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We're Staying In China, Says Microsoft

ericb tips an article at the Guardian which begins: "Hopes that Google's forthright stand on censorship in China would inspire other companies to follow suit appeared unfounded today, with the move instead threatening to widen the rift between some of the world's most powerful internet companies. Microsoft, which has considerable interests in the country, including its Bing search engine, responded directly to criticism by Google's co-founder Sergey Brin, who this week accused the company of speaking against human rights and free speech. Brin, who pressed for the closing down of Google's self-censored Chinese search engine, said yesterday: 'I'm very disappointed for them in particular. I would hope that larger companies would not put profit ahead of all else. Generally, companies should pay attention to how and where their products are used.' Microsoft rejected Brin's critique, saying it would continue to obey local laws on censorship in China."

9 of 249 comments (clear)

  1. The true motives by e2d2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    And now we see Google's true motivation. They had this much ->.- market share in China, so they pull out due to Moral reasons and toss the grenade over the fence to Microsoft. Microsoft, being the dip shits they are, catch the grenade and run for the end zone in their Heisman pose.

  2. Re:Conflicted! by Pojut · · Score: 3, Funny

    As with most products and services, it is night impossible to find anything that is just right...there's always a downside to everything.

    Well, except a good burp.

  3. MS Staying in CN? by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 1, Funny

    Gee, what a surprise. That was hard to predict. Not.

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  4. A Good Thing? by corruptblitz · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe now that the people of China only have M$ as a search giant to choose from, people will flee and the regime will collapse so democracy can win again!

  5. Birds of a feather... by denis-The-menace · · Score: 2, Funny

    Birds of a feather flock together.

    This will be interesting seeing 2 back-stabbers "playing nice" but who will stab the other first.

    --
    Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
  6. Re:Conflicted! by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Funny

    Bingo. They only discovered that they had principles after they got publicly bitch-slapped all over the trailer park. Some credit is due for them walking out rather than crawling back for another beating, hoping they could change China if they just loved them enough, but they should never have started dating them in the first place.

    --
    If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
  7. Re:Conflicted! by The+Grassy+Knoll · · Score: 2, Funny

    There's only one thing to do...

    "FIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"

    .

    --
    They will never know the simple pleasure of a monkey knife fight
  8. Re:The Best Kind of News by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Embrace, extend, and extinguish" is their motto.

    Ah, now I understand. Microsoft's ultimate goal is to extinguish China!

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  9. Re:Getting a halo can go to your head by david@ecsd.com · · Score: 2, Funny

    You don't live with an ex-smoker, do you?