> I look forward to you helping me make up my mind if this is really wrong, or > just another way > companies can market. Or is this another opinion you are forming because you > really dislike > Microsoft and by default it is evil?
If someone doesn't disclose front and center that, by the way, the nice things they said about 'x' have nothing to do with the fact that they not only got a free copy of 'x', but also a very expensive copy of 'y' from the folks who make 'x', then, yes, it's wrong. Period. MSFT certainly isn't alone in doing this. Look at the hub-bub about Congress taking paid 'fact-finding' trips to places like... oh... Tahiti, Hawaii, Switzerland... paid for by folks who will be materially affected by legislature that said Congressperson is working on. 'nuf said. I agree with one of the authors who said that regardless of specific strings attached, the receiver of such goodies can't but be drawn into a social contract with MSFT. It _is_ more difficult to say something negative, or to not say something positive, about Vista in this situation. Just human nature. There's another piece here... MSFT has long intimidated folks with the threat of being excluded if you don't play by their rules. I have a long, involved history in this, spanning a decade and a half, from both sides of the game. Again, they're not alone in this; a couple of rather large car companies come to mind. <s> It is not necessary to do this; Wal-Mart prohibits their purchasing agents from accepting as much as _a cup of coffee_ from a vendor. Check out the recent story behind their switch of ad agencies and how a couple of high-level marketing folks just got fired. I see MSFT's move not as an innovative marketing move (hell, bribing folks under or over the table has been around for as long the world's oldest profession). I see it as desperation in trying to put a positive spin on a product disaster. That was my point - they're so desperate for positive ink about Vista that they're starting to bribe folks to say something nice about it. It used to be that YOU had to pay THEM in order to be admitted to the 'inner circle'. They COULD be a lot classier, but in their fervent scramble to take the last crumbs on the table for themselves, they again show themselves to be as disgusting an organization as Standard Oil was a century ago, or the various railroads 150 years ago. How a company made up of generally excellent people coalesces into an organization so vile never ceases to amaze me. Whil _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: ProFox@leafe.com Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
