Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
,----[ Quote ]
| They've done the same thing with the Web. Any web browser should be able to
| view any site. Instead, we have sites that exclude anything but Internet
| Explorer, and even some sites that exclude all but specific versions. The
| amount of pressure Microsoft is able to put on users without most of them
| even realizing it is incredible. They provide a "free" browser with their OS,
| and users never realize they are seeing a side of the Web unavailable if they
| switch; and if they do switch, it's nearly impossible to get some sites to
| work, leaving the impression the alternative product is somehow defective.
|
| So Microsoft owns the game, and they don't really want any other players.
| Which is probably why they're currently trying to buy Yahoo! And they have
| the money to do it. Hell, they even lied to a judge and tried to get away
| with it. Come to think of it, I'd say they did.
`----
http://goodcomputing.blogspot.com/2008/02/lies-damn-lies-and-statistics.html
Related:
[From the horse's own mouth (Microsoft on paying 'analysts' to lie)]
http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/3000/PX03096.pdf
Other Underreported Stories: Analyst Integrity?
,----[ Quote ]
| There was a pretty interesting discussion with views on both sides. Some felt
| that the rumors have been so persistent that, well, where there's smoke
| there's fire. Others saying they have heard from someone who heard from
| someone that once they started paying their exposure improved. Others saying
| it's just like the rumors that magazine advertisers get better reviews, an
| accusation that has been levied to Ziff-Davis publications, as well as
| photography and stereo equipment magazines for years.
`----
http://weblog.infoworld.com/openresource/archives/2007/12/other_underrepo.html?source=rss
Credibility Of Analysts
,----[ Quote
| Research firms make their living by offering expert advice to business and
| technology people about the best ways to invest their IT dollars. It can be
| invaluable insight, but only if that analysis comes with no strings attached.
| And on that, there's no guarantee.
|
| Forrester, Gartner, IDC, and others insist their output is squeaky clean, yet
| they also rake in millions providing services to the very same companies they
| monitor, heavyweights like Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle. Which leads to
| a question that continues to dog the research firms: How much influence do
| technology vendors have over their work?
`----
http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=CTCBZVQX5MTSCQSNDLPSKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=178601879&queryText=analyst+influence
,----[ Quotes with annotation ]
| "(Microsoft manager:) I don't like the fact that the report show us losing
| on TCO on webservers. I don't like the fact that the report show us losing
| on availability (windows was down more than linux). And I don't like the
| fact that the reports says nothing new is coming with windows .net server."
|
| [...]
|
| "I don't like it to be public on the doc that we sponsored it because I
| don't think the outcome is as favorable as we had hoped. I just don't like
| competitors using it as ammo against us. It is easier if it doesn't mention
| that we sponsored it."
`----
http://antitrust.slated.org/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/9000/PX09695.pdf
|
|
