[paramahans]

This sentencing is wrong. Microsoft was not even selling those disks and the computers on which the software was intended to be installed were already licensed to use the software. Just because of some "estimated" or "virtual" losses, this guy is being sent to prison. How screwed up is our justice system?

[eggy]

Read the Microsoft link repeated here for convenience:

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2018/04/27/the-fac...

Microsoft didn't bring up the case, and it's obvious from the guys own emails he was producing counterfeit discs to pass off as genuine for his own profit. If he were blatantly doing it, and not trying to deceive buyers, I would not feel as strongly as I do that he is trying to spin it differently now that he has been caught. If it weren't for profit, he could have spent his efforts publicizing the availability of genuine discs on his blog and elsewhere to get people to keep their old Windows machines. XP didn't officially end until April 2014, and he was doing this in 2012.

In the end, I think 15 years sentence is very harsh considering rapists get an average of 9.8 years, and only serve about 5.4 years.

[s369610]

I think it was only 15 months : "15-month prison term and a $50,000 fine"

[eggy]

Early morning, pre-coffee eyes. Thanks for the correction.

I still think 15 months is too much for what this is even if the guy did it for personal gain. He should have received a fine at most.

I had a similar feeling of the sentence being a bit much in the case of Mark Abene aka Phiber Optik [1] back in my NYC Echo Days (where is Stacy Horn nowadays?). Phiber Optik (Mark Abene)was sent to prison for the AT&T hack to be made an "example" of the "Hacker threat". He served 12 months.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Abene

[interestica]

15 month based on article. Plus fine.

[squirrel]

15 months not years.