Windows Vista in Sri Lanka

Microsoft Windows Vista was launched in Sri Lanka at a special event in BMICH. The launch event included traditional dances and a speech by the General Manager Windows Client Group Asia, Kenneth Lundin. Kenneth Lundin later gave an interview to the Sunday Observer about competition in Sri Lanka and the rest of Asia.

Lundin said that Linux and Mac OS X did not pose any competition to Windows Vista, but the main competition comes from pirate copies. In Sri Lanka itself, places like Majestic City are filled with pirate copies of well known software. Are the Sri Lankan authorities going to take steps to stop software piracy, like they do sometimes for Hindi films? Probably not immediately. Even if they do (like when raiding shops for pirate copies of Hindi films), the next day you will see pirate copies galore once again. Most shops will escape.

The original versions of Windows Vista will be available at leading IT stores like PC House and ABC Computers. The price of Vista Ultimate will be around Rs 40,000 or higher. Hopefully they will reduce prices of Vista Starter edition and other basic editions for the Asian markets (thats what they said they will do).