I hope that Microsoft is able to fix the problem because it raises prices
for legitimate users as well as hurting the computer industry.

Oh, for heaven sake! Please! Is there anybody alive who actually
believes this? Come on.

Illegitimate copies of Windows and Office are what made Microsoft
the dominant player in the software market. They are in large
measure responsible for Microsoft being able to hang onto their
market share. They don't cost Microsoft *anything* -- just the
opposite, they increase sales numbers of legitimate copies of
Microsoft software.

How can this be, the three people in the world ask who actually
believe the piracy hype that Microsoft has been spewing. It's this
way ...

By putting more copies of Windows into more hands, Microsoft is
able to keep those users from becoming familiar with alternatives.
These aren't people who would buy Windows in any case, so
Microsoft doesn't lose any money -- they are *future* buyers of
Windows. By making Windows easy to copy and install, they insure
that it is on the systems of those who cannot afford (right now)
to buy software, and down the line those same people will buy what
they have become familiar with, and what they have learned to rely
on. Having free, illegitimate, copies of Windows floating around
makes it very hard for competitors to gain market share. Linux
would be much bigger on desktops if people actually had to pay for
Windows. They don't, and they never have had to pay.

The truth is, the more anti-piracy protection Microsoft builds
into Windows, the more they hurt their own dominant market posture.