Microsoft is ending the piracy of its operating system, Windows, with a shocking announcement full of strategic brilliance.
Windows 10, the upcoming version of the Microsoft OS, is expected to be rolled out at the end of the summer.
Not only the upgrade will be free for all legitimate owners of Windows 7 and Windows 8.x, it will be free for all active pirated copies of it as well.
Announcing the news at the WinHEC technology conference in China, Terry Myerson, head of the Microsoft OS unit, made this statement to Reuters:
“We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10. The plan is to ‘re-engage’ with the hundreds of millions of users of Windows in China.”
Software piracy is rampant in China, along with other parts of the world.
This move by Microsoft will effectively wipe out hundreds of millions of pirated copies of its operating systems, allowing the company to strategically gain an advantage against competing OSs.
For this epic roll-out of Windows 10 in China, Microsoft has partnered with several Chinese companies, including Qihoo 360 Technology, buyers of the record-setting domain name, 360.com.
More information in this article by Reuters.
