Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Brings Out the Vapourware and PR as the Stock (MSFT) Slides Almost to New Lows

"In the face of strong competition, Evangelism's focus may shift immediately to the next version of the same technology, however. Indeed, Phase 1 (Evangelism Starts) for version x+1 may start as soon as this Final Release of version X."

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]



Summary: Microsoft is being hammered by analysts this week because its future is not promising; Microsoft starts talking about (not showing) speculative future products that do not exist and may never exist at all

Microsoft booster Marius Oiaga and other such boosters are seeding vapourware right now (this time it's Midori OS and not Vista 8).



"Vaporware time," calls it Chips B. Malroy, who probably already knows that when Microsoft throws vapourware out there it means that it's suffering and that people say the company has no future.

Turn on the BS meter and read the latest pile from Oiaga et al.:

Work continues on Microsoft’s non-Windows Midori operating system, a Microsoft Research project based on the Singularity platform.

The Redmond company is not confirming this officially, but the detail can be inferred from information made public recently by Joe Duffy, a lead architect on an OS incubation project at Microsoft. (spotted first by Mary-Jo Foley)

Duffy is leading the team responsible for “multiple aspects of a research operating system’s programming model.”


For those who don't know, the Singularity platform was shelved a long time ago because it's worthless. For those who say that Windows is a dead end Microsoft can only point at something which does not really exist. "Why" you ask? Because Microsoft took some serious beating on Monday, having been downgraded by Goldman Sachs and told that its phone efforts are hopeless. We wrote about it very briefly yesterday and before we get to the news, here are some quotes from IRC about Midori:

"Microsoft is a sub-par software company. I doubt they'll be able to survive without the inertia of an operating system that's already well entrenched," said hazzy.

"Well, Windows 8 vaporware is supposed to be based on NT still. So don't see Midori coming out soon, if this is true, unless MS decides to sell it as a dual boot system or go back to the days when it sold both 9x and NT systems," responded Chips B. Malroy.

“It's only going to get worse... They would die without windows revenue.”
      --Chips B. Malroy
Diablo-D3 said that "midori is going to be windows 9 or 10... it's way too early for that..."

"[N]o, midori is a khtml-based browser," MinceR joked.

"The question I have about Midori is, when," added Chips B. Malroy. "As Windows is getting too hard for the average user to protect from malware. It's only going to get worse... They would die without windows revenue."

"[Microsoft] midori is going to be a harder flop than vista was," opined MinceR, "even less compatibility with the usual [Microsoft] quality..."

"[Y]es, if it doesn't run Bejeweled, then the public will ignore it," Chips B. Malroy concluded, "it has to be backward compatible..."

The IRC logs have a lot more on the subject, including the subsequent discussion about the latest Microsoft PR stunts in the UK. Microsoft's selfishness is described (spun) as public good and the article in question contains an out-of-place "Gates" brand in the photo. It's all part of Microsoft's lobbying from Gates et al. in the UK, just as we discussed last week. Here is part of the PR:

Mr Frazer said Microsoft’s UK partners – a network of IT and software companies affiliated with the computer giant – currently offered some 3,000 technical apprenticeships to 16 to 18-year-olds, fully funded by the state. Any costs incurred by the employer were limited to the individual’s wages and overhead expenses such as providing training equipment.


Chips B. Malroy had some harsh words to say about it, for example: "It looks like MS is being paid by taxpayers to put children to work? Is this so?

"Well, I know young people have to start somewhere, but if the taxpayers pick up the full amount, then these companies in effect get free taxpayers supported child labor, which replaces and adult worker. And most of these MS and MS partner companies can afford to pay.

"What were they thinking? It smells like a handout to rich corporations to me.

"Shouldn't sixteen and seventeen year olds be in school?

"At that age what talents could you have that MS and it partners want to exploit with free taxpayers' money? It seems like some sort of sweatshop work I bet." There is more on that in the IRC logs where Chips B. Malroy discussed Microsoft's major decline yesterday, with Goldman Sachs adding to several recent downgrades of Microsoft [1, 2] until "Microsoft One Dollar from 52-week Low," according to the referenced headline.

“At that age what talents could you have that MS and it partners want to exploit with free taxpayers' money? It seems like some sort of sweatshop work I bet.”
      --Chips B. Malroy
To quote some of the things Goldman Sachs is doing: "The New York-based investment bank removed Microsoft from its Americas Buy list and lowered its outlook for the company’s stock to neutral on Sunday. Citing poor returns for 2010 so far, an insufficient dividend and increasing market share of tablet PCs, to the detriment of notebooks and desktops, the bank also lowered its price target from US$32 per share down to US$28."

To quote few of the things Goldman Sachs is saying (there are many more quotes in IRC and in the original article): "Since 2002 Microsoft has had a -8% return on dividends-reinvested basis, the second-worst of the largest dividend-paying tech stocks" (says Friar).

The author adds: "While the company raised its dividend 23% to 16 cents per share (or 2.6% of cash flow) just two weeks ago, Ms. Friar argues that is still barely half the yield necessary to boost share value."

Even one of MSFT's (the stock) fan sites, The Motley Fool, has just published "Why Microsoft Will Never Be Great Again" (and it may explain the sudden need/hunger for vapourware).

"Stewart Alsop, industry gadfly, presented Gates with the "Golden Vaporware" award, saying, "The delay of Windows was all part of a secret plan to have Bill turn thirty before it shipped."

--Barbarians Led by Bill Gates, a book composed
by the daughter of Microsoft's PR mogul

Recent Techrights' Posts

XBox is Rapidly Turned Into a Slopfarm by Microsoft
Slop isn't about efficiency and saving money
Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
Microsoft's Halloween Documents and systemd, Wayland, Etc.
Maybe one day Wayland will be widespread. Or maybe not.
 
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Smolweb and Alhena 5.1.7
Links for the day
The Danes Want GNU/Linux
David Heinemeier Hansson recently moved to GNU/Linux
Cory Doctorow Explains Why Software Freedom Matters, Whereas "Open Source" Misses the Point and Helps Monopolies
It's a very long article
BillPR (EpsteinGate-Bribed NPR) is Turning Into a Partial Slopfarm that Promotes Slop
"I went on a date with a chatbot!"
Two Weeks Passed Since Latest Large Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, More Expected Next Month
Blaming the debt on "AI" is just self-serving storytelling
There's Still Hope for the World Wide Web
Let's hope that the trajectory of the Web won't be leading us to over-reliance on Google, nor will it reward worthless slopfarms
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 14, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 14, 2025
Gemini Links 15/07/2025: Gemini "Style Sheets" and Switching From Microsoft GitHub to Codeberg
Links for the day
Coming Soon: Another OSI Scandal, This One Implicating Molly de Blanc
OSI has been fairly quiet lately
Outreachy & Debian pregnancy cluster, Meike Reichle evidence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Again, "Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People"
Microsoft Lunduke is not trying to "protect" Linux
One of the Most Hilarious Things About the Microsoft SLAPPs
It's so ridiculous
Financial Support for the Free Software Foundation or the GNU Project
The FSF has extended until Friday its fund-raising campaign
Illegally Hiding (or Demanding Secrecy Around) Illegal Requests or Attempts at Extortion
unlawful communications like threats
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: BOFH Archive, Updating Old Palm PDAS, and Nginx vs Slop Bots
Links for the day
Ubuntu is Becoming GAFAM-Like
What does that say about Canonical and Ubuntu?
Slopfarms Which Take Real Articles About GNU/Linux and Turn Them Into Copycats Which Are False
Even before the LLM hype those were quite common
The Firm That Picks on Techrights is Accustomed to Working With Criminals
Techrights never did anything illegal. So why is it being picked on by people who work with criminals?
Microsoft Said the Mass Layoffs Were for "Investment" in "AI", But It's Also Laying Off the "AI" and "Copilot" Staff
Months ago we showed many so-called "AI" people were getting the boot and this time it's the same
DryDeadFish is Dead, Long Live DryDeadFish
We kept checking, hoping it can recover from some temporary technical issue
For Quite Some Time Already Microsoft Attracts Crackpots, Scams, and More
Occasionally we talk about the situation at IBM as there are many parallels
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025