Bonum Certa Men Certa

More New Evidence of the Incestuous Relationship Between the BBC and Microsoft

Summary: The BBC and Microsoft share common interests (not just staff) and it shows

A couple of weeks ago we showed that the BBC misrepresented Europe (as in the European Commission). It was wrong about Microsoft antitrust, and not so surprisingly because the BBC too came under European Commission pressure after it had colluded with Microsoft. The BBC continues to turn a blind eye to the inherent insecurity of Windows while illegally hijacking the platform en masse and then 'forgetting' to mention that it is a Windows problem.



“Contrary to common belief, the BBC is run as a business, but it is unique in the sense that it is also a national service.”We could go on forever listing the many posts here about the BBC. Contrary to common belief, the BBC is run as a business, but it is unique in the sense that it is also a national service. It does great disservice at times by misinforming the public and even former employees of the BBC complained about it, including one prominent one whose name was Eric Blair (better known as George Orwell).

Yesterday we wrote about the atrocious Yahoo-Microsoft deal, which sank Yahoo's stock like it was a rock. Needless to say, the BBC portrays this as a good thing, whereas others are calling for regulators to intercept the deal because it is very damaging to competition and to end users. Now catch this stunning coverage of the deal. Look who the BBC is quoting (with an entire video):

Microsoft's Ashley Highfield: "It brings scale and innovation to the search market"


Yes, that's right. The BBC approaches Ashley Highfield, the the man who used the BBC to exclude Microsoft's rivals. The BBC, where he worked and caused trouble for a long time, is now quoting him on behalf of Microsoft. This is insanely creepy.

This morning we also found this report from The Register.

Microsoft to launch UK ad-funded online video player



[...]

The software giant's ad-funded MSN Video Player will be made available to Blighty broadband customers and will feature TV programmes from BBC Worldwide and All3Media.

[...]

Ex-BBC technology chief Ashley Highfield, who quit Project Kangaroo for Microsoft taking on the role of MD and veep of consumer and online in November 2008, told the Guardian that MS had a "fair crack of the whip" with attracting viewers to the service.


Yes, that's Highfield again. How predictable. It is the man who said (wearing a BBC hat): "We have 17.1 million users of bbc.co.uk in the UK and, as far as our server logs can make out, 5 per cent of those [use Macs] and around 400 to 600 are Linux users."

“The BBC hardly ever covers GNU/Linux; when it does, it is very derogatory.”That was a lie.

But wait, that's not all.

On the BBC, Peter Day's new Red Hat interview was very hostile. He gave away his hatred of collaboration, Free software, Wikipedia, people who develop code, and the young(er) generation. It is almost as though the purpose of the interview was to grill, to daemonise, and to be rude. Listen to it for a more personal judgment. It gets crass towards the end. This was debated some more in the IRC channel (later in the day) and more historical context in needed for newcomers to understand the convictions of the BBC, which got filled with former Microsoft staff recently. The BBC hardly ever covers GNU/Linux; when it does, it is very derogatory.

The BBC is usually glorifying Microsoft (even Windows Vista, which is undeniably a failure) and glamourising intellectual monopolies while consistently calling dissenters "pirates". Here is a new BBC article about patents, which totally lacks proper criticism.

The voicemail-to-text service Spinvox has applied for two patents which describe the service as being operated by humans, the BBC has learned.

Spinvox has previously claimed that state-of-the-art speech recognition technology is the basis of its service.

However, its patent applications claim the approach is accurate precisely because it employs human operators.


The BBC needs to advance onto the new age; as it stands, the BBC remains a promoter of DRM, monopolies on knowledge, Windows Vista, Microsoft, the MPAA, and the RIAA. Being a defender of status quo where elite interests are always further advanced is nothing to take pride in. Maybe Auntie Beeb should make a bid for Bill O'Reilly sooner rather than later.

Orwell at the BBC
Eric Blair's memo of resignation from the BBC

Recent Techrights' Posts

Removing the Tumour From IRC
looking back
Windows Sinking Below 13% Market Share in the Island of Jamaica
Microsoft's decline continues and will mostly likely continue indefinitely in Jamaica and its neighbours
Women in Free Software (FOSS) Need Action, Not Mere Words
the men who are loudest about women's rights are some of the very worst offenders
Embrace, Extend, Extinguish Minecraft
These folks should check out Minetest
Techrights Statement on Men Who Viciously Attack Women in Free Software
history shows women will win
 
Gemini Links 16/06/2024: Hand Held Maneuvering Unit and Hugo Static Files
Links for the day
[Meme] The Free(dom) Software Engineer in European Elections
“When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser.”
Vista 11 Was 'Leaked' Exactly 3 Years Ago and This One Picture Says It All
how 'well' Vista 11 has done
A Smokescreen for Brad Smith
Maybe the key point was to say "Linux is not secure either" or "Windows and Linux are equally vulnerable", so don't bother dumping Microsoft
Links 15/06/2024: Microsoft's Intellectual Ventures Attacks Kubernetes With Software Patents, More Layoff Waves
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/06/2024: On Lagrange and on YouTube Getting Worse
Links for the day
Edward Brocklesby: hacker received advance notice of zero-day vulnerabilities in MH and NMH email software
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] Code Liberates Kids
Matthias Kirschner: I can't code, but I can write a book
In Armenia, Bing is Measured at 0.6%, About Ten Times Less Than Yandex
Bing will probably get mothballed in the coming years
[Meme] A Pack and Pact (Collusion Against Computer Users)
They never really cared about users, no more than drug dealers care about drug users...
GNU/Linux in Azerbaijan: From ~0.1% to 7%
Azerbaijan is around the same size as Portugal
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 14, 2024
IRC logs for Friday, June 14, 2024
[Meme] People Who Cannot Find Gainful Employment Because of Their Poor Behaviour Online (Not the People Who Merely Call Them Out on It)
Imagine trying to become a lecturer while talking like this in public
You Too Would Get Nervous
countries where Windows is down to 2%
[Meme] The Two Phases (and Faces) of Microsofters
Microsofters: stalk IRC, then troll IRC
The 'Nobody Reads Techrights Anyway' Crowd
Send In the Clowns
Books in the Making
I intend to spend a considerable amount of time explaining what my family and I were subjected to for the 'crime' of promoting/covering Free software
Microsoft is Still Losing Malta
And GNU/Linux is doing well on laptops and desktops
Tux Machines: Third Party Impending
There will be more next week
Links 14/06/2024: Microsoft Layoffs in the News Again, East-West Conflict/Tensions Update
Links for the day
Links 14/06/2024: Comments on the Death of Email and Lagrange Commentary
Links for the day
Dutch Government Appoints Microsofters to Combat "OSS Fetishism"
What corruption looks like
Microsoft's Collapse in Africa and Shutdown of Entire 'Development Centre'
Unlike what Microsoft claimed in face-saving statements
[Meme] Not Your Typical IRC Troll and Harasser
I say, let's punch nazis...
GNU/Linux's Journey in Qatar: From 0.1% to Over 3%
Windows is no longer an important contender there
Secret Contracts and Corpses
The media pretends it's just some generic "IT" issue, but it is not
Bing Has Run Out of Time and Microsoft Might Dismantle It (Save a Financial Miracle)
How much more of investors' money is Microsoft willing to throw in the trash?
Statement on Antisemitism in Our IRC Network and in Social Control Media
In an ideal world nobody would have to be banned from IRC
Gemini Links 14/06/2024: Ads vs. Content, Why Aliases Are Har
Links for the day
Vista 11 Has Fallen in Switzerland, a Country That is More Microsoft Friendly Than Most of Europe
GNU/Linux rose to its highest level there in almost half a decade
Microsoft is Dying in Africa
Based on the Central African Republic, which "is around the same size as France"
[Meme] Microsoft in Africa
Are you telling me Windows is now down to 1% 'market share' in some countries?
Management of the European Patent Office Misleads Staff on Views of the Office's Staff Committee
The EPO as a workplace very rapidly deteriorates
[Meme] Newer is Worse
"They say those are New Ways of Working (NWoW); New does not mean better, it is worse"
Microsoft Needs to be Banned From Contracts, Including Government Contracts, Not Just for Security Failings But for Criminal Negligence, Corruption, and Fatal Cover-ups
How many deaths will it take for Microsoft to face real, effective scrutiny rather than kid gloves treatment?
Links 14/06/2024: Violence, Famines, and Montana Has More Cows Than People
Links for the day
Microsoft Telecom Layoffs, Facebook Layoffs in Africa: A Month After Microsoft's Mass Layoffs in Lagos (Nigeria) Facebook/Meta Does the Same and Microsoft is Now Retreating and Quitting an Entire Sector! (Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch)
Disasters in the making for GAFAM. Money down the drain.
Papua New Guinea: GNU/Linux Growing, Windows Down Below 15%
it seems indisputable there's headway and momentum
"Planets" Cannot Replace Social Control Media, They're Very Much Akin to It (Censorship Hubs, Gatekeepers)
Don't be subjected to gaslighting; make your own OPML file
Topics That Truly Irritate and Consistently Infuriate the Microsofters (Whenever We Cover These)
Censoring uncomfortable information is a difficult activity that has its limits, even in Reddit
Honduras: Vista 11 Down, GNU/Linux Up
Valve sees GNU/Linux as bigger than Apple's MacOS
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 13, 2024
IRC logs for Thursday, June 13, 2024
LibrePlanet 2024 and the Lost Video/Audio of Talks
After the event was over someone informed us that due to technical issues they had lost (or failed to acquire) recordings of the talks
Choosing Between Options to Outsource to Evades the Best Solution (Self-Hosting)
Most users don't need this sort of complexity
IBM Layoffs at Kyndryl
This can soon spill over to Red Hat
Turkmenistan: GNU/Linux Leaps Past 5% This Month?
This is how statCounter sees it
Watch This Space
what matters most is not the volume or quantity of publications but their underlying depth and quality