Ballmer Details China Piracy Problems
Microsoft Corp.’s revenue in China this year will be about 5 percent of what it gets in the U.S. even though personal-computer sales in the two countries are almost equal, Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said in remarks that offer new details on the software giant’s struggle with piracy.
Speaking to Microsoft staff here, Mr. Ballmer rejected the argument, common in China, that many Chinese consumers use pirated software because authentic versions are too expensive. “I’m not saying everybody in China could afford to buy a PC… but if you can, you could afford the software,” he said.
