With market penetration around 90%, one of the few remaining strategies for squeezing more profit out of the Windows monopoly is to begin curbing piracy.  If your own copy isn't legal, you may now feel the pinch.

In an attempt to battle piracy, Microsoft on Tuesday will launch an effort they claim will increase the value of legally purchased copies of Windows.  Unfortunately, new value is not what longtime users will discover.  Microsoft’s update site will no longer offer product updates to users whose installed version of Windows cannot be determined to be legal.  While security updates will continue to be delivered to all Microsoft Windows users, other updates and enhancements to the operating system will be limited to legal customers.

While this may not be perceived as an increase in value, it will certainly reduce the value of pirated copies of Windows.  It’s just a piece of the “Windows Genuine Advantage” effort.  As reported by news.com:

…those who fail the validation test will be presented with two options. People who send in their CDs, show proof they bought Windows and fill out a piracy report will be eligible to get a legitimate copy of Windows at no charge. Those who don't have CDs or a proof of purchase but fill out a piracy report will have to pay for a licensed copy--$99 for Windows XP Home and $149 for Windows XP Professional.

During an ongoing test purchase program, more than eight PC makers were identified as potential sources of piracy and are now being sued by Microsoft.  As reported by InformationWeek,

The VARs and systems builders named in the current lawsuits include Avantek of Florida, M&S Computer Products of New Jersey, Micro Excell of Alabama, Signature PC of Rhode Island, First E-Commerce of Texas, Odyssey Computers of Maryland, and Abacus Computer and Technology One of California. What's more, Microsoft announced another set of lawsuits against five resellers in Canada for alleged distribution of unlicensed software.

Computer users interested in “free” software should look to open-source.  Microsoft software is highly desirable and the black and grey markets exist because customers want Windows, but they don’t want to pay for it.  Even with a multitude of open-source licensing options available, people continue to break the law to obtain copies of Microsoft Windows. 

W.S.