Microsoft caught in a lie again......

[KingBahamut]

Well, they've done it again. In prime-time. With malice aforethought. The duplicitous droogs, the denizens of deep-doodoo, I'm talking about Bill Gates' Microsoft: caught in a bald-faced lie about HD DVD-ROM discs. This is news? Not any more than the fact it's hot in Texas this summer or that Katrina caused a lot of damage. It is, after all, the Microsoft way: dishonesty in all things.

This particular fabrication follows Microsoft's favorite formula for deception: quote a valid fact or statistic out of context in an attempt to deceive the public about something else. It's the same type of dishonesty that Richard Shupak of Microsoft Research has used for years. Here's one example of his duplicity from the bad old days, and strangely enough, the same two players, the evil twins of Wintel, were involved then, just as they are in this most recent episode of braggadocio.

External Link
http://trends.newsforge.com/trends/05/10/01/1548246.shtml?tid=29


The actual lie?

Nestled deep within the jointly-issued MS/Intel HD DVD pronouncement on the subject, was this classic little jewel:

Superior capacity. HD DVD-ROM discs will offer dual-layer 30GB discs at launch, compared with BD-ROM discs, which will be limited to 25GB.

Sounds great. Except for one thing. It's not true. Just as happened ten years ago, someone has stepped up to point that out. This time it's Dell and HP -- both longtime MS partners -- who clarify the situation. In a press release entitled "Microsoft/Intel Announcement Cites Inaccuracies Regarding Blu-ray Disc Format," they point out that:

Capacity: Blu-ray Disc's capacity is 50GB. This will be available at launch for BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE. This is 67% more than HD-DVD's 30GB ROM capacity and 150% more than its recordable storage capacity -- a critical issue for computer users.

As The Register had pointed in the story noted above, the MS/Intel comparison was based on the smallest BD format available and the largest HD DVD. So their claim that HD DVD has more capacity than BD is not simply inaccurate, it is a total and complete misrepresentation of the truth.

[Ubunted]

In other news, the sky is blue and water is wet. Details at 11.

[23meg]

these people must think everyone else is stupid and uninformed. manipulating facts in this way has become so commonplace that it should be considered a profession in its own right. PM short for "public manipulation" instead of PR, maybe.

[bob_c_b]

But the issue remains the same, the general public will keep buying MS products because they think they have to. I have lost all ability to be shocked by how much MS will lie and twist facts, it seems this behavior will never end.

I have gone on active protest this year, no more MS outside of work (I'm an I.T. consultant so I can't avoid it and already expend a lot of effort recomending other solutions), and I plan to take an active role in my local LUG (which appears to be in a coma) and get some serious work toward an installfest going.

[Perfect Storm]

*Sigh*...Why doesn't it surprise me. Sometimes I think the whole M$ is build on lies

[23meg]

also check out the discussions at the bottom of the article. lots of ridiculous pro-MS trolling going on.

[Perfect Storm]

Aye :D

Found this one, a totally M$ head, who might have tried linux a couple of days and then scratch it because of no double-clicking :rolleyes:


Try GNU/Linux and you'll never look back !

Yeah. Right.

Where's Half-Life 2 for Linux?
Where's Far Cry for Linux?
Where's Office for Linux (OOo sucks BIG time)?
Where's Photoshop for Linux (Gimp sucks even more than OOo)?
Where's Visual Studio for Linux?
Why this programs says it conflicts with package Y?
Why this program says it needs library version z.y.x but it's not available?
Why this program says it cannot find libsomeobscure.so and won't start?
Why my bluetooth and 3D acceleration doesn't work?
Why I need to edit some /etc/X11/xb0rg.conf and type some obscure commands there and hope it works?
Why my tv-out doesn't work, i just plugged the cable in?!
Why my MP3's doesn't play, all this crappy player says they're patented crap?!
Why this SuSE thing says I cannot play DVD's?!
Why my printer doesn't print anything out?! Oh, right. The drivers. They don't exist.
Why this KDE thing crashes all the time complaining some SIGSEV crap?
Why this thing takes 3x longer to boot than Windows XP?
Why X/Kde/Gnome takes 2-3x more memory than Windows XP?

Just a tip: Put Reality glasses on and see the real world. Linuxes suck even more than Windows. When really comparing those two, Windows suddenly seems to be ultra-stable hyper-easy to use operating system which is real pleasant to use.

Laughable!

[blastus]

Well Microsoft is kind of like a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction like MS-Windows and MS-Office along with an arsenal of proprietary standards/formats and they engage in political activism, competitor/enemy espionage and sabotage, general criminal activities, and propaganda distribution. :cool:

[newbie2]

the yahoo msft messageboard is a good one to follow if u like the 'hot potatoes' quickly served :p -->
http://finance.messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=4688172&tid=msft&sid=4688172&mid=1021762

[tseliot]

these people must think everyone else is stupid and uninformed. manipulating facts in this way has become so commonplace that should be considered a profession in its own right. PM short for "public manipulation" instead of PR, maybe.
Yep many people (who have the power) (and not only Microsoft) make a business out of it. Deception is part of the game :(

[Ubunted]

Frankly I'm surprised they haven't tried to butcher and twist the PDF standard into a proprietary format already.

[Kyral]

Everyday I wonder why I don't stop reading news stories and just exist in my own little happy world in Ubuntuland

[23meg]

you shouldn't do that; you should keep your eyes open against the enemy!

[poofyhairguy]

It is hot in Texas. Hot in hell too. With MS keeping up its old tricks, its not going to snow there any time soon.

[darkmatter]

Deception is part of the game :(

I thought it was the name of the game.:rolleyes:

[BWF89]

I'm not believeing anything either side has to say until both formats have hit the market.

[GreyFox503]

Frankly I'm surprised they haven't tried to butcher and twist the PDF standard into a proprietary format already.

Is this the first step?

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/01/2318248&tid=109&tid=218

[newbie2]

"So, supporting PDF is the other open format bandied around by MA, but it gets none of the press that Open Document does. The point of PDF support is to comply with the MA requirement, pure and simple. The 'it is what our fans wanted' spin is pure BS. Microsoft has never listened to its user base unless it was going to cost it money. This time is no different."
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26631

[-Rick-]

Aye :D
Found this one, a totally M$ head, who might have tried linux a couple of days and then scratch it because of no double-clicking :rolleyes:
Laughable!
Why is it laughable? OK not all points are fair...but the other ones can be quite true(library conflicts, slower boot time, memory usage).

[MetalMusicAddict]

The sad fact is it takes more to correct this for the common user than if they had heard the correct info 1st. Us tech geeks know the truth but what does it matter if the masses dont know?

[newbie2]

I thought it was the name of the game.:rolleyes:
"CAGW's history as an opponent of open source has prompted a number of parties to connect the dots between the Reaganomics-borne group and Redmond.
Schatz declined to comment on Microsoft support of his organization, indicating the same goes for any source of the nonprofit group's funding. Microsoft has admitted funding CAGW in the past."
http://business.newsforge.com/business/05/10/06/2011216.shtml?tid=110
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_Against_Government_Waste

"Harriet Miers and John Roberts have something in common besides being President Bush's picks for the U.S. Supreme Court: As lawyers, both took part in cases related to Microsoft.
Miers, nominated Monday to the high court, represented the company in cases including class-action lawsuits in the 1990s that alleged defects in a version of the company's MS-DOS operating system. Miers headed up the team of lawyers defending the company in those cases."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/243289_msftjustices04.html

"The Irish Presidency explains on its website that it is sponsored by Microsoft. Ireland is "the largest software-exporting country in Europe", thanks to a fiscal policy which makes it a tax haven for large US companies: it has a tax rate on patent revenues of 0%."
http://swpat.ffii.org/journal/04/cons0507/index.en.html#boogerd

"Microsoft has argued in the past that shipping PCs free of any OS encourages piracy. This has seemed like self-interested bluster and is in any case ineffectual in the face of free operating systems."
http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020505,39168405,00.htm

[Leif]

Why is it laughable? OK not all points are fair...but the other ones can be quite true(library conflicts, slower boot time, memory usage).

I agree. for the type of use the windows-fan seems to be after (games/mp3/dvd) windows is more straightforward for many.