INQhack survives Vistability test in Volesville
,----[ Quote ]
| The Vole (Microsoft) supposedly invited The INQ over for tea because
| we are notorious "Microsoft doubters" - and we were accompanied by
| other supposed Vole doubters such as the folk from lifehacker and
| a very nice man from Slashdot, as well as some Microsoft MvPs.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36312
Once again, they are trying to change honest media in order to have everybody
write stuff that favours them. They are trying to convert the entire press
to cherish the "Microsoft religion".
Posted earlier:
Microsoft desperately wants my love -- and yours
,----[ Quote ]
| I spent December seventh, eighth, and ninth in Seattle as Microsoft's
| guest. Microsoft flew me there from Florida at its expense, put me up
| in a nice hotel, provided decent food, and comped me and four other
| invitees to this "special conference" with presentations about the
| marvels of Vista and other recent or upcoming Microsoft products. They
| didn't quite play the old Beatles song "Love Me Do" in the background,
| but it was the event's unstated theme.
`----
http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/12/12/085222
There are many scenarios where Microsoft tries to lure in Linux developers,
e.g.:
PHP, Windows: Not an Oxymoron?
,----[ Quote ]
| Though Microsoft is a sponsor of the php|works conference, Stagner noted
| for the record that Microsoft did not pay for him to speak and he wasn't
| lost and knows that the conference isn't TechED.
`----
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3632136
LinuxChix Brazil Meeting - Webcast, teachers and sponsors
,----[ Quote ]
| To make all this possible, we this year have the support of several
| companies and people, and two major sponsors: Caixa Economica Federal and
| Microsoft. The Caixa, as a Brazil federal institution, has always been
| involved in supporting development projects. And to go ahead with its
| "let's talk" movement, Microsoft supports the Meeting, as well will also
| be open to talk about their recent actions to cooperate and interoperate
| with Open Source community. We invite all attendees to debate with the
| representants their ideas and give suggestions.
`----
http://www.linuxchix.org.br/?q=node/72
http://www.techxworld.com/registration/index.cfm?fuseaction=dynamic&v=0&p=5069&code=digg
Interoperability? Microsoft?
They have also tried luring in many embedded developers by offering freebies,
XBoxes, etc. Open Source companies receive Microsoft money (not just Novell)
to be working towards the bettermen of/for Windows, too.
Developers are flocking to Linux, still.
Study: Developers Favor Linux
,----[ Quote ]
| "Regardless of what kind of developer you are, you're still trying to
| make a living, and target the operating system that?s controlling the
| market."
|
| However, in the most recent survey, the developers' forecast of their
| target platform has changed. For the first time, these developers said
| that in the next 12 to 18 months they expect to be developing more Linux
| apps than Windows apps.
`----
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3645766
More on Microsoft's intervention with the media and information:
Microsoft Press Releases: Read Between the Lines
,----[ Quote ]
| We have a game we play around the office here with Microsoft press
| releases. The game is called Find the words that make the headline
| true. It's not always easy.
|
| [...]
|
| Our point: Microsoft has a long history of using press releases top
| romote their product momentum in shall we say interesting ways,
| using words like "fastest growing" (meaning, the number we started
| with was really really small) to redefining words such as "sold."
| It's not good marketing practice. Why? Because once consumers and
| press people figure out you are playing lawyer, they stop believing
| you and your brand. And that's more likely to do you harm than good.
`----
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/061211/22190_id.html?.v=1
Microsoft's Xbox 360 US sales-NPD story withdrawn
,----[ Quote ]
| The Los Angeles story headlined "Microsoft's Xbox 360 US sales
| top first Xbox--NPD" is withdrawn because the data supporting the
| story may be inaccurate. Reuters is waiting for an update from the
| company. A new story may be issued.
`----
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20061208:MTFH45656_2006-12-08_01-12-52_N07221320&type=comktNews&rpc=44
Microsoft Xbox to Join the Battle for Video Downloading
,----[ Quote ]
| Editors' Note: November 10, 2006, Friday An article in Business Day
| on Tuesday described a decision by Microsoft to offer movies and
| episodes of television shows for downloading through its Xbox Live
| online service in the United States.
|
| The article quoted Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle
| Group, discussing the features that set Xbox Live service apart
| and its position in the market.
|
| But the article did not note that Mr. Enderle had Microsoft as a client,
| a fact later pointed out by a reader. Mr. Enderle does consulting work
| for several of Microsoft's product groups, though not for the one
| developing the Xbox; still, had The Times known of Mr. Enderle's work
| for Microsoft, it would not have sought out his opinion on the product.
`----
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50713F83A5B0C748CDDA80994DE404482
http://tinyurl.com/y3avsv
Corporate Propaganda Still On the News: Study Finds Local Stations
Overwhelmingly Fail to Disclose VNRs
,----[ Quote ]
| A new study by the Center for Media and Democracy says Americans are
| still being shown corporate public relations videos disguised as news
| reports on newscasts across the country.
`----
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/14/1518200
Wrong Yesterday Wrong Today Wrong Tomorrow
,----[ Quote ]
| I just got through watching a segment on the Today Show on NBC
| highlighting the launch of the Microsoft Zune.
|
| First of all, I thought journalists were suppose to reveal their
| affiliations with any product if such an affiliation exists.
| Microsoft owns a stake in NBC ie MSNBC News Network.
|
| [...]
|
| Second, all the side by side product comparisons showed 4th Gen iPods
| with monochrome screens with no song selected or playing, while the
| Zune was playing a video.
|
| [...]
|
| This isn't the first time NBC has misled its morning viewers with
| puff pieces about the Zune.
`----
http://fixyourthinking.com/2006/11/wrong-yesterday-wrong-today-wrong.html
Bill Gates lends cash to buy newspapers
$350 million to MediaNews
,----[ Quote ]
| Gates involvement has been very behind the scenes. In fact many of
| those involved in the deal didn'teven know he was one of the investors.
| It was carried out through the Gates Foundation, the world's largest
| philanthropy outfit.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33849
Should MSNBC really be "reviewing" (Microsoft's) Gears of War?
,----[ Quote ]
| MSNBC recently reviewed Gears of War, calling it the Xbox 360's first
| killer app.... Nowhere on the page is any indication of the possible
| ethical issue MSNBC is "Microsoft-NBC", and the site is hosted as a
| subdomain of msn.com (a major Microsoft portal). Is this really balanced
| journalism?
`----
http://www.thisisby.us/index.php/content/should_msnbc_really_be__quot_reviewing_quot__gears_of_war_
Has Demetri Martin Jumped the Shark by Getting Into Bed with Microsoft?
Clarification on "Clearification" Marketing Campaign
,----[ Quote ]
| When I first saw the Clearification website, I just thought it was
| Demetri's new project. But I did wonder why the videos were of such
| high production value. Turns out that Microsoft is footing the bill
| to not only this site, but are also underwritting his current tour.
`----
http://www.themodernage.org/2006/11/12/demetri-martin-bring-clearification-to-the-web/
http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/gizmos/2005/11/2_grassroots_an.html
,----[ Quote ]
| "Some years back, Microsoft practiced a lot of dirty tricks using
| online mavens to go into forums and create Web sites extolling the virtues
| of Windows over OS/2. They were dubbed the Microsoft Munchkins, and it
| was obvious who they were and what they were up to. But their numbers
| and energy (and they way they joined forces with nonaligned dummies who
| liked to pile on) proved too much for IBM marketers, and Windows wont
| he operating-system war through fifth-column tactics"
|
| Mr Dvorak wonders if Microsoft is today using reverse-dirty-tricks
| to promote the Xbox 360: pay people to create Web sites that slam the
| gaming computer in order to provoke a barrage of defenders.
`----
Recent examples
,----[ Quote ]
| In 2001, the Los Angeles Times accused Microsoft of astroturfing
| when hundreds of similar letters were sent to newspapers voicing
| disagreement with the United States Department of Justice and its
| antitrust suit against Microsoft. The letters, prepared by Americans
| for Technology Leadership, had in some cases been mailed from
| deceased citizens or nonexistent addresses.
`----
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astroturfing
A new Microsoft-commissioned anti-Linux study debuts
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft seemingly has backed off from trumpeting its "Get the
| Facts" studies, as of late. But that doesn't mean the company has
| ceased commissioning research outfits to perform its anti-Linux dirty
| work.
|
| On September 25, Mercer Management Consulting released a new
| Microsoft-backed study. The study is entitled "Driving Lower TCO and
| Rapid ROI through UNIX Migrations." The synopsis: "Microsoft Windows
| the preferred choice for UNIX migration when IT organizations migrate
| servers as part of a focused effort to improve business processes,
| deploy critical applications or restructure their IT architecture."
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/index.php?p=12
IDC pronounces Linux unimportant to European economy
,----[ Quote ]
| A recent IDC white paper on the economic impact of Microsoft's super
| soaraway new Vista operating system seems to be lacking one crucial
| ingredient -- other operating systems.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34542
ToorCon ("Firefox security is a mess") sponsored by Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| Lately, I read the headline: "Open Source browser Firefox is so
| critically flawed that it is impossible to fix, according to two
| hackers." Further on, in the ZDNet article I read: "The hackers claim
| they know of about 30 unpatched Firefox flaws. They don't plan to
| disclose them, instead holding onto the bugs."
|
| Since that sounds suspicious, I decided to start searching for
| connections with MS. Easy enough, here it is...
`----
http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/70873/index.html
Microsoft Traps and Hunts for Bloggers in India !!
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has announced the "Microsoft BlogStars" contest, to Hunts
| for Developer Bloggers in India. After feeling the power and increase of
| the Bloggers community in India, Microsoft tries to trap and hunt Bloggers
| in India to buildup the blogging community, for writing blog posts
| supporting towards Microsoft Technologies.
`----
http://i5bala.blogspot.com/2006/10/microsoft-traps-and-hunts-for-bloggers.html
,----[ Quote ]
| Could there be more bad news? Of course! Even Paul Thurrott isn't
| impressed with the Zune, calling its pricing strategy the "makings of
| a disaster." Misery! Not only has the Zune suffered a horrific wreck of
| a product introduction, but Annie Wilkes is at the foot of the bed saying
| she doesn't approve of how things are going.
|
| If your number one fan is sending you hate mail, you have a problem.
| So what's with all the Zune related web sites carefully repeating the
| same talking points? It's called astroturfing.
|
| Instead of inspiring actual interest in a grassroots fashion, Microsoft
| has resorted to spreading fake grass, crafting each site to suggestt
| he appearance of something other than the advertisement it is.
|
| This is similar to the scam Microsoft pulled with its own imitation of
| Apple's Switchers ad campaign. Titled "Confessions of a Mac to PC
| Convert," the ad portrayed a professionally dressed woman complaining
| about her Mac, but ended up being a canned picture pulled from stock
| photography and voiced by a professional writer.
|
| Similarly, Greenpeace staffers have assigned to post astroturf comments
| on websites saying "I'm a Mac user and gosh darn it I think that
| Greenpeace is alright with all their concern about the ecology!" More
| on that scam later!
|
| One would expect a certain level of interest and excitement out of
| Microsoft's own users, but that isn't really happening. Nearly every
| Zune site on the web is carefully stepping around the piles of problems
| to spend a lot of time on Microsoft supplied bullet points, including
| the "celebration of music," the slightly larger or at least
| stretched display, and how wireless DRM sharing is such a
| brilliant idea.
`----
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Home/9F60D74A-0E27-4F5F-B88D-835974628809.html
,----[ Quote ]
| Long before it employed bloggers to do the job for it, Microsoft hired
| sympathetic members of the public to make its case in online forums,
| posing as disinterested citizens. Things got much more professional as
| the antitrust trial unfurled. After hiring DCI in the late 1990s,
| Microsoft created two new trade groups, the Association for Competitive
| Technology (ACT), and the Americans for Technology Leadership (ALT),
| and marshaled campaigns such as "Freedom to Innovate" - encouraging
| Windows users the chance to make spontaneous gestures of support for
| Chairman Bill.
|
| These weren't always too successful. A campaign in 2001 to petition 17
| state's Attorney Generals - who had pooled resources to bring their
| own antitrust action against Microsoft - resulted in supportive letters
| being written by dead people.
|
| And the astroturf taint continues today.
|
| Most recently, a spoof video portraying Al Gore as a Penguin was reported
| to have originated from a computer registered to the DCI Group, although
| the lobby group said it did not fund or approve the video.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/14/google_lobby/
MSN Is Spamming The Blogosphere
,----[ Quote ]
| Mr. Youth LLC is a marketing firm and lists MSN as a customer. Their
| website is here: http://www.mryouth.com/ Their phone number is
| (212) 779-8700.
|
| I've talked to a couple of other bloggers who said they are receiving
| similar comments on their blogs. This pisses me off because MSN/Mr.
| Youth should 1) be more upfront about their true identity, and 2)
| provide a real e-mail address so that I can request they take my
| blog off their marketing campaign.
`----
http://www.scott-o-rama.com/2006/12/06/msn-is-spamming-the-blogosphere/
|
|
