Bonum Certa Men Certa

More Microsoft Cronies in United States Government, Other Companies

Ab Lincoln
No lessons taken from the founding fathers



ACCORDING to the press, Windows Mobile contains back doors, just like other versions of Microsoft Windows. Surveillance is a feature to the NSA and Microsoft, but more of an antifeature to the respective user. Having witnessed Bill Gates speaking to Obama and putting money in his pot, it's somewhat unnerving to see that Microsoft just can't let the president [s]elect a phone of his choice. It's lobbying for him to choose Windows Mobile by citing "security" as a reason, probably 'forgetting' the back doors in its own software. How convenient.



Microsoft, however, has questioned the wisdom of the president relying on a device whose maker is based in Canada. "You would be sending your data outside the country," says Randy Siegel, a Microsoft enterprise mobile strategist who works on federal government projects. "We wouldn't want the casual musings or official communications of the most important person in the world being intercepted by others."


As shown on several occasions before [1, 2, 3], even Microsoft's sympathetic crowd had lost hope for Windows Mobile. Why can't the presidency be left alone without Microsoft breathing down its neck?

Well, let's explore some some other stories about Microsoft's impact on the United States government. Microsoft has already used diplomats to fight Google, and quite successfully so. It's a systematic routine.

Other people out there try to defend Microsoft from allegations that were made in a recent Wired story.

The story casts Google as the green (as in naive) political victim of more experienced and cunning adversaries who saw Google disrupting or undermining their respective franchises and markets. The now-tarnished myth of American capitalism is that markets are transparent, fair and operate largely on their own. In fact, as this case shows in microcosm, success in the “free” or “open” market is as much about politics and political influence as it is almost any other factor.

The Wired piece even implies the killing of the Google-Yahoo search deal is partly a Republican political vendetta for Google’s historical support of Democrats. However U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee and Google critic, is a Democrat.


We mentioned Herb Kohl in [1, 2], but he is the wrong person to look at. The Department of Justice, which is corrupt, has other Microsoft lackeys inside of it and they offer Microsoft 'protection' or immunity. Tom Barnett is a good example. From The New York Times:

"The official, Thomas O. Barnett, an assistant attorney general, had until 2004 been a top antitrust partner at the law firm that has represented Microsoft in several antitrust disputes. At the firm, Justice Department officials said, he never worked on Microsoft matters. Still, for more than a year after arriving at the department, he removed himself from the case because of conflict of interest issues. Ethics lawyers ultimately cleared his involvement."


Also:

State officials said they were angered by Mr. Barnett's letter in large part because before he joined the Justice Department, he had been the vice chairman of the antitrust department at Covington & Burling, a law firm that represented Microsoft and played a central role in settling the antitrust case. While at Covington, Mr. Barnett did not work on the antitrust case, although he did represent Microsoft in other matters.


There is more background here as well as an official Barnett bio. Political intervention is often the reason why Microsoft gets its way, but less so in the EU (Commission), which Microsoft uses its press to daemonise.

Speaking of Microsoft's fight against Google, there are some interesting, yet not-so-reassuring, moves. Move appoints Steve Berkowitz (formerly of Microsoft) as its new CEO, so the company may as well be 'poisoned' by Microsoft already. We saw this happening in companies like Amazon and Yahoo before and there are many more examples.

Online real estate site operator Move said on Wednesday that it is tapping former Microsoft executive Steve Berkowitz to serve as its next chief executive.


He quit his role as the head of Microsoft's unit that's responsible for never-ending Web ambitions. Billions of dollars have already been lost there and Microsoft is longing for Yahoo's userbase. The Yahoo-Microsoft staff swap is meanwhile carrying on. Here is the latest example.

One of Yahoo’s top marketing execs, Eric Hadley, who came to the company with a lot of acclaim in only November, is set to leave for a new job working in branding and global marketing for Microsoft’s MSN online service, several sources said.


Microsoft is still flirting with Yahoo! and various blogs continue to analyse the role played by the newly-installed CEO. There could be a proxy war there.

Ballmer met last week with Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock. And he says Microsoft will keep challenging market leader Google in search even as it continues to cede ground.


To Microsoft, Yahoo's search business is related to the need for injuring a company that makes Web-based office suites and other disablers of Microsoft cash cows (even Android). It's less to do with control of search and advertising, which are currently the lifelines of Google. The added bonus is control of information as a gatekeeper. Microsoft is breaking search results so as to advance its business goals rather than provide relevant information to users.

"Search engines be da**ed, it's the OS that generates money - if the world switches to linux, it will switch to OpenOffice too."

--Motley Fool, days ago

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft's Attack Dogs Have Failed. Now What?
It would be utterly foolish to assume that Microsoft has any intention of changing
All Your "Github Projects" Will be Gone One Day (Just Like Skype)
If you have code you wish to share and keep, then start learning how to do so on your own
Fedora Already Lost Its Soul Under IBM
Fedora used to be very strict compared to many other distros and it had attracted very bright volunteers
Links 17/04/2025: Calling Whistleblowers at Microsoft, Slop Doing More Harm Everywhere
Links for the day
 
"Sayonara" (さよなら), Microsoft
Windows had fallen below iOS in some countries
Links 18/04/2025: Layoffs at Microsoft Infosys and Qt Becoming Increasingly Proprietary (Plus Slop)
Links for the day
Google News is Dying
treating MElon's algorithmic/biased site as a source of verified news
To Understand Who's Truly Controlling You Follow the Trail of Censorship (or Self-Censorship)
Do not let media steal and steer the narrative; CoCs are not about "social justice", they're about corporate domination
Microsoft is Still Attacking GNU/Linux and the Net
Microsoft bribed the government using money that did not even exist
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 17, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 17, 2025
Gemini Links 18/04/2025: Pinephone Pro and Linux is too Easy
Links for the day
Links 17/04/2025: Russian Bot Farms Infect TikTok (Which US Government and SCOTUS Decided to Block January 19), US Hardware Stocks Crash Due to Tariffs
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/04/2025: Sticking to Free Software, Smolnet, and Counting the Reals
Links for the day
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: In Conclusion and Enforcement Action Proceeds Against OSI at the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
There's too much to cover in one single part
When You Fail to Filter Your Clients You End Up SLAPPing Reporters on Behalf of Bad People From Microsoft in Another Continent
“American Psycho”
Links 17/04/2025: LayoffBot and Tesla Cheats Buyers
Links for the day
Gemnini Links 17/04/2025: Role of Language and Back to Mutt for E-mail
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Trump Authority (CA) With a Trump NSA is All About Security, But Whose?
A "turnkey tyranny", as the NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake loved to call it
Confirming IBM Shutdowns and Layoffs Today
It's not over yet
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: The 2010s Are Calling and Why "Tools Will Not Liberate Us"
Links for the day
You Should Probably Self-Host Your E-mail and Never Use a Web Browser for Mail
Does anyone still believe Gmail is "free"?
Links 16/04/2025: Cliff Lynch RIP, More Attacks on Science (NASA)
Links for the day
StatCounter Shows the Market Share of Vista 11 is Decreasing in Ukraine This Year
Microsoft abandoning Vista 10 users would be a victory for Vladimir Putin
Google Promotes Fake Articles (LLM Slop) Instead of Originals, Relaying Microsoft's Linux FUD Emanating From Microsoft LLMs
Shame on Google for participating in the slopfest
In Some Countries the Largest OEMs Already Dump Microsoft Windows
Windows at 18.9%, Android 60.2%
The "Gold" Rule: Taking Money for Reputation Laundering and Openwashing Under the "Linux" Banner
Seller of expensive toilet paper, Jim Zemlin
LLM Slop Says Slop is "coming for white-collar jobs. Microsoft’s layoffs are just the start"
Look what the Web has become
Microsoft Down From 100% to 10% in Myanmar/Burma
only about 4% of Web requests in Myanmar/Burma come from Vista 11, soon to be the only "supported" version of Windows
Reporting Facts About Violence Against Women Deserves Awards, Not Frivolous Lawsuits and Threats
What is Microsoft's stance on women's safety?
Linux.com as Spamfarm of the Linux Foundation, Partner of the Gates Foundation
They no longer publish articles
When Fedora Said It Was Looking to Integrate "AI" It Meant Promoting Microsoft's Proprietary Spyware and GPL-Violating Slop
When they say "AI" they mean Microsoft
Slopwatch: The Typical Slopfarms and the 'Brian Fagioli Dilemma'
To the Web and to society (exposed to the Web) LLMs are a net negative
It Used to be IBM, Now It's Microsoft (Why You Need to Fire Microsofters or CIOs Working for Microsoft)
Typically the only effective solution is to identity and remove Microsofters from one's project/organisation (before they can bring more Microsofters in)
IBM Closes Offices and Labs in the United States to Open New Ones in India
It's not layoffs per se; they're substituting/swapping veteran employees for lesser-paid ones
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Gemini Links 16/04/2025: IndieWeb Carnival, Tinylog RFC, "Focus, the Web and Gemini"
Links for the day