Bonum Certa Men Certa

Tesco Recommends Vista “Due to Endorsement Money Paid to Tesco from Microsoft”

"People everywhere love Windows."

--Bill Gates



Summary: Tesco is very frank about the reasons for its (paid-for) 'advice'

TESCO is no enemy of GNU/Linux. In fact, amid serious problems with Windows [1], Tesco is still offering GNU/Linux PCs [2-4] and not so long ago it put the kibosh on DRM [5]. But like many other businesses, Tesco got wooed by Microsoft's campaign of deceit, for which is pays handsomely (bribes for mindshare).



Last year we leaked the "vendor recommends" scam. Microsoft pays companies to pretend that they recommend Windows/Vista. It is now that we find that Tesco participates in similar schemes [credit goes to our contributor ThistleWeb for investigating this]. This is the full query and response from Tesco (response to the question appearing at the bottom because they top-post just like Microsoft software insists):



Dear [Anon],

Firstly, I sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to your email. We always aim to reply in a timely manner and I'm sorry I've let you down on this occasion.

I'm concerned to learn that you feel the information in our Spring/Summer Tesco Direct catalogue regarding the Windows Vista is there due to endorsement money paid to Tesco from Microsoft.

I've passed your comments regarding this on to our Tesco direct Team and I will be back in touch as soon as I receive a response.

Thank you for your patience while I look in to this for you.

If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me at tescodirect@tesco.co.uk quoting TES6562453X.

Kind Regards

[Anon] Customer Service Manager Tesco Direct

----- Original Message ----- From: [Anon] Date: 06 June 2009 Subject: A few questions on your PC advice to customers

Hi,

I have a few questions on the buying advice you give to your customers on PCs.

In your Spring / Summer 2009 catalogue the advice on operating systems has a Windows logo along with the wording "the newest and most popular operating system today is Microsoft Windows Vista." Incidentally, the website still lists the latest as XP. Windows is NOT the only operating system which works on generic hardware, it's not even close to being "best in class" either.

Why do you not tell the customer this is a paid endorsement from Microsoft instead of pretending it's Tesco's opinion? Since Tesco only sell PCs pre-installed with Windows, it's like having the baked beans shelf packed with ONLY Heinz products then claiming "the most popular is Heinz". How can it not be the "most popular" if that's all you offer? This is worse than the usual Microsoft paid endorsements of "it's better with Windows" because many retailers at least give the consumer the option on a few models.

It would be nice if Tesco would stand up for it's customers and give them an option of a cheaper PC without the Windows tax which would see them immune from all the malware issues that plague Windows.

[Anon]



See this for reference (the FAQ page mentioned in the E-mail to Tesco). So how much does Microsoft pay ASUS for the same type of stunt [1, 2]? These companies put business partners before customers and they have no reluctance in lying, as long as it's profitable. _______ [1] Tesco tills go titsup

According to PA, about 100 stores are affected, and the problems are being rectified by rebooting the checkouts.


[2] Dell & Tesco bringing Linux to the masses - launching €£299 Inspiron Z530 "Web Browser" in October

The Z530 is described by Tesco as a "Web Browser" rather than a Laptop, PC, portable computer or any of the more usual terms, so presumably Dell and Tesco are aiming it at the Eee PC end of the market, where people don't give a toss about the OS and just want something cheap to leave on the sofa for checking instant messages during the boring bits of TV.


[3] Tesco reveals unannounced Dell 12in netbook

Now, we did wonder if Tesco's spec is a garbled reference not to a netbook but to an upcoming Dell MID. But the spec also mentions 1GB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, "Ubunto Linux" (sic), dimensions extending to 30 x 30 x 17cm and a weight of 1.2kg, all of which are rather large for an MID.


[4] Tesco sell computers with Ubuntu pre-installed - Linux on the up?

Tesco is the world's third largest grocery retailer, and also sells everything from clothes to electrical equipment.


[5] Tesco breaks free of WMA chains

TESCO DIGITAL will soon be launched in the UK. The partly DRM-free music download concern will now offer 1.6 million Ipod-friendly MP3 files alongside the current roster 1.7-million Windows-hamstringed tunes.


Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
10 Out of 10: RMS Attracts Massive Audience in Göteborg, Sweden (All Seats Occupied, Some People Standing)
a 55-second clip of his talk
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
Slopwatch: Plagiarism and "Linux" Articles by Bots
Sites that do this won't survive; many of them rely on slop services (suppliers) that will cease to exist after the bubble bursts
 
Geminispace is Very Large
The word continues to spread and the number of participants grows
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Another Wave of Microsoft Layoffs, This Time During National Day Holiday
This time it's China again
Staying Happy in Times of Crackdowns on Civil Society
Optimism in this sort of "new reality" or "new normal" seems like something for the irrational person
"Nobel" Exploited Posthumously for "AI" Hype, Now They Do the Same With "Quantum"
ere have been many jokes about "Nobel" for peace (often granted to pro-war people) and a fake one for "Economics" (establishment propaganda)
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
Links 10/10/2025: Putin Admits Russia Downed Azerbaijan Airlines Jet, More New Heat Records
Links for the day
Noteworthy Claim That IBM is Firing a Lot of Lawyers This Week (RAs in the Legal Department)
A lot of what they do is patent 'trolling' or lawyering up against their own staff (e.g. HR disputes)
Links 10/10/2025: US Judge Bars Attacks by ICE On Journalists and Protesters; “We Took The Freedom of Speech Away” Says the President
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Serial Sloppers, Google News Gifting Slopfarms, and Fake News/Plagiarism About "Linux"
Google itself is a slop pusher these days
Qualcomm, the New Owner of Arduino, Blasted for Its Software Patents Tax on 'Smartphones'
A lot of Qualcomm's patents are on software. We wrote about this in prior years.
XBox Layoffs Rumours, Downtime, and Criticism From XBox Co-Founder
"everyone is ditching the xbox."
Links 10/10/2025: Honoring The Legacy Of Robert Murray-Smith, Many Articles on the Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: October Gothic and Reading Middle Earth Role Playing; C and Ada
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 09, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 09, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Farewell to Jane Goodall, California Bans Algorithmic Price-Fixing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Lost Wages and a Saga Of Continuing To Use Palm PDAs
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Talk in Helsinki is Done. Tomorrow Göteborg.
There are scarce details in Finnish about Dr. Stallman's talk
New XBox Leaks Probably Serve to Confirm XBox's Collapse (Many More Layoffs)
It's very much consistent with what many other sites have reported lately
The Slop Song
The train wreck marches on
LLM Slop/Advanced Plagiarism Flooding the Zone With Capital That Does Not Exist
Many publishers out there still participate in this bubble instead of calling it what it is
Links 09/10/2025: Sacked Microsoft Workers Make "Sackbird", IBM Taps CockroachDB for PostgreSQL
Links for the day
"Happy Hacking Day" Richard Stallman Talk This Afternoon (From 14:00 to 16:00) at Haaga-Helia University in Pasila
Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 08, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Impact of Microsoft Layoffs, More Data Breaches
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Autumn Blues and C IRC Bot
Links for the day
Slopwatch Appreciated by Real Authors of GNU/Linux Articles
We do try to keep on top of those things
Upgraded R.R.R.R.R.R. Today
The Web of 2025 is full of garbage, not limited to slopfarms
Freedom From Proprietary Prisons
Forking always an option
IBM's Watson Died in 1956, Now Watson Dies Again
IBM is becoming just a reseller of GAFAM and other stuff
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, UbuntuPIT, and Google News
We've also just noticed more slop from UbuntuPIT
Microsoft Says That Constant Mass Layoffs Are Success, the Media Isn't Buying This Microsoft Narrative Anymore
If people in the media feel an obligation to repeat whatever lies Microsoft tells, what point will there be to the media?
Links 08/10/2025: "Mali Puts Free Speech on Trial" And Apple Enforces Dictatorship
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: ‘Death to Spotify’ and Law to Ban Loud Commercials on Streaming (Dis)Services
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Real Innovation and Nina.chat is Dead
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Y2K38 Bug is a Vulnerability, Chat Control in Europe a Threat
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows is No Longer an Operating System, It's Surveillance Project
Why is this even legal to preload on PCs outside the US?
How and Why Once-Legitimate Sites Turn Into Slopfarms
Many sites will go offline and many social control networks will shut down once they realise or even openly admit they spend money and time gardening a bunch of bots and slop
UbuntuPIT Became a Slopfarm and Gnoppix Tarnishes Its Own Brand With Slop
It fits all the characteristics of mildly-edited (if at all) slop
Slopwatch: Linux Journal and Other Slopfarms
GAFAM needs to go the way of the dodo
Gemini Links 08/10/2025: "Seek Seek Revolution" and Gradient Backgrounds
Links for the day
Qualcomm Arduino Takes Aim at Raspberry Pi
Qualcomm is a Microsoft partner
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 07, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Stagnation of the Economy and What Free Software Can (or Could) Do For It
If your economic model is based on a pyramid of lies, it won't last very long
Social Control Media is Sinking
it would rightly seem like the era of centralised "social" sites (they're not social, they're about controlling the users) is ending, not overnight but gradually