Bonum Certa Men Certa

More New Evidence of the Incestuous Relationship Between the BBC and Microsoft

Summary: The BBC and Microsoft share common interests (not just staff) and it shows

A couple of weeks ago we showed that the BBC misrepresented Europe (as in the European Commission). It was wrong about Microsoft antitrust, and not so surprisingly because the BBC too came under European Commission pressure after it had colluded with Microsoft. The BBC continues to turn a blind eye to the inherent insecurity of Windows while illegally hijacking the platform en masse and then 'forgetting' to mention that it is a Windows problem.



“Contrary to common belief, the BBC is run as a business, but it is unique in the sense that it is also a national service.”We could go on forever listing the many posts here about the BBC. Contrary to common belief, the BBC is run as a business, but it is unique in the sense that it is also a national service. It does great disservice at times by misinforming the public and even former employees of the BBC complained about it, including one prominent one whose name was Eric Blair (better known as George Orwell).

Yesterday we wrote about the atrocious Yahoo-Microsoft deal, which sank Yahoo's stock like it was a rock. Needless to say, the BBC portrays this as a good thing, whereas others are calling for regulators to intercept the deal because it is very damaging to competition and to end users. Now catch this stunning coverage of the deal. Look who the BBC is quoting (with an entire video):

Microsoft's Ashley Highfield: "It brings scale and innovation to the search market"


Yes, that's right. The BBC approaches Ashley Highfield, the the man who used the BBC to exclude Microsoft's rivals. The BBC, where he worked and caused trouble for a long time, is now quoting him on behalf of Microsoft. This is insanely creepy.

This morning we also found this report from The Register.

Microsoft to launch UK ad-funded online video player



[...]

The software giant's ad-funded MSN Video Player will be made available to Blighty broadband customers and will feature TV programmes from BBC Worldwide and All3Media.

[...]

Ex-BBC technology chief Ashley Highfield, who quit Project Kangaroo for Microsoft taking on the role of MD and veep of consumer and online in November 2008, told the Guardian that MS had a "fair crack of the whip" with attracting viewers to the service.


Yes, that's Highfield again. How predictable. It is the man who said (wearing a BBC hat): "We have 17.1 million users of bbc.co.uk in the UK and, as far as our server logs can make out, 5 per cent of those [use Macs] and around 400 to 600 are Linux users."

“The BBC hardly ever covers GNU/Linux; when it does, it is very derogatory.”That was a lie.

But wait, that's not all.

On the BBC, Peter Day's new Red Hat interview was very hostile. He gave away his hatred of collaboration, Free software, Wikipedia, people who develop code, and the young(er) generation. It is almost as though the purpose of the interview was to grill, to daemonise, and to be rude. Listen to it for a more personal judgment. It gets crass towards the end. This was debated some more in the IRC channel (later in the day) and more historical context in needed for newcomers to understand the convictions of the BBC, which got filled with former Microsoft staff recently. The BBC hardly ever covers GNU/Linux; when it does, it is very derogatory.

The BBC is usually glorifying Microsoft (even Windows Vista, which is undeniably a failure) and glamourising intellectual monopolies while consistently calling dissenters "pirates". Here is a new BBC article about patents, which totally lacks proper criticism.

The voicemail-to-text service Spinvox has applied for two patents which describe the service as being operated by humans, the BBC has learned.

Spinvox has previously claimed that state-of-the-art speech recognition technology is the basis of its service.

However, its patent applications claim the approach is accurate precisely because it employs human operators.


The BBC needs to advance onto the new age; as it stands, the BBC remains a promoter of DRM, monopolies on knowledge, Windows Vista, Microsoft, the MPAA, and the RIAA. Being a defender of status quo where elite interests are always further advanced is nothing to take pride in. Maybe Auntie Beeb should make a bid for Bill O'Reilly sooner rather than later.

Orwell at the BBC
Eric Blair's memo of resignation from the BBC

Recent Techrights' Posts

Why Would Anybody be Afraid of Talking to Richard Stallman?
We need to get rid of the baseless stigma
EPO on Strike
organisation operating outside the Rule of Law
Affirming What We Already Know: Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is Profoundly Incompetent
"SRA ordered to pay solicitor £50k in costs after failed prosecution"
 
Gemini Links 30/01/2026: Love and Cultivation, Gemtext Anchors
Links for the day
Will Jim Zemlin Also Sell His Daughter or Only the "Linux" Brand (and Linux Foundation) to Bill Epsteingate?
Torvalds "ate a bug"
The Epstein Files Don't Say the Ages of Those "Russian Girls" Bill Epsteingate Exploited
This E-mail was sent around the time an arrest was made for pedophilia
Only One in 33 EPO Staff Voting on the Strike Opposed It
Kudos to all those who participated in the strike
Still Hoping for "Slop Zero" in 2026
We've also noticed that linuxiac.com shows a glimmer of hope this week
Links 30/01/2026: Waymo Crashing Into 'Small People' (Children), Microsoft at Risk Due to Slop Debt
Links for the day
Amutable’s Management and Founders Are 100% Microsoft!
It'll be focused on promoting Microsoft's agenda in everything it does
IBM Tries to Get Rid of Workers Without Paying Them (and It Appears to be Working)
be sure to speak to people who actually work there
He Has No Money, But He Has Power, He Has a Voice
That's why they envy and attack him
Free Software in Swiss Media This Week
RMS is still going places with his Migros bag (Swiss retail giant)
TV Programs Disseminate False Numbers of Microsoft Layoffs (About 31,000 Laid Off Last Year, Not Including PIPs, Contractors and so on)
large-scale layoffs are inevitable, no matter how long Microsoft delays or procrastinates
Links 30/01/2026: Microsoft's "OpenAI Is Headed For Bankruptcy" and Bitcoin Crashes
Links for the day
Amutable is a Microsoft Proxy Like Xamarin, With Some IBM/Red Hat Staff Added for Good Measure
Amutable chasing money and trying to impose TPM etc. on everybody
The Letter Sent to the Ringleader of the Alicante Mafia This Week
Call for industrial actions to stop the salary erosion of EPO staff
Oracle's Debt Exploded by 22 Billion Dollars in 6 Months, the Ponzi Scheme With Scam Altman Was Classic 'Pump and Dump'
The founder of Oracle now uses his wealth for right-wing ideological reasons, nothing else
Facebook ('Meta') is Dead Meat, This GAFAM Company's Debt Exploded by Almost 33 Billion Dollars in Just 3 Months (11 Billion Per Month)
we can expect many sales/contracts to get canceled
Australia's top nurse takes on Musk, Zuckerberg & rogue health influencers, birthkeepers
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XVI - The Associates of Mr. Cocainegate Don't Want to Talk About Cocainegate (Right of Reply)
Nobody wanted to talk about cocaine at the EPO
The "Open Source" (Corporate Openwashing) Fake Community Rejects Democracy, Open Source Initiative is in Effect Dead
This is basically the end of the OSI
Cracks and Holes in Microsoft's Slop Bubble (Also, Windows is Declining)
"More Bad News For Xbox As Microsoft Blames Gaming For An Annual Decline In Its PC Business"
Microsoft's Debt Exploded by More Than 20 Billion Dollars This Past Year, Says Microsoft
Expect more mass layoffs
Strike at the EPO Today
Next month we'll start a new EPO series
State of the Slop and The Register MS Runs Ads as 'Articles'
Yesterday we could not find much slop about "Linux"
Gemini Links 30/01/2026: Announcing Crossyword and SYN Attack
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 29, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, January 29, 2026
Gemini Links 29/01/2026: Naps, Letting Go, and Terribly Cold Weather
Links for the day
Links 29/01/2026: Kennedy Center Officials Resigning and Amazon to Cut 16,000 Jobs
Links for the day
Goodbyes to Red Hat and IBM
PIPs let them do the same with less "wasted" on severance or with obscene narrative-shaping
RMS Was Right 35 Years Ago
Stallman’s viewpoints have remained the same
The Need to Understand the Projection Tactics Against RMS
There's an old and common saying (or "wisdom") about who's guilty when there's a fart in elevators (lifts)
Links 29/01/2026: Neocities Is Blocked by Microsoft, “Intellectual Freedom Centers” as the New "Intelligent Design"
Links for the day
Microsoft XBox Dying Not Only as a Console, Reveals Microsoft
Microsoft is trying to rebrand or repurpose the brand
Don't be Mistaken, Microsoft Boasts About Money That Does Not Exist and Revenue (Buying From Oneself!) Is Not Income
the company's debt grew
Fedora is IBM and There's Hardly Any Community Left
It's more like an onboarding mechanism for unpaid labour at (and for) IBM
IBM's Financial Performance in IBM's Own Words: Money Down, Debt Up Sharply
IBM isn't a healthy company
In Dominica, GNU/Linux Has Risen to All-Time High in 2026
a lot of America is moving to Free software this year
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XV - EPO is on Strike Tomorrow, Lots to be Angry About (Except Money)
We'll soon finish the series
Gemini Links 29/01/2026: "Lady Audley's Secret" and "The Value Of Our Fear" (Carney's Speech)
Links for the day
Emmanuel Macron on Europe's GAFAM Addiction/Dependence: "There is No Such Thing as Happy Vassalage"
Microsoft has long worked to prevent commodification
It's Official, Mass Layoffs at IBM Again (2026)
In a matter of days we'll just see how much IBM's debt has grown
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Laos and Microsoft: About 10% Windows, 0% Bing
There are many more nations like it
EPO Technical Meetings Show no Breakthroughs, a Strike Goes Ahead This Friday
Apparently there was another (fourth) meeting today [...] The industrial actions are working already
Google News as the Sole Source of Slop About "Linux", a Feeder of Slopfarms or Serial Sloppers
At least it's no longer hard to 'contain' the slop problem, knowing which domains are the culprits and seeing that Google is their main 'feeder'
IBM to Announce 'Results' Shortly, Expect Lots of Chaff Like "Quantum" and "Hey Hi" (Nothing Material to Show)
We're still seeing layoffs and an exodus
Links 28/01/2026: ChatGPT Has Financial Problems, White House Sharing Fakes (or Deepfakes) in Official Accounts/Sites
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/01/2026: FlatCube NES Port Finished and "Why I Still Write on the Small Web in 2026"
Links for the day
Upcoming Techrights Series About the Public Appearances of Richard M. Stallman (RMS) in the United States
we plan to drop all pretences about "Open Source" and instead focus on Software Freedom
Upcoming Techrights Series About the Experiences of EPO Insiders
We'll start the new series some time next week
Links 28/01/2026: Microsoft Ordered to Stop Spying on School Children, Apple's Brand Tarnished by Its Complicity With Human Rights Abusers
Links for the day
Upcoming Techrights Series About the Failure of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to Stop Hired Guns Who Work for Americans That Abuse Women
The SRA has demonstrated nothing but considerable incompetence at many levels
The "Alicante Mafia" - Part XIV - The EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan and the Hidden Alicante Connection is a Big Deal
We'll soon take a closer look at Ernst
Gemini Links 28/01/2026: Particle and AirMIDI
Links for the day
Amandine Jambert (EDPB/CNIL/FSFE), motive for lying, trust in blockchain and encryption
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 27, 2026