The back-lash over Microsoft’s Laptop Giveaway

I’ve been reading about the Microsoft Laptop giveaway to selected bloggers that has brought about widely differing opinions throughout the blogging community.¬† As reported in eWeek, the original note about this giveaway from Microsoft read:

We’d love to send you a loaded system courtesy of Windows Vista and AMD, but need your mailing address and phone to get this rolling…¬† …This would be a review machine‚Äîwe’d love to hear your opinion on the machine and the OS (Windows Vista Ultimate). Full disclosure: While we hope you’ll blog about your experience with the PC, you don’t have to. Also, you are welcome to send the machine back to us after you are done playing with it, or you can give it away to your community, or you can keep it. My recommendation is that you give it away on your site, but it’s your call. Just do us the courtesy of letting us know your opinion of Windows Vista and what you plan to do with the system when the time comes.

It’s being reported that after this giveaway was exposed to the light of day (or opinion),¬† Microsoft decided it wanted the laptops returned or given away after the review, not kept.

Some see this giveaway as ethically questionable and perhaps simple bribery.

I’m not a big fan of Microsoft, but after due consideration I do NOT believe Microsoft was trying to buy good reviews of Visa.¬† I believe their intent was to put as many copies as possible into the hands of well read bloggers in order to generate some reviews and publicity of the new Windows OS.¬† It’s due for general public release in about a month and they would like to keep Visa in the forefront of the news up to that time.¬†

Since these copies of Vista were loaded by Microsoft on high-end laptops I’m certain they were trying to ensure that the reviewers experience would be favorable.¬† By doing it this way, it eliminates any chances of bad experiences with incompatible hardware or missing drivers during the install process.¬† So yes Microsoft was stacking the deck.

I am surprised that Microsoft didn’t seem to anticipate the back-lash that has occurred.¬† If the blogger who receives the laptop admits to receiving this “gift” it puts his credibility in doubt if his review of Vista is positive.¬† It also ask the question, “Has Microsoft sought to buy publicity and goodwill in a less then ethical manner?”

Even taken in the best of circumstances it’s become somewhat a black mark on Microsoft’s attempt to win positive public opinion.¬†

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