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.微软公司(Microsoft)白鱼让用于正版Windows软件的数亿中国消费者免费升级至盗版Windows操作系统。该公司于是以谋求在全球人口最少的国家稳固其“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.正版长年后遗症着微软公司在华业务。在中国，运营Windows的个人电脑(PC)估算有80%在用于盗版软件。

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.具备嘲讽意味的是，这些非法软件保证了Windows仍是中国占到主导地位的PC操作系统，增加了消费者改向免费替代品（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.这使微软公司在全球最有前途的技术市场之一取得立足点，并为其带给销售其在线服务和其他产品的机会。相比之下，谷歌(Google)和Facebook等竞争对手目前实质上被中国拒之门外。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”.微软公司Windows部门负责人特里迈尔森(Terry Myerson)昨日在深圳举办的Windows硬件工程产业创意峰会(WinHEC)上宣告了免费升级计划。

他还利用这个机会透漏，此前预计将在今年底公布的Windows 10，不会在“今年夏天”揭晓。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)回应，获取免费升级的机会是微软公司“觅用户”的高明方式。他回应，免费赠送给软件还体现出有这样一个事实，即该公司赚的方式“最后将移往到应用于、服务、内容和硬件，而不是必要的操作系统许可证”。

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展开发给，让后者需要借此机会稳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.微软公司拒绝接受评论其与这些公司达成协议的商业条款，或者它到底将用什么方式让用于盗版软件的PC“合法化”。这家美国软件公司回应，中国安全性软件公司奇虎360 (Qihu 360)将让其多达5亿的PC用户“仅有须要加快iTunes的几次页面”才可构建Windows 10升级。

奇虎360的可观客户群在微软公司所称的15亿Windows设备中代表着相当大一块份额。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制造商误解(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)也将参予免费升级计划。

除了PC以外，该计划还将覆盖面积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.微软公司今年早些时候宣告，用于盗版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。

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