THE high-profile Android case has led to pressure from the judge to disclose paid bloggers. Google named nobody, whereas Oracle named two [1, 2, 3].

"They use the same tactics of misinforming journalists en masse. That's their service."Groklaw continues investigating this case and remarks from bloggers are telling: "So, the guy is clearly not an expert on FLOSS patents and is an advocate for those who pay him, not just a “consultant”. Apple clearly did not want the judge digging too deeply into that relationship and for sure telling the jury about it. I find it particularly interesting that FM used e-mail to contact me and to comment on the blog rather than commenting using WordPress. What’s with that? Clearly, he went to some trouble to dig up the e-mail address (It’s not as if I stick it on the front page.) rather than just clicking. Was he trying to influence me, going for a larger goal than just providing feedback? I “bit him on the hand” and I hope he does not return."

Microsoft Florian does not allow comments in his blog because people used to comment to expose him. He thrives in secrecy and he 'spams' journalists behind the scenes. It's his modus operadi.

Did you too get contacted by this lobbyist? Please speak out if so. Some bloggers come out saying they too were his victims.

Speaking for myself, I fell into his trap in the early days (Techrights quoted his talking points after he had mailed us repeatedly), but I soon woke up; now I find him to be an extremely scummy guy who takes money from companies to conduct AstroTurf campaigns that involves mass-mailing writers and even threatening those who criticise him (yes, he threatened me too).

Mr. Microsoft will be reported to the FTC for AstroTurfing (I am working on my submission), just like Waggener Edstrom or Burson-Marsteller. They use the same tactics of misinforming journalists en masse. That's their service.

Putting the lobbying aside for a moment, Apple's case is shown to be weak in the following recent video about Apple's lack of innovation.

Samsung won't settle because it has a strong case, or maybe because Apple remains too delusional to drop the case as decision comes. The following video was sent to us by a reader yesterday:



Apple decided to sue different rather than think different. So many of its own supporters have defected.

This is a pointless legal battle that Apple should never have started at all (put aside the bias from IDG's columnists).

The jury, a bunch of ordinary people, will soon decide on the case, but to what extent does deception from lobbyists and Apple's misleading claims going to affect the outcome? As one article put it, "[t]he summer blockbuster that is Apple v. Samsung is coming to a close as both companies have delivered their closing arguments. Neither side held back in their last opportunity to argue their case, with Apple telling Samsung to make its own phones and Samsung warning the jury that Apple is trying to mislead them.

"It’s been an exciting four weeks. Along the way we’ve seen Samsung leak evidence that was refused by the court, never-before-seen prototypes of iPhones and iPads, and previously unreleased sales figures for both companies. We even got a hilarious parody from Conan O’Brien."

"Apple decided to sue different rather than think different."Here is the take from Pamela Jones [1, 2, 3, 4] and something about the Motorola complaint that is indirectly relevant to the case (similar allegations).

Google recently countered Apple's attack with a lawsuit that can rattle Apple with sanctions. We will write about this subject separately, probably tomorrow. ⬆