● 11.09.08

●● Jason Brooks (eWeek): Bribed by Microsoft

Posted in Microsoft, Vista 7, Windows at 8:51 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

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 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 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.

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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.

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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.”

–Former Microsoft manager

____** We are unable to spot many of the bribed reviewers who wrote nothing to provide evidence.

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