Someone I know who has been in the cracking/warez scene for over 20 years, and did a lot of analysis on the XP activation scheme when it first came out, had this to say about Windows 10 and the trend in general:
Remember Gates said, about piracy "we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade"? It is happening now. And lots of other software/service are becoming "free" or massive discount, since selling your data is much more profit. Crack was about using software without paying money. Maybe in future it will be without paying with personal data or privacy. We will find a way, always. :-)
Gates shed some light on his own hard-nosed business philosophy. "Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, but people don't pay for the software," he said. "Someday they will, though. As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade."
Remember Gates said, about piracy "we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade"? It is happening now. And lots of other software/service are becoming "free" or massive discount, since selling your data is much more profit. Crack was about using software without paying money. Maybe in future it will be without paying with personal data or privacy. We will find a way, always. :-)