If you can’t beat them, join them.
This seems to be Microsoft’s game plan as it recently revealed that it will be providing Windows 10 upgrades to everyone — software pirates included. This move is especially targeted to those in China, a country which has one of the largest pirate population in the world, in an effort to slowly easy unlicensed users into becoming legit consumers.
“We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10,” said Microsoft Window’s chief Terry Myerson in an interview with Reuters. Another representative of the company confirmed the move to The Verge: “We believe customers over time will realize the value of properly licensing Windows and we will make it easy for them to move to legitimate copies.”
This may actually a good strategy for Microsoft, which has long battled with hackers who have repeatedly managed to go around Windows’ security and authentication procedures. Will this manage to convince pirates to finally turn a new leaf and head on to being legit, or will this just encourage their freeloading lifestyle? We’ll wait and see as Microsoft prepares to launch Windows 10.
