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Microsoft is to offer hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers who use pirated software a free upgrade to legitimate copies of the Windows operating system, as it seeks to consolidate its unofficial position as a leading technology supplier to the world’s most populous country.
微软(Microsoft)拟让使用盗版Windows软件的数亿中国消费者免费升级至正版Windows操作系统。该公司正寻求在全球人口最多的国家巩固其“非正式”领先技术供应商的地位。
Piracy has long bedevilled Microsoft in China, where it is estimated that 80 per cent of PCs running Windows are using pirated software.
盗版长期困扰着微软在华业务。在中国，运行Windows的个人电脑(PC)估计有80%在使用盗版软件。
Ironically the illegitimate software has ensured that Windows remains the dominant PC operating system in the country, reducing the risk that consumers will turn to free alternatives such as Linux.
具有讽刺意味的是，这些非法软件确保了Windows仍是中国占主导地位的PC操作系统，减少了消费者转向免费替代品（如Linux）的风险。
That has given Microsoft a foot in the door to one of the world’s most promising tech markets — and a chance to sell its online services and other products — at a time when rivals including Google and Facebook are in effect shut out.
这使微软在全球最有前途的技术市场之一获得立足点，并为其带来销售其在线服务和其他产品的机会。相比之下，谷歌(Google)和Facebook等竞争对手目前实际上被中国拒之门外。
Terry Myerson, head of Windows, announced the giveaway plan at an event in Shenzhen yesterday. He also used the occasion to reveal that Windows 10, which had been expected to be released late in the year, would be made available “this summer”.
微软Windows部门负责人特里•迈尔森(Terry Myerson)昨日在深圳举行的Windows硬件工程产业创新峰会(WinHEC)上宣布了免费升级计划。他还利用这个机会透露，此前预计将在今年底发布的Windows 10，会在“今年夏天”出炉。
The offer of a free upgrade is a smart way for Microsoft to “keep users in the fold,” said Al Hilwa, an analyst at IDC, a tech research firm. Giving away the technology also reflects the fact that the way the company makes money “will ultimately shift to apps, services, content and hardware as opposed to direct OS licences,” he said.
科技研究公司IDC的分析师阿尔•希尔瓦(Al Hilwa)表示，提供免费升级的机会是微软“留住用户”的高明方式。他表示，免费赠送软件还反映出这样一个事实，即该公司赚钱的方式“最终将转移到应用、服务、内容和硬件，而不是直接的操作系统许可证”。
The free copies of Windows 10 in China will be distributed through partnerships with local tech companies, which will be able to use the offer to cement their own relationships with consumers.
免费版本的Windows 10将通过与中国当地科技公司的合作伙伴关系进行分发，让后者能够借此机会巩固它们与消费者的关系。
Microsoft declined to comment on the commercial terms it had reached with these companies, or the precise methods it would use to “legitimise” PCs that have been using stolen software. Qihu 360, a Chinese security company, will let the more than 500m customers it has on Windows PCs download the new version of the software “with just a few clicks with accelerated download speeds”, the US software company said. The security company’s vast customer base represents a large share of the 1.5bn devices that Microsoft says run Windows.
微软拒绝评论其与这些公司达成的商业条款，或者它究竟将用什么方式让使用盗版软件的PC“合法化”。这家美国软件公司表示，中国安全软件公司奇虎360 (Qihu 360)将让其超过5亿的PC用户“仅需加速下载的几次点击”即可实现Windows 10升级。奇虎360的庞大客户群在微软所称的15亿Windows设备中代表着很大一块份额。
PC maker Lenovo, social networking and gaming company Tencent and smartphone maker Xiaomi will also take part in the free upgrade plan, which will cover tablet and smartphone versions of Windows 10 as well as PCs.
PC制造商联想(Lenovo)、社交网络和游戏公司腾讯(Tencent)以及智能手机制造商小米(Xiaomi)也将参与免费升级计划。除了PC以外，该计划还将覆盖Windows 10的平板电脑和智能手机版本。
Microsoft said this year that customers who are using legitimate versions of Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows Phone 8 would be offered a free upgrade to Windows 10 for the first year it is available.
微软今年早些时候宣布，使用正版Windows 7、Windows 8.1或Windows Phone 8的用户，将可以在Windows 10上柜销售后的第一年里免费升级至该版本。
