Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft is Trying to Distract Everybody

Video download link



Summary: The media is helping Microsoft's vapourware tactics; sadly, over the past few days we saw more than a dozen so-called 'Linux' bloggers and vloggers playing along, joining a wave of Googlebombing (interjecting the vapourware into news about Microsoft's competitors)

JUST as expected a number of days ago, Microsoft bombards every site within its reach (and beyond) with Vista 11 vapourware and other nonsense. Even YouTube channels that typically cover GNU/Linux have fallen for it, not just blogs. It's like they think a fictional release (that did not even happen yet) should be compared to existing products that are currently available, as we saw in past years. Microsoft always prefers to compare mere promises (or brochures) to actual competitors which have been technically ahead by several years (for a number of decades now).



"Microsoft always prefers to compare mere promises (or brochures) to actual competitors which have been technically ahead by several years (for a number of decades now)."The above video is an offbeat ramble about the sort of things that they may be trying to distract us (through the media) from. There are scandals and blunders going on (here's a new one), so they try to get us to put blinders on and debate vapourware, not actual news.

"The purpose of announcing early like this is to freeze the market at the OEM and ISV level. In this respect it is JUST like the original Windows announcement...

"One might worry that this will help Sun because we will just have vaporware, that people will stop buying 486 machines, that we will have endorsed RISC but not delivered... So, Scott, do you really think you can fight that avalanche?"

--Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft



"Stewart Alsop, industry gadfly, presented Gates with the "Golden Vaporware" award, saying, "The delay of Windows was all part of a secret plan to have Bill turn thirty before it shipped."

--Barbarians Led by Bill Gates, a book composed
by the daughter of Microsoft's PR mogul

Recent Techrights' Posts

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Czech Mate: EPO Kingmaker or Merely a Pawn in the Game?
recent "missions" of the EPO President
SLAPP Censorship - Part 131 Out of 200: A Big Win for the Media in the United Kingdom (UK) Today
In a democratic society the Right to Know, which is closely connected to freedom of the press (or what one might label "blogging" or "blag"), comes above all else, except where there are lives being put at risk
IBM's Fedora Plans to Integrate Slop Into "Fedora Workstation as a Default Feature."
IBM does not care whether the community wants this or not
The Media Talks a Lot About XBox Layoffs, a Closer Look at the Data Shows Microsoft 'Bloodbath'
'Bloodbath' is the term insiders use
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 07, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Microsoft Cuts Doom "id Software" and Turkey Detains Journalists
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge (OCC) and Hardware Tests
Links for the day
A Break From the Routine
What matters is what whistleblowers keep feeding information to us
SLAPP Censorship - Part 132 Out of 200: When You Cannot Pay a Million Pounds (1,335,520.00 United States Dollar) to Lawyers But Have a Strong Community
Techrights compensates for its fiscal poverty with a wealth of community spirit
Fame is Not the Goal
"Fame" kills
Mental Health in Free Software Communities
clearly there is a subject that merits debate and it ought not be a taboo anymore
The Era of Sponsored Spam
There is no "era of AI", there is era of BRIBES to PRETEND there is an "era of AI"
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Cleaning, Old Computer, and More
Links for the day
Links 07/07/2026: Le Monde Combats LLM Slop Plagiarism, "ACLU Launches Largest Ever Midterm Electoral Program"
Links for the day
Extremism in the Free Software World is Mostly a Myth
Only the firm belief that justice applies to all will produce a just society
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 06, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, July 06, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Kernelized Secure Operating System (KSOS) and "Exploiting Thoughtcrime in LLMs"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 130 Out of 200: Jealousy, Envy, Hubris
This site is primarily about Free software
Gemini Links 06/07/2026: Still Mostly Dry, GoToSocial, and More
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Effective Dispute Resolution… But Not For EPO Staff
Slovenia fielded one of the few Administrative Council delegations which managed to maintain its own independent line against the tyrannical EPOnian "Sun King"
Community Sites Need Genuine Collaboration and True Autonomy
People who want to communicate, federate and organise for effective change need to evolve
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Covers Quibble, Free Software for Secure Communications, in the FSF Summer Bulletin
The Georgia Tech folks are bringing Free software education and contributions to one of the better known Computer Science hubs in the US
Microsoft Layoffs Include Windows, Bing, Slop (CoPilot etc.) and There Will More More Rounds (or Waves) to Come
"43% of Xbox laid off"
Obscene Contradiction in Microsoft's Layoffs Tally ("Official" Numbers Do Not Add Up)
Notice how they treat "LinkedIn" as separate
Preserving Comments About the Real IBM Before They Get Deleted
IBM in the 1980s is not what it is right now
Cybershow on "Escaping Prisons For Your Mind"
"THE CYBER SHOW: Stealing technofascism's boots, and stomping on its own face with them."
Links 06/07/2026: At Least 20% Staff Reduction in XBox (Microsoft), Taiwan Sees Uptick in Chinese Aggression/Provocation, Senator Rodante Marcoleta Arrested
Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer
To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations)
At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers
We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
Leaving Our Pets for Several Days
This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps'
several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2
It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media
Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU)
The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop)
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics
Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
Quiet Week
Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin
But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
IBM's Fall
IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on
What next for the EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge
Links for the day