Up Microsoft's Butt, or Just Wishful Thinking?

A familiar name and another familiar Microsoft booster. Ed Bott literally makes a living out of Windows books. Without Windows, Edward would be out on the street or taking GNU/Linux 101 courses, so no wonder he's stubbornly defensive. Moreover, no wonder Microsoft gives him free gifts to maintain a relationship which keep his ZDNet blog emitting Microsoft PR.

Although he probably received his separately, Bott was among the recipients of these infamous laptops which we mentioned in:

• Wanted: List of Bloggers, Journalists, and Analysts Whom Microsoft Bribed at PDC 2008
• Microsoft Polices Coverage of Vista 7 by 'Kicking Out' Disobedient Journalist
• Microsoft is Bribing Bloggers Again... for Vista 7 Raves
• Praise Microsoft, Receive Bribe
• Harry McCracken, Technologizer: Bribed by Microsoft
• Tim Anderson Received Bribe for Vista 7 Review
• Jason Brooks (eWeek): Bribed by Microsoft
• Laptop Magazine: Bribed by Microsoft

Here is his fairy tale story.

Microsoft executives showed off the new Windows upgrade in a day-long series of demos on Sunday, doing their level best to impress a room full of journalists with a long list of new and improved features. At the end of the day, they loaned me a sleek new Lenovo X300 notebook running a recent build of the OS so that I could test Windows 7 for myself.

Ed Bott received a $2,000 gift from Microsoft. He has been writing nice things about the abusive monopolist and attacked the abuser's critics for ages. Expect more of the same n the future.

Bott also defended similar Microsoft bribes the last time they happened. Here, have a look. Another journalist, Dan Warne, rebutted at the time.

# Dan Warne says:

I think that people who have the opportunity to get a free high-spec computer are going to find any way they can to paint it as -not- affecting their integrity.

In all my time as a tech journalist a software company has never given anyone a free computer. Sure, computer companies give out computers on long term loan, etc, but that’s not the same thing. It’s their product for a start (Microsoft doesn’t make computers) and they’re loaners, not keepers.

I don’t see this so much as reflecting badly on bloggers’ ethics, but rather reflecting badly on Microsoft’s ethics.

The offer should have been a loan. Microsoft shouldn’t have offered the option of keeping the computer, because that dramatically muddies the waters for everyone concerned - Microsoft, the bloggers and the readers.

Posted December 28, 2006 @ 1:11 am # Dan Warne says:

(sorry, of course, that should have been: in all my time as a tech journalist, no software company _that I’m aware of_ has given anyone a free computer. I’m sure it _has_ happened.)

High points for Mr. Warne. Shame on Bott though. He was a useless source before (see the credibility index where he was always ranked "0") and deep inside the bitbucket he stays. ⬆

"I've been thinking long and hard about this, and the only conclusion I can come to is that this is ethically indistinguishable from bribery. Even if no quid-pro-quo is formally required, the gift creates a social obligation of reciprocity. This is best explained in Cialdini's book Influence (a summary is here). The blogger will feel some obligation to return the favor to Microsoft."

--Former Microsoft manager