Ｉｓ Ｍｉｃｒｏｓｏｆｔ Ｊｕｓｔｉｆｉｅｄ ｔｏ ‘Ｂｌａｃｋ Ｏｕｔ’ Ｐｉｒａｔｅｄ Ｓｏｆｔｗａｒｅ Ｕｓｅｒｓ？

Microsoft came down hard on pirate us-ers of its operating system in China on October 21, causing deep-seated rumblings among many computer users. The company launched its Windows Genuine Advantage and Office Genuine Advantage tools to test the legitimacy of Microsoft software appli-cations in China's computers. Those whose software failed the tests would see a blacked out desktop on the hour, every hour, or a permanent warning against loading pirated Office software.