03.16.10

Does Microsoft Tinker With the Search Bar in Firefox?

Posted in Free/Libre Software, Microsoft, Windows at 8:06 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Wikipedia is my default search facility under Firefox

Summary: A reader alleges that Microsoft is playing dirty on Windows in order to suppress the use of Google (assuming AVG agreed to reroute traffic to Microsoft via Yahoo!)

ON TWO occasions earlier this year we echoed separate complaints from people who said that Microsoft uses Internet Explorer 8 (which it shoves down users' throats) to suppress the use of Google. The details were revealing and the claims sufficiently compelling.

A reader got in touch earlier today in order to say more things about a post we made earlier. To quote the relevant part:

lpbbear	hi all, sorry to butt in, could i mention something about the bing issue to you roy?	Mar 16 18:25
lpbbear	OK, I will just throw it out there, noticed your item about Bing this morning, seeing some other related issues not seen mentioned anywhere yet.	Mar 16 18:28
lpbbear	I work as a PC tech, seeing an issue with AVG AntiVirus in Windows related to Bing	Mar 16 18:28
lpbbear	I haven’t had the luxury of time to tradck all of it down but it appears that sometime recently AVG has entered into some background agreement with microsoft.	Mar 16 18:29
lpbbear	during AVG install it asks to install a Yahoo toolbar, it seems to be over riding search settings in Firefox in Windows and locking Firefox search box to bing.	Mar 16 18:30
neighborlee	im  not happy with avg either..it said it removes trial and gives free versoin back.but it keeps nagging you about switching to non trial version regardless…not sure about bing but defintely yahoo, which M$ owns now  of course..	Mar 16 18:32
-BNtwitter/#boycottnovell-[eduvid] Wow, I have a static ip now now thinking for firewall		Mar 16 18:34
*lpbbear_ (~quassel@66.172.105.203) has joined #boycottnovell		Mar 16 18:34
neighborlee	http://dissentingjustice.blogspot.com/2009/12/obama-falsely-claims-that-senate.html < this is also interesting	Mar 16 18:34
phIRCe-BNc	Title: DISSENTING JUSTICE: Obama Falsely Claims that the Senate Healthcare Bill Matches His Campaign Promises .::. Size~: 190.69 KB	Mar 16 18:34
*lpbbear has quit (Ping timeout: 260 seconds)		Mar 16 18:36
*lpbbear (~quassel@75.139.216.174) has joined #boycottnovell		Mar 16 18:42
*lpbbear has quit (Client Quit)		Mar 16 18:43
*lpbbear (~quassel@75.139.216.174) has joined #boycottnovell		Mar 16 18:43
*lpbbear_ has quit (Ping timeout: 245 seconds)		Mar 16 18:46
lpbbear	anyone see that earlier mention of AVG/Bing lockin thing I mentioned, I glitched out for a moment	Mar 16 18:46
schestowitz	jono: hey	Mar 16 18:51
schestowitz	lpbbear I meant	Mar 16 18:51
schestowitz	Catching up……	Mar 16 18:51
lpbbear	hi	Mar 16 18:51
schestowitz	lpbbear: has anyone reported this avg thing”	Mar 16 18:52
schestowitz	?	Mar 16 18:52
schestowitz	That’s why Windows is bad for Firefox	Mar 16 18:52
schestowitz	Or any developer	Mar 16 18:52
schestowitz	Microsoft bullies competition over there	Mar 16 18:52
schestowitz	lpbbear: I can’t reproduce here cause I don’t have Windows	Mar 16 18:53
lpbbear	no, I don’t believe I have seen mention of it anywhere yet	Mar 16 18:53
schestowitz	Maybe someone else can test..?	Mar 16 18:53
lpbbear	saw your article on Bing this morning and thought you would like the additional info	Mar 16 18:53
lpbbear	uwhat it appears to be doing is locking the little searchbox in the upper right corner area of Firefox to Bing	Mar 16 18:54
lpbbear	ucan’t manually change to Google or anything else until you go into addons and disable the AVG yahoo addon, may have names a bit wrong, from memory	Mar 16 18:55
neighborlee	lpbbear: yup I did	Mar 16 18:55
lpbbear	I am always on the “clock” at customers sites so I haven’t had the luxury of time to follow it up more.	Mar 16 18:56
neighborlee	lpbbear: I uninstalled unhappy with their constant nagging about switching from free to pay version	Mar 16 18:56
neighborlee	lpbbear: but I dont recall bing issues..yahoo toolbar yes < not good since M$ owns yahoo now>	Mar 16 18:57
lpbbear	its fairly recent, just started seeing this issue on customers systems that use Firefox	Mar 16 18:57
lpbbear	seems to me to be a clear antitrust issue even though its being used through a third party proxy by Microsoft.	Mar 16 18:58
lpbbear	I could understand if it just added a choice for Bing in the list but its locking the list to just Bing and not allowing the user the ability to switch to other choices.	Mar 16 19:01

Can any of our readers (with a Windows partition) test this to confirm? This is why Free software on top of Windows is far from ideal; Microsoft has a long history of pulling such tricks because it controls the underlying platform and vainly disregards the rule of law. How about when Microsoft “sabotaged” Firefox last year [1, 2, 3] (more than once)?

Speaking of Web browsers, one reader alerts us that “Microsoft innovates plug-in-free video”. According to the article he cites (CNET warning), “Coming in the new version is support for new Web standards including plug-in-free video; better performance with graphics, text, and JavaSript…”

Does that mean that Microsoft might support embedded Ogg? Is Microsoft relenting on Silver Lie then [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]? It’s hard to believe. █

“…[Windows 98] must be a killer on shipments so that Netscape never gets a chance…”

–Former Microsoft Vice President James Allchin in an internal memo

“We are going to cut off their air supply. Everything they’re selling, we’re going to give away for free.”

–Paul Maritz, former Microsoft Vice President (now VMware CEO), referring to Netscape

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IRC: #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: March 16th, 2010

Posted in IRC Logs at 7:37 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Read the log

Enter the IRC channel now

To use your own IRC client, join channel #boycottnovell in FreeNode.

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Quebec Authorities Should be Sued Again for Microsoft Corruption; BECTA Should Too

Posted in America, Antitrust, Courtroom, Europe at 7:25 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Quebec’s government is up to no good again (bidless procurement suspected); the time is right to challenge BECTA legally, just like in Quebec

LAST WEEK we showed that Canada is quietly embracing GNU/Linux. Canada’s National Bureau of Economic Research says that patents harm the poor, so there would be nothing destructive about Free software when it comes to economics.

Citizens of Quebec have already sued their government for allegedly illegal deals with Microsoft [1, 2]. Going further back, Groklaw translated an article from French (it’s Quebec after all), saying that “the general translation is that you can find at the link the documents regarding a lawsuit a company called Savoir-Faire Linux, Inc. has filed in the Superior Court of Quebec against the government’s pension plan for choosing Microsoft software without putting the job out publicly for bid. It seems the law in Quebec is very strict that the government is supposed to publish an invitation to tender for any acquisition of more than $25,000, and this job was a good deal more than that.

“I gather Savoir-Faire Linux’s position is that only open standards, formats and protocols are suitable to match the demands of a public market policy upholding four fundamental principles: act in an transparent way, favor strong competition, favor local economic development, get the best overall cost.”

“…Savoir-Faire Linux, Inc. has filed in the Superior Court of Quebec against the government’s pension plan for choosing Microsoft software without putting the job out publicly for bid.”
      –Pamela Jones, GroklawThe headline said: “Savoir-Fair Linux, Inc. sues Quebec government agency over Microsoft”

At the bottom we are appending some more valuable references about the situation in Quebec. It may matter not just because Microsoft is sued in Canada (class-action lawsuit) but also because Glyn Moody reveals more grounds for Canadian antitrust in Quebec:

Does Quebec Hate Free Software?

[...]

What’s particularly disturbing here is that it looks like the regional government doesn’t want anyone to question why it is going with proprietary software, and not giving free software a fair chance – that’s doubly wrong. (Via @akaSassinak.)

Does the regional government want to be sued again? This has already boiled over in Italy and it should also happen in the UK, where BECTA serves Microsoft almost exclusively. The Open Learning Centre has this new post on the subject:

Does Microsoft think “Rip-Off Britain” is an instruction?

In the current economic climate what do you think is the best way to keep existing customers happy and encourage them to spend more with you?

Introduce some special offers perhaps? Add extra value to your products and services? Be even more nice than you are normally?

[...]

Just think about that for a moment. That’s 100,000,000 individual downloads of a free product, the alternative legacy application from Microsoft will soon cost you £430. Oh yes, and those 100,000,000 downloads happened in a year and 16 days…

Brits should learn from Quebec and consider a lawsuit. It’s long overdue and the evidence available for presentation is overwhelming. The British Standards Institute (BSI) too was sued two years ago after it had engaged in what seemed like corruption with Microsoft [1, 2]. █
_____
[1] The Long Road To Free Software in Quebec

The report was overwhelming: “ We have no control over our own information systems! And yet that is the one and only area in which we can achieve the necessary gains in productivity.” That day, I came to understand the many needs that are fulfilled by free software and how it is of crucial importance to our country’s economy.

[2] A Free Software Week quandary

Events this week, mostly at the Université du Québec à Montréal, will promote the benefits of free software and introduce beginners to the open vs. proprietary politics that divide the tech-savvy community.

But the hostility between the two camps is nothing like it was in the past, said Michael Gould, an analyst with Forrester Research. And on the one hand, this is good news for open sourcers.

“A lot of significantly sized companies have been using more open source software,” Gould said. “A lot of the concerns they had, like quality, security and support, have been mostly addressed.”

[3] Oracle shop ditches Unix for Linux on the mainframe

The IT department for the Canadian province of Quebec is consolidating hundreds of Oracle databases — spread across hundreds of midrange servers — onto a new mainframe running Linux on top of z/VM.

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ACTA Booster Luc Pierre Devigne Redefines Open Standards (With Software Patents Included)

Posted in America, Europe, Intellectual Monopoly, Law, Patents, RAND, Standard at 6:43 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: The European Commission turns its back on open standards that anyone can accept; ACTA and the Digital Economy Bill show a legal land grab by corporations

WE live in interesting times when constitutions are being blatantly violated and overridden. Lobbyists play a role on behalf of companies whose embrace of our laws that defend us is proving rather deadly. This post is not about the imbalanced patent system that mostly protects monopolies; this time it’s about open standards being polluted with software patents, even in Europe. A Red Hat employee presents some details (it is his personal interpretation, not Red Hat’s stance):

For years and years I am using and promoting the term Open Standards. And it has always been very clear what an Open Standard is and, more important, what it is not.

You can go through various defintions of Open Standards:

* Free Software Foundation Europe
* European Interoperability Framework (v1)
* Digistan
* Danish Parliament
* Bruce Perens

And no matter what differences you find in those definitions, they all agree on some crucial points, the most important being the freedom to use and implement the standard without having to ask for permission or having to pay license fees for the use of an Open Standard.

[...]

If you agree this far, pay special attention to this:

Currently, the Chinese companies using technologies detained by European companies are not allowed to enter into negotiations on the amount of royalties due to the latter, when they use their essential patents in the framework of open standards. The situation is highly detrimental to European companies and their complaint has been reflected in the European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) – IPR Working Group’s Position Paper 2005. The Commission therefore urged the Chinese government to take action in order to ensure that those royalties are duly paid by Chinese companies.

Hartmut Pilch from FFII pointed my attention to this and added some valuable comments here.

Bottom line is – DG Trade, represented by Mr. Luc Pierre Devigne, seems to use the term Open Standards in a way that is simply not compatible with the accepted definition of Open Standards. Royalty payments on Open Standards can simply not exist in my view.

So…

Who have we here? It’s a buddy of ACTA lover Pedro Velasco-Martins. Luc Devigne and other ACTA boosters can be found in conjunction in an old report which we mentioned in this post. At least we manage to identify people who are fundamentally against the people whom they represent and instead promote the agenda of large corporations with intellectual monopolies.

As a reminder, Europe overwhelmingly rejects ACTA, whereas the US loves it [1] and here in the UK we have the complementary Digital Economy Bill trying to sneak its way into law [2, 3, 4, 5]. Our constitutions are being stomped on. █
_____
[1] Europe trashes ACTA as Obama praises it

Earlier this week, we noted that the major parties in the European Parliament had all agreed on a resolution trashing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and the secret process that has been hashing it out. That resolution has passed Parliament by a huge margin—633 yes votes, 13 no votes, and 16 abstentions.

The Greens/EFA coalition praised the vote. Greens MEP Carl Schlyter of Sweden said that “ACTA risks becoming known as the Absence of Commission Transparency Agreement… The EU cannot continue to negotiate on ACTA if the people are not allowed to take part in the process. It is also a totally absurd and unacceptable situation if MEPs, behind closed doors, have to ask the Commission about the content of the agreements we are supposed to vote on.”

[2] Lib Dems to change their amendment to the digital economy bill

The Liberal Democrats are preparing to change their controversial amendment to the digital economy bill, which has its third and final reading in the House of Lords on Monday.

The change would give sites blocked under the bill the power to challenge it in the courts, and to demand legal costs and damages from any copyright owner that caused it to be wrongly blocked through court procedings.

But the Open Rights Group, which campaigns on digital rights and freedoms, said that the amendment would not solve deeper problems with the bill – which may be rushed into law with barely any debate in the Commons – and called for it to be abandoned.

[3] Wanted: a Groundswell of Massive Opposition

Last week I wrote about the great news on the ACTA front, but sadly that’s just one battle we need to win. Another is against the insanely retrogressive Digital Economy Bill – an ironic name if ever there were one, given that it seeks to impose the old rules of the *analogue* economy on the digital world. As such, it is likely to have a huge negative impact on companies using the Internet (that is, anyone in business not still using the abacus.)
[...]

That handily maps out is how we can stop the Bill: by creating that “groundswell of massive opposition”. What I think we need to do is to make it clear to our MPs is how the music recording industry just expects them to roll over and accept the Bill as is, rather than to carry out their parliamentary duties and to examine it and amend where appropriate. We need to get across the fact that this Bill is not incidental, but will determine the economic and social landscape for this country in the next few years; as such, it needs to be drafted carefully, not thrown together at the last minute.

[4] Lords pass controversial internet piracy bill

Legislation to tackle internet piracy, including bans for illegal file-sharers, has been passed by the Lords.

The Digital Economy Bill is now expected to be rushed through the Commons before the general election.

Peers had earlier rejected a bid by ministers to include wide-ranging powers over future online piracy law.

[5] BPI Says That UK Spies Are Against Digital Economy Bill

The debate over the Digital Economy Bill in the UK (the attempt to ratchet up copyright law to repay favors to an entertainment industry that is slow to adapt) has taken an odd twist. Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing has the details of a leaked memo from the BPI (pdf) to a bunch of recording industry execs and lobbyists, that details the state of the bill and the ongoing strategy for getting it approved. There are a few items worth noting:

1. The BPI seems to think that the UK intelligence community is now the biggest threat to stopping the bill. Seriously. Apparently, UK spies are afraid that passing this bill will drive a very large number of people to switch to using encrypted internet tools, making it that much more difficult to spy on them.

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“Call Out Windows”

Posted in BSD, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Security, Windows at 6:13 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Prelude to a new campaign which strives to change the coverage of Windows-specific security problems

ONE of our readers is in the process of starting a new campaign he wishes to name “Let’s call out Windows” or simply “Call out Windows.” The purpose of this information campaign is to urge journalists to call Windows malware and Windows viruses just what they are: Windows malware and Windows viruses. Reporters have become knowingly negligent of the fact that these problems affect Windows and not all computers run Windows. It’s time to restore journalistic integrity and accuracy.

The following new post, titled “GNU/Linux: Don’t Call Them PC Viruses”, arrives in a very timely fashion and states:

I call that hogwash. The reason Microsoft Windows is so often successfully attacked is because of its flawed security design. I run FreeBSD Unix and Mandriva GNU/Linux on my PC systems. I keep my systems patched with up to date bug fixes and security fixes. I will not install software that I do not know from whence it originates. I do not run any anti-virus software and yet I will never get a “PC Virus” on these systems. There is no such thing as a “PC Virus”, call them “Microsoft Windows Viruses” or “GNU/Linux Viruses” or “Apple OS X Viruses” depending on the operating system which they successfully attack. Don’t call them “PC Viruses”.

Last week we showed that Apache was only vulnerable on Windows (not IEEE POSIX®).

There is a lot of correspondence going on privately, trying to establish an effective campaign that changes how people cover Windows malware and Windows viruses without coming across as rude. █

“Our products just aren’t engineered for security.”

–Brian Valentine, Microsoft executive

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Microsoft Happy About Apple’s Invocation of Software Patents Against GNU/Linux

Posted in Apple, GNU/Linux, Google, Kernel, Microsoft, Patents at 5:59 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Mobile Linux proceeds from one victory to another while Apple and Microsoft pointlessly attack with software patents

EARLIER TODAY we wrote about news reports which suggested that Microsoft played some role in Apple's lawsuit against GNU/Linux (via Google/Android). Just like in the TomTom case, Apple and its supporters insisted that people should not perceive this as a case against Linux (Microsoft used the same lie to save face while doing the damage).

There is support for Apple’s action coming from Microsoft (Apple’s patent buddy since a long time ago), based on the following new report where Microsoft’s Brad Smith is quoted as saying about the HTC-Apple lawsuit: “the fact that there’s litigation in this area is not necessarily a bad thing.”

Here it is with some more context:

With several Windows Mobile devices named in Apple’s patent suit against HTC, you’d be forgiven for expecting Microsoft to have a few words of quiet support for their hardware partners. However it seems Microsoft are quite looking forward to a general battle; speaking at an IP convention last week, Brad Smith, the company’s general counsel and senior vice president told amassed lawyers that ”the fact that there’s litigation in this area is not necessarily a bad thing.”

Microsoft seems rather eager when it comes to Apple introducing software patents as game changers in phones, as means of harming Linux as a free platform.

Let’s recall the Apple-Nokia lawsuit (it is a two-way battle now [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]) which involved two — not one — proponents of software patents, one of which uses Symbian and Linux (Maemo/MeeGo). Apple accuses Nokia of using “legal alchemy” to hide infringements. IDG covers this, but it wrongly uses words like “IP” (it actually means to say patents) and “theft” (infringement does not constitute taking away from the original) right in the headline.

Nokia last week asked a federal judge to toss out Apple’s antitrust claims, saying the iPhone maker indulged in “legal alchemy” when it tried to divert attention from its “free-riding” of Nokia’s intellectual property.

The filing last Thursday was the latest salvo in a battle that began in October 2009 when Finnish handset maker Nokia sued Apple, saying the iPhone infringed on 10 of its patents and that the U.S. company was trying “to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation.” Nokia demanded royalties on all iPhones sold since Apple introduced the smartphone in June 2007.

Earlier today we also reiterated the fact that developers for platforms like Mac OS X and iPhone are merely being exploited [1, 2]. This is discussed further by Dana Blankenhorn right now:

“If Apple wants to be a real leader, it should be fostering innovation and competition, rather than acting as a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord.”

Is that a quote from Richard Stallman? From Steve Ballmer? Some dirty hippie blogger like myself?

Nope, it’s Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer Fred von Lohmann (right), responding to his own “get,” a copy of the iPhone Developer License Agreement, now posted on the EFF Web site.

Tim Bray, who used to be buying a lot of Apple gear, is now comparing Apple to “Evil” (that’s a strong word with somewhat religious connotation) as he joins the Android team [1, 2] (we mentioned this last night). Here is what he wrote:

The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger.

Bray would be a good asset to Linux/Android/Google. He is the co-inventor of XML (which didn’t really need much ‘invention’). Bray is an opponent of software patents, so hopefully he’ll wake Google up.

The inventor of the cellphone has also just dumped the iPhone and moved to Android (Linux):

It turns out that Martin Cooper, the man who invented the cell phone, is the proud owner of a Motorola Droid! In a story which aired on C-SPAN, Martin discussed the politics of cellphones, as well as his current device.

According to some preliminary figures, Droid alone (that’s just one phone running Android) is beating iPhone’s record:

Did you know that it took the iPhone only 74 days to reach 1 million units sold? Oh you’ve heard that, huh? Well, did you know that the Motorola Droid moved more units in the same time frame? Yeah, you probably didn’t expect that. Frankly, neither did we. The latest report from Flurry shows the Droid pushing 1.05 million handsets in the first 74 days of release, eclipsing the number set by Apple.

No wonder Apple is so nervous. Microsoft is going nowhere too. Matt Asay, formerly a huge Apple fan, has just said the following things about Linux versus Apple (when asked whether “Linux [can] compete with Apple”):

Asay: I’m not sure this is the right question, as Linux already competes with and beats Apple in a huge array of devices. Linux spans everything from HPC to embedded devices and everything in between. Apple cannot compete with that. Could you build a supercomputer using Mac hardware? Sure, but you’d be mortgaging your house to do so and even then, the Mac would likely lose.

Of course, Apple doesn’t want to compete in such markets. It’s famously focused and opts to do a few things very well, like its iPhone and laptops.

Can Linux compete in these markets? Yes. Of course it can. Look at Android as perhaps the best example of effectively competing with Apple in mobile. Apparently Apple agrees with me, as its patent infringement suit against HTC is almost certainly a shot over Google’s bow, as The New York Times recently suggested. Apple is worried. And it should be.

The Source commends Asay for some of his remarks which he made since had joined Canonical.

As a side note, although I expressed strong reservations when Mr. Asay was named Canonical COO, I haven’t heard anything from him yet that I find objectionable.

To summarise, Apple’s action against GNU/Linux is supported by Microsoft while several notable people move away from Apple and directly to Linux. Among them: co-inventor of XML, inventor of the cellphone, and former Apple enthusiast and blogger Matt Asay. █

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.”

–(Usually attributed to) Mahatma Gandhi

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Links 16/3/2010: Amarok 2.3.0, SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Preview

Posted in News Roundup at 3:07 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Clip of the Day

Episode 11 – “Open Source Around The House”

Digital Tipping Point is a Free software-like project where the raw videos are code. You can assist by participating.

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Microsoft Bing in the Business of Deceit, Censorship, and Brainwash

Posted in Asia, Deception, Google, Microsoft, Search at 8:28 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Microsoft’s idea of “search” continues to incorporate business bias, unnecessary censorship, bribes, and advertisements that disparage Google

THE simple reality hurts Microsoft’s Bong [sic] because having about 3% in global market share is laughable, especially when one loses over $2 billion per year in this area. Microsoft is trying to compete with Google, but perhaps it just can’t understand that by fooling users with fake rankings it simply sends out the message that it’s not interested in search, it just wants to decide for users what (mis)information that should get.

Last week we wrote about Microsoft’s Middle East censorship ((this is now confirmed by more sources [1, 2]) and recalled that in China, for instance, Microsoft does even worse things which had the New York Times (NYT) call for a boycott (at least one writer of NYT called for a Bing boycott). Homophobia at Microsoft was also brought up because of this news (Microsoft still censors the subject in some places). So what is Microsoft to search really? It’s just a business looking to maximise profit. The integrity of the search and the honesty is placed very low because Microsoft believes that it can lie to customers as long as some accomplices like the Chinese government are happy. Not a smart strategy, Microsoft, not so smart. This only reinforces the perception that Microsoft is an innately “bad” company.

“This only reinforces the perception that Microsoft is an innately “bad” company.”“Microsoft Bing bribes Farmville enthusiasts on Facebook with farm,” says this report. It would not be the first time that Microsoft is accused of “bribing” to compete with Google [1, 2] and there is also the Verizon deal [1, 2] (Microsoft reportedly paid Verizon half a billion dollars to drop Google).

Microsoft now resorts to brainwash on British TV [1, 2, 3, 4] (Google never did this), it uses US-only numbers from a partner (comScore) to make claims that are difficult to trust because of many conflicts of interests [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10], and in MSN we find new changes [1, 2] which Microsoft boosters like Microsoft Nick are advertising in the form of articles and galleries [1, 2]. This is not reporting, but then again, it’s Microsoft friends from Ziff Davis [1, 2, 3]. Here is another article about the “new” MSN:

–Remember when Microsoft was, well, Microsoft? The House That Gates Built is trying to stand tall against Google with a newly redesigned page for its portal, MSN.com. The new-and-improved site is a little cleaner and a little fresher, but not significantly different. The main purpose of the page seems to be to steer people to Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which is a good deal better than previous Microsoft search offerings but, it must be said, isn’t a Google beater.

Rupert Murdoch, a friend of Microsoft and an ally against Google [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13], seems to be collaborating a little more with Microsoft, the abusive monopolist. Microsoft’s CNET booster writes about it gleefully and more details can be found here:

Now under new management, MySpace is looking to reinvent itself and rise like a Phoenix from the ashes. The once dominant social networking site fell from nearly 70 percent of the social networking market, to only 30 percent in less than a year, and was plummeting on the verge of extinction.

One of the ways that MySpace is looking to build some relevance again is through the Microsoft Outlook social connector feature–giving it some new business credibility it has always lacked. MySpace beat its social networking rival Facebook to the punch to integrate its member information and updates into Microsoft Outlook. Facebook and Windows Live integration is still listed as “coming soon”.

For those who do not know, MySpace is owned by Murdoch and it shows. █

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