Summary: Microsoft personnel respawning under umbrellas that are seemingly subservient to Microsoft
A SAD reality we must all accept is that when a company filled with unethical people suddenly implodes, then those same unethical people that the company is comprised of end up infesting other companies that hire them. One example that we covered before is Visible Technologies, which is spying on people also on behalf of its client Microsoft. Visible Technologies was created with Microsoft funding and people. This includes former Microsoft data miners who are now spying on people and responding to them in blogs. They try to police coverage of companies like Microsoft. They call it “PR”, which is a euphemism, and Microsoft has a whole bunch of these firms out there.
According to the Microsoft-sponsored TechFlash, a Microsoft executive whose departure from Microsoft we wrote about before [1, 2] and role in antitrust exhibits we saw here, is becoming the CTO of Atigeo. It is a “data intelligence” (potential use is spying) company which is already filled with the Microsoft family. It’s like another one of those Microsoft offshoots near Redmond (a corporate reunion).
Bellevue-based Atigeo — a 5-year-old data intelligence company — has attracted two high-profile executives to lead technology and financial operations. Jawad Khaki, a longtime Microsoft executive who left the software giant last summer, has joined the company as chief technology officer and executive vice president of engineering. At Microsoft, Khaki served as a corporate vice president in the Windows Group.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel “Buster” Brown — the former chief financial officer at Paul Allen’s Vulcan Ventures — has taken up that same position at the company. Brown already sits on the company’s board.Atigeo is led by Michael Sandoval, the former Director of Partner Strategy at Microsoft and a former executive at AccessLine Communications.
There may be serious, uninvited compromises of privacy, which Microsoft has just violated in other ways that we will cover later on.
The one thing that I don’t get and that Microsoft didn’t have a good answer for, is why is the company building up two separate products/interfaces (Mediaroom, Windows Media Center) that are designed to do very similar things?
Based on the escape route of Rodriguez (Microsoft SVP), it’s a messy technical affair that articlescontinue to shed light on. Another Microsoft SVP, Veghte, very recently quit the company, right after a meeting with Microsoft's Ballmer. There is still mostly whitewashing of his character coming from the Microsoft de facto PR people [1, 2, 3] (all the familiar names). It’s like when someone passes away and suddenly nobody dares to say anything negative, probably “out of respect”. Microsoft news is delivered almost exclusively by people whom Microsoft is pampering to become apologists.
Wayne Guinn, Director of Finance for The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) has been named to the 2010 Microsoft Not For Profit Advisory Board.
“Non-profit accounting”… now, isn’t that a paradox? The conflicts of interests which this can generate are not too obvious, but the future might tell. █
Summary: Microsoft’s rapid decline continues unabated now that few products appear and many gradually disappear
MICROSOFT FELL sharply in 2008 and in 2009 when it comes to ladders of brands. Many independent ladders showed the same thing and we covered them in this Web site at the time. The company of fake hype is doing pretty well at those, partly due to advertising. Here is how it’s put in the Microsoft-obedient Seattle P-I:
The latest Apple commercials are great examples of a company that places itself and its reputation at the center of its communications. They present themselves and their chief competitor, Microsoft, literally as people. The Apple person is likeable and the sort of person you might want to hang out with; friendly, confident, cool and relaxed. The Microsoft person is less impressive. He’s nervous, defensive and gives the impression he’d rather not be there at all.
Other Seattle companies weren’t so lucky. Microsoft dropped from No. 38 to 51 and Adobe Systems fell from No. 11 to No. 42. Starbucks nearly fell off the list, plummeting 69 spots to No. 93 due to layoffs that cut 30,000 employees worldwide.
It is not the only tumble that Microsoft took in the past fortnight. Other examples include:
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) lost $2 or 3.90% to $49.29. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) slid $1.05 or 3.50% to $28.96.
Microsoft will report its results for the quarter late on Thursday (market close). What Microsoft will do is hide the troubling figures and put emphasis on an unrealistic comparison such as sales of Windows Vista on a quarter when people had already given up on it versus Vista 7 sales upon launch. The mainstream press, which is rarely curious or bold enough to actually investigate this, will just parrot the words of Microsoft. It will be so hilariously foolish. █
Summary: Internet Explorer mayday is still here, SVG is still not supported, and British taxpayers pay the price (or pay with their lives)
GOOGLE has issued a challenge to China, removing some censorship in the process (and getting some praise or flak for it). Totalitarians’ sympathiser, Microsoft, says it will carry on censoring results for the suppressive regime, which it later denies because it does not want the public to know (bad for PR). We wrote about this before and provided extensive evidence.
Using a new product, Microsoft helps manipulate search engines like Google and it is curious because Google’s China attacks were caused by Internet Explorer [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10] (and more specifically, Microsoft’s negligence [1, 2, 3]). Internet Explorer is still not secure. From the news:
A renowned security research company has revealed that it has managed to discover yet another set to vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s web browser, a mere day after the company patched the browser after a high-profile and highly-publicized attack on Google in China.
There was also a vulnerability disclosed a day after Microsoft had released patches. How about the vulnerability that’s 17 years old? Among the news coverage we have:
On the heels of Microsoft announcing an out-of-cycle patch for the ZeroDay vulnerability in Internet Explorer, researcher Travis Ormandy has released details on another ZeroDay that exists in the Windows NT Kernel on every system version from Windows NT 3.1 to Windows 7.
Don’t worry, said Microsoft a few days ago: the zero-day vulnerability that Chinese hackers exploited to infiltrate Google’s network only affects Internet Explorer 6 (released in 2000) running on Windows XP (released in 2001).
The implication being that nobody uses that still, do they? Ed Bott, who has forgotten more about Microsoft than many people know, says in a vehement blogpost at ZDNet that:
“Any IT professional who is still allowing IE6 to be used in a corporate setting is guilty of malpractice. Think that judgment is too harsh? Ask the security experts at Google, Adobe, and dozens of other large corporations that are cleaning up the mess from a wave of targeted attacks that allowed source code and confidential data to fall into the hands of well-organized intruders. The entry point? According to Microsoft, it’s IE6.”
Ed Bott is a Microsoft-bribed mouthpiece, so it hardly matters what he says about Microsoft products. He lied about rivals of Internet Explorer a few days ago (by repeating the Microsoft talking points). He is almost ZDNet’s way of advertising Microsoft under the more trustworthy guise of “blogs”.
As an aside, Internet Explorer still does not support SVG, which has been around for ages. There is no reason to believe that this will change, according to this new analysis which says:
As usual, Microsoft’s action drew considerable scrutiny and even skepticism. It’s not hard to find commenters who write about “false marriage”, “damage” and lock-out. The major market reality that has impacted SVG for years is that all major Web browsers support it–except for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Numerous projects have decided against SVG in their designs precisely because of this lack.
Initial reaction to Microsoft’s decision has been, in my paraphrase: “Finally! Soon IE will support SVG, and we can get back to our programming.” I’m unconvinced — but also unsure that it matters.
There’s no guarantee that Microsoft will ever upgrade IE again, let alone that it’ll include SVG. Even if it does, it’ll be many years before use of earlier versions (IE 5, 6, 7, and 8, for example) falls below whatever threshold decision-makers decide should apply.
Internet Explorer should just be removed from the Internet. It was only put on the Internet in order to sell Windows, Office and along with them substitutes to standards like SVG, so it’s not just simply a Web browser. █
“In one piece of mail people were suggesting that Office had to work equally well with all browsers and that we shouldn’t force Office users to use our browser. This Is wrong and I wanted to correct this.
“Another suggestion In this mail was that we can’t make our own unilateral extensions to HTML I was going to say this was wrong and correct this also.”
Epic is the publisher behind the smash hit Gears of War franchise. Analyst Michael Pachter has said that he believes Epic is regretting its decision to tie up exclusively with Microsoft. Pachter told GameTrailers, “I think the Epic guys can’t wait until they can start doing multi-platform games.”
His opinion is based on profits. Sure there are a lot of Xbox consoles on the market but Pachter figures that if the Gears of War games had been offered on the PS3 it would have sold an additional 3 to 4 million copies.
Asked if he think Gears will go multiplatform, Pachter clarified. “I don’t, I think Microsoft has a contract to make sure they get that sequel,” he said. “But I think Epic regrets signing that contract. You’re up to 11 million PS3s in the U.S. and probably similar number in Europe, you got a 20 million addressable market with a game like Gears of War. I mean, that thing would easily sell 3 or 4 million on the PS3, that’s a lot of profit. No way is it worth it.”
So, there are likely to be regrets about the partnership — even a regret which Epic is trying to deny. All those companies that lost their way after Microsoft deals are probably in denial. People love to convince themselves that they rarely made mistakes; it makes life much easier to get on with. As a side note, exclusivity deals should be considered illegal as they harm the market as a whole; they leave out externalities altogether.
As some readers may recall, Epic was turning bitter about GNU/Linux [1, 2] after those affairs with Microsoft, so this is quite relevant to us. Microsoft partnerships are consistently harmful as the corporate hijack of Yahoo! recently taught us (the European Commission can still rescue Yahoo! from Microsoft). Yahoo! had a very tough year despite or because of the Microsoft intervention. Yahoo Shopping is reportedly going into the dustbin or being outsourced. That’s just the latest among other victims that include Geocities (I had a Web site there since I was 15).
Relatively quietly Yahoo has decided to outsource most of Yahoo Shopping to PriceGrabber. This is analogous to what Yahoo is doing with Microsoft-Bing in search — just not with Microsoft. Merchant listings will now come from PriceGrabber and e-commerce sellers will only be able to get into Yahoo Shopping via PriceGrabber or Yahoo Search (Bing).
To name other victims, there is of course Zimbra, which was put in the hands of former Microsoft employees whose actions speak for themselves. Whether they can put up a fight against their former employer (let alone want to) is somewhat questionable because of employee ties not just at VMware but EMC too (it virtually owns VMware). We wrote about this before [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Also see:
Microsoft Nick chooses to believe (and he is not alone [1, 2]) that former Microsoft managers will fight against a Microsoft cash cow, but we are skeptical. VMware gives APIs and SDKs [1, 2], but this is not the same as source code with the rights granted by the GPL. VMware recently removed the GPL from a SpringSource product. EMC will probably be pleased. █
Summary: The familiar pattern of FUD which Microsoft has been using against Google and against GNU/Linux is once again being used, this time against Sony and Nintendo
NPD and those who are using NPD numbers (Microsoft and its boosters for the large part [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]) capitalise on many loopholes and the localisation of samples (biased populations) in order to make utterly false statements and by sheer repetition make them be perceived as true.
We have given several examples before, so we won’t repeat these examples again. But watch what lip serviceXbox 360 is once again receiving from NPD (which spreads the illusion that the United States is a surrogate for the international market, to which it cannot be extrapolated):
Microsoft clarifies NPD claims
10m sales figure referred to global numbers, not the US, platform holder explains
Platform holder Microsoft has clarified a statement that it released earlier today that appeared to claim that Xbox 360 sold 10m units in the US in 2009 – a number that didn’t correspond with official NPD figures.
This clarification came after complaints. They try to get away with a whole load of lies. A notable example where GNU/Linux suffers from these lies is sub-notebooks [1, 2, 3], where GNU/Linux is already killing Microsoft, at least financially. Search is another example because Microsoft and its boosters only ever speak about the US market, where Microsoft’s share is estimated to be about triple of what it is has in the world at large.
Going back to Xbox, what is the reality of it all? Well, Microsoft is just copying Nintendo several years late and Microsoft itself is rather hopeless based on this new report:
Spencer: Project Natal launch ‘fraught with risk’ for Microsoft
Speaking to Eurogamer, Microsoft Game Studios head Phil Spencer responded to criticism that Microsoft takes fewer risks than Sony in first-party development by referencing Project Natal — “if there isn’t risk in Natal then I don’t know what’s keeping me up at night.”
Sony isn’t lagging, either. “Wireless controller for the PlayStation coming in fall,” says this report. That’s even sooner than Microsoft’s, which it says will be ready only around Christmas.
Japan’s Sony has announced it will postpone for the fall 2010 launch of its wireless controller with motion sensor for PlayStation 3, which is the second delay of a major product launch in a short time after ‘Gran Turismo’. In any case, reach before ‘Project Natal’ for Xbox 360.
The winner is still Nintendo, which actually makes a profit, leads this race, and has a big gap behind it.
Sony says PS3 sold 3 million units in UK
[...]
The Wii is leading the market easily worldwide with 56 million units sold globally.
The Independent (UK) has gone as far as putting together silly headlines like this one. Nintendo is untouchable and Sony — unlike Microsoft — does not need to lie about it. Microsoft has always been a factory of lies and it was even sued for it. █
A Philadelphia-area attorney has filed a class action suit against Microsoft, claiming the software maker ripped him off after he bought points that were supposed to allow him to make purchases over the online Xbox Live Marketplace.
Samuel Lassoff, of Horsham, PA, said an invoice he received earlier this month from Microsoft included charges for purchases he couldn’t complete due to a balky download system—and he claimed it wasn’t an accident.
Here comes the Microsoft “damage control” [1, 2, 3] where Microsoft plays innocent.
Microsoft, Stop Charging For Other Companies’ Content On Xbox
[...]
If your subscription is paid, you can watch Netflix for free on your computer, your Blu-ray player, your PS3, and soon, your Wii – but not on the Xbox 360. Microsoft, it’s time to kill the Xbox internet tax
A man suing British Airways over an alleged aircraft accident at London City Airport on February 13 2009 is claiming that because of it he lost his job at Microsoft.
Raymond Hamblin worked for the Global Practices Group of Microsoft and wants damages from BA for both lost income and future earnings.
Tough times for Microsoft. If not their crimes, then their technical incapabilities and dishonesty land them in the courtroom. █
Summary: Windows Mobile continues dropping into oblivion, Microsoft kills Mobile2Market, and CES reveals an empty future for the most part
THE harsh reality of Windows Mobile is one that Microsoft is unable to deny. Nowadays, Microsoft groks only vapourware, which it hopes will keep partners waiting. Some are losing their patience and sure it seems like a lost battle for Microsoft (probably because of Linux for the most part, especially in recent months). As the Korea Times puts it:
Unlike Windows Mobile, the platform developed by a massive cross-industry alliance led by Internet giant Google, is based on open source Linux software and enables greater flexibility for programmers building applications and features tailored to handsets.
Precious little is known about Windows Mobile 7. Last November, Phil Moore, Microsoft’s head of mobility in the U.K., let slip that Windows Mobile 7 had been delayed until late 2010 and would include features that appeal both to enterprises and consumers. Earlier this week, The Bright Side Of News, quoting unnamed sources from a number of chipmakers and handset manufacturers, said that Windows Mobile 7 has been “definitely delayed” until 2011.
According to IDG, “another account reports that Korea’s LG Electronics let slip at CES that Windows Mobile 7 will be released in 2010, probably in the Fall.” Microsoft sympathisers are notsure if this is true and some are even giving tips for a multiple-times convicted monopolist to save Windows Mobile. But as one pundit puts it:
Windows Mobile 7: Should Microsoft even bother?
[...]
When looking at all the competitors for smartphone supremacy, you might say the Windows Mobile is DLF in the rankings (although a recent report places it at third place). Some would even contend that Microsoft would have been better off never entering this race if it weren’t going to put up a good fight. That may shock the 7.2 million users of the Microsoft smartphone OS, especially those in the enterprise who don’t see the iPhone as a serious contender at all (due in part to Apple’s history of ignoring the needs of the enterprise in favor of the individual user).
Danger/SideKick did not save Microsoft’s mobile business [1, 2, 3]; It just got Microsoft sued (class action). Microsoft is said to be considering just buying some market share (maybe RIM).
In general, Microsoft had nothing substantial to show at CES. We wrote a lot more about this several times before. Many attendants felt that way too, including:
Hopes were high that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote address at the 6 January opening of the Consumer Electronics Show would bring renewed excitement about multiple Microsoft products, such as Windows 7, Windows Mobile 7, Bing and Project Natal. But in the end, the keynote was very much a disappointment. Here is why the usually dynamic Ballmer’s lacklustre keynote likely let down many listeners.
But once again, most attention turned instead to the latest gadgets from Apple and Google Inc, which weren’t even exhibitors at the world’s largest tech show.
It’s a familiar story for Microsoft, which has struggled to translate its dominance in the business and home personal computer software market into leadership of hot new consumer sectors, or to capture the buzz that some rivals generate.
It is worth adding that Microsoft has already buried the name “Vista”. We have found 0 headlines about “Vista” in the past two weeks, as opposed to 18 clusters of headlines about “Windows 7″. █
Posted in Patents, Videos at 8:24 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: “Ballad of the Patent Troll” – video criticising the likes of Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft's patent troll
“THE fear of the Patent Troll, video made by “General Patent Corp”, an IP-licensing and enforcement organization,” is how Benjamin Henrion deescribed the following video (original source). It does make some reasonable points about the practice of patent-trolling, however it dos not offer a strong criticism of other tactical elements that are very questionable. █
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