Computerzworld

It’s quite a steal, ah deal, actually—and not something Microsoft really publicizes.

When Microsoft introduced its Windows Genuine Advantage program more than two-and-a-half years ago, the company made available lower operating system pricing to victims of piracy. For all the things wrong with WGA, the pricing was right. Customers submitting qualifying documentation could get Windows XP Home for $99 and XP Professional for $149.

But Microsoft didn’t initially offer any victim discount for Windows Vista. The company reasoned that there was no real piracy at launch. Microsoft has since made lower pricing available to presumed victims of piracy. Like XP, the deals are surprisingly good compared to the full product versions, although some piracy victims might rightly squawk about having to pay twice for Windows. Is it their fault they got swindled? Why should they have to pay?

I’m pretty sympathetic to that viewpoint. Jack Consumer buys a PC from a local dealer, and it later fails validation. The buyer has two options: Live with Vista warning him the software is counterfeit or pay for another copy. With release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the notices will come hourly, and the desktop color will go to black. Microsoft penalizes that piracy victim for being a victim.

That said, the company does offer attractive pricing for people that want to do the right thing or who are simply annoyed by the persistent counterfeit pop-up messages. Microsoft only sells full versions of the software—no upgrades—but piracy victims can buy up to another version. In other words, a Basic victim could pay $199 for Ultimate.

But yesterday, Alex Kochis, Microsoft’s group product manager for Windows Genuine Advantage, told me that few people would buy up version. Most of the Vista piracy is “for Windows Vista Ultimate,” he said.

Well, it’s nice to know that Vista Ultimate is popular somewhere. It’s the pirate’s choice. When they steal, they take the best.

That pirated Ultimate version would be a real bargain from Microsoft—half the full version’s $400 price. Microsoft may offer the best deal going on genuine Vista, but the company isn’t in the business of rewarding casual pirates for their thieving ways, either. Microsoft is looking to ease the burden of would-be piracy victims, who must provide pretty reasonable proof, such as a counterfeit Vista disc.

Burning a copy of a neighbor’s Vista install disc won’t get many, if any, people a lower-cost Windows version. Besides, the cheapest way to buy legal Windows is the same for Vista as it was for XP: On a new PC.