Here is why the anti-piracy technology being in-build in Windows Vista could be good for GNU/Linux

I recently read a news item which disclosed that Microsoft plans to incorporate anti-piracy technology into the yet to be released Vista OS. This set me thinking. What does this hold for GNU/Linux? Put differently, could this move by Microsoft have any positive effect on the popularity of GNU/Linux ?

Before we jump into talking about Linux and what it stands to gain from this, let us look at the present scenario as far as Windows use is concerned. It is a well known fact that around 70 % (I suspect even more) of the Windows OS that is run on PCs worldwide is pirated. Which means only 30 % of the people who use Windows actually pay for it and use a genuine licenced copy. This trend is more prevalent in third world countries where there is a mind set among the majority of computer literate people which equates (any) software with freeness as in free beer.

It is so easy to walk into a shop selling computers and request them for a copy of any of the Windows OS and you can get it for the cost of a blank CD - around US $1. Of course with Windows XP it is not possible to install the service pack 2 and above if it is a pirated copy - but then do people really bother to install the service packs if the only alternative is to shell out money and buy a genuine licence ? I really doubt it.

For example, in India, software piracy is so rampant and ingrained in the society that the top branded computer manufacturers are forced to sell computers without an OS or with Linux pre-installed to compete with the assembled PC sector. The various PC ads in newspapers are proof enough for this.

Now when Microsoft finally release Vista with inbuilt anti-piracy technology, if what has been disclosed is true and there is no option other than to register the copy at Microsoft website in order to fully enable it, then it will open up the flood gates for alternatives to Vista. For one, people - ie those who shy away from shelling money for the software - will genuinely take interest in installing and using GNU/Linux.

Assembled PC manufacturers (who are a sizable group) will go the extra length in convincing their potential customers to buy a PC pre-installed with Linux and will hopefully impress upon them the good aspects of GNU/Linux - after all they also have to look at their bottom lines and at the same time be able to provide a PC at a more competitive rate than the branded PCs. And once these people start using GNU/Linux, they will realise how much value this remarkable OS and the applications installed in it can provide when compared to a similar proprietary solution which costs bundles of money.

Of course, this may not in any way cause a dent in the Microsoft's kitty; if anything, this move by Microsoft will only increase its revenue. But then a reduction in piracy will be a win-win situation for all parties concerned as for Microsoft, it can be happy that all who use its OS is actually buying a genuine licenced copy and for Free software and GNU/Linux in particular, it is still a win because it will be able to attract those sizable group of people who are not willing to shell out money for software or OS.