Posts by Chris Bradshaw

reminder of what

I'm curious whether the overall effect will be to lower or raise the 'opportunistic' crime rate.. Recipients may accept this as a reminder to lock their doors, but a few may be reminded to look for open doors to steal from...

reverse piracy

If piracy is using something without paying for it, then 'reverse piracy' is being forced to pay for something without using or wanting it. Every one of my PCs and laptops (for personal use and for work) in the last 10 years have had Windows preinstalled on them, which was paid for (the system was not offered without it) but I do not use or want.

I MAY start to feel sorry for Microsoft and the piracy problem when I can easily buy the pre-built computer of my choice at a store without paying for an installation of Windows on it (and before you ask, sending something back to MS to get a refund is not an acceptable alternative).

But there is another thing - If I buy a piece of software and it has a bug, I consider that I am entitled to a new version of the software with the bug fixed. I think even Microsoft does this. When almost every computer comes with Windows pre-installed, a 'pirate' installation of Windows is just an upgrade to an older, buggier piece of software. And this will be true be for a very long time, if current trends continue... :-P

inappropriate behaviour

It is really too bad that the software giant does not also have a "no tolerance policy" towards other "inappropriate behavior" like leveraging monopoly market share and causing FUD in customers of rival products...

Religion and tolerance

Nice to see mostly tolerant posts. The problem is slightly funny from a non-Muslim perspective, but I am sure that the Malaysians will find a solution and I applaud their efforts to think 'outside of the box'

And it is rude and untrue to say that the Muslim religion is 500 years behind. The Christian churches of 500 years ago were burning people at the stake for thinking 'out of the box' like this...