Summary: In order to become "too big to fail" Microsoft is grasping at people's medical records, sues competitors (using software patents), and offers bribes for people to embrace Microsoft because Google in particular keeps gaining

MICROSOFT is having a hard time and it has begun manufacturing more Vista 8 vapourware (it's apparently faked as being "leaked" for some extra allure), which is telling because it says Vista 7 is passé (c/f the previous post). Microsoft does this type of thing (bogus numbers too) when morale in the company is low. Microsoft lacks direction in many divisions as presidents and vice presidents leave the company. Last week there was a job swap [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], which is somewhat indicative of strategic misdirection.

Microsoft bolsters a strategy of lawsuits, with a recent example revolving around Hotmail (mentioned beforehand, but still being covered in the news [1, 2]) and other examples involving lawsuits against GNU/Linux (via distributors). These are signs of desperation. Frivolous lawsuits alienate and distract. Ask SCO.

Several months ago Microsoft dumped Linux/UNIX support from FAST (a shot in the foot) and it turns out that Apptus uses this to poach Microsoft customers (a path to other proprietary software). From its new press release:

Apptus, Europe's leading developer of search and content enrichment services for online directories, today announced that they will offer all users of the FAST Enterprise Search Platform to replace it with their own platform Theca at no cost for licenses. The announcement was made as a response to the spring news that FAST's present owner Microsoft will abandon all further Unix and Linux platform support for FAST.

Microsoft may be running out of friends, but not just yet. Microsoft has just honoured Accenture, which helped Microsoft in England and sued with software patents. Bad minds think alike.

In the case of Yahoo!, the company avoided Microsoft by all means. It wanted nothing to do with Microsoft before the proxy battle began and Microsoft overthrew the old management, eventually putting on top a Microsoft partner (Carol Bartz). She is driving the company into the ground but in a way that's at least beneficial to Microsoft.

Yahoo Inc. CEO Carol Bartz faced shareholders at the company's annual meeting Thursday—18 months into her effort to turn around an unfocused Internet giant eclipsed by Google Inc. and left battered by Microsoft Corp.'s failed takeover attempt.

It was failed, but the bullies eventually got their way as they virtually bought it cheaply and they will pass many users to Microsoft's engine of lies (biased results by design). Yahoo! might also pass advertisers to Microsoft. What on Earth is this deal? Is anyone watching this covert corporate takeover? Forbes goes along with a deceiving hypothesis and with the headline "How Yahoo Learned To Love Microsoft," neglecting to mention how the old management was pushed out, only to be replaced by Microsoft partners and former managers. It's not the same Yahoo! anymore and it puts in jeopardy many people who are being profiled by Microsoft and brainwashed by Microsoft (which provides biased search results).

Here is what Murdoch's press had to say about a related subject:

A new system to police privacy abuses by companies that track consumers' Web-surfing habits for ad targeting will be launched in coming months by groups whose members include heavy users of this type of information—Internet companies such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. and advertising companies like WPP PLC.

Apple too is a privacy menace, but that's a story for another time.

A few days ago we also wrote about rotten things in Telstra, whose CIO has just quit:

Telstra's chief information officer, John McInerney, has announced he is leaving the company to pursue new opportunities. He has been on leave since April.

Who will replace him? They have already had Microsoft executive staff entering the company's management.

AOL too is said to be at risk of being taken over by Microsoft [1, 2] and John Dvorak believes it's a terrible idea. Some days ago he wrote:

Should Microsoft buy AOL?

Microsoft Corp. just seems intent on doing something dumb, such as its earlier attempt to buy Yahoo Inc., so I think this rumor of a takeover of AOL Inc. may be in play. But there could be more to it than meets the eye: a curse!

Microsoft is afraid of Google because it became a threat to it in the Web browsers, operating systems, and office suites space. At the moment, Google is pushing GNU/Linux into the mainstream (maybe Dell desktops/laptops/tablets):

Google's (GOOG) Chrome operating system will be locked in a market share war with Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows OS when it's released later this year. Microsoft has a huge lead because it runs, by some estimates, on 90% of the PCs sold around the world. The success of Windows 7 may help cement that advantage. But the tide could be changing.

Google and Dell (DELL) are discussing a deal to have its Chrome OS put on on the PC company's laptops. According to Reuters, "We have to have a point of view on the industry and technology direction two years, three years down the road, so we continuously work with Google on this," Amit Midha, Dell's president for Greater China and South Asia said.

This is also covered in [1, 2, 3, 4] and many other articles we mentioned last week.

Dell is not hostile towards GNU/Linux, despite that recent debacle [1, 2, 3]. The Consumerist asks, "Did Microsoft Make Dell Take Back Love Letter To Linux?"

It will be interesting to see if Dell chooses Chrome OS (based on Ubuntu GNU/Linux) at the expense of Ubuntu GNU/Linux. The pro-Microsoft press has published the article "How Google Will Defeat Microsoft" and new figures suggest that Google continues to gain at Microsoft's expense in search.

Experian Hitwise reported that Yahoo's market share dipped to 14.4% in May, from 15% in the prior month, while Microsoft's share fell to 9.2% from 9.4%. Yahoo and Microsoft have agreed to combine search operations, in a bid to gain ground on Google.

This is also covered in:

• Hitwise: Google Grew U.S. Search Lead in May
• Google's U.S. Search Share Increases Almost 1%, Says Hitwise
• Google, the Topmost Search Engine in the U.S
• Hitwise: Google Gained Search Market Share in May
• Hitwise: Google Gains 1% In US Internet Search Share In May
• Google Increased Its Search Dominance in May

These results are consistent with what we've been seeing from companies that Microsoft is not paying while they produce so-called 'market share' figures. Microsoft's partner comScore [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] says the very opposite and lets Microsoft game statistics. comScore should be ignored because with Microsoft money on its table it contradicts the rest of the pack which claims to be measuring the same thing (without receiving payments from Microsoft). This is indeed a complaint about comScore, which is part of the propaganda that the press repeats without investigating and asking key questions (or ask the sceptics what's wrong with the numbers and with the sources). Murdoch's press is still airing the same propaganda from 'research' firms that are in Microsoft's pocket. No shame?

“Murdoch's press is still airing the same propaganda from 'research' firms that are in Microsoft's pocket.”Anyway, Microsoft is "attacking" Google Apps and IDG advertises (in the form of an article, also here for increased exposure) a case study for Live@Edu (do see this leak). It's claimed to be taking a Google Apps customer, possibly with the usual bribes that Live@Edu offers to those who sell out their colleagues (we acquired leaked documents to show this and there is recent anecdotal evidence).

The truth of the matter is that as much as Microsoft wants to succeed in Fog Computing (Microsoft boosters, press releases, and few others [1, 2] play along), the area is dominated by companies like Google and even Salesforce. The Salesforce lawsuit [1, 2, 3] shows that Microsoft has given up on competing like a technology company and decided to act more like a patent troll. Microsoft's spat is "the greatest thing that’s ever happened," says Marc Benioff, the head of Salesforce. He explained it in the context of Microsoft invading other people's conferences (Microsoft does this to other companies, which just shows what an aggressor it is, like Novell).

Microsoft’s lawsuit against his company hasn’t cowed Salesforce.com chief executive Marc Benioff, judging from his on-stage remarks today.

Benioff spoke in San Jose, Calif. at a launch event for Chatter, the company’s new social networking application for businesses. During that speech, he repeatedly took swipes at Microsoft, noting for example that there were Microsoft representatives handing out fliers outside the event. (On the other hand, Salesforce representatives are a familiar sight outside Microsoft events.)

Microsoft is trying to extract money from Salesforce operations, which run GNU/Linux. This appalling strategy has already worked with former Microsoft executives at Amazon, who pay Microsoft for both GNU/Linux and Windows servers. Microsoft gets paid either way, no matter if people choose Azure, Red Hat on Amazon's EC2, or Windows on EC2. This is clearly an abuse and it puts in jeopardy a fair market. To make matters worse, Fog Computing potentially gives Microsoft enormous power over people's sensitive data.

Microsoft hired top lobbyist because it's trying to control more people's medical records, this time in the EU/UK as well [1, 2]. With all the typical PR offensives Microsoft is taking more control away from the taxpayers, this time exploiting its relationship with the NHS. According to British news sites [1, 2] and Microsoft boosters like Marius Oiaga, Microsoft it trying to gain greater control over UK healthcare [1, 2] (Canadian healthcare has a similar threat).

This atrocious possibility of giving Microsoft the data of patients is being scrutinised in The Guardian:

The perils of privatised health records

As Microsoft launches its new health records website, ministers must resist the temptation to cut the NHS's online data service

This whole health lobby is partly backed or assisted by the Gates Foundation, which has just expanded to having London presence (more on that later). Should the NHS let sick people give Microsoft their personal data without an option to opt out? This is a travesty that Canada's healthcare ought to dodge too. ⬆