Beware online pirates, Microsoft warns consumers

No you are not getting me :) You buy a copy for R150, for 3 months its updates fine etc... after 3 months the updates stop and it reminds you to buy "update" time. If you don't buy the update time it would simply not remain current or automatically update. There would be no need to pirate, you would have to have an account system aka steam that you buy update time from. Also A license would be permanently associated with you so if you own a copy on Win 7 and buy a "white box" PC you would simply pop in your account details and it would update a generic first boot windows version to whichever version you own.

The problem with their current business model is it forces them to release version after version after version as their costs are monthly but their revenue is erratic. Plus of course there is RAMPANT piracy in the home user market that they simply cannot afford to crack down on. The one this Microsoft fears more than pirates is people moving over to a different OS enmasse at home, this in a few years would wipe them out in the corporate market as people wouldn't be familiar with windows.

This model would remove the need to pirate and massively disincentivise piracy, I am merely looking at steam and the way it made me stop pirating. If I feel like I am not being screwed, I will happily pay for things.

Microsoft would have to create a "Microsoft App Market" but this could create a huge revenue opportunity for them. Say you have a Microsoft account and you own a legitimate and up to date version of Windows 7 Home, they could run specials like upgrade to ultimate for only X and upgrade your office 2003 to 2010 for only Y. This is something sadly lacking in the current business, the are tech leaders and yet have near 0 presence in digital distribution.
 
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Shayd said:
I am going to take a different approach here... why don't microsoft look at moving windows into the "software as a service" business. Make a copy of Windows 7 only say R150 and it comes with 3 months of updates. Then if you want updates and security essentials etc updated and you want everything to keep running smoothly they charge R120 per year for Update licensing etc. This makes a lot more sense for home users and stops them from ramming another version of windows down our throats every 3-4 years.
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Microsoft has long looked at that, in very great detail, and it's reviewed frequently. When I last looked:
(a) IHVs don't want that. They fear it'll make their systems appear "time-crippled". Despite efforts from MSFT to persuade them to at least try, most say they like things just as they are. Microsoft would be stoopid not to hear them loud and clear, and it does.
(b) Up till now, almost all corporate users don't want that. Managing hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of periodic renewals/purchases is an admin and billing nightmare they don't need. This carries weight with Microsoft.
(c) Internet access is not universal. There are millions of PCs that are strictly isolated from the internet (such as in process control, for example). A SaaS OS would add huge complications for users, customers, and Microsoft.
(d) Microsoft does very few direct sales. It is highly committed to the channel (distributors, resellers), and tens of thousands of channel partners worldwide make a goodly living off Microsoft licences. This would undermine channel relationships, which are critical to maintaning and growing marketshare. It would be a billing nightmare to suddenly have to add another billion accounts, with all the attendant billing issues, invoices (in 200 different tax jurisdictions and 100 different currencies), credits, returns, failed card transactions, reactivations, customer service help desks, telephone calls, etc, etc. Think about it ... there are probably 100 million customers who don't or won't use their personal credit cards and so will want to make cash deposits ... can you imagine the accounting nightmare trying to recon all these, in 200 different countries? It would add layers of bureaucracy to Microsoft that are the very opposite of its business model.
(e) The current revenue collection system is easier to plan, manage, budget, and administer.
(f) Lastly, why change a revenue model that works well for something that introduces new risk?
 
Well if the status quo makes them happy then I have no right to argue. I was simply looking to an alternative.
 
Shayd said:
Well if the status quo makes them happy then I have no right to argue. I was simply looking to an alternative.
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You're a customer, and you should let them know what suits you. You're quite right to think OOB, and your suggestion is a good one. I like that. But there are also pretty hefty reasons (and several more I didn't touch on) why it's not viable right now or for the foreseeable future.
 
Park@82 said:
VMware still needs an OS to run on it.
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Yeah I think his brain worked faster than his fingers on that post.

MS Office does not have any real competitors when it comes to the quality of the product. OpenOffice et al have a looong way to go.
 
“Criminal syndicates are therefore directly profiting from the sale of counterfeit software and consumers should be aware those proceeds are often fed back into crimes like drug running, money laundering and other nefarious crimes,”
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Like Frankie Boyle said: If you cannot make money from selling drugs, you're gonna struggle in general.
 
Posted about something like this when my dad got caught on bidorbuy.

Initially very helpful only Microsoft never got back to him and the os is still working perfectly with the 2n'd key supplied by the seller (updating and all) so I guess they decided it was a valid key after all.
 
Give a price cut from between 60-80% over the whole range of MS software and more people will buy it.
 
If the price of software is too good to be true it probably is, warns Microsoft SA
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If the price of software is affordable, it probably is pirated, warns Microsoft SA

..there, fixed it.
 
Chinese is cleaver capital bastards (most of them) They want to block the whole outside world from bringing products into china just so that they can sell their own (non original) counterfeit products!
 
I would like a OS model from M$ where you can get a very basic base OS for free or just the price of the installation media, then you buy the features that you need or use freeware alternatives.
 
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