Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Starts Raiding India, Not Just the Middle East

UAE flag



Summary: Last week's Microsoft raids in the UAE (and some more new raids) are increasingly seen as a business model

LAST week we wrote about what Microsoft was doing in the UAE apart from signing exclusionary deals [1, 2] and removing choice [1, 2].



As part of its recent tours in Asia (recall the marketing blitz in Jordan last month, as well as this new meeting), Microsoft is now engaged in attacking the very same people who have spread Windows over the years. Suddenly Microsoft pretends that they are the "bad people" (using them, then denouncing them, and finally putting them in prison).

Not just the UAE is targeted, either. A few days ago we found out that Microsoft was also raiding India.

LUCKNOW, INDIA: For software developers and resellers, the fight against piracy seems to be an unending one. The recent launch of Microsoft Windows 7 was shrouded with the news of its availability as pirated copies.

In order to check the open and blatant piracy of Microsoft products, the vendor recently launched a scheme called Seven 7s to encourage resellers to sell the original products. But even as the scheme was announced, Microsoft also filed a complaint about the rampant software piracy in a notorious market in Lucknow.


That's comical. Since when does Microsoft care about counterfeiting in this country? As Bill Gates put it a couple of years ago, "It's easier for our software to compete with Linux when there's piracy than when there's not." So typical.

Let us remember that Microsoft was found guilty of tax evasion in India just a over a year ago. Should Microsoft also be labeled "a pirate" in India and therefore its offices aggressively raided? Last month when we wrote about Bill Gates and Microsoft dodging tax we also summarised previous posts about the subject, namely:



The Microsoft 'press' is now having a chat with a former Microsoft employee who accuses Microsoft of improperly and even illegally handling tax matters.

Appearing on KUOW's "The Conversation" on Monday was Jeff Reifman, a former Microsoft employee who has been writing about Microsoft's software-licensing practices and whether they are illegal.

He asserts that Microsoft sidesteps Washington tax law by licensing its software out of an office in Reno, Nev. Nevada has no software-licensing tax; Washington does.


There is some sweet irony in the fact that a company which commits so many crimes accuses others of being "pirates" or "thieves" and "criminals". Have they no shame or humility to see the hypocrisy?

“As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours.”

--Bill Gates

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's 'Lawsuit Diplomacy' (SLAPPs Riding UK Libel Law and Piggybacking UK GDPR, Inapplicable!) Will Only Give a Worse Image to Microsofters (and Microsoft), Give Exposure to Even More Suppressed Facts and Scandals
Microsoft came to dominate some sectors because of (or owing to) crimes; Microsoft won't just go away without some more crimes.
Five (or Three) Years Without Social Control Media
Glyn Moody quit X (Twitter)
Why GNU/Linux is Growing
There's growing interest in GNU/Linux right now because people do not fancy buying a new PC just to 'upgrade' (more spying) Windows
 
Links 20/04/2025: Many Data Breaches and Growing Censorship Wave
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/04/2025: Canadian Elections and "Use the Best Tools You Have for the Current Environment"
Links for the day
Deja vu: Hitler's Birthday, Andreas Tille elected Debian Project Leader again
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 20/04/2025: Bleeding Constitution and ChatGPT Infuriates Users Some More
Links for the day
Chinese OEMs (and World's Largest) Pave a Path Out of Microsoft Windows
So Microsoft now values (or prices) Vista 11 at just $140?
Gemini Links 20/04/2025: Contradictions of Mark Carney and Blog Questions Challenge
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 19, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 19, 2025
Electronics in People's Bedrooms
Modern technology not only blurred the gap between "functions" of rooms
Gemini Links 19/04/2025: Contingencies, GTD, and Old Computers
Links for the day
Links 19/04/2025: Economic Races, Charm Offensives, and USB-C Rants
Links for the day
Links 19/04/2025: "Infantilization at Big Tech" and LLM Slop Abused in Defiance of Workplace Rules/Policies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/04/2025: Palm Addiction and Real Experts
Links for the day
Egypt is Controlled by Google, Not Microsoft
Moving from Microsoft to Google is not the answer
Microsofters Say They Cannot Find a Job (That They Want) Because of Techrights, But Techrights Merely Reported on Their Behaviour
Quit pointing the finger at people who are recipients of abuse or merely mention the abuse
Free Software and Standards - Not Marketing Blitz - Needed Amid Growing Severity of Dependency on Hostile Suppliers (or Another Country's Sovereignty)
ZenDiS can be described as the "Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration"
When It Comes to the Web, Google is Evil and It Destroys the Web's Integrity With LLM Slop
Even academia, which is meant to keep standards high, is being lured into LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 18, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 18, 2025
Links 18/04/2025: "Fentanylware (TikTok) Exodus Continues", Chinese Weapons Allegedly in Russia Already
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Price of Games and State of Tinylog
Links for the day
Sounds Like IBM is Preparing for Mass Layoffs/Redundancies in Red Hat, Albeit in "PIP" (Performance Improvement Plan) or "Relocation" Clothing
This isn't the "old" IBM; they're applying pressure by confusion and humiliation
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Role of Language and Back to Mutt for E-mail
Links for the day
"Sayonara" (さよなら), Microsoft
Windows had fallen below iOS in some countries
Links 18/04/2025: Layoffs at Microsoft Infosys and Qt Becoming Increasingly Proprietary (Plus Slop)
Links for the day
Google News is Dying
treating MElon's algorithmic/biased site as a source of verified news
Microsoft's Attack Dogs Have Failed. Now What?
It would be utterly foolish to assume that Microsoft has any intention of changing
All Your "Github Projects" Will be Gone One Day (Just Like Skype)
If you have code you wish to share and keep, then start learning how to do so on your own
To Understand Who's Truly Controlling You Follow the Trail of Censorship (or Self-Censorship)
Do not let media steal and steer the narrative; CoCs are not about "social justice", they're about corporate domination
Fedora Already Lost Its Soul Under IBM
Fedora used to be very strict compared to many other distros and it had attracted very bright volunteers
Microsoft is Still Attacking GNU/Linux and the Net
Microsoft bribed the government using money that did not even exist
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 17, 2025
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Pinephone Pro and Linux is too Easy
Links for the day