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Having lost his appeal, famed e-waste recycler Eric Lundgren will be serving 15 months in prison for profiting from Windows restore disks. The defendant argued that there was no loss to Microsoft because the disks had no real value, as they could be downloaded for free. The company actually charges a $25 fee for Windows on a refurbished system, however, and has published a series of e-mails proving his guilt.
Neither Microsoft nor any computer manufacturers sell restore disks. They supply them free with new computers and make the software available for free downloading for those who have paid for the software and received a license — typically a sticker with a “Certificate of Authenticity” number on it. Lundgren said that he was trying to make the disks available for those who needed them and that they could be used only on licensed computers.
Neither Microsoft nor any computer manufacturers sell restore disks. They supply them free with new computers and make the software available for free downloading for those who have paid for the software and received a license — typically a sticker with a “Certificate of Authenticity” number on it. Lundgren said that he was trying to make the disks available for those who needed them and that they could be used only on licensed computers.
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