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ArtX, Hannibal and Consumer Fraud
Gina writes "The guys over at Ars Technica have an interesting story regarding the schemes that marketing types try to combat bad hype.
The story started last week in one of the Ars Comdex reports, when Hannibal said that ArtX's Alladin chipset didn't look too hot, and continued in an email dialog between Hannibal and Rick Calle.
The story gets really weird when Mr. Calle went on Ars' forum and started posting stories discounting Hannibal's take on the situation as two different anonymous cowards. How'd Hannibal know it was Mr. Calle? The IPs of users are automatically logged (you know this before you submit your post) and both the anonymous cowards turned out to be from the same IP, which resolved to artxinc.com.
Here's Mr. Calle's response to the allegations, "P.S. you're good. snagged my IP, huh?! i'm rotfl
- rick." "
Unfortunately, when they're Anonymous Cowards, it gets a bit harder to tell if you've got:
Unfortunately, as you head down this list, there is a tendancy for honesty to diminish, as well as the usefulness of the information.
The issue isn't new; it was pretty evident in some reviews of LinuxCAD, that there were "reviewers" that may not have been at arms length from the "producers." Another review notes, about the "testimonials," that:
It was quite entertaining when Linux Gazette published an Official Reaction of Software Forge Inc. to "LinuxCAD Review"; I expressed in LG issue 42 that I appreciated their restraint in not using a spell-checker...
No, I haven't much use for Anonymous Cowards...
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Bravo!
This type of self-moderation is essential for online communities. Although some people get really antsy and yell "free speech, free speech!", the interests of the readership are served by precautions such as IP logging. The forum's credibility also benefits.
Now, the product in question was a PCI network board, yet one of the performance curves was prominently labeled "SGI Indigo 2 R4400".
Ummm... the Indigo 2 doesn't have any PCI slots, it's EISA or GIO or nothin'. Thinking somebody just pasted the wrong graphic into the press-release, I read the copy - nope, mentions the Indigo 2. They were ready to run with this until I waved my hands repeatedly in front of them.
Shortly thereafter, the CEO asked if I could possibly work directly in their marketing dept, as they needed someone with a tech background (ah-yup!). I couldn't help but tell the guy that I couldn't stomach working a job where my main function was to lie to my customers. He thought that was pretty funny, and had a good laugh...
Perhaps the best thing to do, in addition to boycotting ArtX's products, is to email/snail mail the CEO directly, politely explaining why you'll not be purchasing any of their products.
People that not only lie, but misrepresent the company they work for in an attempt to bolster public opinion wind up doing more damage than good in the long run. I'm sure Mr. Calle's will be deservedly short-lived, but only if the CEO of the company hears about it. Don't let this fall by the wayside folks!
P.S. On that note, does anyone have an address for the CEO? Email/SnailMail/Phone Number # would be nice...
This thing isn't logging my ip is it?
- rick^H^H^H^H^H^H
This article makes me wonder how often this kind of thing happens in the slashdot comments...
People can be FUD'ing our ears full without we readers even knowing it. They can be FUD'ing comptetitors products. They can be FUD'ing mozilla, linux, freebsd and whatever right here on slashdot. Some posts may be moderated down but how many posts get through the moderation?
This article really opened my eyes up. I'm such a nice guy, so I guess I have to admit I may have been too naive and unaware of such unethical methods.
Wasn't there an article about Microsoft starting their own Anti linux division. Makes me wonder if those guys are participating in discussions on slashdot and spreading FUD.
I might be a little paranoid but given MS and other companies well known FUD tactics it won't surprise me. If they are, they would at least be smart enough to not have IP's that originate from inside their company.
This kind of manipulation doesn't just happen in the consumer hardware space. Network hardware, in particular, seems to be based entirely on marketingspeak and fudged benchmarks. I haven't seen anyone go so far as to try to poison reviews in a public forum, but I have seen:
Single-processor 250Mhz Sun servers tested against Quad P3-500 Xeons
Performance numbers which assume that there are no features running on the product
Liberal use of "catchphrases" like "non-blocking switch" when technical details disagree
Benchmarks which favor vendor-specific implementations (just see how much better ASAPI does than Perl/CGI in a benchmark)
Blaming everything else around the device which seems to be having a problem (it's the router/firewall/switch/NIC/Server Proc, not my load-balancing device)
The more someone thinks they can get away with, the more they'll try. We should just crucify/boycott companies who use these tactics, as it will be impossible to trust them in the future. The free market, if properly informed, will take care of these abusers of consumer trust.
good. fast. cheap. (pick any two, you can't have all three)
Please behave responsibly with this information. IOW, express your feelings, but do so politely and professionally -- otherwise you are sinking to Calle's level.
From ArtX Press Announcements:
For Additional Press Information about ArtX, please contact:
Rick Calle, Director Marketing ArtX
650/842-8455
Rcalle@artxinc.com
For additional information about Ali or Ali products, please contact:
Nancy Hartsoch ALi 408/467-7450
nancy_hartsoch@acer.com
From Contact ArtX:
ArtX, Inc.
3400 Hillview Avenue Building 5, 2nd Floor
Palo Alto, CA 94304
650/842-8400 phone
650/842-0307 fax
info@artxinc.com
From Investor Relations:
For further information, please contact David Orton, President:
deo@artxinc.com
"You can never have too many elephants on your team."
I word for a somewhat large ad agency -- we do work for a soda company, a major European car company, a baby food company and a major watch company. Anyway, an encouraged and smiled-upon practice here is what they call "guerilla marketing," which is not limited to: spraypainting/chaulking walls and sidewalks with a client's product name in an attempt to fake "grass roots" support and buzz; engaging in "viral emailing" wherein an account executive or project director emails 10 - 20 people they know with product hype in the hope that those people will email 10 - 20 people, etc.; by camping in newsgroups that may contain our audience's demographic and posting about their "experiences" with a product, and, as seen recently, by posting in forums on enthusiast Web sites. Such practices are often done with the client's express consent and I can guarantee that other agencies do these things as well.
Anyway, the point is that ArtX is not the only company that is seeding "interest" in their products or services by posing as outsiders. At least at the firm I work at, it is actively encouraged.