This is more than a few days old, but here’s a PSA from PC World mixed with a word of warning from us: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has confirmed that there’ll be no boxed versions of Windows 8 for sale in China, and so consumers must pay online and download the Windows 8 update. But surely that’s an open invitation for software pirates to have the physical sales market all to themselves.
A Microsoft spokesperson said:
After having talked to many customers, Microsoft has made the decision to simplify the distribution model of Windows in China, by taking all physical Windows media off the market.
We reckon a lot of folks will still want a physical Windows 8 upgrade box set, and so pirates will inevitably fill the niche. Yes, Microsoft has toughened up its activation mechanisms for Windows 8, but nothing is fool-proof. Microsoft making its new OS a download-only purchase might make it easier to get prosecutions in future, but it will not solve piracy – and it might even exacerbate the problem.
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