"Microsoft did sponsor the benchmark testing and the NT server was better tuned than the Linux one. Having said that, I must say that I still trust the Windows NT server would have outperformed the Linux one."

--Windows platform manager, Microsoft South Africa
Reference: "Outrage at Microsoft’s independent, yet sponsored NT 4.0/Linux research"

Summary: More news about analysts that sell their opinions and how Microsoft is using these

MICROSOFT PAID IDC (IDG [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]) a lot of money to produce ammunition that assists lobbying in India, Portugal, and several other countries. IDC essentially helps Microsoft lobbying. We covered it in:

1. avoids
2. Microsoft Already Uses IDC Study it Paid for to Further Digitally Colonise India and Portugal

It hasn't quite stopped there. Watch how an EU-based news site reads like a Microsoft advert; to an extent, it was actually ghostwritten by Microsoft itself in order to promote Microsoft products with IDC's paid-for propaganda.

On a sunny day last week Alia Papageorgiou met with Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman of Microsoft Europe to talk about a latest study released on ICT and the economic crisis, why Microsoft decided to look at the effects of the crisis so soon, and just what this would mean for future workforces in our region. The interview is below.

[...]

What is ICT really doing for the economy?

The IDC research reinforces the conclusions drawn in academic research – namely, that IT is good for local economies. The economic benefits quantified in this study will help the region grow, create new jobs, improve the efficiency of its labor force, and support the formation of new companies. The economic benefits not quantified in this study but referenced in the academic research help drive productivity improvements throughout the region, increase competitiveness, and foster local innovation.

Somewhere in the article it says that "This report is an independent study commissioned by Microsoft by IDC." If it is commissioned by Microsoft (gentler phrasing for "paid for"), then how is it "independent"? It's not. "Independent, yet sponsored" is a typical Microsoft pattern that can also be found in that old quote at the very top. But by stating this in the article (disclosure of sponsorship), Microsoft avoids breaking the new laws (enforced by the FTC).

Some days ago we wrote about Gartner getting sued and here is one of the causes:

- Fair Disclosure on Conflicts of Interest. Gartner generates its revenues from payments made by the same vendors whose products it evaluates.

Another interesting item in the news is to do with NPD. NPD has clients and thus conflicts of interests that it never properly discloses. Microsoft is now spinning NPD numbers in order to hide the failures of the Xbox 360, which has lost billions of dollars. ⬆

Recent posts about the Gartner Group:

• Here Come the Anti-FSF Shills, Gartner
• Gartner Group Wrong Again
• Gartner Lied About Vista, So Why Should People Believe it Regarding Vista 7?
• The Microsoft 'Mouthpiece Theatre' Starts the Vista 7 Marketing Blitz