05.31.09
Mainstream Media Successfully (Maybe Voluntarily) Deceived by Microsoft’s Paid Lobbyists
Summary: Newspapers and news sites take instructions from Microsoft proxies
TWO days ago we wrote about Paul Meller’s deficient and flawed coverage from Brussels. He failed to map out Microsoft’s web of hired guns. Now we see other Web sites propagating his mistake. ACT is not an SMB lobby group; It’s a Microsoft lobbyist disguised as an an SMB lobby group, which it is not [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 9]. Also, the actual views expressed in there differ between Microsoft (represented by ACT and CompTIA) and PIN-SME, so there is no consent (contrary to the report from IDG).
The press is generally polluted with misunderstandings of the lobbying game. Maybe it’s deliberate or maybe it’s due to fear of libel allegations. The nationalist Murdoch press describes the handling of a law-unabiding company (Microsoft) as a “strike”. There’s the obvious pro-US bias from the Wall Street Journal, whose implicit job is to defend native corporations (Wall Street trade gives a clue).
Frustrated with past efforts to change Microsoft Corp.’s behavior, European Union regulators are pursuing a new round of sanctions against the software giant that go well beyond fines.
The regulatory push is focused on a longstanding complaint against Microsoft: that it improperly bundles its Web browser with its Windows software. Rather than forcing Microsoft to strip its Internet Explorer from Windows, people close to the case say, the EU is now ready to try the opposite measure: Forcing a bunch of browsers into Windows, thus diluting Microsoft’s advantage.
There are people out there who are in denial over CompTIA being a hired gun of Microsoft [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Luckily, however, more journalists are starting to wake up and realise what CompTIA is all about, but most of them still give it a voice. To give the latest examples:
i. EU’s antitrust case against Microsoft could mean endless ‘crapware’ on PCs
Antitrust regulators at the European Commission want to force Microsoft to open Windows to other browsers, such as Mozilla’s Firefox, Google’s Chrome and Opera Software’s Opera. That, said the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)…
ii. Computer Group Objects To EC Browser Regulations
The Computing Technology Industry Association has warned the European Commission that its remedy for the European browser market could negatively impact the marketplace.
iii. Microsoft Allies Rally Against EU
An industry body partly funded by Microsoft has come to its defence
[...]
This week, the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a 25 year old industry group funded in part by Microsoft, released a statement coming out against the latest EU case against the dominance of Internet Explorer.
Just sit back and watch Microsoft taking over the news. Those who are quoted extensively are mere proxies of the company. They pretend to work on behalf of someone else. █
“Excessive distrust is not less hurtful than its opposite. Most men become useless to him who is unwilling to risk being deceived.”
–Luc De Vauvanargues
