piracy. Cracks seem to already be
> appearing
> all over the internet for Vista, some supposedly work. I'm a genuine vista
> user myself, and think it's great.
>
> Do you think vistas high prices force piracy? or maybe other reasons? Any
> comments are much appreciated.
>
> Thankyou for your time,
> Ben Forrister
>
> University of the West of England,
> Bristol, UK
>

Yes the piracy that goes on in the far east is crazy. Not long ago Bill
Gates visited Romania to open a Microsoft Center, and the Romanian President
admited to Gates that Piracy of microsoft products had helped developed the
Country, and it's IT Industry.

As for your experience I'm not sure what may have happened there? Was the
asus laptop brand new from the manufacturer?

I have read somewhere that on some occasions, very few codes given by
manufacturers so up as illegal. You could have been one of the unlucky ones.
on the other hand, you may have just been completely ripped off. i would say
the 2nd one.

I wonder if Microsoft will ever be able to control the piracy.
Check this out: How Piracy helps make Microsoft Billions:
http://www.infopackets.com/channels/...e_billions.htm

Ben.

--------------------------------------------------------------


"lforbes" <laraallsopp@yahoo.ca>
>
> I think MS will find that the biggest piracy will be in countries like
> Thailand where copy write doesn't even mean anything. My father went to
> Thailand and while he was there he bought a new Laptop from a large
> "Future Shop" type store. It was an Asus laptop with what "appeared" to
> be XP Home and an XP Home OEM code on it. However, he is computer
> illiterate so he didn't know. I thought that because it was a brand name
> he was safe. However, after he got home I tried to update it with MS
> Windows Updates and it said the copy of XP was illegal. I was shocked that
> a large company like Asus was selling illegal copies of Windows OEM.
> However, maybe the Thailand company was buying them from ASUS without an
> OS. I didn't think that was possible though. We contacted ASUS and they
> wouldn't reply or give us an answer. Anyway we ended up buying a legal
> copy of XP and it cost him far more than if he had just bought the laptop
> here.
>
> Cheers,
> Lara
>
>
>
> "Ben" <forrister@forrister.plus.com> wrote in message
> news:BF9A392D-1D94-4B0B-BBB2-4930AE58199D@microsoft.com...
>> Hello all, 3rd year student from UWE needing your views...
>>
>> Not so much a question, more of a request for a few comments about a
>> particular area. I would like other Vista users to express their views on
>> the piracy of the new operating system. I am writing a dissertation on
>> Microsoft's efforts at reducing piracy. Cracks seem to already be
>> appearing
>> all over the internet for Vista, some supposedly work. I'm a genuine
>> vista
>> user myself, and think it's great.
>>
>> Do you think vistas high prices force piracy? or maybe other reasons? Any
>> comments are much appreciated.
>>
>> Thankyou for your time,
>> Ben Forrister
>>
>> University of the West of England,
>> Bristol, UK
>>
>

Yes the piracy that goes on in the far east is crazy. Not long ago Bill
Gates visited Romania to open a Microsoft Center, and the Romanian President
admited to Gates that Piracy of microsoft products had helped developed the
Country, and it's IT Industry.

As for your experience I'm not sure what may have happened there? Was the
asus laptop brand new from the manufacturer?

I have read somewhere that on some occasions, very few codes given by
manufacturers so up as illegal. You could have been one of the unlucky ones.
on the other hand, you may have just been completely ripped off. i would say
the 2nd one.

I wonder if Microsoft will ever be able to control the piracy.
Check this out: How Piracy helps make Microsoft Billions:
http://www.infopackets.com/channels/...e_billions.htm

Ben.

--------------------------------------------------------------


"lforbes" <laraallsopp@yahoo.ca>
>
> I think MS will find that the biggest piracy will be in countries like
> Thailand where copy write doesn't even mean anything. My father went to
> Thailand and while he was there he bought a new Laptop from a large
> "Future Shop" type store. It was an Asus laptop with what "appeared" to
> be XP Home and an XP Home OEM code on it. However, he is computer
> illiterate so he didn't know. I thought that because it was a brand name
> he was safe. However, after he got home I tried to update it with MS
> Windows Updates and it said the copy of XP was illegal. I was shocked that
> a large company like Asus was selling illegal copies of Windows OEM.
> However, maybe the Thailand company was buying them from ASUS without an
> OS. I didn't think that was possible though. We contacted ASUS and they
> wouldn't reply or give us an answer. Anyway we ended up buying a legal
> copy of XP and it cost him far more than if he had just bought the laptop
> here.
>
> Cheers,
> Lara
>
>
>
> "Ben" <forrister@forrister.plus.com> wrote in message
> news:BF9A392D-1D94-4B0B-BBB2-4930AE58199D@microsoft.com...
>> Hello all, 3rd year student from UWE needing your views...
>>
>> Not so much a question, more of a request for a few comments about a
>> particular area. I would like other Vista users to express their views on
>> the piracy of the new operating system. I am writing a dissertation on
>> Microsoft's efforts at reducing piracy. Cracks seem to already be
>> appearing
>> all over the internet for Vista, some supposedly work. I'm a genuine
>> vista
>> user myself, and think it's great.
>>
>> Do you think vistas high prices force piracy? or maybe other reasons? Any
>> comments are much appreciated.
>>
>> Thankyou for your time,
>> Ben Forrister
>>
>> University of the West of England,
>> Bristol, UK
>>
>