Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Register Has Been Mostly Microsoft Propaganda Disguised as 'News' After That Microsoft Partnership (Money)

Perception management operations 'on the cheap' (mere 'slush funds' to Microsoft)

I can see Microsoft critics. We don't need to refute our critics if we can just bribe them.



Summary: The Register (or El Reg) is becoming more of a Microsoft megaphone again; it all makes sense if one goes back a decade and a half to their Microsoft partnership (preceded by a lot of harsh criticisms of Microsoft)

THE VARIOUS "Linux" podcasts have more lately spoken quite a bit about "WSL"; it seems like a coordinated charm offensive, facilitatef partly by Microsoft and partly by Canonical. Similarly, in recent days we saw Red Hat pushing .NET quite a few times and some Python podcasts had Microsoft as guests. It's very clear Microsoft tries to dominate the discussion in order to push Windows, Visual Studio, GitHub, Azure and so on.



"It's very clear Microsoft tries to dominate the discussion in order to push Windows, Visual Studio, GitHub, Azure and so on.""The Register on "Microsoft Linux"," one reader wrote to us last night, is a trend worth taking stock of. "We would be familiar with the typical Microsoft strategy," he explained. "In this case, "partner" with a Linux company, generate some mindshare goodwill, then make sure the Linux subsystem isn't any use and will only run on Windows."

He cited yesterday's article about "multipass" -- a project Canonical released on... Microsoft GitHub. And guess whose agenda the article promotes....

As our reader put it (somewhat rudely): "What the fuck was Canonical thinking in 'partnering' with the borg?"

"No, we haven't missed the irony of Microsoft lovers with virtually no history in GNU/Linux development taking the 'lead' on this."He also took note of Canonical's decision to give Microsoft money for WSL's propaganda outlet. We alluded to this before.

"This is what Lenin refereed to supporters of Soviet-ism in the west "useful idiots"," our reader asserted, pointing to some of the culprits (we'll try to keep this impersonal and therefore redact some bits).

No, we haven't missed the irony of Microsoft lovers with virtually no history in GNU/Linux development taking the 'lead' on this. Nor have we overlooked their disdain for GNU/Linux and tacit support for Microsoft's patent blackmail against GNU/Linux. This is what WSL is. These are the people who take the lead! The managers...

Back to our reader: "Censorship at The Register" has meanwhile been claimed as well. They apparently censor a lot of comments that don't suit the narrative Microsoft wants. "Do an article on what advertising revenue (bribery) The Register gets from Microsoft, same with ZDNet and the rest," the reader said.

"They apparently censor a lot of comments that don't suit the narrative Microsoft wants."We actually wrote a lot about that in the past. Heck, we have a whole wiki page with articles about ZDNet -- a site I repeatedly encourage people to boycott (nowadays it's managed by a Microsoft fan, not even a closeted one, who writes clickbait as headlines and we know for whose agenda).

Our reader is certainty aware. It's difficult not to notice.

"I have a new slogan for The Register," he said. "The Register, whatever you do, don't mention 'MICROSOFT'. I'm afraid the Reg has gone bad for a long time. The only time you read about Linux is in relation to the MICROSOFT Linux sub-system, or Linux in relation to malware, but when it's on Windows then it's referred to as "banking" malware, else they keep pushing 'cloud' solutions."

A lot of their "Linux" or "FOSS" coverage (more so nowadays) comes from Microsoft Tim, just like Microsoft Peter (the pedophile) at Ars Technica up until his arrest. Their whole "Open Source" section was nothing except Microsoft lies and marketing. Literally all of it was just that when he was arrested. Need we mention that Ars Technica UK was -- by admission/confession made to me by its editor -- funded by Microsoft? Guess what dominated that site until it perished...

But let's go back to The Register. Microsoft Tim's case merits a post of his own. It's like Microsoft took journalistic authority over "Linux" and "FOSS". It calls the shots and sets the tone/narrative at The Register. Another person who once had this role, Ashley Vance, is nowadays doing propaganda pieces for Microsoft at even larger publishers (like some mythical Arctic vault -- basically fake news that helped distract from ICE controversies).

The reader suggested doing this search or that search. Find a negative article below...

Microsoft puff pieces



Microsoft Windows puff pieces



Need we remind readers that back in the old days The Register was renowned for Microsoft criticism?

Then Microsoft struck a partnership with The Register (yes, money involved).

"I've also noticed it's hard to find announcements of Bill Gates bribes (payments for particular publishes) -- which they openly disclose initially -- because they're once paid they're googlebombing the relevant search phrases with puff pieces (paid-for lies)."We would need to unearth that old article about the El Reg-Microsoft partnership. "Probably found in the 2003 or 2004 series," an associate of ours recalls, "but just as an announcement... not necessarily a main article."

These things are hard to find after all these years. I've also noticed it's hard to find announcements of Bill Gates bribes (payments for particular publishes) -- which they openly disclose initially -- because they're once paid they're googlebombing the relevant search phrases with puff pieces (paid-for lies). It's a real problem and it goes beyond advertising money. In the past we also showed examples of Bill Gates paying publishers critical of him and of Microsoft; soon afterwards they deleted all those past articles. It seemed rather clear what they were paid for.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Stefano Maffulli and His Microsoft-Funded OSI Staff Are Killing the OSI and Killing "Open Source" (All for Money!)
This is far from over
Techrights Headlines as Semaphore
"If you are hearing this, thank you"
 
Links 01/04/2025: Mass Layoffs at Eidos and "Microsoft Pulls Back on Data Centers" (Demand Lacking); "Racist and Sexist" Slop From Microsoft
Links for the day
Gemini Links 01/04/2025: XKCDpunk and worldclock.py
Links for the day
50 Years of Sabotage and a Gut Punch to Computer Science (and Science in General)
Will we get back to science-based computing rather than cult-like following?
3 Months in 2025, 4 Waves of Mass Layoffs at Microsoft, Now Offices Shut Down Permanently
"A recent visit by the South China Morning Post confirmed that the office was dark, unoccupied, and had its logo removed."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 31, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, March 31, 2025
Links 31/03/2025: China Tensions, Bombs Falling in Myanmar After Earthquake
Links for the day
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: Falling Out of Love With Tech, Sunsetting openSNP
Links for the day
R.T.O. at IBM in Texas and Atlanta (State of Georgia) Expected as "Soft Layoffs" Catalyst This Coming Year
It also sounds like more IBM layoffs are in the making
Law Firms Can Also Lose Their Licence for Clearly Misusing It
The bottom line is, never made the false assumption that because you can pile up SLAPPs in a docket you will not suffer from bad reputation or even get disbarred
Link between institutional abuse, Swiss jurists, Debianism and FSFE
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
LLM Slop Piggybacking News About GNU/Linux and Distorting It
new examples
Links 31/03/2025: Press and Democracy Under Further Attacks in the US, Attitudes Towards Slop Sour
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: The OSI Does Not Respect Anybody's Privacy
The surveillance mafia that bans dissent or key people (even co-founders) with dissenting views
Gemini Links 31/03/2025: More X-Filesposting and Dreaming in Emacs
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 30, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, March 30, 2025
Links 30/03/2025: Security Breaches, Crackdowns on Dissent/Rival Politicians
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2025: London Soundtrack Festival, Superbloom, gmiCAPTCHA
Links for the day
Phasing Out Vista 10 in Nations Where ~90% of Windows Users Still Rely on It
Recipe for another Microsoft disaster
The Cost of Pursuing the Much-Needed Reform/Shield Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.”
The LLM Bubble is About to Implode, Gimmicks and Financial Shell Games Cannot Prevent That, Only Delay It
To inflate the bubble MElon is now doing the classic trick of buying from oneself for a fictional value
Links 30/03/2025: Contagious Ideas, Signal Leak, and Squashing Lousy Patents
Links for the day
Links 30/03/2025: "Quantum Randomness" and "F-1 Visa Revoked" in US
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/03/2025: US as a Threat, Returning to the WWW
Links for the day
Links 30/03/2025: Judge Blocks Dismantling Of VOA, Turkey Arrested Many Journalists
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 29, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, March 29, 2025