Research suggests software piracy hurts adoption of Linux as a desktop OS

I think this begs the question of why people pirate Windows instead of using Linux.

Because they don't know about Linux?

Because it's easier to get a working Windows installation, e.g. from a friend who also pirated Windows instead of using Linux?

Because Windows is (supposedly or really) better?

Because people want to use software (e.g. games) which is not (again, supposedly or really) available for Linux?