Microsoft in China: In Numbers from FP

Foreign Policy’s Passport blog examines Microsoft in China for this week’s “Numbers.” Here is the argument boiled down, and see their post for sources and more good numbers:

$295 Price for a basic, legal copy of Microsoft Vista in China
$1.30 to $4.00 Price of a pirated copy of Microsoft Vista on the street in China
70 Percentage of software on Chinese government computers that is pirated

I don’t know how I would calculate this, but it looks to me that with a price difference from roughly $2 to $300, illegal would be more strongly incentivized that 70 percent! Apparently there is some factor of rule of law or fear of enforcement. What I’d like to see: percentage of computers owned by corporations.

UPDATE: Meanwhile: “In an effort to expand its global reach in computing, Microsoft plans to offer a stripped-down version of Windows, Office and other software for $3 to people in developing countries.”


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