Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Fights Google with More FUD, Lawsuits, and Lobbying



Summary: Some of Microsoft's latest moves against Google, including Google's endeavours that promote GNU/Linux

AS the battle between Google and Microsoft turns into a battle of office suites/collaboration and operating systems (GNU/Linux versus Windows), Microsoft grows more wary and nervous. It's not just search that's at stake anymore, as it's Microsoft's jewels (and cash cows) that are finally at risk. Windows revenue was down 40% in the last quarter and Office revenue was also down sharply. Paul Rubens writes about the subject and it is definitely worth pointing out that Microsoft is openly mocking Android/Linux [1, 2] -- a mockery that's indicative of Microsoft's fear of Google. Microsoft is now publicly mocking another product from Google:



Microsoft Teases Google Over New Storage Service



[...]

Microsoft didn’t miss the opportunity to ‘poke fun’ at the puny online storage capacity offered by the search engine giant and said in a statement that “Just a friendly reminder that Windows Live has been offering its more than 450 million customers 25GB of cloud-based storage space for free through Windows Live SkyDrive since 2008.”


Microsoft just can't help making fun of Google. It is a bad marketing strategy and IDG's Microsoft watcher/booster Nancy Gohring is doing her job belittling Microsoft competitors like Google, as usual. But there's more.

As we mentioned before, Microsoft is suing Google right about now (latest lawsuit among several) and the mainstream press does not miss this. It's rather blatant this time around:

Eleven-year-old Ciao was in 2005 bought by online market research surveys firm Greenfield, which was in 2008 acquired by Microsoft, which itself is trying to build a web ads operation to rival Google’s.


Apart from this new joke that Microsoft is buying Google for $300 billion, there is also real news about Microsoft losing control of Facebook, in which it put investments (probably in order to block a Google takeover).

Facebook stopped using Microsoft this month to sell graphical banner ads in some international markets. It may also drop those ads in the U.S., Robin Domeniconi, vice president of U.S. ad sales at Microsoft, said yesterday in an interview.


The original report is from Bloomberg.

Lastly, in addition to FUD and lawsuits, Microsoft is lobbying the government very heavily (but so does Google). Bill Gates is visiting the White House very frequently [1, 2] despite claiming to have retired from Microsoft. Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, is currently lobbying for public- and Google-hostile policies and he too visits the White House based on the following new report:

But when it comes to tech executives from the private sector, Google and Microsoft have both done well at getting into the White House. Former Microsoft boss Bill Gates even snared an intimate audience with President Obama back in March 2009 when only three other people were present. Steve Ballmer made three visits over two days to members of the Obama technology team. And Microsoft exec Craig Mundie put in an appearance.


The above article also speaks about Google visits to the White House, which are nonetheless fewer. Microsoft still uses publicity stunts to pressure and daemonise Google, even using Yahoo as a pawn [1, 2] to force Google to change its algorithm's retention.

Speaking of lobbying, Microsoft seems to be preparing and probably sponsoring some more bogus studies to assist with pressure on politicians.

MICROSOFT: Oil and Gas Pros Rapidly Embracing Social Media and Collaboration Tools, Yet Corporate Policy Lags, According to New



Nearly 75 percent of oil and gas professionals see value in using social media and collaboration tools at work an 83 percent jump from responses in last year's similar poll but corporatewide endorsement of these tools continues to lag behind, according to a Microsoft Corp. and Accenture (NYSE: ACN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) survey released today at Microsoft's Global Energy Forum in Houston.

The Microsoft and Accenture Oil & Gas Collaboration Survey 2010, which surveyed 275 professionals within international, national and independent oil and gas and related companies, found that social media and collaboration technology adoption is primarily a grassroots phenomenon within firms. At the same time, half of those surveyed said their companies prohibit or restrict the use of many of these publicly available tools, such as photo-sharing and social networking sites.


Microsoft is probably trying to sell something or to pass new laws. We will probably see the outcome/s in the coming weeks because there is usually this type of delay. They usually do this sort of stuff for PR and/or lobbying (very recent examples can be found in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]).

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Extraordinary General Meeting of Staff Union of the European Patent Office Ahead of Intensifying Strikes
We will, in the meantime, run a series about EPO corruption, which is now connected to corruption in Portugal and to corruption inside the EU
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The Brotherhood of São Bento
The Palácio São Bento – or São Bento Palace – is the seat of the Portuguese National Assembly in Lisbon
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to Police for Trying to Throw Large Parcel Into Our Home
This morning the campaign of intimidation...
Slop Has no ROI, an Economy Built on False Assumptions of Slop is Doomed
we're all going to suffer from this Ponzi scheme
 
This Coming Friday
Richard Stallman (RMS)
Yesterday Afternoon The Register MS Published a Fake Article That Says "AI" 31 Times Because It Got Paid to Do This
What will happen when all those loans for slop (Ponzi scheme) stop and companies' marketing budgets - which include media bribes for hype campaigns - are no more?
Several Slopfarms That Target "Linux" Seem to Have Died
Or perished severely
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 08, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, June 08, 2026
Gemini Links 09/06/2026: Tanana River, Cassette Beasts, and Emacs
Links for the day
IBM's Quantum Bubble Already Deflating
Shares down over $55 in a few days
SLAPP Censorship - Part 101 Out of 200: Women Come to Realise They Don't Wish to Participate in Attacking Vulnerable Women
It relates to another topic that we shall be covering in the coming weeks
Links 08/06/2026: Proprietary Loaded With Security Holes, Armenia Defies Russia
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/06/2026: NetHack 5.0.0 and Slop as Cannibalism
Links for the day
Links 08/06/2026: "Rising Emissions, Depleting Water" Due to the Pyramid Scheme of Slop; "Canada Needs to Rebuild Public Telecoms"
Links for the day
GAFAM Bots Are Not "Good Bots"
There's nothing "Good" about Google
Links 08/06/2026: Criticism of Microsoft Trying to Criminalise Pointing Out Bug Doors, TikTok Now "Climate-Denying Social Media App"
Links for the day
The Cyber Show Has "Exciting Guests Coming" and a Gemini Capsule
"Site development is ongoing but now settling into a more stable form"
GNU/Linux Measured at 10% in Liechtenstein This Month
it seems like statCounter wrongly classified some GNU/Linux clients as Mac clients and is now issuing a correction
Communicating With Freedom - Part III - Quibble Envisioned as a New and Easily Accessible Communications Platform Based on LibreJS
the FSF really needs to become more active if not proactive in promoting those sorts of things
Clownflare Says Majority of Web Traffic is Now Bots, But the Net is Another Story
Bots are to Clownflare what lawsuits are to lawyers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 07, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, June 07, 2026
The Strikes at the European Patent Office Planned to Carry on for the Entire Year, Maybe Future Years as Well
There's a cautionary tale somewhere
Number of Patent Grants Has Plunged 23% Amid Strikes at the European Patent Office, Today There Are More Strikes (Strike Participation at Over 3,000, More Than Doubled Since Winter)
There is a growing crisis at the European Patent Office
E.E.E. Still Ongoing, the War on Copyleft/GPL Enables That
It also imperils security.
Gemini Links 07/06/2026: Lynx in the 'Modern' Web and 'Overcooked' (Plagiarised by LLM) Code
Links for the day
Links 07/06/2026: Java Needs Seawall, Egypt Blasted for Arbitrary Detention of Activists
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 100 Out of 200: Interlude and Outline of the First Half, 3+ Months That Got Us Death Threats Connected to Brett Wilson LLP (and Cyber Attacks That Are Difficult to Attribute)
This week we plan to have a good time
Banning Things Versus Teaching People the Reason/s to Shun/Boycott Those Things
Prohibition has its limits
Links 07/06/2026: NASA's Mars Maven Declared Dead, Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Bemoans Russia's Crackdown
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 06, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, June 06, 2026
Gemini Links 07/06/2026: How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and "Six Days of Play"
Links for the day