11.09.08
Jason Brooks (eWeek): Bribed by Microsoft
WE were never particularly fond of eWeek. They also happen to have employed this one guy as a reporter, who is now a Microsoft employee. He used to spread a lot of FUD in eWeek.
For background relating to this post, see:
- Wanted: List of Bloggers, Journalists, and Analysts Whom Microsoft Bribed at PDC 2008
- Microsoft Polices Coverage of Vista 7 by ‘Kicking Out’ Disobedient Journalist
- Microsoft is Bribing Bloggers Again… for Vista 7 Raves
- Praise Microsoft, Receive Bribe
- Harry McCracken, Technologizer: Bribed by Microsoft
- Tim Anderson Received Bribe for Vista 7 Review
Next up we have another sellout, this one coming from eWeek. The only thing going to his credit is a disclosure**, but he is no longer trustworthy.
In the day and a half I’ve spent using Windows 7 on a Microsoft-provided Dell XPS M1330 machine preinstalled with Build 6801 of the OS, I’ve found its polish and performance a world away from the first Longhorn build I tried out at PDC 2003. At this point, Windows 7 feels more like a second beta or an early release candidate than a developer conference sneak peek.
Jason Brooks was already quite defensive of Microsoft at times, although he sometimes covered GNU/Linux too. Having received a $2000 gift from Microsoft, expect him to say sympathetic things about Windows in the future. What a waste of reputation. As the banner as the bottom states, “discredited by Microsoft.” █
“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.”
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** We are unable to spot many of the bribed reviewers who wrote nothing to provide evidence.
