Are you a victim?

Are you a victim, or did you deliberately requested for a pirated version of your Operating System (OS)? Do you own a Genuine Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP, or were you given a pirated version of the OS? Well, I doubt if you are a victim, especially when a lot of us couldn't be bothered about getting Genuine Windows. I would say that most of us, if not all, intentionally got an illegal copy of the OS.

Therefore, has your screen appeared as thus:

Click the picture to view an enlarged version. Do you have this "tattoo" as your piracy mark?

Well, I'm definitely not a victim of possessing an illegal copy of Windows XP Home Edition, because I've installed the update and the validation tells me that my copy of Windows is genuine. Please do not think that the picture above was a snapshot of my screen. It was taken from The Star In-Tech.

So, how many of you were affected?

I do agree with Microsoft's move to make an attempt in eradicating piracy issues, especially the move such as this, however if Microsoft insists on us getting genuine copies of the OS, there are a lot of factors that they should consider.

One of them concerns students. As you all know, university students especially need to have a laptop or a computer to do their assignments. Now, these students, although they are given monthly or quarterly allowances, cannot afford more than RM300 (for Windows XP Home Edition) or RM500 (for Windows XP Professional Edition) just for a genuine copy of Windows. This is mainly the reason why so many people opted for pirated version of Windows XP.

If Microsoft wants to ensure zero piracy, then they should perhaps introduce a special price for students. At least they should know that although everybody can own a computer (by getting a computer loan, instalments, etc.), not everybody can afford getting a genuine copy of Windows XP off-hand. The benefit of the students should be given a thought.

Also, if Microsoft wants their users to purchase genuine copy of Windows OS, they should ensure that their OS is of the best quality. There is no point issuing out a new version of Windows if it is full of loop-holes, security vulnerabilities, instability, etc. Downloading and installing update or security patches can be quite a petty task to a lot of users. Therefore, Microsoft should always ensure that its products are of the best quality before they are deemed marketable. Only then will their users be confident in getting a genuine copy of the OS. Otherwise, the thinking will be, "Why should I get a genuine copy of Windows XP when it is just as bad as the pirated ones?"

With this, I rest my case.