"Just keep rubbing it in, via the press, analysts, newsgroups, whatever. Make the complete failure of the competition's technology part of the mythology of the computer industry."

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]

IN A RECENT SERIES of posts we covered concrete examples where Microsoft had paid analysts to 'engineer' dirt about its competition [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. A similar strategy is being applied to those who are in the media (such occupations are mostly intertwined). As a bit of general background on the subject of media bias, the following multi-part documentary is worth a watch.



Turning to today's main story, it's worth reminding ourselves that IDG, one of the largest news networks covering technology these days, is owned by IDC, which in turn is closely tied to Microsoft [1, 2]. Microsoft pays IDC|IDG a lot of money (sometimes gifts) to manufacture lies about GNU/Linux and praise its own products. Microsoft also uses IDG to publicly deny Microsoft's crimes.

“Microsoft pays IDC|IDG a lot of money (sometimes gifts) to manufacture lies about GNU/Linux and praise its own products.”But hey, that's journalism [1, 2]. Those who have the money also have control over information, so they get to have their own story told while certain other stories are neglected or buried. Editors can easily shoot down reports, even for fear of their superiors. The hiring process takes much of this into account and authors whose work is rejected may sometimes choose to walk away not because they were officially censored but because they did not fit the culture of 'obedient' coverage that blindly sticks to imposed consensus and pleases potential advertisers.

Anyway, the previous post spoke about possible misconduct in Microsoft Australia. There is actually a lot more coming from Microsoft Australia, which has just passed quite a bit of money to IDC (parent company of IDG). They were paid to daemonise threats/competitors of Microsoft and guess who bears and spreads this 'news'? That's right -- IDG.

More people use pirated software in Australia than in Sweden -- home of a popular pirate site -- according to a report by research firm IDC.

A separate telephone survey of 1100 Australians conducted last month by Galaxy Research and commissioned by Microsoft Australia, found up to 64 percent would use pirated software for personal use.

[...]

Microsoft Australia business consumer product manager Steve Johns said users are jeopardizing computer security by using pirated software.

Surely, IDG and IDC have a nice tag-team act going there. The publisher, the study, the benefactors, and the funder are all financially linked. It doesn't take long to realise what is happening here and it's merely part of a known pattern that we see recurring very occasionally.

There was a little more of that stuff over the past week. These groups continually pull some tricks for the cameras -- primarily sentimental stuff about online 'safety' despite involving the company with the worst track record when it comes to security, and very much by design. They harness children and are using Girl Scouts of the USA right now, exploiting all this for publicity. Microsoft is doing something similar in Ireland and this was covered by the BBC, which Microsoft had already corrupted.

The survey, by Microsoft, also suggested that 66% of teens surf the internet without any restrictions from their parents.

[...]

Police officers and Microsoft workers have been giving 30-minute presentations at the schools on internet safety.

The media which covers technology is about as corrupt as the more political media. It only requires the joining of simple dots to show this. ⬆