[pekru]

> Actually a free Windows OS would actually be great. Here in India, Pirated Windows OS are like as common as mosquitoes. No one but Microsoft was losing in all this.

Actually, MS knew all along that piracy is rampant and they let it work for them quite well. With everyone familiarizing themselves with nothing other than MS products, MS knew for a fact that money would eventually come, in sacks that too. It wasn't a loss in the long term.

Markets like China and India are different wherein enforcement is not that easy. Heck, proper enforcement would even make people opt for a hassle free and priceless option like *nix. So MS chose not to bother too much about piracy in domestic installations and thus sorta sent a message like "go on, use it, we don't care" and fueled piracy to an extent, if I may say.

For an average consumer in India, computers are synonymous with Windows products. It's not a choice for them at all, they do not have a choice!

Even the local coke/hash peddler would give out stuff for free to get one hooked. ;)

[channikhabra]

> Even the local coke/hash peddler would give out stuff for free to get one hooked.

Stole my words.