Microsoft is now taking a tougher stance toward piracy by enforcing that the copy is genuine before you can use some advanced features or download updates. While Microsoft did not endorse pirated copies previously, they did not make it that difficult on the end user. Updates were always available to anyone, and no features were locked out.
While I don’t fault Microsoft for taking a bit of a tougher stance on this, I would like to see them price it a bit more realistically. Hundreds of dollars per copy is a bit high. I know there can be disagreement over that, but I think the software has been around long enough that you would expect it to come down a bit. Also, if you have a pirated copy that you purchased unkowingly, they will license it if you assist them in identifying the source. I don’t see it as unfair, since the customer probably paid full price for the unlicensed version and has a right to a legitimate copy, but turning customers into informants just seems a bit shady.
