"ploy to extort more money" - who are they kidding? I say good for MS. All of those pansies without legit copies should get a job and those who don't like to call up MS for authentication should get over their social anxiety disorder.

i hope this makes more people look into linux. it will be interesting to see how long it will take to crack. god bless the hackers ;) you gotta love em.

i agree against piracy, i am not saying i havent donwloaded or installed illegal software/music also, but i am saying that software should be 100% risk free and they shouldnt be relying on selling more from security updates, maybe special features but not security,.... i dont agree with that, programs should be secured from the start, thats why they are purchased....

What normal minded person has a problem with Microsoft *not* making Windows updates available to those who never bought it in the first place? If someone shoplifted a BMW dhould they be suprised were BMW not to honor the warranty on it?

So don't buy it then. Overcharging is hardly a reasonable defence for stealing. But yeah, you do of course have a point, if Microsoft did l;ower the price then more people would buy it of course. Then again, how much would they have to lower it to make it worthwhile for the people who pirate it to buy it instead? Would $50 change peoples minds? Doubt it. Lets face it, the people who pirate windows aren't going to change their minds unless there is a drastic reduction in price. The people who buy Windows are probably going to buy it regardless of cost, e.g. businesses.

>>Updateing software is part of the business of software, if you can't support it, don't sell itdon't buy it then why should you be able to update it? All MS are saying is that people who legitimately own their software have full and complete access to updates. Those who have stolen it will have less so (but still limited update ability). Really, where's the problem with that? Or did you not actually read the article?

Please research before you post. I work in the industry, Windows costs us about $80 to put on customers machines. Newegg sells OEM Windows XP for about $90, we sell it for about $100.

Clearly you don't know where, and how, to shop. Which I find strange, because you seem to have the ability to discover how to get hold of illicit versions of software.