Prepare for Yer Doom, Ye XP-Snarfing Blowfish

Piracy helped the young generation discover computers. It set off the development of the IT industry in Romania. It helped Romanians improve their creative capacity in the IT industry, which has become famous around the world. … Ten years ago, it was an investment in Romania’s friendship with Microsoft and with Bill Gates.”

— Romanian President Traian Basescu to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in remarks delivered at the opening of Microsoft’s Global Technology Support Center in Bucharest, Feb. 1, 2007

Like consumer OS adoption rates, piracy rates for Windows XP are much higher than for Windows Vista. And with XP scheduled to be discontinued once and for all next year, Microsoft is stepping up efforts to stem its spread through piracy. To that end, the company has declared Tuesday Oct. 21 Global Anti-Piracy Day. And to celebrate it, the company is launching a series of education and enforcement actions in 49 countries on six continents around the world. A broad initiative. So broad, in fact, that Microsoft has actually created an interactive piracy map that describes its efforts in particular countries.

That said, Microsoft (MSFT) is realistic in its goals. “Are we able to solve absolutely every problem?” asked Microsoft Director of Intellectual Property, Vanessa Hutley. “No … there are some people who will always not want to pay for something, and there are always people who will want to exploit.”