How many people use an illegal copy of Windows?

Jokah

Windows ME were the worst days of my life.

It came with my computer also. I bought a copy of XP Pro and killed the dam thing.(Windows ME that is.)

Now my computer is stable. ME just had a lot of bad habits.

sceptre

Originally posted by XPThink
Are there other ways of getting service packs without going through update? I have looked hard and not found any.

You can grab the full SP1(a:rolleyes: ) for WinXP from the MS website - it's listed in their downloads section. If you do have a dodgy copy with a blacklisted serial you'll still have the same problem though - it won't install. Same thing when they blacklisted all copies of Office 97 for O97SP2 with a serial code beginning with 'A' a few years back. You don't pay, you don't get to play, I suppose.

Obviously there are ways around it (jimhenson's link has info that's freely available to all on the Microsoft site so that's OK IMHO but that's as far into naughtiness that this thread will probably go)

I have in my possession a very dodgy copy of Windows 1.03

Sleipnir

Wow! about 3 quarters of the people that polled use illegal operating systems. That's pretty amazing. I wonder could you take it from that that approximately 75% of software on computers in Ireland is installed illegally?

I will say that I think software is WAY to expensive, everybody needs an OS and if you think about it, really how much development takes place on a 'new' operating system?
Win95 was, admittedly, a break-through at the time it was released, but 98 was just built on top of the same basic OS, so was ME.
XP was built on the same basic OS as Windows 2000 and that from NT 4 back to 3.51
So really, when you think about it, all of the current OS's are upgrades, or 'feature packs'

It's just not cricket.:mad:

Jokah

"It's just not cricket."

I use that expression the whole time,

Woden

Originally posted by Kananga
Wow! about 3 quarters of the people that polled use illegal operating systems. That's pretty amazing. I wonder could you take it from that that approximately 75% of software on computers in Ireland is installed illegally?

i doubt that percentage is accurate as if you consider the type of people who use these boards they are probably more probable to know about dodgy o/s and where to get then and have them installed themselves etc. the average joe soap with a computer gets it from p.c world and nevers worries about it as long as they can check there email and stuff.

Sleipnir

I'd say that it's probably true that the people who use boards.ie would have a greater knowledge of where to get illegal software, but then you could infer from that that about 75% of software on the computers used by boards.ie users, is illegal. Now, I realize that we haven't got the number of votes that would be required to make an propper judgement but interesting nontheless.
From the Business Software Alliance

"From 1994 to 2002, the piracy rate of Western Europe fell 17 points, from 52% to 35%, third best of all the regions. Ireland improved the most, moving from 74% in 1994 to 42% in 2002, a drop of 32 points"

po0k

There are lies, damned lies and statistics.

I paid for Win98SE when I bought this machine ~3 years ago.
I've since "aquired" 2K pro for the same machine. I consider it a replacment for faulty product. It's a far far better OS, and is at least fit for it's purpose. By rights everyone who ever bought Win98FE and ME should demand a refund as they were not "fit for purpose".

Course, dual-booting Debian is the cream on the cake

Shamo

Legit Win98 (came with the computer)

Not so legit, WinME (damn thing needed a format every month), Win2k Pro, Corp XP Pro.

Dun

I was fiddling round with a friend's laptop, running XP Home, and the i386 folder fell onto my blank cd that I'd put in for no reason

Windows 98 SE came with my computer (if I'd got it a month or two later, it would've come with ME :eek: ), and as was said before I didn't think it fit for the purpose. I would feel like I should buy it if it wasn't so extortionately priced. Sure, they need to make a living, but they're making a bit too much imho. If they brought down the price by at least half, I'd buy XP.

tman

i installed a copy of xp on a mates pc a couple of months back, he's been on holiday since i did it...
i've got a horrible feeling that i fuxored up when running the crack (the keygen didn't come up with a working serial)
chances are he'll come back to an expired copy of xp:rolleyes:

Ryo Hazuki

Have Less than legal Copies of 98 Second Release, Me, 2k Professional, and running WinXP Professional.


I have a ligit Copy win98!

Which Ive loaned to people several times...

nadir

I dont use windows, but I always like to dual boot a warez version of the most decent MS OS available, just for playing some games through wine. Forking out so much cash for something I only install and never use is what i consider to be 'unfair'. Hopefully soon enough more games companies will support other OS types, and ill be able to stop 'breaking the law'.

MrPinK

Paid for XP home when I bought the computer (had no choice in the matter, they wouldn't sell it without), but they didn't give me the disks for it. When I needed to format and reinstall, I just borrowed an XP pro rather than pay a visit to the vendor.

gerire

Have legit 95 came with a very old dead box and it is literally a coaster for my coffee now.

Legit 98, however it may well have found its way onto a few other machines in its days alive. Dual booting on this machine.

Dodgy 2k, also on a few other machines than this. The other half of the dual boot.

dodgy XP pro. Have the CD and it works fine on other machines and it upgrades to service packs as do all the other Windows I have.

Just got Longhorn, dunno what the story is with it as I have no machine yet to try it out on yet. Just waiting till I have to build another PC son and Ill try it out.

<edit: doh not software question just os>

Dalamar

A legit copy of Win98, still running some after 2 years, and one complete moval to a new hard drive, which actually fixed a USB problem somehow.

A 'back-up' copy of Win2k, which i use about once a week as it's on a small partition.With almost no software installed to.

dahamsta

Less of the talk about serialz and warez and the like now please. The BSA is watching. I'll report ye all!

adam /there's no justice, there's just dahamsta

aclane

Dogy XP Pro on 2 PC's:D

Dogy Win98se on one PC

Dogy Y2K Pro 2 PC's:D

Ste-

Used to run legal ME (Came with machine) now on legal XP Home also dual booting Mandrake so all is good.

LastIrishMonkey

i have 2 copys one copy is real copy of windows xp home but i lost my cd so Doh ! but i have a friends copy of xp pro witch i suppose is illegal :rolleyes: and if i update is it crashs

ando

wow, 67%

no wonder microsoft are getting so frustrated

ColinM

Originally posted by SyxPak
I paid for Win98SE when I bought this machine ~3 years ago.
I've since "aquired" 2K pro for the same machine. I consider it a replacment for faulty product. It's a far far better OS, and is at least fit for it's purpose. By rights everyone who ever bought Win98FE and ME should demand a refund as they were not "fit for purpose".

Yeah, but presciently Microsoft never said that Windows98 was fit for any purpose. Their EULAs still don't give you any guarantee of suitability for any purpose:

Originally displayed during Windows 98 Setup
...MICROSOFT AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE...

(sorry for the all-caps, but that's how it appears)

Also, if you would all stop using dodgy copies of Microsoft software and purchase legitimate copies, they would be able to reduce the price of the products. They would love to do this already, but unfortunately they haven't made enough billions yet.

maxheadroom

Hmmm... I don't know about the good ole US of A, but in Europe, AFAIK, it is illegal and impossible to remove somebodies statutoryrights, such as the right for goods snd services to be fit for the purpose sold.

Your contract here is with the reseller, not microsoft, but you still have recourse to return the goods, regardless of what it says in the EULA, if you are confident and can prove that the goods were unfit for the purpose sold.

IIRC, an EUAL has never actually been tested in a law court?

dahamsta

Hmmm... I don't know about the good ole US of A, but in Europe, AFAIK, it is illegal and impossible to remove somebodies statutoryrights, such as the right for goods snd services to be fit for the purpose sold.

Yip. They can put what they want in the EULA, it's not worth the bits it's written on. Europe is extremely picky about people trying to subvert the rights they intentionally give to citizens.

Your contract here is with the reseller, not microsoft, but you still have recourse to return the goods, regardless of what it says in the EULA, if you are confident and can prove that the goods were unfit for the purpose sold. IIRC, an EUAL has never actually been tested in a law court?

Not in Europe, the software developers are too canny. They just stretch things out as far as they can. However a chap on ILUG (Irish Linux User Group) recently got his money back from (I think) Dell for the copy of Windows that he never used, fair dues to him.

EDIT: Nah nah nah, it wasn't an ILUGger at all, dunno where I got that from. Got it from Linux Journal. Dumbass.

adam

Dr Bolouswki

Legit Win95
Legit Win98SE
Legit OEM WinME (BIOS locked to particular manufacturer)
Backup copy Win2k (BIOS locked)
XP Home (90 day trial copy that I, erm, amended to reset the start date of the 90 days on every boot)
XP Pro (erm, backed up from a multi-user copy from work)

XP Pro is all I use...

LastIrishMonkey

I have Xp pro Haxed sorry to all who feel mad about me having one but theres like 58 on the poll. But im also concerned as to will i have problems like xp being unstable or so on ? could anyone answer meh ?

dahamsta

Enuff.