Summary: Firms with Microsoft connections and former staff too are still spreading false claims about Android and the Android team

MICROSOFT pays IDC for all sorts of systematically-deceiving ‘studies’ that are pushed into the press and act as propaganda that helps Microsoft lobbyists and salesmen. We covered some examples before and also unearthed antitrust exhibits that show Microsoft doing this with IDC. To pay for lies and propaganda is probably not a crime, even though it is extremely unethical. This is probably why calls for the arrest of those involve would be irrational, unlike calls for the arrest of those who engage in racketeering (there are law against that).

“To pay for lies and propaganda is probably not a crime, even though it is extremely unethical.”Right now the same IDC which predicted success for WP7 and Vista several years ago is doing some more Microsoft promotion, some of it at the expense of Android/Linux (link omitted as we don’t want to feed the propaganda). This ignores the fact that Nokia is dying after Microsoft allegedly tried to buy it (familiar storyline). There is at least one FOSS blogger who fell for this trap (Sam Dean) and restated the claims of the propaganda as fact, doing exactly what IDC and its customers want. “Analysts sell out,” explains Microsoft [PDF] , “that’s their business model…”

Unless or until bloggers and journalists learn to ignore IDC, we are bound to see claims of GNU/Linux servers having just ~20% market share repeated. It’s a lie.

Adding to the propaganda from IDC we have Microsoft’s formerly paid AstroTurfer, Robert Scoble, who spreads false and injurious rumours about Android. He is being labelled a “current spreader of dirty Internet lies” in the midst of Android success stories and given that he worked for Microsoft, this is probably a qualification, not an insult to him. As Muktware puts it:

Andy Rubin, the creator of Android has squashed rumors that he will be leaving Google. The rumor of Andy leaving Google was spread by ex-Microsoft strategist Robert Scoble, who currently works with Rackspace. Scoble, who Phandroid calls “current spreader of dirty Internet lies”, posted on his Google+ page that “Today I heard that the head of Android, +Andy Rubin, will soon leave Google and head to a new startup called http://www.cloudcar.com/”

Lies and anti-social behaviour are a sough-after quality at Microsoft. Maybe Scoble would like to get back to Microsoft. At least then the damaging rumours would be treated more carefully and cautiously. Microsoft moles routinely spread FUD against Android. █

“The last thing this company needs is another fucking [computer] language.”

– Nathan Myhrvold, Microsoft

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