国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

Malaysia's brazen software pirates are hawking the next version of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system years before it is supposed to be on sale.

Underscoring the scale of U.S. companies' copyright problems in Asia, CDs containing software Microsoft has code named "Longhorn" are on sale for six ringgit ($1.58) in southern Malaysia.

Bill Gates says Longhorn will rank as Microsoft's largest software launch this decade.  [AP]

Microsoft's current version of Windows, XP, sells for upwards of $100 in the United States.

The software is an early version of Longhorn demonstrated and distributed at a conference for Microsoft programmers in Los Angeles in October, Microsoft Corporate Attorney Jonathan Selvasegaram told Reuters.

"It's not a ready product," he said from Malaysia. "Even if it works for a while, I think it's very risky," to install on a home computer, he said.

Chairman Bill Gates has said Longhorn, which is not expected to be released before 2005, would rank as Microsoft's largest software launch this decade.

The software is on sale in the largest shopping complex in Johor Bahru, the Malaysian city bordering Singapore, alongside thousands of pirated programs, music CDs and DVDs.

Discs in plastic covers hang from racks in more than a dozen specialized stores in the Holiday Plaza center, even though it has its own police station.

Such piracy is rampant in Asia, although the United States praised Malaysia for seizing thousands of illegal discs since May.

U.S. trade losses due to piracy in Malaysia fell to $242 million last year from $316 million in 2001.

Selvasegaram said pirates would shut their shops whenever Malaysian authorities launched a clampdown, only to reopen within days or even hours.

He said software companies were working with the authorities on the problem, but the police were more concerned about controlling pornography.

Longhorn promises new methods of storing files, tighter links to the Internet, greater security and fewer annoying reboots, Microsoft has said.

Close

Today's Top News		Top International News
+PLA: Chen is to blame if war breaks out ( 2003-12-03) +US actions spur on Taiwan separatists ( 2003-12-03) +Bloody business undermines public health ( 2003-12-03) +US urged to adhere to commitment on Taiwan ( 2003-12-03) +Private entrepreneurs gain political status ( 2003-12-03)		+Asians pirate Microsoft 'Longhorn' ( 2003-12-03) +Trying to save a catfish as big as a bear ( 2003-12-03) +Russia rules out accepting Kyoto Protocol ( 2003-12-03) +Saudi, Kenya attacks possible, US warns ( 2003-12-03) +Pentagon halts $18bn Boeing deal ( 2003-12-03)