Summary: New claims about a source of anti-GNU/Linux FUD, who is close to Microsoft's PR department and executives (also paid by them)

Roughly Drafted Magazine has just gone on a round of shill-busting, slamming Strand Consult and Diaz for breaking Godwin's law. But more relevant to us is this new essay about Rob Enderle, one of Microsoft's more incestuous shills [1, 2].

Back in 2007, the New York Times first instated a ban on shills like Rob Enderle, who purport to be independent analysts while actually serving as paid mouthpieces for the firms they represent. In the words of Times spokeswoman Abbe Serphos, this supposedly included any “analysts who have an obvious business relationship with a company.”

It’s no secret that Enderle has been paid by both Microsoft and Dell to say bad things about Apple. It eventually became embarrassing for the Times to realize its sloppy journalists were stooping to quote him as a shortcut to performing actual investigative research, hence the ban.

Why can't newspapers stick to the ban of people with a conflict of interests? The guy is already exposed and so are many others. ⬆

“Analysts sell out - that’s their business model…”

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]