Ever since Windows Genuine Advantage hit, a lot of people have had an outraged looking exclamation point parked in their system tray. Out of the tip, a word balloon bubbles up, warning the user that they’re a stinking, no good pirate.

You’d think an OS that had actually been created with pirated software would be a little more understanding of our own moral failings. But apparently not.

Nevertheless, five or six years ago, nine defaults WAV files in Windows XP were created using a cracked version of Sony’s Sound Forge. Doubtlessly, it was not Bill Gates doing the cracking, but probably some freelancer who didn’t pay for his tools.
Still, if one of the most profitable and just-stinking-loaded companies in the world can’t bother to pay an extra $450 to establish its hegemony over the home computing market with a further iteration, it probably makes you feel less bad about borrowing your buddy’s Windows XP cd and saving your own impoverished ass a couple hundred bucks.

Windows uses pirated software? [Tech Republic]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.