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"The theory is that if legitimate software costs less, people will be less likely to turn to pirated versions."

Uh-huh... the question is, why does Microsoft think this theory only applies to China?

Thats what we have been saying since day 1....

"The theory is that if legitimate software costs less, people will be less likely to turn to pirated versions."

If that was it I would of bought it! no questions ask! Now we have to add this to the US also! but they wont why? because thats how they keep being Billionares!

So now it costs what it costs here in the states.

that theroy would hold true for most countries..but considering Chinas Reputation for 'stealing,pirateing,cheating'...this price reduction will probably backfire....unless the keys are for 'Chinese Language' specific...but then again that probably won't matter to them.

Nice move. Do other countries now have to pirate more first before MS gives them a price cut like that for Vista?

would somebody please come sell vista for $2 on the streets of south africa? I want MS to drop the prices here too :/

This is setting a precident, and still wont work in China, if people canbuy it for a dollar on the streets of bejing and in hong kong, they will continie to do so.

Now what is MS going to do about other countries, that are rampant in piracy, Canada is rated 2nd in the world for software piracy, yet MS is planning on bulding a campus in Vancouver, BC.

So unlikely they would sell it for any less than they do in the USA.

Hmm. The spunsured leenks when I search for "vista home basic" list:
£69 from BestPricedBrands.co.uk (upgrade)
£129 from www.softwareselect.co.uk (ex VAT the sneaky gits == £151.58 and they charge for shipping)
£153.47 from ebuyer.com
a link (no price) from www.amazon.co.uk/software (turns out to be £55.98 OEM [can they sell this?] / £159.98 Full / £79.98 Upgrade). Original prices were £179.99 Full / £99.99 Upgrade.
$122 from softwareli.com (£59.75) [404]
a link (no price) to www.IT247.com/Network-Systems (OEM and extra licences)

If I didn't have Ultimate already and really, really wanted Home Basic I'd still get it from China...
Getting it from BestPricedBrands seems a good move if you know you have to install it twice using itself as a "previous version" (or did they fix that?)

Tackle the software piracy here buy giving us cheaper software and we'll buy it! lol

No wonder why everyone I know doesn't buy software or games, it's too damn expensive and
we're paying $$$ compared to other countries. If i'm in China i'll buy it there....

Then I would buy Home Premium at that price.

Pip'

<snipped>

Last edited by neufuse on 04 Aug 2007 - 19:43

what about the piracy problem in the USA? what about our cheaper vista?

So what is the lesson to be learned here?

Buy genuine software in order to help keep prices extortionately high?
or is it..
Infringe our copyrights and we'll return the favour by making it cheaper for you?

Considering the average wage in China this is still ridiculously high priced.

Won't change a thing. Calling it.

It must still be very expensive for the Chinese market if you consider their avarage income and undervalued currency.

Think Best Buy would price match a Chinese Newspaper Ad?

i've been to a huge technology store in China, this place wasn't for regular people only for the rich. stuff wasn't even that cheap. but even there you couldn't buy legal windows. they only had it in the plastic bags. i don't think people were even considering buying legally to them this was retail.

This is one heck of a strange move. This is saying that piracy makes everything better (cheaper software anyway). However, I not one to complain since I'm a European student and can enjoy nice prices. Who said students have to buy expensive software? (I'm forgetting Autocad on purpose)

https://www.ma3d.com/section/14

Legal licenses of Windows Vista Ultimate for €65 and Office 2007 Enterprise for €60! Right, since it's a download-buy you have no dvd-case of info but who hasn't got a dvd burner, and who needs that way-too-short instruction manual?

Viva la student!

oh sure, we can pick up the tab over here while they can be rewarded for piracy.....

How about dropping the price in the US where we actually pay for Vista

china is gonna pirate no matter what the price is. Duh.

Look at the middle east, russia, and india! its rare to see anyone that got the original Vista.
prices should be cut. even new laptops are coming with Linux instead of Windows OS pre-installed.

I guess we can now buy those legitimate Vista in China from eBay lol

The only lesson I see is.

LETS ALL START BUYING PIRATED SOFTWARE SO WE CAN GET CHEAPER ORIGINAL SOFTWARE.

I'm buying Vista from China.

even if it cost a dollar people wont get vista pc over there are low budget machines and wont run vista well, now lower the price of XP over there and people maybe will get it

The popularity of software is all to often in *inverse* proportion to its price (the most popular software is the most expensive). Linux distributions are either completely free or mostly free (the same applies to the BSDs and Solaris, the only no-cost UNIX on the planet). Yet despite increased hardware support (not only by the various Linux distributions, but even by Solaris itself), what operating systems are distributed by the trainload on the p2p networks? Various flavors of Windows, by a rather extreme margin! For that reason, I seriously doubt that piracy has anything to do with price. Piracy has become The New Shoplifting (especially in the developed countries such as within the EU and US), with the additional advantage that it is even less likely the perp will get caught (I know of no recent piracy ring that engaged *only* in Internet distribution of their ill-gotten booty that has been busted in recent years; the groups that have been raided and busted all did something *else* that caught the eyes/ears/noses of the authorities).

Why not a software embargo on countries accused of mass piracy? I don't know what it's called, but surely there's an agency like the RIAA, but for software, that can 'swing a big stick' and threaten sanctions and embargoes. Surely MS, as one of America's most profitable companies, can ask the US government to help keep Chinese authorities cracking down on piracy, which hurts us all?

How come a country that can pretty much control what you THINK, can't even come close to controlling software piracy?

I do not know the truths of the other countries, but in Italy the prices decidedly are sproporzionati here: from HOLDUP!
Here Vista Basic Retail it costs 300 €......
To use pirata Windows nearly is justified or because version more economic OEM, does not sell it singularly and or because they cannot only think that changes PC for having an operating system that all adding is orrible....
Rather step to Linux!

You know what that sez to ppl?

"Piracy works!"

why companies such as Microsoft don't try and price there software according to the international exchange rate instead of just the us dollar? that way people in other country can stand a chance of buy a legit copy of windows, adobe, office and other software. but since they don't do that then they should consider using open office. it actually descant to use if you can't afford office.

Wow.....too bad Mr. Gates does not give Americans the same price break.