05.20.09
Net Applications Has Former Microsoft Employee, Also a Microsoft Investor?
Summary: Vicinity Corporation and Matt Hopkins make another strong link between Microsoft and Net Applications, whose data it admits to be flawed
WE ARE WELL aware already that Net Applications is funded by Microsoft in the form of clientèle and the company’s output sure feeds a lot of anti-GNU/Linux writers like Preston Gralla from IDG. They just need some manufactured numbers with which to suppress and demoralise the competition, as explained very lucidly in Microsoft's effective evangelism courses.
“They just need some manufactured numbers with which to suppress and demoralise the competition, as explained very lucidly in Microsoft’s effective evangelism courses.”Net Applications has admitted that its sample set is not representative of the global population of Web sites and a lot of people conveniently ignore this (with exceptions that get washed away by “yes men”). Moreover, Chips has just told us that the company’s Twitter account is run by Matt Hopkins, a former Microsoft Employee. He is with Net Applications now. And here is another link: Vicinity Corporation. Hopkins was there when Microsoft bought it and also, according to Chips, Hopkins does investing. He is listed as a former employee of Microsoft and Vicinity Corporation, which Microsoft bought.
“On the Net Applications page,” elaborates Chips, “[do] a google search on Matt, says that he is also an investor [...] one wonders if he owned part of Vicinity, and got the money from Microsoft.” Net Applications is an insult to GNU/Linux, as explained in:
- Three New Articles Question Net Applications’ Integrity
- Net Applications: the Big Lie, Boosted by IDC|IDG et al
- Is Netcraft Promoting Microsoft Just Like Net Applications?
- Summary: Lies, Damn Lies and Net Applications (Fake ‘Statistics’)
So, what is the real installed based on GNU/Linux on the desktop? Even on the server we may never know because Microsoft paid those who measure it to do this in a way that glorifies Microsoft, by statistical design. This is a strategic move. As Microsoft puts it [PDF]
, “To control mental output you have to control mental input. Take control of the channels by which developers receive information, then they can only think about the things you tell them. Thus, you control mindshare!” █
“There’s a lot of Linux out there — much more than Microsoft generally signals publicly — and their customers are using it…”
–Paul DeGroot, a Directions On Microsoft analyst
Chips B Malroy said,
May 20, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Love this article Roy! It great the way you keep exposing Net Apps! Net Apps needs to be challenged to respond and explain the way they poll. BTW, I believe they use all MS software apps to determine the users OS and browser, but I would need to find that link again on their pages. Also I think they use their partners websites (MS and Apple) to count the OS and browser, to extend their number of polling sites. Most of those sites would be in North America and not have many Linux users surfing on those sites. That would greatly skew the data itself. Again I should look for that link too.
At some point Net Apps needs to respond, unless of course, it is completely guilty.