> --- sparaig wrote: > > --- Gillam wrote: > > > > I missed this old column from the New > > York Times in which technology writer > > David Pogue takes Microsoft to task for > > manipulating, and sometimes fabricating, > > good reviews for its products. I post it > > here because it ties into the TMO's efforts > > to create good PR. It seems that no matter > > how big and powerful one is, one still > > craves legitimacy in the eyes of others, > > even at the ultimage expense of > > legitimacy upon getting caught. > > It seems a bit of a stretch to go from > the TMO generating PR to MS bribing online > bloggers with laptops.
Pogue's point was not so much about giving away computers as it was about Microsoft fabricating its case before the public. Examples included fobbing off a fake customer testimonial as the real thing, and editing different screen capture videos to present Windows to best advantage, all the time suggesting, if not saying, it was one movie of one screen. The parallel to the TMO would be doctored research or highly edited reprints of national media coverage. That said, I'm not too concerned about the TMO's spinning. I don't get the impression it's been any more egregious than what happens in the larger world, and perhaps less so. I merely wish to point up the irony of an organization trying to improve its legitimacy by illegitimate means. I credit my amusement and concern for ethical behavior to my years of TM practice.
