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Microsoft FUD Watch
rs232 writes "Not a week goes by when Microsoft doesn't manufacture a little fear, uncertainty and doubt about something. Yesterday's financial analyst conference was full of it ... Our approach is simple: We look at who said what and why it's FUD. Lots of companies engage in FUD, and we only single out Microsoft because we're Microsoft Watch"
I think I may have seen a story like that somewhere else on /.
What we need is more stories comparing Linux and Windows, preferablt by someone getting paid by either Microsoft or a Linux vendor, that's another topic that's hardly ever covered here
I'm sick of hearing of this acronym. Can't you just give it a rest? It's so very 90s to be complaining about "FUD". And a very shallow analysis.
Taking PR statements and criticizing them for being PR speak is #3 on the "10 dumbest ways to spend your time" list that I made a minute ago. Honestly, when I find a large company with a PR department that *doesn't* make exactly the same sort of statements Microsoft's does, I'm going to try really hard to make it back to this reality from the alternate one I somehow ended up in.
Hi we are Microsoft Watch and we spread FUD about their FUD, please FUD our FUD by FUDDING some FUD, preferably via FUD.
I like basketball!!1!
Pointing out MS FUD is like taking home the drunkest, ugliest girl in the bar. Yah, you did it, but no one is impressed.
There, fixed that for ya! Wouldn't want people to get the impression that Slashdot is "fair and balanced". When you are the #1 source of anti-MS FUD, ya'll gotta represent!!
Keep it real, yo!!
I don't know abour FUD watch, but many of their press releases are so obfiscated, long winded, badly phrased and rambling I find it difficult to follow. Its like Sir Humphrey Appleby from "Yes Minister", it takes a moment to actually understand what the hell they are talking about.
:-(
Is it just me or do these guys find it impossible to speak english in a plain and simple fashion?
Actually, I think there is a proper word for this - but for the like of me I cannot remember what it is.
darn! hit submit not preview. just to head off the /. pedants thats "obfuscated" and "for the life of me".
I know how picker the regulars can be so I thought I'd beat them to it and correct myself first. Ah the humiliation....
Oh, Sweet Mother of God and Jumping Jesus on a Pogo Stick and Buddha in a Banyan, if there isn't something specific about Microsoft in the news on a Monday morning, some jackass has to manufacture something so there can be a day where MS is mentioned on the /. front page?
This is as bad as the guy at work that keeps talking about his ex-wife, who he divorced 15 years ago. Let it go! At least wait for Microsoft to actually do something, you know they will.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
Apparently "FUD" has become the new word for "spin"
Wow, I'm a noob. All this time I thought FUD stood for fucked up data. I need to study this list!
I hope that clears things up!
The link is just spin on spin, which I find totally worthless. There's very few definitive statements being discussed here, more like "Microsoft is great, rah rah rah!". What can be said if that other than "Microsoft isn't great, rah rah rah!"
AccountKiller
So does MS. The only reason why MS can also influence their non-customers and people who would love to do without MS is that you simply can't ignore them in the IT.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Where's the difference? Both serve only one purpose: To make potential customers and investors think you have something worth stuffing money into when there is essentially nothing to see and they'd move along.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Ray Ozzie got his job because he worked alongside Dave Cutler at Digital, and he pretty much worships the Microsoft Way. Don't expect change from Ray Ozzie. Ray Ozzie made a career out of re-implementing VAX Notes. Twice so far, and neither successfully. He is overrated, and his image is overhyped. Heck, Bill Gates has better taste and better instincts for what makes good software. Microosft will continue down a path of FUDing and bullying based on their financial and market strength.
This isn't just how it inevitably is at big companies. Some are different. For example, Jonathan Schwartz got his job because he won't do things the Sun Way. No leader is perfect, and I know lots of people who don't like Schwartz. But Schwartz has backed up his promises by embracing GPL3 and hiring Ian Murdock to change the way Solaris is delivered.
You can reasonably expect Sun's performance to improve. You can reasonably expect Microsoft to continue to miss the point when trying to compete against Open Source software, and to grow worse, in fact, in the way they use PR, lobbyists, FUD, and financial bully tactics as they fail to find a way to stop alternative business models from chipping away at their lead.
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
init 11 - for when you need that edge.
Well, since the overall reaction so far has been very negative, I'll chime in and say that I think this is a very good idea.
FUD is a Bad Thing. It causes people to take decisions based on the wrong information. Short of getting really draconic, we can't very much prevent FUD from being spread. In that light, I feel the best we can do is make sure that the truth is also out there. That way, we can at least hope that people stumble accros the truth, or we can point them at it when we find they have been misled.
All this has nothing to do with Microsoft, apart from the fact that Microsoft spreads FUD. It would be a good idea to do the same for people and organizations that aren't Microsoft.
What's also a good idea is to back up any claims you make with references. And spend some time on the visual aspects of our writings. In order to beat the FUD, we not only need to spread the truth, we also need to make it clear that it _is_ the truth. We could do worse than looking trustworthy.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
I'm seeing more people respond negatively lately to what has gradually degenerated into a Microsoft hate-fest in terms of FUD accusations, etc. Rational *nix and Microsoft folk alike seem to acknowledge hypocrisy and finger-pointing, in this case manifesting itself in yet another utterly banal piece of journalistic blood from a stone, a Microsoft Watch "news item". Who-watches-the-watchers comments aside, are /. staff ever going to take steps to reduce this type of flotsam? I'm looking at the upper left corner of my screen right now, and right next to the /. logo is the purported mantra:
"News for nerds. Stuff that matters."
I consider myself a nerd of sorts, I suppose, but I fail to see how Microsoft issuing generic press releases that would compare equitably to any other company, software or otherwise, "news for me." I also have a hard time grasping how it could possibly "matter", given the frequency and quantity at which it occurs.
It's certainly "stuff", no argument there...
Bottom line, this seems to be a never-ending cycle that only /. staff can break. If they don't attempt to deliver on the site's motto, I don't know who's going to.
Preaching to the anti-Microsoft choir; it's not just for Slashdot karma anymore!
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
The best thing is when Microsoft pay for marketing for someone else's product then hint that it is due to their products that the product was possible. Even though the product in question can run on any OS.
Claiming successes in markets they are trying to get into by partnering with people who are already in that market.
*makes a dechiffering attempt*
So does that mean that if I set ButtonProperty to Buttons (ButtonProperty=Buttons ?) and then later reference the value of Buttons I'm supposed to get the button the user pressed which I can use to decide what function to call?
These people have way too much time..
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
We look at who said what and why it's FUD.
And that's your first mistake. Never heard of confirmation bias?
=======
Science -- Sealed, Delivered.
I suspect that you are correct. If so, you should immediately apply to MS for a technical authoring job at an astronomical salary -- you managed to explain it more clearly in about a quarter of the words. Incidentally, we now know that when Windows installation breaks, it isn't a bug, it's a "...a rich and complex installation experience."
Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis
You're right. FUD everywhere is bad.
I just turned off adblock for a second to see the ads that Slashdot trys to show me. The one main ad at the top of the page is creating Fear in me by indicating that integrating Tomcat, Axis, and other things may be too complicated for me to "get stuff done". FUD is a geek phrase. It means nothing. FUD = marketing. Yawn.
I don't respond to AC's.
In general, FUD actually requires Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, whereas saying "My product does x and x" doesn't really inspire fear in anybody, even if it's a lie.
Unless you're scared of features, in which case you have problems that even 'Microsoft-Watch' just can't cure.
"It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
I thought for a minute that MS had released a new product: "The Microsoft FUD Watch". i.e. Something you could strap to your wrist and monitor the amount of FUD present in any particular technology sector at that very instant - as well as being able to tell the time, set alarms etc.
Well, business is a cold war and FUD is the propaganda and disinformation it is waged with.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Try reading anything from IBM. I used to have to deal with them, simply finding a driver on their website involved reading paragraph after paragraph of vague business-ese and following links that went everywhere *except* the driver. It was enough to drive you mad.
Comment of the year
...is my spelling.
However, the strength of the beer here more than lives up to expectations
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
"...Our approach is simple: We look at who said what and why it's FUD. Lots of companies engage in FUD, and we only single out Microsoft because we're Microsoft Watch"
Isn't this the first item?
Euhm... am I really the only one that likes my installation experiences to be SIMPLE?
That said, I'm quite experienced in installing Linux. And that is not always easy. And no, I don't enjoy doing it.
I'm so glad that Microsoft has abandoned enforcement of their "patents" against companies like RedHat and IBM.
In my survey response, I told them that I would not purchase a single MS product (went on to list the OS, Office, Xbox360, SQL Server, Zune, Halo 2 PC, etc) until they detailed their "patent disputes" for response or resolution...not that I will make a difference to their bottom line, but if every consumer boycotted new Microsoft products...
While I agree with those that think a Microsoft FUD watch page is a bit of a waste of time, I'm still amused by the fact someone is posting it.
Let us not forget that Microsoft was the master of the FUD campaign. Consider how it used to be. A small, unknown company (Small Software Company) launches a software product that has great potential, but would result in users being semi-locked into that company. Microsoft sees the potential and announces they have their own version about ready to release, knowing full well they don't.
Average user thinks "Well, I'll just wait for the Microsoft product because I really don't know Small Software Company and whether they'll be around.", which gives Microsoft enough time to throw tons of money on a project to whip up a Version 1.0 to compete.
This model worked well for Microsoft for a number of years. But now, it isn't Small Software Company that Microsoft is chasing, it's Google and Apple, to name two. These are also well known to Mr. and Mrs. Average User.
So now, Apple or Google announces a new product, the Average User family starts using it. Microsoft announces their plan to release a competitor and the Average User thinks "a little late to the party".
The point is, people are getting more choice from companies they trust. So the FUD campaigns are not going to be as effective.
It is fun to watch, though.
If you want to spread fear, uncertainty and doubt about Microsoft products, point out that Dell went back to shipping Windows XP instead of Vista. Mention the problems with Vista activation. With the "tilt bit" that can kill your system. With Vista phoning home. (Do you want a system that regularly and secretly contacts Microsoft in your business?)
Wouldn't it make sense to wait and see about Vista? Wouldn't that be the safe thing to do? Do you want to take the risk of using a defective operating system in your business?
Is that anything like the Microsoft SPOT Watch?
seven two six five
seven four six one seven
two six four two e
One of these days I am going to learn C#.
But after reading your post through twice, I realise that today was not that day.
Of course, the above has incredibly little to do with C#, and everything to do with MSI. Given that context, and having the MSI design tools in front of you, the meaning of that snippet would be quite obvious :)
That being said, for the most part Microsoft Press books are pretty bad, with a few notable exception, though if you want to see something awful, the chapter on configuration of the 70-536 training kit book is something out of this world...
That article itself is FUD. I'm extremely suspicious of a "watch" site operated by eWeek/ZDNet, a company which probably has strong investment interests in the technology sector.
"Try reading anything from IBM".
Well, hell, try reading anything from FSF, like GPL3!!
-- "I never gave these stories much credence." - HAL 9000
Try to read legalese without a law degree and see how far that gets you. Same goes for any programming language without actually being a programmer or having any concept of computer science.
'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
I value sources of skepticism. Many information sources are little more than publishers and often shills for some other interest; the bad deliberately bullshit, the worst don't even do that. Fox vs CNN, for example.
The source in the fine parent has an obvious tilt against MicroSofts hot air factory. That it is obvious is a good thing, it saves us all time.
All things being equal, shouldn't there be 25 'anti-MicroSoft' articles for every 'anti-Apple'; or 100 for every 'anti-Sun'? MS applies the market share argument to justify wrecking peoples computers, why should they see any less of a factor in criticism?
FUD is a specific case of spin.
"Spin" is when you deliberately obfuscate or selectively reveal information in order to mislead and change the overall perceived picture. It's like "fossil-fuel consumption is good for the economy", that disregards the long-term effects of climate change on the said economy.
"FUD" is more targeted in that it aims to create doubts about your competitors and to misrepresent your ability to deal with said competition - and to manipulate the market into delaying investiments because your "next product" due "real soon now" will blow the competition away. It's like the announcement of the horrible Windows for Pen Computing (designed to hurt the emerging class of Newton and Momenta-like devices, both more functional than MS's product), when Ray Ozzie states "I believe we're the only company with the platform DNA that's necessarily to viably deliver this highly leveragable platform approach to services." ignoring both Apple and Google in a nauseatingly convoluted statement or when Ballmer says something like "Linux violates 2781.36 patents we will disclose shortly and that we may want to seek compensation for the violations" and then falls into silence never to disclose them.
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
Yes but there was NO FUD in the examples given, JUST spin.
So if plain old fasioned Spin is now called FUD, as the article was trying to do, then the OPs comment was spot on.
Contrary to popular belief, coding is not all free blow-jobs and beer. Those things cost MONEY!
Rethoric training - $200 ... tagging this story "wheredoyouwanttofudtoday" - priceless!
Write up a nice FUD script - $300
Get assigned as speaker - $5000
...and thanks to my handy-dandy bizspeak decoder ring, I can interpret this as: "We own the desktop at home and at work; our platform's everywhere; we have a metric assload of cash."
It's the epitome of bad bizspeak, and this might be BS if he actually addressed the services bit in detail but where's the FUD exactly? Come on, eWeek. Cashing in -- and getting paid -- on the anti-MS crowd is what this is all about. Of course Slashdot is there to lap it all up, eagerly.
body massage!
I'd bet that's not from a C# book. It's from a C# with .NET book, one of the 99% C# books on the market. If you just want to learn the C# language, though, I highly recommend C# Essentials. It cuts out pretty much all the .NET crap that consumes 95% of those 1000+ page books, and explains clearly the C# language in a concise way, using about as much space as The C Programming Language - just my style.
.NET, just use online MSDN documentation. Much quicker and easier that way.
For
== Jez ==
Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
You see it has bits of capitalize, productivity, synergistic, and fiduciary in it. That's how you know it's good.
"Some books contain the machinery required to create and sustain universes."-Tycho
if ms didnt have a legacy of providing fud or pulling out unbelievable stunts on its customers or partners, there wouldnt be that much anti-ms fear and its fud spreading on /.
/. is mainly an IT people's place, and there are many people, who were customers of microsoft or worked in microsoft partners who were screwed by microsoft at one point.
note that
hence the antipathy and fear and annoyance.
Read radical news here
This has to be the weakest posting I've seen in weeks on slashdot (and that's saying a lot recently). The guy barely wrote anything useful for slashdot and TFA was shit also. This should never have been posted, it's not worth the bandwidth it cost to host it out or for me to view it.
Mobius Custom Computers
unlike Apple, mayhap? (Which, when they do put something out, sounds a LOT like MS-speak.)
Not everyone checks Slashdot religiously. It's nice that there's some repetitiveness. You see things you'd miss otherwise. I, like many others, am interested in accumulating a picture of what it is MS does that makes people call them evil.
Moreover, skipping a post you'd rather not read is trivial. Missing out on a topic you'd like to know more about is tragic.
I've heard Microsoft FUD before and this sounds more like MS is "doing nothing". MS usually says a lot (i.e. .NET) when they are doing nothing.
The vision of a world of dedicated craftsmen each competing fairly and squarely on the merits of their product is laughably idealistic.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
You're not far off. FUD techniques often rely on Fucked Up Data.