"We should whack them [Dell over GNU/Linux dealings], we should make sure they understand our value."

--Paul Flessner, Microsoft

Nice Guys Finish Last

Summary: Microsoft, Intel, and Dell too are exceptionally corrupt and it pays off for them

A FEW days ago we wrote about Corbis fraud [1, 2]. Corbis is Bill Gates' company and the scandal was covered in some major publications. And yet, Bill Gates is considered the richest person in the world. Is fraud followed by reputation laundering what it takes to be a winner? That's the impression an outside observer might get.

Also in the news this week we found this update on the Intel-Dell crimes/fraud. We wrote about this years ago when these bribes were first reported. Guess what happens? The SEC settles, as usual.

Dell and some of its top executives face penalties to close an SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) investigation into the company's accounting disclosures and alleged financial omissions regarding its relationship with Intel.

What does this teach us? It shows once again that crime pays off. Intel reports what it claims to be the "best quarter" ever. It is hard to be sure about these numbers because of accounting tricks which Microsoft apparently uses again.

“The company that allegedly received kickbacks from Microsoft to block GNU/Linux is climbing. ”The SEC almost always settles, even when Microsoft got caught with financial fraud charges and more recently with Goldman Sachs (we covered this a lot in our daily links), to whom the settlement money was almost slush funds given the obscene profits extracted illegally from taxpayers and betrayed customers.

Speaking of bribes, watch who is climbing. The company that allegedly received kickbacks from Microsoft to block GNU/Linux is climbing.

Despite that fluff about "best quarter" (we put that in quotes due to accounting tricks), Steve Ballmer is still wanted out of the company.

Are the knives out for Microsoft's Steve Ballmer

Here's how tough the public relations environment is for Microsoft right now. On Thursday morning, The Daily Beast's Peter Lauria speculated, with the help of a bunch of unnamed sources, about a "Brewing Coup Against Microsoft CEO." Steve Ballmer is in trouble, suggested Lauria, because Microsoft's stock price has been stagnant for a year and senior executives are getting restless.

Later that day, Microsoft reported its quarterly earnings -- $16.04 billion in revenue and $4.52 billion in profit -- handily beating the numbers reported earlier this week by Apple (and remember, that was the best quarter ever for Steve Jobs and Co.)

Here are some more fake numbers from Microsoft, this time regarding Vista 7.

In case of Microsoft something is missing. Microsoft's operating system comes pre-installed on branded PCs. Every PC sold means another copy of Windows 7 is sold. The picture would become clearer if Microsoft shares the numbers of copies the company directly sold to end customers as compared to the number of mass-licences sold through OEM partners.

Many anti-trust advocates see this pre-installation as an anti-competitive practice. There are many competing operating systems including Gnu/Linux, BSD and OpenSolaris. PC vendors should offer Windows pre-installed as well as no pre-installed OS on their machines for fair competition.

We have already explained how Microsoft twists and warps Vista 7 sales figures. In business, Vista 7 is used by less than 10% of people, according to Dell, which received billions in kickbacks from Intel.

Speaking of these corrupt hardware companies (price-fixing/cartel is very prevalent there), Microsoft may be trying to become a hardware company and finally giving Intel a reason to walk away to GNU/Linux.

Microsoft & ARM Partnership Means End Of Wintel?

[...]

Intel has already publicly declared that Meego was launched because the company was frustrated by the lack of support from Microsoft for the Atom platform and it remains a mystery as to why Microsoft did not adapt Windows 7 to suit Intel's requirements.

We wrote about the Microsoft-ARM deal yesterday and a reader told us earlier today: "I guess Intel isn't Microsoft's best buddy anymore. Never mind, they were useful in stifling Microsoft's competitors." For details about Intel, Microsoft, and Linux, see the Comes vs Microsoft antitrust exhibits outlined below. ⬆

1. Bill Gates
2. Microsoft on Intel's Anti-Linux: “Please Keep Confidential. This is a Nightmare”
3. Bill Gates on Linux@Intel: “This Huge Driver Group Scares Me.”
4. Steve Ballmer: “We cannot let intel do chip design on Linux ever”
5. Bill Gates et al Lean on Other Companies to Derail GNU/Linux as “Main Stream Operating System”
6. Microsoft: Intel Ain't Done Until Windows Can Run?
7. Bill Gates: “Intel should not just treat us as one of many”
8. Microsoft, Intel, and White-collar Crime

"Where are we on this Jihad?"

--Bill Gates