Microsoft Sets Value Of Pirated Windows: $1

nick_davison writes "The BBC is reporting that Microsoft has reached a deal with the Indonesian government on pirated software - which is believed to affect around 50,000 government PCs. Under the deal, Indonesia will pay $1 per copy and agree to buy legally in the future. Indonesia's information minister, Sofyan Djalil, said, "Microsoft is being realistic. They can't force developing countries like us to solely use legal software since we can't afford it. They want us to gradually reduce our use of it." Somehow it seems unlikely the same rules will be applied to developing companies and poorer individuals in the United States."

God Almight American Buck...

[__aaclcg7560]

At least we know what the true value of Microsoft Windows is. Although I wouldn't pay more than two bits for it.

Re:Their information minister is clueless

[SpiffyMarc]

But you sure as hell can be forced to do things legally.

Not by a corporation.

Microsoft denies this

[rgoree]

A little more research on google news shows that MS is denying [nwsource.com] this report.

Re:God Almight American Buck...

[JonMisurda]

Uh, for those who don't realize how wrong this post is, quoth the wikipedia [wikipedia.org]:

The peso had a nominal value of 8 reales ("royals"). The coins were often physically cut into eight "bits", or sometimes four quarters, to make smaller change. This is the origin of the colloquial name "pieces of eight" for the coin, and of "quarter" and "two bits" for twenty five cents in the United States.

Re:Someone send a memo to the RIAA...

[BrainSurgeon]

Basically the $1/copy is to rectify the fact that they are using pirated software. A "penalty" if you will. It's kind of a "play it straight and we'll give you a break" type of thing. Think about it. The Indonesian government 50K of pirated copies. If MS can and said they had to pay full price, One the Indonesian president our shart a brick and second not encourage the government to play it straight and lastly they wouldn't be able to pay the cost upfront.

Going forward, MS will charge the proper licensing price now that it's been squared away.

Re:Quite unlikely

[flossie]

if MS had demanded the full price for each installation, they would be bashed for beating up on a small country.

Whatever else Indonesia may be, it is not a small country. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state. ... Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas [cia.gov]

Re:WTF? You all missed the biggest question!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not about the money. The vast majority of Indonesians take pirated software for granted, and have no real desire or need to buy original.

Several years ago Microsoft Indonesia sued cmoputer stores who install (pirated) Windows onto newly built systems. They claim damage of several billions rupiah, enough to make any local computer store to go out of business. Last time I was in Jakarta, all those stores sued are still in business. In one news article, the defendant's lawyer asked the judge whether he has a PC at home, and whether his copy of Windows is legal ;)

About two years ago a supposedly tough copyright legislation was passed, but there is simply no real enforcement in Indonesia, people still sell and buy openly. There is no "incentive" to buy originals. Even if there is enforcement, most individuals can't afford originals.

Re:Microsoft denies this

[Anonymous Coward]

Confirmed-- looks like this story isn't entirely based on fact (i.e. not true at all).

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstech nology/2002323655_webmspiracy09.html [nwsource.com]

Let's not get too excited before we check the facts, people... :)

he seems arrogant

[Paralizer]

"Microsoft is being realistic," Indonesia's information minister, Sofyan Djalil, was quoted as saying in the Jakarta Post newspaper. "They can't force developing countries like us to solely use legal software since we can't afford it. They want us to gradually reduce our use of it."

Whoa now Mr. CantMakeMe, ever heard of people working to make the product you're stealing? Seriously, this is pretty arrogant of him to say on behalf of his country, why not just apologize, pay the 50 grand, and move to some free alternative? There are other operating systems out there you can get for free, various Linux and BSD flavors to be quick. You don't need to use illegal copies of Windows, and when the company who developed it gets angry, act like you are king shit and don't have to pay just because you can't afford it. Simple solution, dump Microsoft, it's too damn expensive anyway.

Re:How about

[timbo234]

The controversy with Corby is because a lot of people here believe she is innocent, not because they think she should be allowed to have or use marajuana.

Re:Quite unlikely

[zerocool^]

Not to mention 250 million people, slightly less than the 300 million or so in the U.S.

Re:How about

[The Lion of Comarre]

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s135 6362.htm [abc.net.au]

...
ELEANOR HALL: Is it the case that the Indonesian legal system is based on the presumption of guilt?

TIM LINDSAY: No, that is completely false. As a matter of fact it is completely the opposite. The system in Indonesia is the same as the system in Australia, and our Commonwealth system. Article 66 of the Criminal Procedure Code specifically states that the burden of proof to prove guilt in a criminal case lies with the prosecution.

In other words, that unless the prosecution can prove guilt, the person is innocent. So the common furphy that is being circulated in Australia in the media at the moment that people in the Indonesian system are presumed guilty until proven innocent is totally false.
...

Exchange rates

[dandman]

Assuming your are geniumely asking this question...

The answer goes:
US$1 = a tip at a bar, or a cup of Soda in the States.
US$1 = 1 hours wage, or a full dinner in Indonesia.

So while $1=$1 , 1 soda 1 dinner.

What exchange rates mean is that Western tourists will find things "cheap" (they can buy more things with less $ than at home) and the locals will see the Westerners as "rich" (The amount of cash dropped on a two week holiday could probably have paid off their entire mortgage)
Exchange rates DO NOT equalize any of these imbalances. Although some Communist countries tried to manipulate them in that way many years back. .dan.

Poverty? USA? Please. Bad timing or what?

[sparkz]

"poorer individuals in the United States" ???

Those so poor they can afford a $500 PC

Oh, my heart bleeds.

Do USAians actually understand what poverty means? A huge number (I don't have the figures to hand) earn less than USD10 per month.

In fact, the Make Poverty History have a poster (which unfortunately does not appear to be online) quoting a statistic that a London (UK) parking meter earns more in an hour than something like 75% of the world's population earns in a month.

Please, the http://www.makepovertyhistory.org/ [makepovertyhistory.org] campaign, put this stuff up on the web, not just on dead trees!

We do realise that the G8 summit is upon us, and that huge international protests against international poverty [makepovertyhistory.org] are due to coincide with it? ... Don't we?

Or is this just some sheltered young white well-to-do middle-class ... oh, just remembered where I am.
Go, Dubya!

Not as big as it seems

[Ralph Spoilsport]

Sure, physically it covers a fair amount of ground, but its GDP is $827.4 billion.

http://www.indexmundi.com/indonesia/gdp.html [indexmundi.com]

And as Bill Gates's personal wealth is esitmated at $46.5 billion

http://www.marxist.com/scienceandtech/bill_gates_c apitalism.htm [marxist.com]

And Ballmer's worth is $12 billion

http://www.guardian.co.uk/microsoft/Story/0,2763,1 046102,00.html [guardian.co.uk]

And Paul Allen is worth $20.5 billion

http://www.guardian.co.uk/microsoft/Story/0,2763,1 046102,00.html [guardian.co.uk]

you have the top three at Microsoft worth approximate 9% of the entire Indonesian GDP. And Microsoft is pissed, i.e., the greedy plutocrats and lawyers who run Microsoft are pissed, that a nation where the average wage slave makes about $80 - $100 a month

http://countrystudies.us/indonesia/63.htm [countrystudies.us]

has found that it makes economic sense to pirate an OS that costs more than an average month's wages?

Geee - poor babies. Greedy motherfuckers. Almost as evil as the slime moulds who run Indonesia...

RS

Yeah, right!

[BigYawn]

The Indonesian governement can claim they cannot afford buying legal M$ software, but that certainly does not prevent them buying weapons and policing equipement to keep their population under control.

For some details about weapons deals between the west and Indonesia, read "Hidden Agendas" by John Pilger. Or read about the invasion of East Timor [carlton.com] by Indonesia and the massacre of its people.

Re:Their information minister is clueless

[cduffy]

So how much Linux software supports the Indonesian alphabet ?

Probably more Linux software does than Windows software. You're actually bringing up one of Linux's strengths: Availability of translations is substantially higher than on Windows because 3rd parties can write them and submit them to the developer. Compare this to closed software for Windows where Microsoft (or whomever) needs to pay to write the translation -- so for smaller markets they typically don't. This is part of the reason for Linux's success in India, for instance.

They can't afford to lose money on importing Linux programmers that can do all that.

Which is why it makes sense for them to do it in-house. Writing a gettext translation file is easy -- you don't need a programmer, you just need someone who can type and knows both languages. It looks like this: "Hello = Hola" where on the left you have the lines like they appear in the program's default translation, and on the right you have the localized version.