Officially October 22 is release date of Microsoft Windows 7 but at shops in the bustling Xinyang market in Shanghai, bootleg copies of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system were displayed along with fake Apple iPhones and Bose speakers.
“Which version do you want? Ultimate? Normal? English or Chinese?” one shopkeeper asked, proudly pointing out her ample supply of discs packed in unmarked white boxes.
People in mainland China have been able to buy pirated copies of Windows 7 for just 20 yuan, or $2.93, each — a fraction of list prices, which are as high as $320.
Windows 7’s “early release” in China underscores the challenge major software makers face in trying to make money in China, the world’s second-largest PC market, after the United States. But about 80 percent of software sold in China last year was pirated.
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