China Prefers Sticking With Dying Windows XP To Upgrading 333
tdog17 writes "China says it wants Microsoft to extend support for Windows XP because that will help in its fight to stop proliferation of pirated Microsoft software. A state copyright official says the release of Windows 8 means a substantial increase in the selling price of a Windows operating system, especially in light of the upcoming end-of-life of Windows XP, which is still used by a large percentage of Chinese. That could drive users to buy pirated copies of a new operating system because they are cheaper, he says."
Get with the times... (Score:5, Informative)
India which is much poorer:
Win 7 & 8: 58%
WinXP: 30%
China:
Win 7 & 8: 43%
WinXP: 50%
Africa, South America, everywhere else that is poor XP is in massive decline. This is basically China being the odd man out, they're the only ones who want to stick to XP. Now I'm guessing most of those copies aren't legitimate, but I don't see why that should be any different in China than the rest of the world. It's just that XP is the de facto standard I guess.
If you can read Chinese you pay twice in China (Score:2, Informative)
In fairness to Microsoft I suspect Windows would be pirated here unless it was free or very close to free. People here don't seem to care. I guess it is one of the reasons for the low uptake of Linux here, no price difference so less motivation to investigate alternatives.
Re:Microsoft is running out of milk cows (Score:4, Informative)
I have always found their hardware to be of much better quality than their software. Their software is not as bad as a lot of people say but I prefer OSX etc. I have had several M$ mice and keyboards in the past and have been very happy with them.
Re:New model mentality (Score:4, Informative)
For future reference, because you might need it some day:
"Properties" is the generic Device Properties pane you also get in Device Manager, which controls things like installing drivers. This is your lowest level.
"Printer Properties" is Windows' generic settings for printers, which controls things like sharing the printer on the network or colour profiles. This is the next highest level.
"Printer Preferences" is the manufacturer's software for controlling the printer, which controls features not supported under Windows's generic controls, like stapling or print quality. This is the highest level.
They need better names.
Re:lies, damn lies! (Score:5, Informative)
That is 100% wrong. XP is a pain in the ass to pirate and Windows 7 is the absolute easiest to pirate. Windows loader, one click and I'm done. Windows XP requires a mess to keep it from blacklisting the generated key.
You really need to learn about piracy before you talk about it, because windows 7 has a huge OEM hole that makes it effortless to crack. Windows 8 is getting about as easy to crack as well.
Re:Microsoft is running out of milk cows (Score:4, Informative)
If you read the actual court documents it would seem that Goldtouch had a long history of presenting its work to mouse companies, then suing any and all of them who released an asymmetric mouse. They tended to lose those cases. They did manage to get MS to settle in a case on mouse data protocols, if software patents are your bag.
Re:Microsoft is running out of milk cows (Score:5, Informative)
Have you looked at the revenue figures for Microsoft? They are gaining "cash cows". Sharepoint is extending office, Lync is extending communicator, SQL Server has moved into data warehousing as well as increasing its share of applications. They earn about $20b a year.