Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Death of Microsoft in the Media

News companies chart
Image from Pew Research Center



Summary: Microsoft rapidly slides into obscurity and Techrights explains how coverage will be affected

FOR THOSE who do not know, the way Techrights tracks Microsoft typically involves reading and studying Microsoft news over the weekend, usually on a Sunday afternoon. But Techrights has not done this since last month. Why? There is not a high enough volume of news. Microsoft grew somewhat irrelevant in news outlets. A few years ago Microsoft was by far the most talked about company in technology and now it fell behind companies like Facebook, based on this survey (watching the graph is a must). As Microsoft boosters put it:



When it comes to mainstream media outlets like newspapers, TV and radio news, it seems that no one cares much about Microsoft anymore, a new report from Pew Research Center has found. Everyone's eye is on Apple instead. If they turn away from Cupertino, it's mostly to write about Google, Twitter and Facebook.


Yes, even Facebook receives more coverage according to this survey. About a week ago Techrights stated that it would de-emphasise Microsoft coverage not because Microsoft is any less harmful or increasingly benign; it's just because to software freedom, greater hurdles are beginning to develop and we need to recognise these hurdles. Fog Computing is a very scary phenomenon and software patents are no longer being pushed just by Microsoft; Apple is in certain aspects a lot worse than Microsoft even if historically it is not being recognised as such. Facebook is quite a disgusting company for all sorts of reasons, not just its software patents and general policy (Professor Eben Moglen has begun warning a lot of people about Facebook). In IRC we've been discussing the early days of the company and how the history is gradually being deleted; Facebook -- like Microsoft -- gained momentum through illegal activities, but a lot of people no longer know this or recognise this. More recently came all the PR nonsense from Mark, who had called his users "dumb fucks" in the early days when he is said to have illegally published people's profiles on his site, pretending that they had subscribed to share this information. It should hardly be surprising that Facebook sympathises with Microsoft and sometimes gets compared to it. Facebook, which is now partly owned by Microsoft, has increasingly become an extension of Microsoft. To highlight some recent news, we have "Microsoft bolsters Facebook Docs sharing service" and "Microsoft initiates a campaign on Facebook with PC vs. Mac application" (with more examples in the wiki).

Microsoft Nick argues that "Microsoft conspicuously absent from new social media map" and if one considers the social media networks which Microsoft turns into subservient ones, then it's a different picture altogether.

As if we needed further proof Microsoft isn't a notable player in the emergent world of social media ...

The third and newest version of The Conversation Prism, a map of today's most influential online social tools, includes just one Microsoft product: Newsvine, which Microsoft subsidiary msnbc.com acquired in 2007. Like The Seattle Times' Brier Dudley, I couldn't spot any other Microsoft products in the Prism.


Well, msnbc.com is an interesting case and later on we are going to show how this network -- along with other networks -- was being 'bought' by Microsoft in order to lie (or to "spin", putting it more mildly).

For those who worry about Microsoft, there is reason to worry no more. It's like worrying about SCO and as we'll show later in the week, Microsoft as a phenomenon is a greater threat than Microsoft itself. The company called Microsoft received many downgrades recently (most of them we've covered) and now there's this smackdown from Barclays Capital, just shortly before the results come.

Barclays Capital cut its price target on shares of Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) by 6.7%.


"Citigroup Pessimistic on Microsoft" says this other new article's headline and there is clearly turbulence with closures and layoffs (we covered nearly all of them last week). Microsoft is still shrinking, it only pretends to be growing sometimes (attributed to the art of PR).

“Microsoft is still shrinking, it only pretends to be growing sometimes (attributed to the art of PR).”As Microsoft is yesterday's company (see the bar charts about media coverage), nobody can trust it anymore. Just watch what happened to "KIN" partners. Microsoft is a risky partner to have now. Well, even Verizon's CEO rejects it in an insulting way [1, 2] and Newsweek predicts that Microsoft will oust its CEO (Ballmer) later this year. It would be symbolic, it would not actually save the company. When asked whether Vista Phone 7 [sic] failing would have Ballmer lose his job Ballmer jokingly responded as seen in this video. Groklaw framed this as "Ballmer Asked if His Job is Secure If Windows Phone 7 Bombs (video)" and Pamela Jones wrote: "Answer is, "I don't know about that." But a little bit as a joke. He's "excited" about the launch and believes it's a "market changer"."

Well, half of departing Microsoft employees do not like Ballmer [1, 2] and huge Microsoft boosters like Harry McCracken lose faith in the company in general.

The next few months will be interesting, but Techrights will not cover Microsoft matters as much as it used to. There just isn't much to cover, so it's not necessary.

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Same People Who Attacked Richard Stallman (RMS) Are Attacking Daniel Pocock to Discourage People From Listening to His Information
Pocock is being demonised for the same reasons and by the same people who attack RMS
We Are Safe in a Modern "Tech" Society, Right?
People are safer if they control their own computing
The Way Things Are Going, They May Soon Stop Saying "Web Address" and Instead Say "Chrome Address"
The Web isn't built or based around open Web standards anymore. It's centered around user-agent.
Microsoft as a Golden Cage
"I was laid off by Microsoft and can't find a job. I'm weeks away from giving up my apartment and moving across the country to live with family."
Weekend Discussion About How IBM's Bluewashing of Red Hat Will Cause "Enshittification" for Users
"I worked at a software company that was acquired by IBM so I knew it was game over for RedHat the day they were acquired"
Brett Wilson LLP Getting Sued by Its Very Own Clients, a Legal Story That Has Made the Mainstream News (Law360)
Law360 or Law.com are about as mainstream as one can get in that "sector" (litigation 'industry')
 
Links 13/10/2025: Australian Catholic University Uses Slop to Libel Students, Canada Threatens to Kill Beluga Whales
Links for the day
How Not to Silence Tux Machines (It'll Only Backfire, Badly)
defending Microsoft while attacking this site
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT and Google News
It seems abundantly clear that Google News and Google in general participates in the slop epidemic
Vincent Danjean (not INTERPOL), Claire Bardel & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Christmas lynchings: Martin Krafft (madduck), Penny Leach (mjollnir) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 13/10/2025: Birthdays and "Committee Unable to Contact Nobel Prize Winner"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 12, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, October 12, 2025
Your Typical Anti-Richard Stallman (RMS) Cancellist
"About the RMS cancellation"
Richard Stallman (RMS) Has Announced His Talk in Rome Less Than 20 Hours in Advance (and on a Sunday)
Why did he wait until the night before?
GNU Tools Cauldron Event in Portugal: Videos Now Available via Invidious
Go have a look
Slopwatch: GNU/Linux Sites That Became Slopfarms and Spamfarms
The Web is a mess and "Linux" or "Ubuntu" sites became part of the problem
Richard Stallman's Talk 25 Hours Away, Aula Magna Palazzo del Rettorato (CU001), Sapienza Università di Roma (Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5)
The talk is 25 hours away and we see some QR code for it
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: Watches, the Depression of 2026, Gamboling with Odds
Links for the day
Links 12/10/2025: 'False' DMCA Claims and Slop Facing Perils Again (the Hype Wears Off)
Links for the day
Microsoft Has Just Lost Privacy Case in Austria and Its Latest Moves Make a Complete Ban Seem Imperative
Microsoft is not a software company, it's a spying agency that uses software to collect data
The Register MS: Microsoft is the Security Expert, Not the Prime Culprit, So Buy More Microsoft
This front page feature is devoid of any actual substance, it's just Microsoft copypasta
Paris 'Love Nest' & Debian Outreachy: from Lycée Lakanal to ENS Cachan, Cr@ns, nepotism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Stefano Zacchiroli (Zack) & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Lucas Nussbaum & Debian pregnancy cluster
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 12/10/2025: "Palm Computering", Further Exploration of Slide Rules, and Key Takeaways from The Well-Grounded Rubyist
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 11, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, October 11, 2025
Tomorrow: Founder of the Free Software Foundation and of GNU/Linux, Richard Stallman, Speaks in Roma (Rome), Italy at 4PM
GNU/Linux is more important than ever in this dystopian world
Microsoft and Apple Are Rare Topics in Geminispace
in Geminispace it's rather safe to assume everyone is into BSD, GNU/Linux, and sometimes retro
Qualcomm and Manchester United Appear to Have Dumped Microsoft (Qualcomm Now Invests More in Linux, Apparently)
It's a relief to no longer see Microsoft logos and brands on a local football club's gear (I'm not a Manchester United fan, but not a foe either)
As Guest of Honour in Rome, Founder of the Free Software Foundation to Speak ("Distinguished Lecture") After Introduction by Leonardo Querzoni
Happy hacking...
All Things Open is Proprietary
The OSI has become a front group of proprietary software openwashers, led and sponsored by proprietary giants
When Microsoft Lays Off Lots of Workers They Say It "Invests in AI" (a Lie), Now It's "Reshuffles" or "Microsoft Tightens"
Microsoft "news" by bots
"I saw Richard Stallman give a talk in the mid 80s, which began my fear and loathing of software patents" and "Richard Stallman was always right."
"By betraying the legacy of our ancestors, we’ve set ourselves on a path toward self-destruction — moral, intellectual, economic, and ultimately biological."
There Were Several Waves of Microsoft Shanghai Layoffs in 2025, Western Media Continues to Turn a Blind Eye to Chinese Layoffs of an Epic Scale
Sometimes select Taiwanese news sites (published in English) or automated translations are all we have
Brett Wilson LLP Spreads Trumpism to the United Kingdom, Looking to Profit From 'Legal Colonialism' (Overriding Sovereignty)
There's growing recognition of this conundrum worldwide
The Demise of Shopping in Person
In a world like this, how valued is the customer?
This Past Friday, "Nearly 700 People Came to Listen to RMS!" (Richard Stallman)
"Nearly 700 people came to listen to RMS!"
Distinguished Lecture by Richard Stallman This Coming Monday in Rome
After "Free software, Crucial for Freedom in a Digital World"
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Churning Out Plagiarism and the Slopfarm LinuxSecurity Turns to Pseudonyms
Our hunch is, UbuntuPIT will sooner or later realise that this toxic approach is just harming UbuntuPIT and tainting the reputation of past articles
The Lawsuit by Clients of Brett Wilson LLP Against Brett Wilson LLP is Officially On, It is Progressing, The 'Experts' Pick Outside Law Firms (RPC and Mills & Reeve) to Spare Them From Litigants in Person
So it is probably quite potent
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: Nyctography, Gerrymandering, and Lurking
Links for the day
The 'Culture Wars' in Free Software Have Gone Out of Control
Social control media amplifies such utterly infantile discourse
Teaser: To Compensate for the Fact Our Clients Are Terrible Human Beings Who Strangle Women (While on Microsoft's Payroll) and We Get Paid by Mystery Parties We Bombard You and Your Wife With Almost 10 Kilograms of Legal Papers
If you can't win an argument, then drown the other side with papers?
Links 11/10/2025: World Mental Health Day 2025, Another European Legal Defeat for Microsoft 360
Links for the day
MIT Technology Review is Part-Time SPAMfarm of Billionaires and Mega-Corporations
Does MIT operate its own "b2b" SPAMfarm?
Open Source Initiative Executive Director Leaves, Replacement Sought by Monopolists, Not the Community or OSI Members
Serves to show who runs this show...
Links 11/10/2025: China-US Tensions Grow Again, "Hey Hi" More Widely Recognised as Bubble Made of Capital That Doesn't Exist
Links for the day
Now Confirmed in Western Media: Microsoft Azure Layoffs This Month
Affirmed by more sources moments ago
Peter O'Callaghan QC represented grandparents, Westernport Hotel, at Liquor Royal Commission
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Either The Register MS Divests From FOSS Coverage or Liam Proven is on Long Holiday
Publishers perish when their audience loses trust in them
Microsoft Cancelling Another Datacentre is a Sign of Financial Trouble and Lack of Growth
The debt continues to grow
Gemini Links 11/10/2025: An Evening at the Fair and Fast Fourier Friday
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 10, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 10, 2025