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Memo to Microsoft: Enough With The Bribery
,----[ Quote ]
| Basically, Microsoft is running a variation on a psychological concept known
| as operant conditioning. Think of yourself for a moment as a mouse in a
| scientist's box, being trained to peck a lever (which, in this case,
| represents a Live search query). Originally, your reward -- a food pellet --
| came out two months later. Now, your pellet comes out within seconds.
|
| [...]
|
| Here's the problem, though: Despite Microsoft's recent claims that its
| efforts were succeeding -- those claims, by the way, were based on a study
| Microsoft itself commissioned -- the numbers just don't add up. Offering a
| few bucks may get people to use the service once, but it's not enough to get
| them to leave their preferred product behind for good.
|
| Don't take my word for it. Check out traffic measurement company ComScore's
| analysis of the shifting search market share over the past several months:
|
| April 2008 (before Microsoft launched Live Cashback)
|
| • Microsoft: 9.1%
|
| • Google: 61.6%
|
| • Yahoo: 20.4%
|
| October 2008 (most recent rankings):
|
| • Microsoft: 8.5%
|
| • Google: 63.1%
|
| • Yahoo: 20.5%
`----
http://www.pcworld.com/article/154740/Live_search.html?tk=rss_news
New Microsoft Cashback Deal Follows Outage
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is making payback quicker on its Cashback program after the service
| suffered an outage Friday and failed to give some people discounts they were
| eligible for.
`----
http://www.pcworld.com/article/154744/.html?tk=rss_news
Recent:
Microsoft Steps Up Program To Bribe Users To Search
,----[ Quote
| Apparently Microsoft's ongoing program to bribe users to use its search
| engine wasn't getting enough attention, and the company seems to be upping
| the ante. At least for a little while, it's now giving 25% cash back on eBay
| purchases (limited to $200).
`----
http://techdirt.com/articles/20081109/0144342776.shtml
Microsoft ups search engine bribe
,----[ Quote
| As part of its ongoing effort to shrink the Google gap with shameless
| bribery, Microsoft is now offering 25 per cent off eBay purchases made by way
| of its Live Search engine.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/11/microsoft_boosts_ebay_cashback/
More Microsoft Live Search Bribery
,----[ Quote ]
| Just using Microsoft online services isn't enough to get your ticket punched,
| though. You must run Internet Explorer (6.0 or higher) when you use those
| services. Even visiting getsearchperks.com with Firefox or Opera is a futile
| exercise; you will have to start IE to see what goodies the site has to
| offer. Oh, and if you sign up you'll have to install the Perk Counter toolbar
| to let Microsoft keep track of your tickets.
`----
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/10/more_microsoft.html
Microsoft Adds Incentives to Small-business Program
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has given small and mid-sized business customers more ways to earn
| cash to buy its software through partners by adding new products and product
| groups to its Big Easy program.
`----
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/151593/microsoft_adds_incentives_to_smallbusiness_program.html
A Microsoft Midlife Crisis?
,----[ Quote ]
| Is Microsoft undergoing a midlife crisis? The software titan's recent mergers
| and acquisitions track record suggests as much. In an attempt to keep up with
| Google and other Web 2.0 stars, Microsoft looks as if it is getting pushed
| around at the bargaining table. The latest act of profligacy came yesterday
| when it paid a whopping premium to acquire Fast Search & Transfer for $1.2
| billion.
`----
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119984469725776893.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo
Microsoft's Market Cap Falls $24B in 17 Days
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft is on the list. Today, the stock closed at $25.01 a share, down
| $2.39, or 8.72 percent.
`----
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/corporate/microsofts_market_cap_falls_24b_in_two_weeks.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
Microsoft calls on Congress to reconsider bailout
,----[ Quote ]
| Following the massive Wall Street sell-off, Microsoft on Monday called on
| Congress to revisit its bailout decision, saying government action
| is "vitally important."
`----
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10053774-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Ballmer: Congress must 'stabilize' financial crisis
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10054252-75.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Ballmer says Microsoft not immune from global crisis
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/bs_nm/us_microsoft_ballmer;_ylt=Au5VO.rh_OuPGHCBr9O.m4K573QA
Microsoft loses 90 Billion Dollars
http://slated.org/microsoft_loses_90_billion_dollars
Ex-Microsoft boss sentenced
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/371393_msftcourt19.html
Former Microsoft Manager Gets 2 Years In Jail
http://news.portalit.net/fullnews_former-microsoft-manager-gets-2-years-in-jail_1427.html
SEC bans short-selling of 799 financial stocks
,----[ Quote ]
| Short selling involves borrowing a company's shares, selling them, and
| pocketing the difference when the stock falls. It is a legitimate method of
| trading -- it can make markets more efficient and bring in more capital --
| but the government argues that it has widened the scope of the recent
| financial crisis and contributed to the collapsing values of investment and
| commercial bank stocks in particular.
`----
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D939RL7O0.htm
SEC Foresees Rise in Fraud Cases
,----[ Quote ]
| Laying out his priorities, the new enforcement chief for the Securities and
| Exchange Commission in San Francisco said Thursday he expects an upswing in
| fraud cases against public companies.
`----
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202424479239
Related:
Microsoft's Accounting Under Scrutiny
,----[ Quote ]
| The company has still not made enough information public to provide analysts
| with detailed information on the profitability of its MSN Internet business,
| Mr. Galvin said, adding, ''There's still room for them to obfuscate.''
`----
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E1DC173DF932A35754C0A96F958260
Microsoft - Undeserving of Libertarian Praise
,----[ Quote ]
| One strategy that Microsoft has employed in the past is paying for the
| silence of people and companies. Charles Pancerzewski, formerly Microsoft's
| chief auditor, became aware of Microsoft's practice of carrying earnings from
| one accounting period into another, known as "managing earnings". This
| practice smoothes reported revenue streams, increases share value, and
| misleads employees and shareholders. In addition to being unethical, it's
| also illegal under U.S. Securities Law and violates Generally Accepted
| Accounting Practices (Fink). Mr. Pancerzewski claims he was forced to retire,
| for raising the issue of deferred earnings with Microsoft executives, thereby
| making plausible deniability more difficult for said executives. He has since
| sued Microsoft, who responded by settling out of court, but also sealing the
| records to prevent public disclosure (Fink).
`----
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/8/20/11034/3908
Microsoft Agrees To Refrain From Accounting Violations in SEC Settlement
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft has agreed to refrain from accounting violations to settle federal
| regulators' allegations that it misrepresented its financial performance, the
| government announced Monday.
|
| Under a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the software
| giant neither admitted to nor denied wrongdoing. No fine was imposed.
|
| The SEC alleged that Microsoft's accounting practices from July 1994 through
| June 1998 caused its income to be substantially misstated.
`----
http://www.crn.com/it-channel/18819490
"Microsoft Tax," MSN Enters the Black Hole, New Names for NT
,----[ Quote ]
| The lawsuit, filed last year by Mukilteo City Councilman Charles
| Pancerzewski, alleges that he was forced to resign as Microsoft's general
| auditor in January 1996 after working for the company's internal auditing
| department for more than four years. The suit claims that a "significantly
| younger man" with little auditing experience was picked to replace
| Pancerzewski, who was finally forced out because he discovered Microsoft
| might have been violating government regulations. Once Pancerzewski left the
| company he was replaced by the younger man, who his attorneys believe
| was "less prone to raise issues of possible legal improprieties which could
| threaten or embarrass Microsoft or its management.
`----
http://www.msboycott.com/news/98_06_22.shtml
SEC Investigating Microsoft Practices -- Earnings Manipulated, Former Employee
Contends
,----[ Quote]
| "The CFO to whom Charlie was reporting his concerns about illegality was the
| biggest advocate for the very illegality that was going on," Vial argued in
| court a year ago.
`----
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19990701&slug=2969514
Microfraud?
,----[ Quote ]
| THE ALLEGATIONS WERE shocking: For years, Microsoft has systematically
| distorted its profit figures in an effort to consistently beat Wall Street
| expectations and keep its stock price steadily rising. The false reports
| would violate SEC regulations, and amount to outright fraud.
|
| More shocking was the source of the allegations: Microsoft's chief of
| internal audits, Charlie Pancerzewski, who reported directly to the company's
| chief financial officer.
|
| Most shocking of all was what happened to Pancerzewski when he reported the
| suspicious bookkeeping to his supervisors, Microsoft CFO Mike Brown and chief
| operating officer Bob Herbold, in the spring of 1995. Soon afterward,
| Pancerzewski—who for nearly five years had received stellar performance
| evaluations—received his first-ever unsatisfactory one, and was eventually
| forced to resign.
|
| Two months ago, Microsoft quietly settled a lawsuit containing these
| allegations, filed in 1997 by Pancerzewski under the Whistleblowers
| Protection Act. The auditor claimed he was wrongfully terminated after
| telling his supervisors that Microsoft might be breaking securities and tax
| laws. The lawsuit made its tortuous way through several rounds of pretrial
| motions until last fall, when US District Judge Carolyn Dimmick denied
| Microsoft's final plea for summary judgment, finding credible evidence that
| Microsoft may have violated SEC rules, as Pancerzewski alleged. Shortly
| thereafter, Microsoft and Pancerzewski settled out of court. Terms of the
| agreement were sealed, but one source who claims familiarity with the case
| says that Microsoft paid Pancerzewski $4 million.
`----
http://web.archive.org/web/20070308032343rn_2/www.seattleweekly.com/1999-01-06/news/microfraud.php
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