Disabled mother of four beats off MS, Mounties in piracy case

So, were Microsoft and the Mounties a bit heavy-handed in dealing with 41 year old Brenda Avery and her pirated software? Frankly yes, says Mark J. Hayman:

This sort of story and the zealous nature of the anti-pirates (shouldn't they be patrolling the South China Sea?) are what is keep my position on software piracy to myself.

One can easily envisage a strongly worded LoC to the local paper protesting Mrs. Avery's predicament resulting in the usual band of boys in black with facemasks and automatic weapons coming in through the windows at 3 a.m. to conduct a routine sweep. God help me should they find that UK version of Win2k that I've never tried to install... oh, crap! probably shouldn't have mentioned that.

If you don't think I'm serious by all means do a little research into the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police), known for just such tactics in the pursuit of drugs with the typical result of finding a "small quantity of marijuana" in the 13 year old boy's room. Never hear about the boys in black and blue offering to pay for the property damage or compensate for the terror they induce all for a joint and a matchbox full of seeds.

But, then, I'm an idiot.

We reckon that Brenda got off lightly. Next time they might use the Redmond 'Air Cavalry' - rocket-toting Bell Hueys rumoured to be on 24-hour standby to seek, locate and destroy unauthorised copies of WinXP. You have been warned.