How much do people pay for Windows software?

There is a discussion brewing in our local LUG, to do with almost philosophical aspect of software theft.
The basis for the thread lie in one of the most interesting articles on the subject I have ever read:

http://tlug.jp/articles/Windows_Is_Free

As many before, it explores moral aspects of using "second hand" software, but less usually, it attempts to analise the implication of cracked software on the industry itself and how, ironically, the effectively free windows software distorts the balance of marketing power between windows, mac OS and linux.