Bonum Certa Men Certa

Fake 'Studies' for Vista 8 Grooming and Yet More IDC/IDG Pay-to-Say/Publication Collusion (Yes, Again)

Biased data, wrong conclusions, erroneous business model

Arguing with IDG



Summary: A look at some spin-doctoring which favours Microsoft, arriving, as always, from Microsoft partners

The Economist is having a field day as it tackles Microsoft spin. Every now and then we see IDG publishing lies (for sale) from Microsoft or its proxy the Business Software Alliance (BSA). It's part of the business model. IDC is part of IDG after all. Well, as our reader who showed this to us correctly points out, IDC 'analysts' (marketers) refrain from saying something negative about Vista 8 in the latest output they put forth. Here is IDG pushing its own lies (from IDC), essentially referring to itself as a third person by stating: "After the steep losses in the disastrous first quarter, IDC now predicts PC shipments to drop a whopping 7.8 percent in 2013—nearly twice the rate of 2012's 4 percent decline, which already had the industry in a tizzy. Dell's on the block, Lenovo's pushing into smartphones despite its computing wins, and HP's first quarter PC revenues dropped a whopping 20 percent."



But why?

“PC industry bleeding to explode into full-blown hemorrhaging in 2013, says IDC”
      --IDG (parent company of IDC)
They didn't state the obvious. It's probably self-censorship. Microsoft is a prominent business partner and client. As this report from Taiwan says: "Notebook vendors will wait till July before ramping up their orders in preparation for the back-to-school demand, a delay of about 60 days as compared to the usual practice in previous years, probably because the vendors are conservative about market demand or are waiting for sufficient supply of touch panels, according to sources with the Taiwan-based supply chain." [via]

Here is some blog and tabloid (ZDNet) coverage about the IDC output, which is basically more of the usual spin. Speaking of spin, Fernando Cassia sarcastically says that "Microsoft does no wrong!"

“IDC now predicts PC shipments to drop...”
      --IDG (parent company of IDC)
He cites Microsoft talking points regarding some company called Soluto manufacturing some 'surveys' to promote Vista 8. Typical booster, Ed Bott (ad bot, here is his latest ad), calls me "sack of shit", showing he is no exception to Microsoft's foul-mouthed culture. They are basically all trying to use Vista 7 as a brand to embellish Vista 8. It is the latest pattern of spin from Microsoft MVPs like Rod Trent, who used to shill for the company in Digg. Here is an example of this same spin.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, Mark Shuttleworth is sucking up to Microsoft again, trying to defend Vista 8. Is this why he put a Microsoft interface guy in charge of Ubuntu? Does he not see the obvious backlash against Vista 8? I have been hearing from journalists who say they no longer cover Ubuntu because of the direction it has taken.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Northern Africa: GNU/Linux Measured at Around 5%
by Clownflare
SLAPP Censorship - Part 159 Out of 200: Telling Courts False Information and Spoon-feeding Them Insults, Hoping or Expecting Them to Repeat These Insults
When lawyers trick courts into repeating something false
 
In South Korea, Steady Increases for GNU/Linux
authorities said they would migrate to GNU/Linux or consider moving in that direction
SLAPP Censorship - Part 160 Out of 200: In Astounding Repetition of Last Year, Brett Wilson LLP Deliberately Ignores Holidays of People It is Attacking and Crushes Principles of Access to Justice
Disconnected from the law
Links 24/08/2026: Vision and Skill, Doing Good, Chiperia Project
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 23, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, August 23, 2026
Gemini Links 23/08/2026: Turning 60, PineTime, and Simulation Hypothesis
Links for the day
Will Your "Modern" New Car Still be on the Road in 2060?
Are people now expected to change a car as often as they replace a mobile phone and, if so, how fast would costs add up?
The Sniff Test
Be sceptical of "CoCs"
Cloudflare Sees a Quarter of Requests in China Coming From GNU/Linux Today
Will 23% ever be the average for GNU/Linux rather than a mere peak?
You Can Lose Some Battles and Still Win the War
Winning or losing isn't something for a scoreboard
GNU/Linux Usage Measured at 23% in Russia Today
the average was almost 10%
Things Not to Fear Missing Out on
Life is too short to pay attention to social control media
Gemini Links 23/08/2026: Exercising Again, Tackling Phone Addiction, and Putting Graal Online Back Online
Links for the day
PIPs and Lawsuits: On the Future of IBM Trying to Spit Out Its Own Staff at Minimal Cost
"I'd rather be laid off than be put on a PIP"
France: GNU/Linux Averaging at 7%, Peaked at 14% Today
When will 14% be the average?
Links 23/08/2026: Water Crises, Illegal Tariffs, and Carney Confronts US Over Patent Imperialism
Links for the day
Links 23/08/2026: Slop "Children's Stories Contain Bizarre Patterns" and "Butterflies at the One Garden"
Links for the day
Microsoft is in Double Trouble in Singapore
Android+GNU/Linux+ChromeOS are near 20%
The Slop Industry Bribed the Media to Pretend It Has Something New and Revolutionary. Now It Bribes Politicians Too. Anything to Avoid Scrutiny and Regulation.
borrowed money has long been used to bribe the media
"AGI" is Decades Old and It Never Found a Viable Business Model or Real, Actually Useful Use Cases
I keep reminding people of local firms (right here in Manchester) doing the same thing the media now calls "AGI"...
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 22, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, August 22, 2026
Microsoft to Its Workers in April-May: You're Too Old, Go Away. Microsoft in August: Young People, Go Away.
What does this company even sell anymore?
Clownflare Data US-Centric
We are assuming that for national security reasons not many sites in Chinese (or based in China) outsource their traffic to Clownflare
Gemini Links 22/08/2026: Broken Car, Devuan, and Thundermail
Links for the day
Links 22/08/2026: Prince Harry, Elton John and Others Pay High Price for Frivolous Litigation in the UK
Links for the day
'Voluntary' Mass Layoffs at IBM/Red Hat
IBM does not want people to notice what truly goes on there
Another Round of GAFAM Layoffs, This Time Apple
Now Apple "is shutting down an entire Vision Pro team focused on developing gaming features for the mixed-reality headset."
Gemini Links 22/08/2026: The Bodyguard (1992), Minimalism, Backups, and IPFS
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 158 Out of 200: Making Alliances With Men Arrested for Strangling Women Was Always a Terrible Strategy
They work for American slop companies
Links 22/08/2026: TikTok Settles With Feds, Harms Caused by Social Control Media Gaining Attention
Links for the day
New Data Shows Microsoft's XBox is Really Dying
XBox is a "burning platform"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 21, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, August 21, 2026