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● 11.09.08

●● Ed Bott: Bought by Microsoft

Posted in Microsoft, Vista 7, Windows at 9:38 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Up Microsoft’s Butt, or Just Wishful Thinking?

A familiar name and another familiar Microsoft booster. Ed Bott literally makes a living out of Windows books. Without Windows, Edward would be out on the street or taking GNU/Linux 101 courses, so no wonder he’s stubbornly defensive. Moreover, no wonder Microsoft gives him free gifts to maintain a relationship which keep his ZDNet blog emitting Microsoft PR.

Although he probably received his separately, Bott was among the recipients of these infamous laptops which we mentioned in:

Wanted: List of Bloggers, Journalists, and Analysts Whom Microsoft Bribed at PDC 2008Microsoft Polices Coverage of Vista 7 by ‘Kicking Out’ Disobedient JournalistMicrosoft is Bribing Bloggers Again… for Vista 7 RavesPraise Microsoft, Receive BribeHarry McCracken, Technologizer: Bribed by MicrosoftTim Anderson Received Bribe for Vista 7 ReviewJason Brooks (eWeek): Bribed by MicrosoftLaptop Magazine: Bribed by Microsoft

Here is his fairy tale story.

=> ↺ his fairy tale story

Microsoft executives showed off the new Windows upgrade in a day-long series of demos on Sunday, doing their level best to impress a room full of journalists with a long list of new and improved features. At the end of the day, they loaned me a sleek new Lenovo X300 notebook running a recent build of the OS so that I could test Windows 7 for myself.

Ed Bott received a $2,000 gift from Microsoft. He has been writing nice things about the abusive monopolist and attacked the abuser’s critics for ages. Expect more of the same n the future.

=> ↺ the abusive monopolist

Bott also defended similar Microsoft bribes the last time they happened. Here, have a look. Another journalist, Dan Warne, rebutted at the time.

=> ↺ have a look

Dan Warne says:

I think that people who have the opportunity to get a free high-spec computer are going to find any way they can to paint it as -not- affecting their integrity.

In all my time as a tech journalist a software company has never given anyone a free computer. Sure, computer companies give out computers on long term loan, etc, but that’s not the same thing. It’s their product for a start (Microsoft doesn’t make computers) and they’re loaners, not keepers.

I don’t see this so much as reflecting badly on bloggers’ ethics, but rather reflecting badly on Microsoft’s ethics.

The offer should have been a loan. Microsoft shouldn’t have offered the option of keeping the computer, because that dramatically muddies the waters for everyone concerned – Microsoft, the bloggers and the readers.

Posted December 28, 2006 @ 1:11 am # Dan Warne says:

(sorry, of course, that should have been: in all my time as a tech journalist, no software company that I’m aware of has given anyone a free computer. I’m sure it has happened.)

High points for Mr. Warne. Shame on Bott though. He was a useless source before (see the credibility index where he was always ranked “0″) and deep inside the bitbucket he stays. █

=> ↺ credibility index

“I’ve been thinking long and hard about this, and the only conclusion I can come to is that this is ethically indistinguishable from bribery. Even if no quid-pro-quo is formally required, the gift creates a social obligation of reciprocity. This is best explained in Cialdini’s book Influence (a summary is here). The blogger will feel some obligation to return the favor to Microsoft.”

–Former Microsoft manager

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